Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Vol. 1

by Kumanano

  “Of course. The others are each ninety, seventy-five, forty-eight, and thirty-five silver coins per month.”

  “Could you show me where all five of them are?”

  She pulled out a map and showed me each of their locations.

  “Hmm, I’m going to pass on the ones going for ninety and seventy-five—bit pricey—and I’ll also pass on the thirty coin one because of where it is.”

  That left the thirty-five and forty-eight-coin spots. The best spot was the forty-eight-coin one. It was close to both the guild and Fina’s house, and not far from the inn. The thirty-five-coin place was closer to the guild, but it was further from the inn and Fina’s house.

  “How would you like to proceed?”

  “If you could give me a deal on this one, I’d prefer it.” I pointed at the forty-eight-silver option.

  “Incidentally, how will you use the land?”

  “I was thinking of building a house on it so I could use it as a place for doing monster harvesting. Oh, but I’d make sure the house is gone when I give it back, of course.”

  “If you could give me a moment…” The woman scurried off, but she came back almost immediately. “Pardon me for asking, but are you the Bloody Bear?”

  “…”

  “Ahem, that was rude of me. Are you the adventurer Yuna?”

  “I am…”

  “I would like to offer our gratitude to you for provisioning the wolves, horned hares, and goblin king during your time here.”

  “Um…what exactly is the trade guild thanking me for?”

  “Do you not know? The materials the adventurers’ guild produces are passed along to us, and we sell them. In return, the trade guild hires escorts and guarantees that we won’t run low on monster materials. We have a mutually beneficial partnership.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Yes, and our merchants have been quite pleased that there have been more wolves and horned hares in circulation recently.”

  “But the stuff I’ve been selling has to be barely anything compared to everything in the trade guild, right?”

  “Not at all. Because the kills you bring in are in pristine condition, they sell for high amounts. Regular adventurers tend to bring in a lot of messy or damaged corpses. But the monsters you bring in are always clean, and they’ve become quite popular, especially those rare goblin king materials.”

  “Who’d have thought?”

  “How would thirty-five silver pieces sound for the plot of land we were just talking about?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. If you harvest materials to sell to the adventurers’ guild, it benefits the trade guild as well.”

  “Well then, it’s a deal.”

  “In that case, allow me to escort you to the plot now.” She stood up from her chair.

  “You’re going to take me all the way there?”

  “Would that be a problem?”

  “Of course not, but are you sure you can leave the front desk just for me?”

  “I can have someone fill in for me. I’d also like to cement our partnership, starting now.”

  “Our partnership?”

  “Yes. You’re an able, brand-new, and extremely skilled adventurer. Many people are going to want to work with you, and I’m just one of those people. Apologies for taking this long to introduce myself—I’m Milaine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The place that Milaine brought us to was just as close to the inn and the guild as the map had promised. The plot was more than wide enough, and didn’t have much pedestrian traffic going by, which was great.

  “If you could sign this contract and provide your guild card transcription, then.”

  “A transcription?”

  “Just put your guild card on top of this. It’ll verify your identity.”

  After I wrote my name and transcribed my guild card, I paid the thirty-five coins for the month.

  “In addition, since you will be building a house in this plot, the trade guild also does provide carpentry studio services. How would you like to proceed?”

  “I’m fine. I already have a house.”

  Milaine looked puzzled. I hesitated over whether or not to tell her about the bear storage and bear house for a second, but then decided to keep it under wraps.

  “I see. If you need anything, please do come to the trade guild.” Milaine bowed and went back. I made sure she was gone, then made sure no one was passing through right then. Right, check. Left, check. Behind me, check. In front, check.

  I pulled the bear house out of bear storage, and just like that, there was a whole house sitting on a plot of land that had been empty just a second ago. I headed into to the attached storehouse with Fina.

  “Okay,” I asked her, “could you handle the tigerwolves now?”

  I left Fina to her work and headed back to the inn to tell them I’d be canceling my stay. Starting today, I’d be living in the bear house.

  Extra Story:

  The Bear Summons Bears

  AFTER BUYING A GRIMOIRE from the bookstore, I’d started practicing magic and grinding EXP off of the local monsters. I was slowly adjusting to the magic in this world, the fundamentals of which were, thankfully, the same as they’d been in WFO.

  When I took a look at my status screen during a break a few days later, I noticed I’d gained some interesting skills.

  Bear summoning… I thought. That’s got to mean I can summon bears, right? Apparently, I could summon a bear from each bear glove.

  I decided to give it a shot. I poured some mana into my black bear glove and pictured summoning a bear. When the black bear puppet mouth opened wide, a round, furry black object jumped out from its mouth.

  Is this supposed to be a bear? I thought.

  The round object shuffled and turned its head towards me, and I realized I’d been looking at its furry butt. The bear looked around and stood up, then slowly walked towards me. It was kind of scary, and I took a step back.

