Meeting Mr. Bear
Meeting Mr. Bear
How come things ended up like this?
I was hiding in the shadow of a sort of sunken rock with Ana. She was crying real loud, but I begged her not to, so she was holding back now.
My face was a mess. I was crying without making a sound. I looked like a total wimp.
“N-Ngh...”
“...”
We both held hands.
It was supposed to be pitch black at night, but the light from the fire shining from behind us made the dark sky look a little red.
It’s... it’s because of the Fire magic stone I had.
What... what have I been doing?
I wanted to work hard for something, to be strong and save everyone. That’s what I decided.
But now the mountain was on fire, and I’d made that monster angry, and Ana was so scared...
“Ana, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...”
I started blubbing again.
Even though she had tears streaming down her face, Ana just gripped my hand back and shook her head, as if to tell me it’s not my fault.
Even though I had done something wrong...
It was just like Logg said. I’m a fake hero. A real hero wouldn’t lose to a monster. And even if I did lose, I shouldn’t be mixing Ana up in it. Plus I dropped my sword...
I was just a kid.
I may have felt real pathetic, but I had to accept that fact. If I didn’t, then I’d just end up making things even scarier for Ana.
Thud... thud...
The bergbear was walking around. It wasn’t all that close, but it wasn’t too far either...
I may be a fake hero, but I need to at least protect Ana...!
“Ana... Ana, stay quiet and listen to me.”
“Y-yeah...?”
“If we stay here, it’ll probably keep circling around. And then, it’ll come back.”
“O-oh, no...”
Ana teared up again.
“Listen! That’s why we’ve gotta keep going and run away.”
“B-but...”
“Ana, I’m sorry... This is all my fault...”
“Yuuta...”
“I’m a fake hero... But even if I’m a fake... I’ve gotta protect you, even if that’s all I can do.”
“...”
“So let’s make it back. Back to our moms, together. We still have a long way to go, so we’ve gotta keep going.”
“...Mmkay.”
I gripped her hand tight.
The town was downhill from here.
Then, the footsteps got the quietest they’d been.
“Let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
Zoom! We took off running. It was really scary letting our footsteps be so loud, but we couldn’t stop now.
We were definitely gonna make it back!
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
...Thud, thud, thud!
Uh-oh. We were sunk. Even a kid like me knew what was happening.
It had noticed us.
“Rooooooooooooooooar!”
“Yuuta!”
“Run for it!”
We both ran as fast as we could.
I could hear the trees getting knocked over behind us.
Sloosh!
“Ah!”
“Ana!”
Ana’s hand had came loose from mine as she slipped in the mud and fell down.
“Stand up!”
“...Ow!”
Ana was holding her leg. Oh, no...!
The light from the fire disappeared.
I turned around...
It was right there.
Everything went quiet.
I didn’t have my sword... but I couldn’t run away.
“Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” I screamed back.
I was scared, but that wasn’t all.
I wanted to protect Ana. I was no hero. I couldn’t do anything but make a big sound by screaming.
And so, I screamed my lungs out.
Its big black arm came swinging down.
I spread my arms out wide like an idiot, not closing my eyes.
.....
.....
...Rrrrrrrrr...
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
...I’m...
...I’m not dead?
Agh, wait, I’m sideways?
Hold on, am I flying? Everything’s going by so fast!
It’s all just flying by...
Ah, Ana’s here, too. She’s crying, and she looks confused, too.
I saw a hand and realized we were being held.
“Bwaha! Bwahaha! Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!”
I heard a girl laughing. I knew that voice. And that golden hair, too... She’d just changed up her hairstyle recently.
“I found you!!! I found you, you damn runts...!!!”
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
How many people out there can say they’ve run from a bear while carrying two kids? Seriously, you could totally call this a valuable experience, right?
The scenery flew on by around us.
“Rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!”
That thing is huuuuuuuge! Seriously, what even is that?!
I thought bears were all little and cute like in picture books! But that thing was the size of a house!
“Crown! Do you have any info about bear monsters rolling around in there?!”
[—Affirmative.
—Initial dungeon monster library present within analyzer skill foundation.]
From the dungeon Dad cleared...?! That’s right... My textbook did mention that dungeon cores were full of info on monsters, and they can pop them right out!
Hold on a minit... Info from the dungeon core got transferred into the analyzer card, so...
That makes it a super rare item, doesn’t it?!!! And I let this damn gear eat it!!!
“Gah, whatever! I’m sure glad you’re here now, so it’s all good!”
