Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-san meets Ronne

Having locked the Knights in the Bear Cage, we sneakily headed toward the mansion to avoid being seen from the windows.

“Yuna-san, the walls are too high.” (Noa)

Naturally, the mansion was surrounded by high walls to prevent intrusion. I could use magic to build a staircase, but I would also have to build one on the other side to get down.

So…

“Noa, come here for a minute.” (Yuna)

“Yes?” (Noa)

I held Noa in my arms as she approached me.

A princess carry.

“Quiet!” (Yuna)

Noa raised her voice at my actions, so I warned her.

“…” (Noa)

Noa covered her mouth with her hand.

“Well then, I’m going to jump over the wall, so keep your mouth closed tightly.” (Yuna)

I warned her that she would be in trouble if she bit her tongue.

After confirming with my detection skill that no one was nearby, I jumped over the wall. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear jumped over after me, and Primme flew over.

“Yuna-san, please don’t suddenly carry me. It startled me.” (Noa)

Noa complained in a whisper as I set her down on the ground.

“Besides, I was not ready to be suddenly lifted up and carried over a wall and then landing on the ground.” (Noa)

It might be similar to bungee jumping for her.

But explaining my plan and then waiting for Noa to get mentally prepared would have wasted a lot of time in this urgent situation.

“Next time, I’ll jump after you tell me you are ready.” (Yuna)

I ignored Noa’s protests and, using my detection skills, started walking in the direction where there were no people.

Noa silently followed me.

“Noa, do you know how many more knights there are?” (Yuna)

My detection skill could tell the number of people, but it could not distinguish between knights and civilians. When I asked, Noa closed her eyes.

“They are scattered, but I can sense around five connections in this mansion.” (Noa)

“Can you sense Ronne’s presence?” (Yuna)

“Yes. As we are really close right now, I feel a strong connection from that direction.” (Noa)

Noa pointed in the direction Ronne was supposedly at.

“Primme’s sister is just up ahead.” (Noa)

Seeing Primme barely restrain herself from jumping out, I reminded her not to act alone. In return, I promised to make sure she sees Ronne.

After confirming with my detection skills that no one was around, I entered the mansion through what looked like a back door.

Thanks to my detection skills, I could tell where people were and proceed safely through the corridors and around the corners.

“Yuna-san, are you sure we can continue going ahead as fast as we are currently going?” (Noa)

“It’s okay. Because there’s no one around. But if I tell you to stop or to be quiet, you must follow my instructions.” (Yuna)

Noa nodded.

We slowly moved forward to Ronne’s location as indicated by Noa. With Noa’s and my help, we should be able to find Ronne easily.

“There are people in this room, so we’ll pass quietly.” (Yuna)

Noa and Primme nodded. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear also let out a small “ku” sound.

With my detection skills, I could tell that there was someone in this room, and since Noa said she couldn’t sense any connection inside, it may be a servant who works there.

Using this method, we made good progress through the mansion.

“Is Ronne getting closer?” (Yuna)

“I can feel her from close by. It is a little further. But I feel another response nearby. Maybe it’s a knight because it’s a weak connection.” (Noa)

Indeed, there was a human response.

And it was moving toward us. If we continued on, the Knight would find us.

It would take a lot of time even if we tried to go around.

I would have appreciated it if I could go behind that knight like in a manga and knock him out with a smack on the neck, but unfortunately, I didn’t have that kind of skill.

Could that be done in the first place? 

As we were looking for somewhere to hide, we heard a small cry from Swaying Bear, who had turned into a bear cub. I checked with my detection skills, and a new response was coming from behind us.

“What’s wrong with Swaying Bear-chan?” (Noa)

“Someone is coming from behind.” (Yuna)

Noa immediately closed her eyes at my words.

“I couldn’t detect Ronne’s presence from that person.” (Noa)

If Noa didn’t sense any connection, then it wasn’t a knight. A servant?

If we remained like this, we would be caught in the middle.

I looked around the corridor.

There was a door in front of us.

I moved in front of the door and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked.

I entered the room with Noa and the others.

I put my ear to the door.

“Dorito!” (???)

“Rena?” (???)

“The knights just left, what happened?” (Rena)

A man and a woman started talking at the door.

Don’t talk, just go away.

“What, you don’t know? Smoke went up from the town. That’s why some of the knights left.” (Dorito)

“And Dorito?” (Rena)

“I don’t think all the knights can leave the mansion. The Lord is not well-liked by the people of the town, so you never know what might happen.” (Dorito)

“I agree. After the Master died, his son Master Bellung came back from the royal capital and started studying fairies, and after Master Ronne showed up, the people around here have changed.” (Rena)

“Yes, some of the residents resent the Lord for going mad because of the fairies.” (Dorito)

“It used to be said that the fairies brought happiness, but the only ones who are happy are the Lord and you knights who were given the power.” (Rena)

“That doesn’t mean this power will last forever. If Ronne-sama doesn’t give it to us continuously, we will lose it. That is the extent of this power. But there are knights who are fascinated by it.” (Dorito)

“And you?” (Rena)

