439 Bear-san, Listens To Shinobuâs Story
We thanked them for the meal and headed back to town. When we left the village, a lot of people saw us off.
[Swaying Bear was very popular.] Shinobu
The children would quietly gather around Swaying Bear.
The meat was delicious, as one would expect from high-grade meat.
I rode Swaying Bear back to town. Shinobu, riding Hayatemaru, runs beside me.
[Yuna, I need to talk to you about something when we get back.] Shinobu
[Talk about what?] Yuna
[I want you to hear my story.] Shinobu
[Could it possibly have something to do with this request?] Yuna
[Well, thatâs a part of it.] Shinobu
She tried to deceive me earlier, so what does she mean by that?
Or was it something she couldnât talk about back there?
[I donât want any trouble.] Yuna
Iâm here as a tourist. I donât want to be bothered.
[U~u, donât say that.] Shinobu
[That means itâs troublesome, isnât it?] Yuna
[...Itâs troublesome.] Shinobu
Shinobu answered honestly.
[If thatâs the case, I donât want to hear it.] Yuna
[Donât say that, please listen to me! Iâm begging you.] Shinobu
[Iâll only listen to you if you tell me everything without hiding anything from me.] Yuna
I want to know why Shinobu is following me around.
I donât understand why Shinobu accepted the request. She said something like it was meaningless unless she was with me. I canât quite figure out the true meaning of Shinobuâs actions and words.
Itâs not like Iâm going to let it bother me.
If itâs too much pain to listen, Iâll just pretend I didnât hear it.
[All right. Iâll tell you when we get back to town.] Shinobu
=====
When Shinobu and I got back to the town, we went to the Adventurerâs Guild to report our success.
[Weâre back.] Shinobu
Shinobu walks into the Adventurerâs Guild as if she were back home. The fact that Shinobu shouted out like that as she entered drew a lot of attention.
But Shinobu didnât seem to mind and casually went to the reception desk.
[Weâve finished the request.] Shinobu
Shinobu took out the request form and her guild card, so I took out my guild card as well.
The receptionist checks the request form.
The request form is signed by Itsuki-san, certifying that the request has been fulfilled.
[Thank you for your hard work. So, what do you want to do about the Kamaitachi? Do you want to sell them?] Receptionist
[Yes, please. My clothes got torn because of the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu
Shinobu showed the receptionist where the torn part was.
[Ara, thatâs unusual, Shinobu.] Receptionist
[Thatâs because of the silver kamaitachi. There are three of them.] Shinobu
[Is that so? Well then, where is it, Shinobu-san?] Receptionist
[I have one. And Yuna has two.] Shinobu
[When you say Yuna, you mean.......] Receptionist
The receptionist looked at me.
[Is that true?] Receptionist
Sheâs looking at me in disbelief.
[Itâs true. Yuna defeated most of the Kamaitachi by herself.] Shinobu
Well, actually, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are the ones who defeated it.
[What about your Kamaitachi, Yuna?] Receptionist
I donât know what to do. Should I sell it?
Or should I ask Fina to dismantle it?
She doesnât have that much dismantle work, but I bought her a mithril knife, so itâs decided.
Iâm going to ask Fina to do it. If she canât do it, I can ask Gentz-san.
[No, Iâm good.] Yuna
[It may turn bad.] Receptionist
[My item bag is special, so itâll be fine.] Yuna
Then I crunch the bear puppet.
=====
[Then Iâll hand over the reward, please split it between yourselves.] Receptionist
The receptionist puts the money on the table. Then Shinobu grabs about ten percent of the money.
[My share would be about this.] Shinobu
[Half is fine.] Yuna
[I canât do that. I only defeated a few of them. Thatâs why the rest is Yunaâs share.] Shinobu
[Are you sure?] Yuna
Certainly so, based on the number weâve defeated, but Shinobu has given me information about the Kamaitachi. That information is well worth the money.
[Itâs a fair share. You donât need to worry about it. Instead, Iâll ask Yuna to hear me out.] Shinobu
[Are you perhaps trying to give me some money so I canât refuse?] Yuna
They say .
[Donât think that Iâm naive.] Yuna
After much deliberation, I decided to accept it. If it comes down to it, Iâll just refuse.
[Iâll take that as a yes then, thank you.] Shinobu
I put the money away in the bear box.
Now that I had my guild card back and had finished reporting my request, all I had to do was return to the inn and relax.
But first, I need to hear what Shinobu has to say.
[So, where do you want to talk?] Yuna
[I donât want anyone to hear us, so can we go back to the inn?] Shinobu
[Okay, then...] Yuna
Iâll listen to Shinobuâs story in my room at the inn.
So we returned to the inn.
=====
[Yuna-sama, Shinobu-sama, welcome back.] Konoha
Konoha welcomes us.
[Iâm back. Iâd like to have dinner when itâs ready.] Yuna
[Iâm also staying here, so Iâll need a room.] Shinobu
[Yes, thank you.] Konoha
After completing the accommodation formalities, Shinobu went to the room where I was staying.
