Chapter 207: Bear-san Departs for the Elf Village

Author’s note:

I made a mistake. 

We pa.s.sed through the gates together with some merchants and carriages. I noticed that most of the leaving people had at least some sort of transport.

Ruimin asked with concern. Well, I understood where it was coming from. She must have started to worry when we just walked out the gates without getting a ride or giving any further explanations. We walked for a while before finding a deserted spot.

I stretched out my arms and summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

Ruimin shouted.

For some reason, Sanya-san was the one who boasted about them. She did realize they were my summoned beasts right?

Ruimin said while gesturing how small they were in their cub forms with her hands.

I said and changed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear into their cub forms. And then, Sanya-san was the one let out a shocked cry.

Sanya-san cried out with her eyes wide-open in surprise. It seemed like she had never seen them in their cub forms before.

They each picked up a Bear and held it tight. The sisters exhibited surprisingly similar behavior when I observed them closer. I got them to let my Bears go so I could return them to their normal size.

Sanya-san and Ruimin slowly approached Swaying Bear.

Swaying Bear lowered its back, letting Ruimin and Sanya-san climb onto it.

I got on Hugging Bear, and gently patted it.

Hugging Bear cried softly in response.

And so, we departed for the Elf Village.

Ruimin asked, clearly worried about Swaying Bear. We were only going a little bit faster than we would on horseback, though… The bears could go even faster, but since we would be travelling for quite a while, lowering their speed should help conserve their stamina, which would also allow them to run longer than a horse. Plus, I really didn’t want to burden them too much, so I told them to take it easy. Besides, I wasn’t quite sure how much of my Bear’s strength should I reveal.

We had discussed where we would head first just yesterday. I hadn’t really grasped how far away the place was, but I figured it would be fine since Sanya-san and Ruimin could guide me. I only provided the method of transportation; the rest of the journey planning was up to them.

Based on Sanya-san’s additional explanation, there were quite a few small towns and villages between the capital and Raruuze, but whether we would stop at any of them during our trip would depend on the situation. I really wanted to make a map of the whole area, but if we were only going to stop by the city… Not to mention the fact, because of my Bear Suit, I couldn’t just simply go sightseeing without getting bothered…

Well, it would be fine if I was traveling by myself, but I had Sanya-san and Ruimin with me, and I really didn’t want to trouble them.

I was still quite sleepy since we headed out so early in the morning. The sky was clear, and the sunlight hitting my face felt very nice, which made it the perfect time to take a nap. I just wanted to bury my face in Hugging Bear’s fur, but had to respond to the two chatting next to me.

The two of them were criticizing me, each for slightly different reason. It wasn’t like I was trying to hide it from them; I just didn’t like to needlessly spread the information around, and there hadn’t been a good opportunity to tell them.

Ruimin said and patted Swaying Bear’s head. She didn’t look afraid of it at all.

Which was a good thing, of course. Being afraid of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear would have made them sad.

That was a relief to hear. I was glad she didn’t find my bears scary, although I couldn’t say the same for other bears. Normal bears were scary, honestly. My Bears were fine, of course, as I had spent so much time with them and knew they weren’t scary at all.

Our trip proceeded smoothly. Everytime we saw someone else on the road, we left the path for a while so that we wouldn’t scare them or their horses, which could go out of control if they saw my Bears. We also took breaks here and there, making sure to switch Bears every time.

Was what I told them, but honestly, all I had to do was cuddle up in bed overnight with them, and they would be back to normal the next morning. Still, I never wanted to upset them on purpose, so switching the Bears had become completely natural by now. As the sun began to set, Sanya-san proposed that we should stop for the day.

Ruimin asked. A village, huh? I didn’t mind, but was it really a good idea?

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear could easily keep running and get us to the village. However, I was thankful that Sanya-san was being considerate of my Bears. Even though they were summoned beasts, she wouldn’t force them to push themselves for us.

Sanya-san asked and looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear warmly. I honestly didn’t know what they were fully capable of; it was something I could only find out if I ever pushed them that far. Of course, I had no intention of ever doing that just for the sake of testing it. That was why we always took breaks even though the Bears didn’t look tired in the slightest, and why I also made sure not to make them run for long periods of time at their max speed.

I said and pointed to an area off to the side of the road where several trees would block people from seeing us. n.o.body would notice us as long as they explicitly didn’t approach that area. I didn’t know how long it would take us to reach the Elf Village, but since we would be forced to camp out eventually, it would be better if they learn about the Bear House sooner than later.

They agreed without any questions as to why I wanted cover.

Ruimin agreed immediately, so I looked over at Sanya-san.

She said a bit more reluctantly, but that was enough for me, so I proceeded to take out the Bear House.

The things they noticed were different, but they were both clearly shocked at the sight of my Bear House.

Sanya-san said and pointed at the Bear House while looking at me intensely.

Not much else I could say.

Oh, that was a setting I had completely forgotten about.

Ruimin looked at Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, the Bear House, my Bear Hands, then finally at me.

She popped the question which was very difficult to answer.

I dodged the question with that, then urged the two of them to head inside the house. Ruimin didn’t seem convinced but luckily didn’t push the issue further.

AN:

Volume 2 of my book is already being sold in stores. If you have time, please take a look.

Thank You.