“I was delighted to gain more power. But the people who wielded this power soon aimed it at the town’s inhabitants. This power should be wielded against the nearby monsters. I would have been thrilled if I could challenge stronger knights outside this town and monsters in other places, like the royal capital. However, that doesn’t mean I am not happy receiving this blessing. I have decided to protect Ronne-sama as repayment for giving me such power.” (Dorito)

“How does Ronne-sama look?” (Rena)

“Well, I guess you don’t know, but you don’t need to know. Ronne-sama can make herself invisible and rarely shows herself to people. I said I am willing to protect her, but I’m sure she won’t think much of me or anyone else.” (Dorito)

“Well, I suppose so. To be fair, I don’t think anyone would break inside this mansion.” (Rena)

The voices gradually became more distant. Even my detection skills confirmed that they were moving away.

They doubt anyone would be breaking in here, huh?

“Why do they think it was a blessing that my sister is giving them power? It is not even a power they can use properly…” (Primme)

Primme was complaining about the knight’s words, but those words also stabbed me, so I didn’t respond.

I have become strong thanks to my Bear Equipment, which God granted me. If God decided to antagonize me, what would I do? Would I fight that God? If the power of this bear equipment was made up of things taken from other people, would I be able to separate myself from it? If I had to part with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, would I be able to do it?

“Yuna-san, what’s wrong?” (Primme)

“Nothing.” (Yuna)

I tried placing myself in the position of the Knights, but I could not answer my doubts.

All I could think about now was meeting Ronne.

“Then let’s go to Ronne’s place. Do you know where she is?” (Yuna)

“Yes, I do. I have confirmed it.” (Noa)

We left the room and headed back to Ronne’s place.

“I can feel her presence through this door.” (Noa)

There was an iron door in front of us.

The door was tightly closed. But something unnatural had been drilled in the top part of the door, a hole big enough for a fairy to pass through.

“My sister is just beyond this door.” (Primme)

“Primme!” (Yuna)

Knowing that Ronne was simply beyond the door, Primme went ahead of us, passing through the hole in the iron door.

“Yuna-san, what should we do?” (Noa)

“Of course we’re going in.” (Yuna)

I used a miniature bear cutter to cut a joint in the gap between the door and the wall where I think the lock was supposed to be.

The door opened.

“Let’s go.” (Yuna)

“Yes.” (Noa)

We opened the door and followed Primme.

Beyond the iron door were stairs that led down to a basement.

I think there should be lights somewhere, but I used magic to create lights as we descended the stairs.

“Sister!” (Primme)

I heard Primme yell.

Me, Noa, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear ran down the stairs.

“Sister, let’s go home!” (Primme)

“Primme, why did you come here? I told you to forget about me and go home on your own.” (Ronne)

“I can’t do that!” (Primme)

We went down the stairs to a large room.

In the center of the room were Primme and Ronne.

“That fairy is Primme-san’s sister, Ronne-san…” (Noa)

Noa was sleeping when Ronne came to the inn, so this was the first time she saw Ronne.

“I suppose you brought those humans along with you.” (Ronne)

Ronne noticed us.

“Why would my sister do something bad to humans? That’s not the sister I know.” (Primme)

“Sorry. There is someone in this place that I couldn’t leave behind. That’s why I couldn’t leave this town.” (Ronne)

Ronne said and landed on top of something.

“Yuna-san, someone seems to be sleeping there.” (Noa)

Noa was right. Was that an altar? A person was sleeping on what looked like an altar or a bed.

Ronne was snuggled up to the person sleeping in the bed-like structure.

We approached.

A man was sleeping.

Was this the Lord? 

Why would a Lord be sleeping here in the basement? 

There were magic circles painted on the floor, and magic stones were set all over the place.

My head was spinning in confusion.

Could I be wrong about many things? 

“May I ask you something?” (Yuna)

“What?” (Ronne)

“Who is that sleeping man? He is not a Lord, is he?” (Yuna)

“Don’t put him together with those people.” (Ronne)

I knew it. He’s not a Lord.

“Then who is he?” (Yuna)

“The man who can see me. He is my precious.” (Ronne)

Ronne gently touched the man’s face.

“Yuna-san, this is…” (Noa)

“What do you mean? Isn’t the Lord of this town the one who can see you?” (Yuna)

“You’re making a mistake, please don’t compare him to that person. That person is…” (Ronne)

Ronne retorted angrily.

I was mistaken.

We thought the Lord was Ronne’s partner, but we were wrong. The man sleeping here was Ronne’s partner. But why was Ronne’s partner sleeping here in the basement? He was also very skinny.

The iron door that we entered, the basement, the magic circle, the magic stones, the skinny guy, who didn’t wake up…

I could only imagine what unpleasant things this could be.

“It seems that I, Primme, and the people of the town have misunderstood many things, Ronne, so tell me about the relationship between that sleeping man and Ronne, and also about the Lords of this town. Without hearing that, neither Primme nor we will know what to do from now on.” (Yuna)

Ronne looked at Primme and us.

“…sister.” (Primme)

“Okay.” (Ronne)

Ronne started to speak up.

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