Chapter 235: The Bear Departs for the Elves’ Village

Chapter 235:
The Bear Departs for the Elves’ Village

 

AFTER LEAVING LALUZ, we—that is, Sanya, Luimin, and I—rode on Kumayuru and Kumakyu toward the elves’ village. Luimin smiled so much more, now that we’d gotten her bracelet back. Until now, I hadn’t realized how forced her smiles had been.

“Just a bit further now,” Luimin said from atop Kumayuru.

“Wow, yeah. I didn’t think we’d arrive this quickly!”

Sanya had said we’d get there sometime today. I could see a huge forest ahead of us, and I guessed the elf village was deep inside those dense woods. The trees were pretty vast, too. I mean, I’d definitely get lost if it wasn’t for my bear map skill. But even if I did get lost, I probably would’ve been fine. I could still get above the trees to check the surroundings.

Those vast, dense surroundings…

 

Finally, Kumayuru and Kumakyu reached the forest entrance. I didn’t see anything that looked like a road. Were we really going to hack our way through the undergrowth?

“There’s a road we can take from here,” said Sanya. She led us to a path wide enough for a single carriage to use.

Kumayuru and Kumakyu walked down the path, side by side. The trees were closely packed together, but enough light shone through for us to see. I was getting excited—an elf village! A real-life elf village! They’d have some cool stuff, and probably some delicious food…

“This really takes me back…” Sanya mused.

“You said it’s been ten years, right?” I asked.

“I don’t quite remember,” Sanya admitted. “Elves don’t really worry about things like that. Still, I didn’t think that much time had passed.”

Maybe a decade was nothing for an elf, but that seemed like a whole lot of time to me.

“It was definitely ten years,” Luimin piped up.

I nodded. “So you’ve said.”

“You’ll understand once you get there,” Luimin declared, whatever that meant.

Kumayuru and Kumakyu bravely waddled on. We came across a small river, but there was a bridge, so my bears didn’t need to use their water walking ability. As we were crossing the bridge, I had an uncomfortable feeling; it was like my entire body was being wrapped in a thin film of magic. I looked all around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

“Do you sense something, perhaps?” asked Sanya.

“I felt some kind of weird magic as we were crossing the bridge.” And it was still there. It was hard to explain. Could magic even leave that kind of film?

“You are very perceptive, Yuna,” said Sanya. “You probably felt us entering the barrier.”

“There’s a barrier…?”

“Normally, people can’t tell when they enter the barrier. Only those who created it are able to sense it, in most cases.”

“Um, I didn’t notice it at all.” For some reason, Luimin hadn’t felt it. But wasn’t she an elf? “Why can you sense it, Yuna?”

I thought it over. It was probably my bear gear, right? I wouldn’t be able to sense it without the stuff, surely.

“It looks like the barrier is working properly,” said Sanya.

“But occasionally, monsters still get into the village. According to Grandfather, the barrier has been weakening,” said Luimin.

“I don’t understand it…but if Grandfather says so, I suppose it must be true.”

“Your grandfather is the head of the village?” I asked.

“Yes. He’s a kind person. He’ll welcome you with open arms.”

Kumayuru and Kumakyu continued down the road after we entered the barrier. The road stayed wide enough for only a single carriage. How long did we have to go, anyway? I thought we’d gone pretty far after crossing the river, but we still weren’t there. We’d probably get there lickety-split if Kumayuru and Kumakyu ran, but Sanya told us not to frighten the woodland creatures.

We meandered on.

I used my bear detection skill to check how far away the elves’ village was. If it was nearby, I’d be able to detect people, but…wait, what? My detection showed four people surrounding us—two on our left and two on our right. They even moved when we did. Were they tailing us?

I looked where my magic had detected them, but no dice; they were probably hiding. They must’ve been elves, but why were they keeping tabs on us? I would understand that if it was just me, but Sanya and Luimin were here too. Why would they need to shadow us still? I didn’t mind, as long as they kept their distance and didn’t attack us. They probably had a reason for it, but it was still unsettling, nonetheless.

One of them moved to our rear—another moved to our front right. They had our sides, our front, and our back covered. We were surrounded.

“Sanya,” I said.

“What is it?”

“There are elves surrounding us. Is that because of me?”

Both Sanya’s and Luimin’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“You noticed?!” Sanya exclaimed. She seemed to know already, but…

“W-wait, really?!” Luimin must’ve missed the memo. She was looking around, trying to search for them.

