Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

When we got out of the tunnel, the sunset had already dyed the sea red.

A salty breeze drifted towards us, and we breathed fresh air.

「So pretty.」

「You’re right.」

「Thanks to the tunnel, Crimonia is now closer, so it would be great to spend holidays here.」

「I agree. Should I bring my daughter next time?」

「I really didn’t think that it was possible to get to the other side of the mountain in one day, though.」

「Going around the mountain is very time consuming, after all.」

We moved towards the city while having this exchange and watching the sun.

When we arrived at the gates, I saw the man who greeted me the first time I had arrived at this city.

「Bear Missy! You came back.」

The man happily rushed towards me.

「I wasn’t on duty when you left, so I was really sad when I couldn’t thank you, you know.」

Now that I thought about it, a different guard was by the gate when I left town, huh.

「Allow me to thank you again. Thank you for saving the city.」

The man thanked me. Somehow, it turned out to be really embarrassing.

「A lot of different people have thanked me, so you didn’t really need to say it. I received rice from all of you as well.」

What made me the happiest was the rice they had offered.

Though on second thought, preferring a material thing over verbal gratitude was a little…

「So it seems. I also brought the rice that I had at my house. There wasn’t much, though.」

「Is that so? Thank you very much. I will cherish it as I eat it.」

When I said that, the man seemed really happy.

「Sorry to interrupt you while you are talking, but could you please let us enter now?」

Cliff interrupted our conversation.

「Sorry. Are you two missy’s acquaintances?」

「Yes, that is correct.」

「May I see your cards to confirm it?」

The man returned to his job, and asked them to hand over their cards.

Cliff and Mylene-san obediently presented them.

The man proceeded to look at the cards, and his face gradually changed.

「……Count and guild master.」

The man slowly handed the cards back and bowed.

「I’m deeply sorry. Please come inside.」

「You don’t have to worry about it. No need to be so polite.」

「That’s right. You don’t have to bow in front of a man like him.」

Mylene-san said that as if it didn’t concern her at all, but didn’t her card surprise him as well?

We entered the city, and since the sun had already set, it was becoming darker and darker.

As expected, talking today would be impossible.

「It’s already late, but what do you want to do? If you want to go to the inn, I can show you the way.」

「No. I want to see the Adventurer’s Guild’s master first.」

「You’re right. Without the Mayor, it’s our duty to go and meet the three elected elders. It’s already late, though. That’s why it would be better to talk to the guild master, who knows the whole story.」

Their opinions matched and we went to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The people we met on the way to the guild all greeted me.

「You’re really popular.」

「Now that I think about it, you killed the Kraken, so it’s normal for you to be appreciated.」

「It’s not only that, right? I’m sure that a part of it comes from the cute clothes she’s wearing.」

My Bear clothes?

I wouldn’t be happy if I were to become known because of this suit.

I was really worried that at some point that, just as someone could say ‘This ribbon is her real form’ or ‘Those glasses are her real form’, they would start saying ‘This suit is her real form’.

I could already imagine how depressed I would be if the citizens just ignored me if I came to the city without wearing the suit in the future.

I smiled when I realized what I was thinking.

I had always thought that it was a pain when they started talking to me, but now, I also thought that I would be sad if they didn’t talk to me. Was this…the aftereffect of being alone for a long time, maybe?

For now, I just prayed that they didn’t think Me = The Bear Suit. I was sure that it wasn’t the case.

When we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, we saw the employees cleaning. We couldn’t see any adventurers. Due to the Commerce Guild’s scandal, some were in jail, and a lot of the others had decided to leave the city because they felt guilty.

After we entered the guild, one of the employees noticed us.

「Yuna-san.」

After he said that, everybody in the guild reacted.

「Is Atora-san here?」

「Yes, I will call her immediately.」

The employee jogged into the back room.

The back door opened loudly and Atora-san came out.

As always, she was wearing clothes that emphasized her breasts.

「Yuna! You are back already?」

「Atora-san, I have returned.」

「So, how was it? What did the Feudal Lord from Crimonia say?」

She asked. Did she not see Cliff and Mylene-san?

「Atora-san, please calm down. I will explain.」

「Ah, sorry about that. Okay, who are these two people?」

She seemed to have finally noticed the two of them.

「This man here is Crimonia’s Feudal Lord, Cliff…Fo…Fo…some noble name.」

「You, you don’t even remember people’s names? If you introduced other nobles like that, you wouldn’t get out of it unscathed, you know. It’s okay with me, though.」

「Then what’s the problem?」

You see, his name was really long! I couldn’t remember all of it!

Besides, I had never tried saying it.

「You…」

Cliff let out a sigh with an amazed expression.

Then, Cliff looked at Atora-san.

「I am the Feudal Lord of Crimonia, Cliff Foshurose. We have just arrived, but even though it was late, we decided to come here to say our greetings.」

Cliff made his self-introduction politely.

「Feudal Lord of Crimonia…」

Atora-san looked at Cliff in a daze.

「This woman here is Crimonia’s Commerce Guild’s master, Mylene-san.」

「Commerce Guild’s master…」

She then looked at Mylene-san.

「I am the one in charge of Crimonia’s Commerce Guild. It seems that one of our people was responsible for a really big scandal over here, and I am really sorry about that.」

After Atora-san heared Mylene-san’s greeting, she returned to her usual self.