“U-um, Miss Ann? Who are you talking to...?”
“Don’t bug me right now!”
“R-right!”
“I-I’m scared, Miss Ann.”
“Relax, I won’t drop you!”
Yuuta was covering his mouth with both hands as I carried him. Ana said, “That’s not what I meant...” or something, but I didn’t have time to worry about that!
“Crown, what’ve you got on bears’ weak points?”
[—Search complete.
—Weak point: lower jaw. Elemental weakness: Water.
—Will run from larger entities than itself.]
What’re you, an idiot?! It’s as big as a damn house! There’s no way I could ever reach its jaw!
And Water?! You’re a gear, not a pump!
I can’t use aaaaaaaaany of that!!
A-anyway, I’m just barely outrunning it.
It’d be nice to slow it down somehow so I could pull away...
“Crown, match a Stone Stomp to its speed! Can you do that?!”
[—Ready.
—Beginning inertial model calculations. Adjusting coordinates based on predictions.]
“Does that mean you can do it, or no?! Just set it up!”
One of the gears equipped to my hand flew off behind me and expanded. It looked like there was a white membrane in its center, like a soap bubble or something.
“Stone Stomp!”
Wha-bam!!
“Rooooooar?!!”
Whoa, I hit it!! I hit it, but it isn’t stopping!!
Oh, man, all I did was piss it off!
“Crown! I need you to trip it up! Drop two boulders in front of it!”
[—Deploying.]
Another gear flew out and expanded. Looks like I can make two mid-sized ones.
“Stone Stomp Double!” I yelled, getting caught up in the moment. Fortunately, two of them did come out.
The bergbear leapt over the first rock. It then bounded randomly over the second one!
Ah, one of the rocks snagged its right front paw!
“Gwaaaaar?!”
Alright! I threw it off-balance!
I skated through the forest, using the trees like shields.
Yeah, I could do that now!
“Wooow!”
“A-amazing!” the two runts yelled out in admiration. No kidding. This sure beats the slide in the park, doesn’t it?
“Crown! Secure these two to my back!”
[—Ready. Carrying out order.]
“What?”
“Wah!”
Three gears each wrapped around Yuuta and Ana’s hips, making a sort of golden belt. I could feel it attach them firmly behind me.
[—Three-unit restraint complete.]
“That’s a big help! Hold on tight, you two!”
We came to an area with all sorts of slopes, with trees that had rotted and collapsed jutting out here and there. These should be a big help!
I grabbed hold of a tree trunk with the spinning gears on my legs and right hand.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
When I reached the tip of the tree, I hit the trunk with my left hand!
Vrrrrrrrwrrwrr!!
And with that, I took off flying!
“Aaaaaaaaah!” the two runts screamed.
I did a full rotation in the air.
Fwoosh... Thud!!!
Oof! It sure is heavy with three of us, huh? Almost didn’t stick that landing...
“M-Miss Anti...”
“The world... it’s upside down...”
Yeah, it sure is...
Now that I couldn’t see... the bergbear... the forest fire was worrying me...
It was night, but... the clouds... were a dull red...
“That’s... sure spreading out, isn’t it...?”
Yeah... that’s definitely a full-on forest fire. No other name for it... At this rate it’d spread from the mountain to the forest at large... and then... to the town.
“Miss Anti...”
“...Yeah.”
I could see the regret... on Yuuta’s face. That was the look... of someone who fully understood what he’d done.
I... was still just 15... so I was a runt like these two... up until just recently. So honestly... I was kind of impressed.
“Don’t get all mopey!! Now’s the time to run...! I’ll chew you out later, alright?”
“Yeah...”
The scenery started flying by again as I worried about the blaze lighting up the night. Please, please don’t let that reach town!
“Big Sis! Up ahead!”
“Huh...? Ah, damn! Crown, stop!”
[—Regulating stance. Halting motion.]
Screeeech, clack!
That cliff I had jumped over before was right in front of me. The one that was 10 mel to the other side. The overgrown trees down below sure looked eerie in the dark.
I had made it over before because I’d been on my own, but... damn. Flying over that thing with all three of us would be a tall order.
“Back when we hit this thing, we had to go around to the left...”
“So that means that from this side, there should be a path to the right? We’ve got to hurry or...”
I started to take the detour, but just as I went around...
“Roooooar...”
Thump, thump...
“Gah...”
“M-Miss Anti!”
It was still a little far off, but it was definitely coming around from the right side, wasn’t it?
What should I do? Try to plunge forward and slip by it on the side? No, that’s no good... If things went badly, it could force me off the cliff.
