Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-San Went to See the next Dismantling Event

After taking a bath and finishing dinner, Fina’s body swayed, and her eyes started to close.

I think she was physically and mentally tired after participating all day in an unfamiliar event today.

She took a bath and had dinner, and maybe the tension for the day had been lifted, making her sleepy.

Tirumina-san must have sensed it, too, as she told Fina gently, “Fina, go to bed. You must be tired after working hard the whole day.”

“Yes.” (Fina)

Fina obeyed Tirumina-san’s words and got up from her chair. Shuri, who was sitting next to her, stood up with her.

“I’m going to sleep with Big Sister, too.”

Shuri followed sleepily while walking with Fina.

They were really close sisters.

Tirumina-san said nostalgically, “Thanks to Yuna-chan, I was able to see how hard Fina was working and remember Roy.”

“I also learned again how great Fina’s dismantling skills are.” (Yuna)

Fina’s hard work made me feel like I had to work hard as well. Others who attended the event may have felt this way, too.

“That’s how hard I made that girl work, isn’t it?”

Tirumina said somberly.

Then Tirumina-san and I chatted about Fina and Shuri over potato chips until late into the night.

The next morning, when I went downstairs from the second floor where the bedrooms were, Fina was preparing breakfast.

“Yuna Onee-chan, good morning.” (Fina)

She greeted me with a smile when she noticed me. It was strange that her smile made me smile, as well.

“Good morning. You’re up early.” (Yuna)

“I went to bed early last night, so I woke up early.” (Fina)

So that’s why you were preparing breakfast for me.

I was glad to hear that she was feeling better.

“Mom and Shuri are still sleeping, but Yuna Onee-chan is up early.” (Fina)

“That’s because Swaying Bear and Hugging bear woke me up.” (Yuna)

I turned my attention to Swaying Bear and Hugging bear, walking behind me.

They became bear alarm clocks.

Today, there would be a dismantling event for those over 20 years old. I was supposed to see it, so I asked the Swaying Bear and Hugging bear to wake me up.

“Fufu, is that so?” (Fina)

Fina chuckled and patted Swaying Bear and Hugging bear on the head.

I was glad to see that she seemed to be in good spirits.

Yesterday, she looked a little sad, as if she was remembering her father who passed away.

She really is a strong girl.

While Fina and I were talking, Tirumina-san and Shuri woke up.

Tirumina-san and Shuri looked a little sleepy.

Maybe it was because Tirumina-san stayed up late last night chatting with me while Shuri was still a child. They do say that a child who sleeps grows up fast.

We all gathered for breakfast, which Fina had prepared for us.

The day started with breakfast, of course.

“Are you sure Ellelaura-sama will come to pick us up again today?” (Tirumina)

“She definitely will.” (Yuna)

Yesterday, she said she would pick us up.

For my part, it would have been nice to be picked up by a horse-drawn carriage, as someone dressed as a bear would stand out. But Tirumina-san seemed to be different.

“I know Ellelaura-sama is a good person, but she makes me nervous when I’m with her.” (Tirumina)

“Because she’s a noble?” (Yuna)

“That’s part of it, but sometimes I feel like she can see right through me.” (Tirumina)

I could understand her point,as sometimes I also wondered if Ellelaura-san could read people’s minds.

While we were relaxing and conversing, Ellelaura-san and Shia came to pick us up at the bear house in a horse-drawn carriage, just as they did yesterday.

I was thinking about it yesterday, too, but the image of a noble carriage stopping in front of the bear house was surreal. And then there was the bear girl riding on the carriage.

“Ellelaura-sama, thank you for the carriage ride for Fina.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san nervously thanked her. She was still not used to Ellelaura-san.

Well, the other party was a noble, so it would be difficult no matter how often they met.

“Huh, don’t worry about it. Our daughters are friends with each other, so let’s be friends between parents as well.” (Ellelaura)

“…yes.” (Tirumina)

The words “nope” and “no” were not an option for Tirumina-san. It seemed that “Hai” and “Yes” were the only options.

It wouldn’t make a hole in Tirumina-san’s stomach from nervousness, would it?

“But is your work alright? You usually work at the castle, right?” (Yuna)

And she was with us for two days in a row.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I am after all technically working right now. It’s called an inspection.” (Ellelaura)

Ellelaura-san smiled wickedly.

It sounded like something someone who knows where and when to slack off would say.

But I wondered if it was really okay. After all, Ellelaura-san was doing a lot of work, and I guess some people would be in trouble if Ellelaura-san didn’t do her job.

Well, it was not me who was troubled, so I decided not to worry about it.

With Ellelaura-san’s authority, we could easily enter the venue with a face pass, and probably adding to that was the authority of the Adventurers’ Guild Master, who offered us to be seated in the special guest area yesterday. All in all, we managed to get the same seating today.

“There are so many people here.” (Yuna)

Tirumina-san’s words made me look towards the general seating area, and there were already many people there. There were about the same number of people as yesterday. I do not doubt that the number of visitors will continue to increase, so there will be more spectators than yesterday.

“Welcome!” (Sanya)

While we were looking around the venue, Sanya-san came in.

