When I heard of Rikkaâs age, I wondered if I should change the way I called her. It was indeed awkward to call someone older than me without honorifics (except for Cliff and Toya), so I decided to call her Rikka-san. Iâm glad I didnât call her Rikka-chan.
After buying some souvenirs, we had a little late lunch. Of course, we were the center of attention when we entered the cafeteria.
[Thank you very much, Rikka-san. I was able to buy something nice for my brother.] Ruimin
Ruimin looks happy, but I wonder if her brother Lucca would really be happy with a bear figurine as a souvenir. However, I donât think a knight figurine would suit an elf boy. Though, what would make an elf child happy?
[Iâm glad youâre happy with it. Where would you like to go next after we finish eating? Iâll take you anywhere you want to go.] Rikka
There are a few Iâd like to visit and I havenât been to all of them yet.
[Iâve heard about the gate of trials in this city, where is it? Iâd like to take a look.] Yuna
[The gate of trials? Could it be, Yuna-chan? Youâre going to participate?] Rikka
[No, Iâm not going to participate.] Yuna
In the first place, there are no weaponsmiths that will ask a bear.
[An adventurer I know is going to be participating, so I was a little curious.] Yuna
Iâm interested, not just a little. It looks like a fascinating event. Iâd love to participate, but since I canât, Iâm going to be there to support Jade-san instead. I donât mind going with Jade-san and the others on the day. But before that, Iâd like to take a peek at the gate of trials site.
[Is that so? Gordo, Ghazal, and dad all praised Yuna-chanâs abilities, but itâs a waste. If dad could make a sword, he would ask Yuna-chan to use it.] Rikka
[Rojina-san isnât making swords anymore, isnât he?] Yuna
[U~n, I donât know. He doesnât seem to be motivated for a while now. But when he saw Gordo and Ghazalâs knives earlier, I saw dadâs serious face for the first time in a long time. Maybe heâll start making one again.] Rikka
It would be nice if that happened. It was worth it for me and Fina to come. Without her, she wouldnât have been able to show him Gordo-sanâs knife. If I hadnât come, I wouldnât have been able to show him Ghazal-sanâs knife.
It was nice to be able to show them the knives they had both made. Both Gordo-san and Ghazal-san might be sad if they find out that their master, Rojina-san, has not made a sword for some time now. Thatâs why Iâm a little troubled about how to report it when I return to the royal capital and Crimonia. Will I tell them the truth or deceive them? But if he is going to make me a weapon, then I wonât have to tell a lie.
After having our lunch, we headed for the test gate event site.
[Itâs going to be a long walk from here, so is everyone still okay?] Rikka
Rikka-san said that the test gate event site is on the outskirts of the city, so itâs quite far.
Well, it doesnât matter how far away it is, I have my bear gear so Iâll be fine, but...
[Iâd like to see it too, so Iâll go with you.] Fina
[Iâll come with you too.] Ruimin
Both of them replied energetically. It seems my worries are unnecessary.
And so, we arrived near the test gate site.
Rikka-san was right, it was in a remote location. Rather than saying it was somewhere around here, it might be more correct to say it was WAY beyond there.
[Whatâs this?] Yuna
In front of me were stairs leading all the way up to the mountain.
[Could it be, itâs up these stairs?] Fina
[Itâs up there?] Ruimin
I look up. Just looking at it seems to hurt my thighs.
[How many steps are there?] Yuna
[I donât know, Iâve never counted it.] Rikka
Itâs more than a thousand steps.* As a recluse, Iâve never climbed or even seen such a long staircase before, so I canât imagine the actual number of steps just by looking at it. But itâs definitely an incredibly long staircase.
Well, there are no stairs I canât climb, no matter how many steps it has, Iâll be fine as long as I have my bear shoes. But thatâs not the case with Fina and the others.
[Well, what about you two? Do you want to stay here and wait for us?] Rikka
[Iâve been running around in the forest for a long time, so I should be fine.] Ruimin
[I donât know if I can climb, but Iâll do my best.] Fina
If no one is around, Iâll summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But thatâs not the case this time. Looking up the stairs, I can see a few people climbing up and down.
[If you get tired, Iâll give you a piggyback ride.] Yuna
Itâs easy enough to carry Fina up the stairs on my back since Iâm using the bear cheat.
[Iâll do my best.] Fina
Fina looked up and slowly walked up the stairs. Ruimin lightly runs up the stairs, skipping a few steps. Rikka-san mumbled in a small voice, and started climbing the stairs.
I followed the three of them up the mountain.
[U~u, Ruimin-san. Youâre too fast.] Fina
Ruimin is waving her hand from way up ahead. As expected of an elf who grew up in the forest. For Ruimin, this kind of stairs is just like running up a mountain.
Fina tried to chase after Ruimin but lost her breath in the process.
Halfway up, I started to climb at my own pace. But now, Iâm matching Finaâs pace.
[Tell me when youâre tired.] Yuna
[Yeah.] Fina
We climbed the stairs with Ruimin in the lead. Rikka-san, Fina, and I followed. About halfway up the stairs, Finaâs foot stops.
[Fina. Letâs take a break.] Yuna
I took out some cold water from the bear box and gave it to Fina. Fina received the glass of water and drank it in one gulp.
[Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina
[Yuna-chan. I need water too.] Rikka
I gave Rikka-san the same cold water.
[Itâs cold and delicious.] Rikka
[Yuna-san, Iâll have some too.] Ruimin
Ruimin, who was supposed to be way up the stairs, was nearby. How nice of you to come all the way back. I canât believe sheâs the same person who was lying in front of my house. Well, thatâs because she hadnât eaten anything for a few days.
I handed Ruimin a glass of water, which she also drank in one gulp.
And after drinking my glass of water, we resumed our ascent.
[Come on, Fina, hang in there. If youâre tired, I can let you ride on my back, you know? Or would you prefer to be carried like a princess?] Yuna
I wish I could summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but thereâs no way I can in this place, so Iâll offer my back or arms instead.
[U~u, Iâm not a little child anymore, Iâll be fine.] Fina
Fina puffed out her cheeks a little and declined the piggyback ride and the princess carry. It wasnât that I think she was a child or anything, it was just that I thought she might be tired.
[Arenât you tired yourself, Yuna-oneesan? When we were at the beach, you collapsed back then.] Fina
[I didnât have the bearâs blessing back then. Now I have the bearâs blessing, so Iâm fine.] Yuna
[Wha, whatâs a bearâs blessing?] Rikka
An out-of-breath Rikka-san asks.
[Itâs a blessing from the bear god and Iâm receiving that power through the bear gear. Well, in reality, Iâm just strengthening my body with magical power.] Yuna
I answer with a mixture of bear blessing and magic enhancement.
The stairs went on and on and I am too weak to climb them without my bear gear. Thatâs why I couldnât take off my bear gear.
While Iâm climbing the stairs while wearing such cheat armor, Fina is climbing with sweat dripping from her forehead.
U~u, I feel so guilty.
[Fina, my back and arms are always free.] Yuna
I showed my back and arms to Fina.
Fina smiled a little and replied, [Itâs okay].
We finally finished climbing the long stairs and looked down. The long stairs continued far down. How did we get up from there? If I didnât have my bear gear, Iâd never want to climb it. But the other three who didnât have the cheat gear made it up on their own.
[Iâm tired, but it feels good.] Fina
Fina, out of breath, is looking at the city below. A panoramic view of the city unfolds. This alone was worth the climb.
[Does everyone who attends the gate of trials event have to climb up here?] Yuna
[Itâs only once a year. Besides, the blacksmiths will be there to keep them company, and itâs the adventurers who will take on the trials, so it should be fine.] Rikka
Well, the adventurers are always carrying weapons with them. Also, they are always walking in the mountains and places with bad footholds. They should be able to climb those stairs easily. The way they train is different from normal people. If it werenât for the bear cheat, I would never have been able to become an adventurer.
After looking at the view below, I looked towards the mountainside. There is a square platform at the top of the stairs, and a building can be seen on the mountainside at the back. Around the building, some people have climbed the stairs, gathered. They looked like adventurers and blacksmiths. I wonder if theyâre here to check out the place like we are.
The adventurers who had come for a preliminary inspection were surprised to see my bear gear, but I ignored them as usual and walked up to the building. The building is white and looks like a temple. In front of the temple-like building, there is a large door that looks like a gate.
[Is this the gate of trials?] Yuna
[No, the gate of trials is within that gate.] Rikka
[Canât we go inside?] Yuna
I pounded on the door with my bear puppet.
[The Guildmaster of the Blacksmithâs Guild will open the door when the gate of trials opens. Until then, no one will be allowed inside.] Rikka
[So, when will they open? They were saying something about it opening soon.] Yuna
Toyaâs test will last until the gate of trials closes. Iâm curious about that too, so I asked her.
[No one knows for sure. We just know that every year, at around this time, the gate of trials will open.] Rikka
[The way you put it, Rikka-san, it sounds like the gate will open by itself.] Yuna
[Yes. The gate of trials opens and closes on its own. Thatâs why we donât know the exact date when the gate opens. It seems that some people tried to force the gate open a long time ago and they had to build a building in front of the gate. Nowadays, no one tries to break down the building to get inside the gate.] Rikka
It looks like some people couldnât wait and tried to break down the gate to get in, but it seems that there are idiots everywhere who cause trouble.
But there is no set date for the opening of the gate of trials. I hope it will open soon.
Authorâs Note:
Finally, weâre at episode 399. The next episode will be 400. It goes by fast, doesnât it?
â»Volume 7 will be released on July 28th. There are some changes to the story in this volume. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.
â»Iâve posted images of the Korean and Taiwanese versions of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear on Twitter. If youâre interested, please take a look. The Bear is expanding overseas.
â»The next post may be an SS post. If there is no post in three days, I might be taking a break and I may be posting it in six days. Thank you for your understanding.
Translatorâs Note:
*Ah, the infamous 7000 steps to High Hrothgar (Which is not really 7000 in the vanilla game, not even 1000). I knew weâre in Tamriel.
âI envy you, you know. To climb the 7,000 Steps again... I made the pilgrimage once, did you know that? High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place. Very... disconnected from the troubles of this world..â
-Jarl Balgruuf the Greater
âMâaiq once walked to High Hrothgar. So many steps, he lost count.â
-Mâaiq the Liar