“You really are amazing, Yuna,” Sanya said. “People normally don’t notice them. I guess they still need to up their tailing game.”

Obviously, I couldn’t tell her I knew because of my detection skill—no way I would’ve noticed them otherwise.

“Even I only notice them if I really concentrate,” said Sanya.

“Are we going to be okay?” I asked.

“It’s fine,” said Sanya. “We’re with you.”

“But do we really need four entire people following us?” I asked.

“You even know how many there are?!”

Oops. I’d let slip how many people I’d sensed with my skill. Sanya had thought I’d only realized we were being followed, and now I’d surprised her even more. Eh, live and learn.

“Since you know how many of them there are, do you know where they are?” Sanya asked.

I guess it’d be okay to answer her. I’d already revealed that I knew their numbers, so there wasn’t a point in lying.

“There are two to the left and right, one behind us, and one to our front right.”

Luimin looked to her left and right, behind her, and to our front right, but she couldn’t seem to find them. “Are you serious, Yuna?! I had no idea.”

Well, I myself wouldn’t have known without my bear gear.

“They’re probably here because of Kumayuru and Kumakyu,” said Sanya. “I expect they’re surprised to see us riding on bears.”

“They’re not going to suddenly attack, right?” I asked.

“It’s fine, Yuna. You’re such a worrywart!” Sanya looked out into the forest, took a deep breath, and… “LABILATAAAAA!” she shouted, straight into the trees.

After a short time, a tree to the side of us shook and leaves fluttered down. A male elf was standing on top of a branch.

“You noticed me?” the man called out. He was a really good-looking elf. I’d figured the elves would all be beautiful men and women—looks like I was right. Sanya was beautiful, Luimin was charming, and now we had this fine specimen of a hunky elven man standing in the tree.

“Labilata!” said Sanya, “it’s been a long time!”

“True. I’m impressed you knew it was me!”

“Monitoring this forest is your job, isn’t it?”

“I guess so. My turn for questions. Why are you all riding bears?” The elf called Labilata looked at Kumayuru and Kumakyu.

Sanya laughed. “Aren’t they cute? If you’re worried about them, I’ll have you know, they’re not dangerous at all.”

Labilata looked over to me. “What about that bear?”

Sanya smiled wryly. “Does she look dangerous to you?”

“I suppose not.”

“In that case, would you mind calling off your trackers?”

Labilata thought for a bit. “Understood. We’ll return to the village ahead of you and let them know you’re coming.”

“Tell the other three as well.”

Labilata paled at that. “You noticed them too, Sanya?!”

“There are two to either side of us and one behind us,” Sanya said, beaming as she relayed what I’d told her. Labilata was even more surprised, but Sanya told him what was up right away. “To be fair, it was that bear girl who noticed them. Yuna’s her name. She feels pretty unsettled by all this tailing, so she’d politely like you to stop.” Sanya looked over at me.

“Hold on...” That was all I could get out. I’d said that we were being followed, but I hadn’t mentioned anything about being uncomfortable; I’d just been worried about being attacked.

“The bear noticed us?” Labilata looked at me inquiringly.

“Yuna may look cute in that outfit, but I wouldn’t pick a fight with her if I were you,” Sanya warned him.

“I wouldn’t do such a thing,” said Labilata. “I’ll have the three others withdraw as well. That’s what you wanted, right?”

“If you could.” Sanya gave Kumayuru a pat. “We’ll be going in on these cubs, so tell them not to be surprised.”

“Understood,” said Labilata. With that, he disappeared into the forest. My detection skill sensed that he was leaving. I heard a faint sound, kind of like a flute, and the three elves tailing us began to move away too. Looked like they were keeping their promise.

Sanya nodded. “Shall we get a move on too?”

“Who were those people, Sanya?”

“The guards of the elven forest.”

“If they were the guards, why were they following us? They know who you are. Did they really have to go out of their way to tail us?”

“Well, the people who come here are mostly merchants and travelers. They must have been surprised when Kumayuru and Kumakyu arrived, especially after they saw the way you’re dressed. They know we’re not dangerous after that conversation, so I think we’ll be okay now.”

Huh. I guess things were fine now…?

We continued onward, riding Kumayuru and Kumakyu till we came out of the forest. Verdant fields spread out before us with houses nestled in the greenery—we’d finally arrived at the elves’ village.