Chapter 89: The Bear Heads Out to Eliminate the Bandits

Chapter 89:
The Bear Heads Out to Eliminate the Bandits

 

I LEFT THE GOONS in Atola’s hands and got ready to go bandit hunting. And by “got ready” I mean “ate a lot.”

“Miss,” Deigha said with a worried sigh, “are you really going out to apprehend those bandits?”

“I’m going to eat all this delicious food, first.”

“Err, thanks, but it’s pretty dangerous, girl like you.”

“I’ll be all right. I’m an adventurer, and didn’t you see my bears? Big burly bears?”

“Hrm. Then when you come back, I’ll make you the best meal I can.” He flexed his bicep at me. I didn’t think muscle really mattered to the culinary arts, but whatever made him happy.

I summoned Kumayuru, and headed over to the place where bandits had last been seen, running along the coast at a decent speed. The sea breeze felt nice. If things warmed up a little more, maybe I’d be able to go for a dip in the water?

Fina probably hadn’t seen the ocean before and it’d be nice to come here with everyone. But I never swam before, except during gym class in elementary school. Still, playing in the sand would be fun too, and there were a ton of other things to do out at the beach.

Since I didn’t know when the bandits might appear, I left my Detection skill engaged. I’d never been to this place, so my map was just black in the target area. As I headed down the road, four human signals popped up ahead of me.

Were these the bandits?

Was it an ambush?

Hmm. That was a lot less of them than I was expecting. If they were going to attack normal people, maybe that was all they needed? If they were going to attack me anyway, it’d be the most convenient for me if they did it all at once. But there were probably captives and I needed to get to their hideout, so I guess it was all the same?

I spotted human figures in the distance. If they weren’t hiding, maybe they weren’t the bandits? Still, it was suspicious that anyone at all was on this road. There was a chance they’d pretend to be normal people and attack me, so I plunged ahead on Kumayuru to seem threatening.

I got close to them, and…

Hold on.

Were these the four adventurers Atola told me about?

Yep, four adventurers walked on toward me. One guy and three women, like the setup for a harem anime. When they noticed me riding on top of Kumayuru, they got their swords and staffs ready. I wasn’t going to have to fight them, was I?

“Stop right there.” The man blocked the road. He didn’t try to attack me right off the bat, but he did give me a suspicious look.

“What?” I stopped and asked from on top of Kumayuru.

“What’s with that outfit? And that bear?”

“I’m an adventurer and this is my bear.” I gave Kumayuru a pat on the head.

“You’re an adventurer, miss?”

Would he believe me if I said so?

“Is that bear really yours?” a woman in mage-y robes asked from behind him.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Would you let us take a look at your guild card?”

“You’re asking me to show mine, but you’re all not going to show yours?”

“Sorry. I’m Rosa. C-Rank.” She showed me her card. Seemed legit.

“I’m Yuna. I’m a D-Rank adventurer.” I showed my card, too.

“You really are an adventurer, then. I’m sorry for doubting you.” She told the other party members to lower their weapons.

“Is that bear really safe to be around?” the man demanded.

“It is unless you act hostile.”

“Understood.”

The man sheathed his sword. When the other members saw that, they lowered their weapons.

“Where are you headed to, young miss? There’s bandits hereabouts; it’s dangerous.”

“I know that. I was on my way to apprehend them.”

“Um. Hold on, let’s just…it was Yuna, right? You’re serious about that? They’re not the kind of people a little girl like you could defeat on her own,” the mage said gently.

“And,” added one of the other women, “we’ve been on the lookout for the bandits the past few days, but haven’t caught sight of them.”

Well, it wasn’t like it’d be easy to find their hideout. And it wasn’t like they’d come out in the open with adventurers out and about, either. What changed things was my Detection skill. I could literally just run around at random with Kumayuru in places where they might be and search for their signal.

“That’s not an issue.” I gave Kumayuru’s head a pat. “My bear will find them.” Kumayuru turned to me as though saying “leave it to me” and let out a tiny coo.

“Aaa! What a cute bear.”

“Even if that bear roots them out, you can’t take them all on alone.”

“Ehh.” I shrugged. I’d be fine as long as the bandits weren’t secretly controlling the kraken, or something.

“There’s no way a kid could defeat those guys on her own. It’s too dangerous,” the male adventurer said loudly.

“In that case, we can just go with her, right?”

“Rosa?!”

“Our goals are the same. As long as we’ve got that bear, we can figure out where they are, but we can’t let this girl in a bear outfit waltz on over to the bandits’ hideout alone. Can’t we go with her?”

“Hrm,” the man said. “I guess?”

“Definitely.”

“I’m fine with that.”

“But, she’s so—” The guy gave me a helpless look, leaned in and whispered a little too loudly “—she’s so tiny!”

It seemed that they weren’t belittling me so much as worried for me. Either way, it was annoying.

“We can protect her,” the swordswoman answered.

“All right…if you’re good with that, I’m on board.”

If they were going to have this conversation, couldn’t they at least include me?