  The bear took a step closer. When I moved back again, the bear let out a sad coo. I couldn’t keep backing away now that it’d made a sound like that, so I let it get closer and snuggle up to me. Unsurprisingly, it was warm. When I patted its head, the bear seemed happy. Its fur felt soft and plush against my skin.

  “Did I summon you?”

  In response, it let out another coo and sat down with its back towards me.

  “Are you trying to say you want me to ride you?”

  It crooned again. I’d never even ridden a horse, but thinking about my plans for the future, I could certainly use a steed for long distance travel. I gingerly mounted the bear, and it stood up slowly, so I wouldn’t fall.

  “Uh, whooaaa.” I felt myself tipping, but I didn’t fall. The bear turned to look at me, but it didn’t try to move.

  “What’s wrong?” As soon as I asked, I realized what was going on. “Oh right, you don’t know where to go. Uh, you can just walk wherever for now.”

  The bear crooned and started walking.

  “Whoa.”

  It was way better than I thought it would be. I wasn’t sliding around as much as I’d feared—if anything, it was kind of like riding on an expensive sofa.

  “Could you try running for a little?”

  The bear broke into a sprint so fast the scenery rushed by. I didn’t lose my balance or even feel like I’d fall, despite how fast we were going. Maybe that’s this summon’s ability? I thought. I swayed left and right to test it out, but even when I tried standing up, it was like there was some sort of force keeping me stuck to the bear. I didn’t even fall when I relaxed and laid down. Did that mean I could sleep while I travelled?

  I decided I’d try that out later. I still had to check out the bear’s top speed.

  “Try running faster.”

  When I asked it to do that, the bear picked up speed. I was pretty sure we were going faster than a motorcycle. We hit the foothills of a mountain and just kept going as the ground grew steeply i
nclined. The bear didn’t even seem tired.

  “Stop.”

  Once we were halfway up the mountainside, I patted the scruff on the bear’s neck. The bear gradually slowed to a halt, and I got off and stretched. I had no idea where we were, but when I tried opening my map to check, the bear suddenly leaped to the side.

  “What?!”

  An arrow embedded itself in the ground right where the bear had been up until just a moment ago. I followed its trajectory and instantly raised a wall of earth.

  Were they after us? I thought.

  I used detection magic to look for their location. Following the angle of the arrow, I noticed one completely still target. I opened up a small hole in the earth wall for visual confirmation, but since the ground sloped up and there were trees around, I couldn’t see who fired the arrow.

  They were about a hundred meters away. They also weren’t aiming at me, but at my bear. I looked at the bear and then my clothes, wondering if I might’ve looked like its cub from far away.

  “Can you hear me?!” I shouted in the direction the arrow came from. “I’m an adventurer, and this bear is mine. Could you please not fire arrows at us?!”

  I waited for a response. If they didn’t answer, my only options were to run or strike back.

  “Are you actually an adventurer? Is that bear really harmless?” they replied.

  “It won’t hurt you as long as you don’t attack it,” I said. “If you seem like you’re going to attack, then I’m going to attack back.”

  They were silent for a short while.

  “Alright. Truce.”

  A man carrying a bow and arrows emerged from a gap in the trees. He was dressed like a hunter from a videogame.

  “Is that bear really yours?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” In order to prove it, I pet the bear.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen a bear obey a human like that. Sorry for shooting out of nowhere. That big bear just gave me a fright when it turned up.”

  “That’s fine, but I was there too. You should have known something was up.”

  “Sorry. That outfit made you look like a bear cub from a distance. Where’s a girl like you from? You’re not living in the woods with this bear, are you?”

  “We live in a town called Crimonia.”

  “Crimonia? That’s pretty far away. Is that look popular in that town or something?” I wished. The only place this look was trending was in Japan. “So why are you in a place like this, miss? It’s dangerous around these parts.”

  “I was just taking a walk with my bear. Is it really that dangerous around here?”

  “You were taking a walk? While wearing that weird outfit?”

  Really, he didn’t have to call it weird. It’s not like I was wearing the suit because I wanted to.

  “This place isn’t safe,” he said. “It has a guardian spirit.”

  “A guardian what now?”

  “It’s a gigantic boar. I shot at your bear because I thought it was the spirit at first.”

  “Wait, is it really that big?” My bear was pretty large. If the boar was about the same size…

  “Yup, it’s just about as big as that bear. It eats all our crops and attacks people that stray into the forest, so if you’re going to leave,” he said, “you better do it quick.”

  “Got it. I’ll be off, then.”

  The man hesitated as I climbed back on my bear. “Actually,” he said, “do you have a moment?”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  He looked at the wall I’d made and asked, “Can you use magic?”

  “I can.”

  “How strong is that wall?”

  “Strong enough to protect against goblin and orc attacks.”

  “Orc attacks?! I’ve got something I’d like to ask you, miss. Could you make walls like that around the village’s fields? We’ll pay you what we can, though I’m afraid it won’t be much. I know I’m asking something unreasonable of you, but at this rate the guardian spirit is going to eat the village out of house and home. Please.”