「I, I am this city’s Adventurer’s Guild’s master, Atora. Thank you very much for coming here from so far away.」

「Far away?」

「From far away?」

The two of them seemed to want to say something. When Atora-san saw the two of them like that, she tilted her head.

「As Cliff-sama said, it’s already late today, so could we talk tomorrow?」

「Yes, of course.」

「So, where will you be staying today?」

Atora-san asked as if it was a difficult thing to say.

「Normally, I would let you stay at the best place in the city, the mayor’s mansion, but we have no mayor now and…that place is not fit to house people…」

「You don’t have to worry about it. It’s my fault for coming here without any prior arrangements. The inn will be sufficient.」

「Yes, you don’t have to mind it.」

When the two of them said that, Atora-san bowed twice.

「Thank you very much. I will ask some of our employees to meet you tomorrow morning, so please have a good rest tonight. Of course, we will pay the inn fees, so don’t worry about it.」

Atora-san called Sei and asked him to escort us to the inn.

「I already know where the inn is, so I don’t really need a guide, though.」

「It’s to explain things to Deiga-san. These two are noble visitors. Although we need to be very polite around them, I don’t really want to cause a fuss, so I will keep the fact that he is a noble a secret. Is that okay with you as well, Cliff-sama?」

「Yes, I don’t mind. I can just be Yuna’s friend.」

「Thank you very much. Then, I will arrange things as we have previously discussed.」

Sei, who was next to Atora-san, bowed.

「By the way, Atora-san, the way you are speaking is strange, don’t you think?」

「Yuna! Who do you think this person is?」

「Crimonia’s Feudal Lord?」

「Can’t you understand it if you know that?」

「You don’t have to be so polite with Cliff, though.」

「You… That’s the normal attitude in front of nobles, you know. You’re the one who’s strange. Well, if you are too humble to me, that will trouble me. You don’t have to act like Yuna does, but it would be better if you just spoke normally.」

「Yes, I will do my best. Then, how many people came with you?」

「There’s none.」

「……」

Atora-san’s eyes opened wide.

Thinking about it now was a bit late, but a noble normally had guards, right?

「Yuna’s with me, so I didn’t need an escort.」

Was it possible that he trusted me?

「Really?」

「Yes, and we arrived on Yuna’s bears. From what I had read in the letter, I thought it would be best to come here quickly, so I decided to take the quickest way.」

「Th, thank you very much.」

Atora-san seemed to be deeply moved. Did she have that kind of personality?

Since Atora-san was using words that weren’t like her, I felt uncomfortable.

「Then, just to be safe, I will provide you some guards from the guild…」

「Atora-san, it’s okay. My bears and I are here, after all.」

「…But….」

「Couldn’t you arrange for guards from tomorrow onwards, during the times when I won’t be with them?」

「……Understood. I will count on you for tonight then.」

「As long as they are in the inn, I, or rather the bears, will guarantee their safety.」

Even if I was in a deep sleep, the bears would be there, so it was safe.

Since it was already late, we ended the conversation there and left the guild.

「Missy! You are back?」

「I’m back. Starting today, I will be in your care for some more time.」

「Oh, you can stay for as long as you want.」

Sei interrupted our conversation and explained the details.

「I didn’t plan on asking for payment in the first place. Missy’s friends are always welcome! We also have a lot of vacant rooms. You can stay here for as long as you want.」

「Ah, is it okay to trust us so much? Bad people would love to stay here all the time.」

Mylene-san said that as if she was teasing him.

「There’s no way Missy’s acquaintances would do such a thing. If there was someone like that, it would be an impostor who’s using her name without her knowing.」

「Yuna-chan, you are highly trusted, huh.」

「I don’t trust strangers so easily, but it’s different with Missy. That’s something all of the people from this city would say.」

What was that, that unfaltering, complete trust?

It was really scary. Did I do something that important?

I thought for a little. Yea, I did.

I gave them food. I subjugated the bandits. I released the prisoners. I indirectly revealed the Commerce Guild’s scheme. I killed the Kraken. On top of that, I gave them the Kraken’s materials. When I thought about it, it really couldn’t be helped that they trusted me.

Now I had to add the tunnel to the list as well. We couldn’t make that a secret, could we?

「That’s why, if it’s something that comes from Missy’s mouth, it’s worthy of our trust.」

Why did it sound like the start of a cult, though?

I didn’t plan for it to be like that.

「It was just because I wanted to do it, so don’t mind it too much. I beg you, please don’t mind it.」

I said strongly.

I absolutely had to stop it now.

「But…」

「If you want to thank me, could you just accept a little favor of mine?」

「What is it? This little favor?」

「I will tell you in just a bit, so wait a little.」

「Understood. If it’s something I can do, I will listen.」

Was it really okay? Just promising without considering like that.

I am going to take your daughter!

I already had her permission, the only thing I lacked was the approval of her guardian, Deiga-san.

「Then, Missy’s friends, I will make you a feast, so eat till your bellies are full.」

Deiga-san placed his seafood meal on the table, and the two of them ate all they wanted.

We all went to our own rooms, and in anticipation of tomorrow, we decided to just go to sleep.

I didn’t forget to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear as guards.

「Please warn me if there are any suspicious people approaching Cliff or Mylene-san’s rooms.」

I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while patting their heads.

They answered me with a soft 『Kuun』.