 

I couldn’t refuse them, so they ended up coming along. We introduced ourselves properly. The guy was named Blitz, twenty-five and light-skinned. He seemed like their leader, technically, but I think the mage Rosa was the one who really called the shots. The other mage was a girl, about eighteen, named Ran. Finally, there was a swordswoman who was about as tall as Blitz, dark-skinned, carrying a largish sword. Her name was Glimos.

“Can I ask something?” said Rosa suddenly.

“What’s that?” Sigh.

“Why are you wearing that outfit, Yuna?” She looked me over, fascinated.

I knew it. I knew they’d ask.

“I’m blessed by the bears.”

“Blessed by the bears?”

Sure, why not? If people were going to keep asking, I might as well come up with a cooler backstory. I wasn’t lying, either. I was so blessed by the bears that it was almost a curse.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Rosa marveled.

“Well, you’ve heard of it now.” I gave Kumayuru a gentle pat on the head. The party looked a little unsure. Bear blessings might’ve been a bit of a stretch. I’ve consumed my fair share of fantasy from manga, anime, novels, games, and movies, but I’d never come across that concept before.

“Your bear really is quite docile, though,” admitted Rosa. “What was its name?”

“Kumayuru.”

“What a cute name. Can I touch it?”

“Gently.”

Rosa came up to walk beside me and gently stroked Kumayuru. “It’s so soft.”

“Could I touch it too?” the other mage, Ran, asked, so I gave her the okay. “It really is soft. What is this? This coat. So smooth, so fluffy! So nice!”

Ran rubbed her cheek against Kumayuru, smiling.

“Are you sure it’s not dangerous?” Blitz asked, frowning at the two others.

“As long as we don’t hurt it, it won’t do anything to us.”

Disregarding Blitz, the two mages continued to enjoy Kumayuru’s fur as we traveled on. This seemed like an area where the bandits might appear and, sure enough, human signals blipped up from my detection. They were based partway up the mountain.

But there were only two signals. Wasn’t that a bit too few? Or were they guards? Maybe they were even normal people. Hmm…

“What’s wrong?” Rosa caught me brooding about it.

“My bear found people up the mountain, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You think it’s the bandits?!”

I shrugged. “Or normal people. My bear can’t make a call like that.”

“I think bandits are a safe assumption if they’re hanging out in the mountains.”

“It does make sense, I guess.”

“Where are they?”

“Don’t move your heads. Pretend like you don’t know, but…they’re to the right, where you can see the bare rock.”

Everyone turned only their eyes to the mountain.

“I can’t see them.”

“Neither can I.”

“What should we do?”

We moved forward, pretending we hadn’t noticed them. The signals stayed in place.

Slowly, we closed the distance. Could we find them in the forest? Maybe. I mean, it wasn’t like we could ignore them if the opportunity presented itself. But if we messed up, there was a chance they’d get away…if they could somehow outrun Kumayuru in the mountains. If all else failed, I could go after them with my Detection skill, but that sounded so annoying.

“Once we get to that tree, I’ll be able to confirm if they’re bandits. You guys keep walking ahead.”

“Hold on, now.” At that, Rosa paused. “Are you using us as decoys?”

“No, it’s just good strategy. You don’t know exactly where the people are. I do, because bear powers. What if you scare them off and they escape?”

“But they might just run from you, too.”

“Outrun my bear?” I gave Kumayuru a pat. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure you’re fine alone?”

“Always am.” If push came to shove, I had Kumakyu too.

“All right. We can count on you, right? After we walk for a while, we’ll head over too. That’s the one thing we won’t yield on.”

“That’s fine.”

We were closer to the tree now. Closer, closer…and there.

We passed under, and I had Kumayuru turn in the direction of the signals and bolt at them. We dashed between the trees, no terrain too steep to slow us down, and closed on our targets.

“What was that?!” one of them yelled. The two men attempted to immediately draw their swords, but they were too slow. Kumayuru attacked them, sent their swords flying, and held them down.

“You’re bandits, aren’t you?” I asked. They had to be.

“What’re you talking about?”

“Are you really going to play dumb? Well, I guess I only need one of you to question. Kumayuru, eat the tastier of the two.”

Kumayuru opened its mouth wide.

“W-Wait a sec! I-I taste terrible!”

“I taste even worse!”

“Let’s find out who tastes better. Kumayuru, eat each of their arms and then pick your meal.” Kumayuru went along with the act. The bear’s gaping maw dripped drool over the men’s faces.

“No, wait!”

“Please! We’ll talk, so just stop!”

The men surrendered.

“All right, then I’m going to ask you again. If you tell me another lie, I’m going to feed you to the bear. You are the bandits that have been attacking the people who pass by here, aren’t you?”

“Yeah…we are,” one man answered, sounding resigned.

“Then point me to the hideout. Just giving me the general direction will do.”

“If we tell you, will you let us go?”

“Of course not…but that also means I won’t let my bear eat you. And my bear is famished, so you better choose quick.”

Kumayuru’s drool ran down their horrified faces. I made a mental note to never let Fina and the others see Kumayuru like this. They’d have nightmares.

“A-all right. We’ll talk, so just don’t eat us.”