On my own, I could probably manage to cling to the cliff face. But with the weight of all three of us we could end up falling, which’d be about as bad as things could go...
“Damn it!”
“Miss Ann! That’s the wrong way!”
I know. I’m going the complete opposite direction from town.
I’d love to go to the right and get back as soon as possible, but that’d take us way too close to the bergbear. If we ran into it now, I wouldn’t be able to out-maneuver it.
It’d be a real bad move to approach the enemy.
In that case, the safest route would involve taking a large detour to the left and keeping a reasonable distance as it chased us. It was frustrating having to climb back up the mountain, but still...
I got going to the left alongside the cliff, moving in the opposite direction of that presence I sensed from behind us. We were moving away from the cliff, bit by bit...
Fwump, fwump, fwump...
Huh? What’s making these tremors?
Fwump, fwump, fwump, fwump...
I slowly looked to the left, breaking out in a sweat.
“I-it’s rolling after us?!”
A big black mass was coming this way crazy fast! What, so it’s countering my rotations with some of its own?!
M-my eyes won’t start spinning too, right...?
Fwump, fwump... whack!!!
I-it flew!
“T-this is bad!!”
Almost instinctively, I leapt into the air to dodge. That black shadow was closing in real, real fast.
Ka-thuuuuuuuud!!!
The bergbear crashed down right where I’d just been standing.
I couldn’t believe what was happening... The ground at the top of the cliff had burst apart!
No way... We’ve got nowhere to land...
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!” the two runts on my back screamed.
We started to accelerate, downwards, downwards...
There was nothing around.
Well, there was a burning mountain.
Man, we’re high up.
“Whoooa!!!”
I wasn’t even entirely sure what I was doing. I fixed some gears in the air below where we were falling. Maybe that’d work as a foothold?
Maybe it was because I was in too much of a hurry, but I just bounced off.
My body was spinning.
This was already my third try. I just had way too much momentum. We broke on past them and kept on falling.
Ugh, man, it was all for nothing.
The forest below us was wide and huge. I must’ve been screaming.
I don’t want to die in a place like this.
Is that what everybody thinks at the end?
The wind was whipping by so fast that my eyes were stinging. My gears streamed on by overhead.
I struggled and struggled and struggled some more. I wasn’t the only one in this mess, after all.
It was then that random chance struck.
I’d been firing off gears all the way down the cliff, and this was a big one. So big that my whole body would just pass through the middle.
That thing wouldn’t be any use as a foothold. But I’d been in such a hurry that when I made the gear, I’d ended up with teeth on the inside, too.
When I went to pass through the gear, the inner teeth notched into place with the gear spinning on my ankle.
Whoosh!!!
That big gear was spinning, with my small one as its axis. My body stopped in mid-air thanks to the centrifugal force.
For an instant, we floated.
I spotted a tall tree off to one side. It was too far for my legs to reach, but it was all we had.
“Crown, chain!”
[—Executing predicted desired action.]
A golden chain ran through the air.
“—-ss Anti, Miss Anti!”
“Oh, you’re up!”
When I came to, I found myself collapsed on the ground.
We were alive...
I did it!
Sluggishly, I pulled myself up.
Kwabaaaaaaam.
Looking ahead, I saw the spot where the bear had landed. He looked to be as furious as ever.
Still at it, Mr. Bear... You’re so busy blowing your top that you haven’t even noticed. I’m pissed off, too.
“I’m...”
“You’re...?” the two runts said in tandem.
“I’m really... really... sick of thiiiiiiiis!!!!”
Clink! Clink!
The golden restraints holding the kids in place came loose.
Thump.
“Wah!”
“Ow!”
The two of them fell to the ground. Well, they landed on their butts, so they should be fine.
“W-why? It’s right in front of us...”
Right, the bear was right there. That’s exactly why.
And man, you two sure must be cleaning your plates at dinnertime, huh? Because you’re definitely heavy.
“Rooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!”
Man, that’s loud. You sure are a noisy one. I’m already used to it, though. And I’m sick of just running away.
Plus, we can’t afford to fall back any farther. We’re already at the bottom of the cliff, so we’re on the same level as the town.
The gates to Cardiff weren’t all that far from here. And there was no way those wooden gates could handle this thing.
Geez, what the heck even is this?
Everything’s been a real mess ever since you showed up.
I got pulled out of bed! And the mountain caught fire! And the runts went missing! And the town had to close its gates! And I hit my shoulder on a tree! And I fell off a damn cliff!