“Sanya-san, thank you again for getting us the same seats today.” (Yuna)

“Thank you very much.” (Tirumina)

“Thank you.” (Fina)

Tirumina-san and Fina also thanked her for the seats, and Shuri, mimicking them, also thanked her.

Sanya-san laughed as she replied, “I promised Fina-chan, so don’t worry about it”.

“But you know, there really are so many people.” (Yuna)

“Well, that’s to be expected, this is the main attraction, after all. But as expected, the number of people attending has decreased as compared to previous years.” (Ellelaura)

“Oh really?” (Yuna)

“But you know, the actual number of participants is gradually decreasing every year.” (Sanya)

“Eh, really?” (Yuna)

“Yuna-chan, did you feel anything when you saw the participants in yesterday’s dismantling?” (Sanya)

“Yesterday’s participants? I thought it was great that they were able to dismantle the carcasses.” (Yuna)

I couldn’t think of anything else to say because I was not really one who was capable of doing it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you that. What did you think of their abilities?” (Sanya)

“…?” (Yuna)

I didn’t know what Sanya-san was trying to explain.

For me, there was no way I would say that everyone was great.

“Well, didn’t you think there was a big gap in overall ability amongst the participants?” (Sanya)

“Oh, indeed.” (Yuna)

I didn’t think that was the case until she said it.

“Except for Deed and Garde, there is a huge gap in dismantling techniques compared to other participants, and they were probably not as good as they should have been.” (Sanya)

It was no exaggeration to say that yesterday’s event could only be summed up as a battle between them. Elsa-san did manage to put up a good fight, but only because there were spiders thrown into the mix, and that’s where she caught up and even beat the duo and managed to place third.

“It’s nice to know that they were willing to participate, but more and more people stop participating after they first try because of thinking that they’re not good enough. That’s why I want Fina-chan to participate, to continue participating, so the others would see that even a little girl like Fina-chan is doing her best and participating, which would make the others think that they can do it too, or learn more skills in order to aim higher next year.” (Sanya)

“What about the idea of not participating because they don’t want their kids to see them lose?” (Yuna)

“If that’s the kind of excuse they have, there’s nothing I can say to them. It’s an excuse for someone who has no intention of putting in the effort from the beginning.” (Sanya)

Indeed.

There were often people who didn’t even try, and then made excuses for not doing anything.

For example, I was told to go to school and make friends, but I made excuses and didn’t try to.

It would be pointless to encourage someone unwilling to make friends from the start to start making friends. I understood that better than anyone else.

“Besides, people who used to participate in the under 19 competition stop participating in the over 20 dismantling events when they reach the age of 20.” (Sanya)

“But why? Deed-kun is expected to participate, right?” (Yuna)

“Indeed, but what about the others who didn’t make it to the top?” (Sanya)

“Oh, I see…if they can’t make it to the top in the 19 and under division, they won’t see the point in participating in the over 20 division.” (Yuna)

And then there were those who were already good at dismantling. It was a waste of time for them to participate in such an event.

“You see, there are also fewer and fewer young people participating in the over 20 events, leading to more and more middle-aged people participating in the event. There’s a lot of pride in younger people not wanting to show that they’re not good at something, and all sorts of other troublesome things. So, thinking about it, we decided that if we train the young people both in terms of competence and spirit, we will gradually increase the number of participants over 20 years old.” (Sanya)

That was a grand project.

There wouldn’t be a sudden increase in the number of competent participants.

It could be a steady process of nurturing them.

“Plus, some of the veterans are retiring, so we need the young people to do their best.” (Sanya)

If the art of dismantling were not passed on, high-quality products would no longer be available.

I think many traditional crafting techniques in Japan had fallen into disuse because no successors to inherit those skills existed.

(Editor’s note: It’s true. There are a lot of documentaries made by Japanese on this issue.)

“That’s hard work.” (Yuna)

“Do you understand my hardship? If things continue as they are, there will be no more participants. But I’m sure many of the participants yesterday who were watching Fina-chan dismantle were inspired to work harder.” (Sanya)

Like any job, it was hard work.

After all, the easiest thing to do might be to live as a hermit.

Or maybe leave the tedious work to someone else.

I glanced at Tirumina-san.

“What is it?” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san asked, noticing my gaze.

“I’m just glad you’re here, Tirumina-san.” (Yuna)

“Are you thinking that you have someone who can do the tedious work for you?” (Tirumina)

She looked a little offended.

Apparently, she had read what I was thinking in my mind.

“Well, I am grateful to Tirumina-san.” (Yuna)

“I’m just kidding. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m enjoying it. Most of all, I’m just happy to be able to move and work now, so I’m grateful to Yuna-chan.” (Tirumina)

Many people in this world wanted to work but couldn’t.

When I thought about those people, I felt terrible for having been a hermit.

But since I came to this world, I have also been working.

Even in my previous world, I was earning my living expenses…

I did not tell anyone about it, but I still made such excuses in my head.

Sanya-san then invited Fina to a special seat (the commentary seat) down the hall, but she politely declined.

I think she declined because she had a hard time yesterday when the master of ceremony suddenly started talking to her.

Sanya-san looked disappointed and went back to the commentary table by herself.

We waited for the event to start.

I was looking forward to seeing what kind of monsters would appear.