  The man lowered his head in supplication. This sounded like a colossal pain in the butt, but it’d leave a bad taste in my mouth to come back and find the village destroyed. I agreed, though reluctantly. “I can do that, but I don’t know if it’ll actually hold up against the guardian spirit.”

  I knew how dangerous a charging feral hog was, even back home. I couldn’t imagine how strong a bear-sized one would be, but I definitely couldn’t guarantee my walls would keep it out.

  “I understand. I’m Brandaugh, by the way. I live in the village near here.”

  “I’m Yuna. I’m an adventurer.”

  Having introduced ourselves, we headed towards the village, which was apparently in the opposite direction from where I’d come. I rode on the bear while Brandaugh led the way. As we traveled, he told me he’d give me several days’ worth of vegetables the village had grown in thanks.

  As we kept going down the mountain path, the village came into view. A man at the village entrance leveled his spear at us.

  “B-Brandaugh, what is that thing behind you?!” the man shouted.

  “It’s okay! Lower your weapon. This person in the bear outfit is Yuna—she’s an adventurer. The bear is hers, so we’re in no danger as long as we don’t hurt it.”

  “Are you sure?” he said, giving the bear a doubtful look.

  “I promise it won’t attack us.”

  “Alright, but this isn’t my call to make. I’m going to fetch the village chief, so wait here,” the man told Brandaugh, and ran off into the village.

  “Sorry about this. Everyone is on alert because of the guardian spirit.”

  I guessed that was a given. I was wearing a strange outfit and had ridden in on what any normal person in this world would see as a ferocious bear.

  After a while, the man returned, now accompanied by an older person. “Brandaugh, do you even understand the situation we’re in?”

  “It’s because I understand the situation that I brought her here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This young girl can use earth magic. I brought her here so she could make walls to protect us against the guardian spirit.”

  “You want to raise walls with magic? It’s true that might help us, but we have no money to pay her with…”

  “Some fresh vegetables will do just fine,” I said.

  “Are you certain that’s all you want?”

  “Yeah, just make sure they’re tasty ones.” Veggies were best when they were freshly picked. That was a universal truth.

  “And is that your bear?”

  “It is.” I hugged the bear around its fluffy neck to prove it.

  “It really won’t attack people?”

  “As long as they don’t attack it first.”

  “Alright. Well, allow me to formally welcome you to the village. Bogue, please let everyone in the village know about her, and be sure to stress that they should not provoke the bear.”

  The guard ran off a second time, and we followed. As we proceeded into the village, it became clear they were in dire straits. Some houses had great crumbling holes knocked in their walls, while others had caved in entirely.

  “This is all the guardian spirit’s doing. We can rebuild the houses, but without our fields, we’ll run out of food and the villagers will have no choice but to starve.”

  I was starting to feel guilty about accepting any vegetables from them. From the state of the village, it was clear their produce was the most valuable thing they had.

  As far as defenses went, all they had was a ramshackle wooden fence, patched and reinforced in places. I figured those were probably the sections the guardian spirit had smashed through. I backtracked to the village entrance and started surrounding the village with earthen walls, using the existing fence as a foundation to build on.

  “Let me know if you need other exits, too,” I told Brandaugh.

  “Will do.”

&
nbsp; I made a lap around the village on my bear, raising two-meter-high walls. It was probably quite the spectacle to them, since more and more of the villagers gathered while I worked. They cheered each time I erected a new section of wall, and the kids ran after the bear.

  “Magic sure is amazing,” said Brandaugh.

  “You don’t have anyone in the village who can use magic?”

  “We do, but all they can do is start small fires. I’ve never seen or heard of magic this impressive before. How are you doing on mana? Please don’t push yourself too hard.”

  He clearly didn’t know much about magic, since he seemed genuinely worried about me. “I’m doing fine.”

  “That’s good, but let me know if you get tired.”

  Of course, I wasn’t tired at all by the time I was done building the wall. I fashioned several gates in the places where Brandaugh directed me to.

  “What will you do if the guardian spirit comes in through here?”

  “The spirit comes from the mountains, so it won’t be entering from this direction. We’ll still reinforce the gates with more wood later, just to be safe.”

  We headed to the village chief to let him know the wall was done. He thanked me, saying they had little to offer in terms of hospitality, but insisted on offering me a meal. The sun was starting to set. In this world without electricity, work ended when the daylight did.

  They ushered me into the village chief’s house and sat me at a table. I felt a little bad making the bear wait outside, but it was hardly going to fit through the door. A woman emerged from the kitchen with a loaded tray of food, and Brandaugh started in surprise.

  “Marie, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m helping the chief,” she said. “Besides, you were the one who brought our guest here, weren’t you? If I can’t be a hospitable wife, then who will?”

  “But what about your belly?” Brandaugh fretted. One look at her pregnant stomach told me why he was concerned.

  “A little exercise is good for me.”

  “I suppose…but please don’t overdo it.”

  The food Marie had brought out was bread, vegetable soup, and salad. The bread was delicious—it must have been freshly baked. The soup was a little bland, but it was still a tasty, satisfying meal.