Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

[So, Yuna-san. Where are the bear-sans?] Noa

Noa, who had been holding Swaying Bear since a while ago, asked me as if she couldn’t wait to see them.

If it’s a bear you’re looking for, Noa, you’re already holding one. I wanted to make such a comment, but I stopped myself.

Well, she’s never seen a bear other than Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I guess she’s in for a treat.

[I don’t know where they are, but I’ll have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear call them. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, please.] Yuna

<<Ku~u ~ n>>

After Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear responded, they made a loud <<Kuu～～～～～～～～n>> sound.

[Wha- what was that?] Noa

[I asked them to call the bears.] Yuna

My detection skills won’t tell me where the bears are. So we had to call them.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are also bears, after all. They can talk to each other, and they can call each other.

[So, are the bear-sans coming?] Noa

Noa scurried around to look at the surroundings.

As she was wondering where they were coming from, she saw a couple of bears and their cub emerge from the trees on her right. Two big bears and two cubs.

[Yuna-san, bear-san! It’s bear-san! Bear-san parent and child!] Noa

Excited, Noa grabbed my arm and shook it.

I know you’re happy, but stop shaking me.

[Yes, I can see them. Don’t get too excited and startle the bears.] Yuna

It would be dangerous if the bears were startled and attacked Noa. They’re docile bears, but still wild bears.

[I know. It’s okay. I’ll stroke them gently.] Noa

She’s going to pet it.

[Remember, unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, these are wild bears. So, don’t touch them until I say it’s okay.] Yuna

She’s about to start running, I have to be careful.

[I, I understand.] Noa

Noa’s face tightened up at my advice.

And when the bear parent and child slowly came to us, the bears (wild, summoned) rubbed their bodies against each other.

Apparently, they hadn’t forgotten about us.

<Kuu ~ n>

Two bear cubs came to me. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cub forms are cute. These little bears are cute too. I think they’ve grown up a little since then. After all, the smaller the bear, the cuter it is.

[Yuna-san, can I touch them too?] Noa

While I was stroking the bear cubs, Noa was about to reach out to the bear cubs, but she kept her promise with me and put up with it.

[Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Noa is going to touch these kids, so can you tell them they’re not in danger?] Yuna

I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who are on good terms with the parent bears.

Then Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear started talking to the parent bears.

<Ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n> <ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n>

I’m not sure what they’re saying, but they’re having a conversation.

At times like this, I wish I had bear language skills. But if I could hear the true feelings of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I would be scared. I think it would be better if I didn’t have any bear language skills.

Then, when the conversation between the bears is over, Swaying Bear comes to Noa. Swaying Bear goes behind Noa and pushes her back.

[Swaying Bear-chan?] Noa

[He said you could touch the bears.] Yuna

[Really?] Noa

Noa was a little scared, but she slowly reached out and touched the bear cub in my arms.

[The texture is different from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. The fur is a little stiff.] Noa

[Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are taking baths, you know. They are different compared to the bears in the wild.] Yuna

Furthermore, whenever I summoned them, they come out in a beautiful state. They’re always fluffy and soft.

[But they’re fluffy.] Noa

Yeah, they’re fluffy. I also stroke the back of the bear cub.

[And this bear has a cool face.] Noa

<<Kuu ~ n>>

Noa’s words made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear a little frustrated.

[I’m sorry. Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, you’re cuter rather than cool.] Noa

[So, Bear Girl-chan. Is it okay for me to touch them too?] Rem

Rem-san, who had been watching us in silence for a while now, was behind Noa, looking like he wanted to touch the bear cub as well.

[Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Rem-san wants to touch them too.] Yuna

<Ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n> <ku~u ~ n> <ku~u n>

This time, Hugging Bear came around behind Rem-san and pushed him back.

[It feels good.] Rem

[Yeah.] Yuna

Rem-san touched the parent bear and the bear cub. Rem-san has a satisfied look.

After all, Rem-san also wanted to touch the bear.

[Thank you for always protecting the bee tree. But please don’t do anything too dangerous.] Rem

Although he couldn’t understand the bear’s language, Rem-san spoke to the bear gently.

[So the bear-san is the guardian of the bee tree?] Noa

[Yeah, they fought the monsters before.] Rem

But isn’t that what they’re fighting for, to protect their territory?

As for me, if I had to choose between goblins, orcs, and bears, I would support the bears.

[But there’s no guarantee that the bear will be able to defeat the next monster that appears. If a monster takes up residence, all we have to do is ask the adventurer’s guild. So the bears won’t be overwhelmed.] Rem

[I’ll take care of it when that happens.] Yuna

[Yeah, I’d feel a lot better if Bear Girl-chan takes care of it.] Rem

I don’t want the adventurer and the bears to run into each other and end up fighting.

[Well, it’s not only monsters that are dangerous, though. If the adventurers come to kill the bear, they must run away.] Yuna

That’s a possibility. People may be more dangerous than monsters.

[But are there any adventurers in that town who’ll come to subjugate the bear-san?] Noa

Noa looks at me, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear, then Rem-san looks at us in response.