And somehow, now it’s up to me to protect the town!
Just what do you think you’re making the pretty young poster girl for a restaurant go through?! You’re a bear, so can I even expect you to pay the bill you’re racking up?!
“Grrrrrrrr...”
The bergbear started moving.
I couldn’t let the two runts behind me get wrapped up in this, so I skated across the ground and distanced myself.
I put my hand through the middle of a gear and took hold. Ah, this thing’s pretty heavy, isn’t it? I always have them float, so I had no idea.
I chucked it at the bear’s head and heard a bonk.
“Grah!”
“...Bring it on, you bear bastard!”
“Grr...rrrrrr....!”
Hehe, bet that’s the first time you’ve had anyone challenge you by throwing something like that, right? Tromp, tromp, tromp.
Oh, yeah, I’d definitely gotten its attention.
I was breaking out in a cold sweat, but I wasn’t trembling. A strained smile crossed my face.
This really was a strange situation. I was a poster girl facing off with a giant bear monster. But even so, I had no choice but to do it.
“Let’s do it, Crown!”
[—Understood.
—Beginning combat support.]
Thuuuuud!!
The bergbear kicked off the ground.
That sure was some impact, and it was coming this way. Still, running around this forest for the last hor had at least taught me a few things.
I spun my Scale Skater in reverse.
There was a tree to my rear.
Oh man, oh man!!
I flew into the air, using the tree as a launchpad. In the next instant, there was a tremendous sound as the tree was smashed to pieces.
I saw my twintails arc around me as I spun in midair. Then, with a tmp, I landed on one foot.
“Wow...”
“It’s like she’s flying!”
I heard those quiet voices of admiration.
Hurry up and get as far away from here as you can, you idiots! If I don’t send you flying, the bear will!
“Graaar!”
It was throwing whole chunks of ground!
I bent my legs and started to rotate. I flew along the ground. Then, instead of moving straight ahead, I started moving in circular motions.
Just try hitting me now!
“Graaaah!”
It was heading my way.
Now I get it.
This guy could move pretty fast, but it wasn’t good at the sort of tight turns needed for combat. It couldn’t keep up with my speed. The closer I got, the bigger my advantage was!
Hehe, what the heck am I even saying? I should get closer to a bear that’s as big as a house? Haha, I’ve got to be nuts.
“Crown, we’re setting a trap. Let’s start with two quick spinning gears on each hand.”
[—Ready. Request for input of strategy outline.]
“How should I put it...? Land mines?”
[—Response falls within predicted range of actions.]
Having come to a mutual understanding with my skill, I plunged forwards towards the bergbear.
Ooh, didn’t see that one coming, huh? Bet you never expected me to come after you!
The bear’s arm came swinging down. Guess that was all it could do.
Vrrrrr!
I thrust one leg out forward and squatted down, only for the bear’s fur to fly above my head.
“Here, have a present!”
I twisted my torso around once and left my fast spinning gears in place, equally spaced.
Aaaand, goodbye!
“Gyaaaar!”
When I turned to look back, I saw the gears digging into its belly. I had, of course, made sure to sharpen their teeth into little blades.
Ooh, that had to hurt!
“Serves ya right!”
[—Plan successful.
—Confirmed penetration of 7 celchi below skin level.]
“It’s as big as a house, but we only got 7 celchi, huh...? He sure is a tough one, isn’t he?”
[—Do you wish to continue?]
“Nah. This guy may make pretty simple movements, but I think it’s also pretty smart. If we try the same thing again, it’ll see right through it.”
When I used my Stone Stomp on it before, it was clearly adjusting to the timing with my second and third tries. It even dodged the second one.
If I dove in the same way again and it happened to catch me, I’d be done for.
“Grrr...”
Huh? The bergbear’s pointing in a weird direction. It even took its eyes off of me.
What’s it looking at?
I followed its gaze and... that’s fire. And it wasn’t the forest fire.
Those were torches.
A number of torches had come from town. They’d just given away the location of the front gate!
“Grahahahaha...!”
This damn bear was laughing! I take back my statement that it was smart! This thing is rotten to the core.
I stood... between the bergbear and town.
“Grrrr...”
What, are you threatening me?
I-I’m the poster girl for our restaurant!
A-and I’ve faced my share of complaining customers!
They’d whine about the types of booze we had and demand more variety, or say the oil we used for frying had gone bad, or tell me that they didn’t like the way I cut the vegetables!
So that face of yours isn’t enough to scare me!
“Rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!”
Its shadow hung over me.
It was raising its front paw overhead.
Man, those claws are huge. They must pack some serious punch.
That’s probably all you’ve ever done in your whole life, huh? Should a bear really be such a one-trick pony?
...Well, then, shall we get going?
“Miss Anti, watch out!!!”
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Fwoosh!
“Grrrrrrr...rrr...?”
The bergbear’s raised paw stopped in place, causing the monster to look around in confusion.
It was now wearing a golden bracelet around its arms. Those teeth actually look surprisingly trendy.
Yeah, that turned out pretty well. Go for a ring toss, tighten it, and then fix it in place.
Not bad, right?
“Grah! Grr?”
Thud, thud.
Oh, now you want to act cute? Sorry, that ship has sailed.
How about I add a little more?
Bam, bam!
“Grah!”
Bam, bam, bam!
“Graaah?! Roooooooooooar?!!”
All four of the bergbear’s limbs were wrapped in gold.
When I saw the orange reflection coming off them, though, I realized something else: the fire. It probably... won’t be possible to put that out anymore...
I didn’t even need to ask my partner. This had already gone past the range of what humans could handle...
This calamity would make it all the way to town.
I stood there, devastated, underneath the night sky burning orange.
We’d had that restaurant for as long as I could remember.
We’d made food for so many people. And they were always there, chatting away day in and day out.
Me and this town, we’d grown together. It was a place that the people all around me had built up together.
And... and... it was going to burn... That precious town, that everyone loved...
And I mean, that was even the reason Yuuta had used the fire in the first place.
I get it. You wanted to protect it, right? For everyone’s sake. To help somebody.
But this... this was the result, was it?
We’d have to abandon the town. And then, this is what Yuuta would think:
If only I hadn’t set the fire...
If only I hadn’t gone outside...
If only I hadn’t been so damn brave...
He’d be left with such awful regrets.
This fire wouldn’t just kill the town, but that boy as well. It was a curse that would steal away his future and taint his past.
If the monster in front of me could speak, it would probably say, “You all are the ones who set the fire. I was just hungry.”
I was real annoyed... No, scratch that, I was full-on pissed off.
After all, it was pretty damn hard to forgive that sneer from before.
A boy had tried desperately to protect someone precious to him, his heart trembling all the while.
You’ve got a pretty huge bill to pay for trying to eat our customers.
The bergbear was quaking. Why? Was it looking at me?
That was when I heard the sound.
All the gold on my body was spinning with a roar.
Rotations, repel the space all around! Shining gold, drive back the flames!
My rage-driven revolutions ate away at the force of gravity.
The bergbear’s limbs were perfectly restrained.
Now, time for you to close out.
“Gwaaaaaaaar!!!!”
With that scream-like roar, the bear spat out a boulder.
Oh, so you can still do stuff like that? Not that it matters. I’m already up off the ground.
There was something I’d tried before at the old mine.
“Fast spinning gears can only move real slowly.”
However, they packed one heck of a punch.
They lacked the momentum needed to deal a decisive blow, though. Wasn’t there some way I could hit it with one, as hard as I could?
“...I moved fast through the forest.”
...Haha, hahaha, it was so simple!! I just had to plunge right in!
The huge boulder just passed under me, naturally.
I was a quick learner. By 7 I could already mince things, and I hadn’t burnt any eggs since I was 8. I was the daughter of a restaurant, after all.
I floated a bit in the air before, right? In that case, why couldn’t I do something like this?
Huh? That wasn’t normal? Well right now, I’m angry. I’ve long since left “normal” behind.
You’re ready, right, Crown?
[—Redirectory.]
[—▽High mobility armor constructed.]
[—▽Deployed over 62 parcelterge of body surface.]
[—▽Base rotation index: 200 per second.]
[—▽Anti-gravity mechanism developed.]
[—▽Inertial control unit updated.]
[—▽Auxiliary shaft power systema “magnilev reforgination” online.]
[—▽Beginning estimated action sequence.]
“She’s floating...” the runts said in amazement, staring up at me. The bear was looking in the same direction.
A golden girl was floating in front of the moon. She had pierced the heavens, with rotations wrapped around her foot. A whirlwind of countless flashes of light surrounded her.
For this moment alone, the moonlight outshone the flames coating the ground.
“Don’t hold anything back!”
[—Executing judgment (Involute).]
It only took an instant for the light to shoot straight through, leaving the girl standing behind the bear monster. Or, to be precise, the now headless bear monster.
...I’d won.