[If there’s a request at adventurer’s guild, they might come to subjugate the bears, but I don’t think anyone would come to take down a bear that’s not rampaging.] Rem

I’m afraid of hearing what he’s going to say and I don’t think my heart can take it, so I didn’t listen to him.

[But I don’t think any adventurer who knows Yuna-san would mess with a bear.] Noa

[You’re right.] Rem

Rem-san nodded to Noa’s words.

After all this time, I wonder what the other adventurers think of me. I don’t think they have a very good image of me after all.

Before that, why is Rem-san nodding?

I’m also curious about the image of me in Rem-san’s mind.

After spending some time with the bears, they cried <ku~u n> and got up to walk towards the bee tree.

Apparently, it’s time to eat.

[Ah, I wish I could go with them.] Noa

[It’s not safe, so we’ll just observe them from a distance.] Yuna

[U~u, I know.] Noa

Noa regretfully sees off the parent bears and cubs.

When the parent bears and cubs come to the bee tree, they began to eat the honey.

Rem-san and Cliff allowed them to eat honey, but if you think about it normally, they’re supposed to be subdued. After all, they’re pests who eat the precious honey.

If there is any talk of subjugating them, it might be a good idea to let them escape to the island of Targui.

As I was watching the bears eating honey, I heard a small <ku~> sound from the side.

Looking to the side, I can see Noa holding her stomach.

[Tha-, that’s not the sound of my stomach!] Noa

Noa blushes a little and denies it.

[I didn’t say anything though.] Yuna

[U ~u~u] Noa

Noa looks embarrassed.

Well, it was lunchtime. So, it’s no wonder she’s hungry.

[Then we’ll have lunch here, too.] Yuna

[We’re having lunch here?] Noa

[Well, we’ve come all this way, and the flowers are beautiful. Besides, there’s something you want to discuss with Rem-san, right?] Yuna

I laid out a carpet-like sheet on the ground from the bear box and took out a basket of bread.

[Rem-san, please sit down and eat.] Yuna

[Is that okay? I appreciate it.] Rem

Rem-san and Noa sat on the sheet.

I prepared small jugs and a cup.

[There’s fruit juice and milk to drink, take what you like.] Yuna

[Thank you very much. I’ll have the milk.] Noa

[I’ll have the juice.] Rem

I poured the drinks as ordered into the two cups.

[Also, you were touching a wild bear, so wipe your hands with this before you pick up the bread.] Yuna

I handed them both wet towels.

It is dangerous to eat bread with hands that have touched a wild bear. Unlike Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, wild bears don’t take a bath.

[I’m sorry about that.] Rem

[Yuna-san. You’re like Lala.] Noa

They wiped their hands with wet towels and reached for the bread.

[Ah, it’s a bear bread.] Noa

Noa finds bear bread (Kuma pan) in the basket.

I thought Noa would like it, so I brought it.

[Is this the rumored bear-faced bread?] Rem

Rem-san also takes a bear bread.

[Rem-san, you know bout this?] Yuna

[Ah, it was a hot topic among the people working in the store.] Rem

After saying that, Rem-san eats bear bread.

But I wonder what it would be like to eat bear bread while looking at a bear.

I picked up a sandwich instead of a bear bread and ate it.

[Yes, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear too.] Yuna

I put the sandwich in Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear’s mouth.

[Ah, I wanna do it too.] Noa

Noah also gives bread to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

Then, as we ate our bread, Rem-san’s class began.

[So, you change the flowers accordingly with the seasons?] Noa

[The flowers bloom in different seasons. In winter, bees stop their activities, so we ask them to collect nectar until then. Of course, there are times when they are active and times when they breed, so it’s hard to say for sure, but if there are flowers, they will collect nectar, so as much as possible, I try to keep them blooming.] Rem

[I see.] Noa

Noa listens to Rem-san’s lecture earnestly.

After Rem-san’s class ended, the bears were done eating and began to move away from the bee tree.

[Ah, the bear-sans are going away.] Noa

The bear family disappears into the forest.

[Don’t chase after them.] Yuna

[I wanted to take that little bear home with me.] Noa

[If you do that, they’ll get angry.] Yuna

[I’m kidding. It’s just a joke. I would never do that. I would never split up a family that was so close. But still, there was a part of me that wanted to take them home.] Noa

Well, bear cubs are cute. But the bigger they get, the scarier they become.

Did they read my mind? Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are rubbing up against me.

[You two may be big, but you’re not scary.] Yuna

[Bear Girl-chan. Thanks for the food. I’m going to go check on the flowers around the perimeter, so please wait a bit.] Rem

Rem-san stood up.

[I will go too. Yuna-san, is that okay?] Noa

[It’s okay, but don’t get in Rem-san’s way.] Yuna

[Of course, I won’t. I’m just going to see what kind of flowers are blooming.] Noa

Noa went after Rem-san.

As I rest my back on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, I decided to wait for Noa and Rem-san with my eyes closed.

From my ears, I could hear Rem-san describing the flowers on the wind, and Noa asking various questions.

It seems that she is listening to Rem-san and studying with him.

It’s nice to get out and relax like this once in a while.

Author’s Note:

We were able to meet the bears safely.

Noa also seemed to be learning a lot from Rem.