[Itâs a nice room.] Shinobu
Shinobu scurried around the room.
I sat down on a cushion in my room.
[So, whatâs the story?] Yuna
Shinobu also sat on the opposite side of the table on a cushion.
[Iâm actually looking for this guy.] Shinobu
Shinobu pulled out something from her chest. It was a sheet of paper, folded in four, and when she unfolded it, I saw a sketch of a man with a bad physiognomy.
He had bad eyesight and his left eye was covered with an eye patch.
It looks like a wanted poster.
[Who is this picture of a bad guy with a bad attitude?] Yuna
Heâs definitely not the type of person you want to have anything to do with.
[Heâs the man who killed my parents.] Shinobu
[......]
A silence flows.
A sudden heavy word came out of her mouth.
I began to regret having asked. When I read manga and novels, I find that revenge stories rarely have a happy ending. Most of them make me sad as well.
[Are you going to ask Swaying Bear to find him? If so, then I canât do it.] Yuna
What Swaying Bear can do is the same as the detection skill. It also seems to be able to find out about people that I know like Fina and the others. So, I canât search for someone Iâve never met before.
[No, Iâm not. Although, it would be helpful if you could, of course. I think heâs in town.] Shinobu
This town is huge. Itâs not easy to find a single person in here.
[What then?] Yunan/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Yuna, youâre stronger than me, arenât you?] Shinobu
[Shinobu might be stronger.] Yuna
[Thatâs not true. Yuna is stronger than me.] Shinobu
Did you follow me to see how strong I am?
But when you first meet me, you donât think Iâm strong, do you? Everyone thought Iâm just a girl in a strange outfit after all.
I feel like the order of what sheâs saying and what sheâs doing is not quite right.
[So you want me to beat up this guy?] Yuna
[Iâm simply asking you just in case.] Shinobu
[Just in case?] Yuna
I thought she was going to ask me to help her avenge her parents, but thatâs not it.
[Iâll get this man. So, I want you to watch over me in case I fail. Of course, Iâm not asking you for free. Iâll pay you.] Shinobu
Shinobu said and pulled out a drawstring bag from the item bag. When she opened the bag, I saw some money in it.
Itâs a fair amount of money. You can probably buy a small house with it.
[This is all of my money. If I die, I want you to catch that man.] Shinobu
She looks at me with a serious expression.
[Thereâs no point in having money when youâre dead. Thatâs why Iâm giving it to Yuna. Oh, but if I succeed, Iâll take my money back.] Shinobu
Shinobu said such words with a smile on her face.
[I may run away with money, you know.] Yuna
[Iâve been watching Yuna for the past two days. I knew you wouldnât do something like that, thatâs why I asked you. Moreover, Yuna approached Itsuki-san, who was in trouble.] Shinobu
I just wanted to see Kamaitachi at that time.
[When the cows got attacked, you reacted faster than anyone else.] Shinobu
Weâre there to defeat them, so itâs only natural that Iâll move at a momentâs notice.
[The villagers were in trouble, so you went into the dangerous forest to kill the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu
I simply didnât want to spend too much time hunting it.
[You didnât brag or negotiate for a higher fee even though you defeated the Silver Kamaitachi.] Shinobu
That was Shinobuâs way of saying negotiation, or something like that.
[Moreover, you refused the additional request fee because you were treated to a meal.] Shinobu
I just refused that because Swaying Bear ate a lot of meat.
[Is that why you refuse the payment this time?] Yuna
[Thatâs a fair share.] Shinobu
[But why me? Arenât there other strong adventurers out there? Isnât it strange that you would ask me, a person you just met, to help you?] Yuna
If you think about it, no one would normally ask someone like me whoâs wearing a bear costume.
[Itâs a womanâs intuition. When I first saw you, I was so curious that I couldnât take my eyes off you.] Shinobu
Maybe you couldnât just take your eyes off me because you were curious about my outfit.
[So, when I saw how good you are, I decided to ask for your help.] Shinobu
Hmmm, I donât think sheâs lying, but I feel like sheâs hiding her true intentions.
[Is that man that strong?] Yuna
Shinobu is a rank C adventurer. She was trusted by the Adventurerâs Guild. Her rank is not just a name. She had also defeated the silver Kamaitachi that I had struggled with.
[Heâs strong. It will probably be a close fight. I donât intend to lose, but I canât say that I can definitely win. Thatâs why I want to ask you, Yuna, to back me up.] Shinobu
Shinobu bowed her head.
I donât think I should have listened to it, but itâs a subtle story.
[Youâre not trying to defeat him, but to simply capture him.] Yuna
[He has various criminal records.] Shinobu
[Then why donât you go to a certain place and ask them to get him?] Yuna
[Thereâs no evidence. So Iâm going to catch him and make him talk.] Shinobu
That makes it quite difficult. The stronger the opponent, the harder it is to catch them. The closer the power difference is, the harder it will be. The slightest mistake can kill you.
So thatâs what Shinobu means when she asked me .
All I could do was sigh.
After all, Shinobu and I have already been on the same page, taking requests together, fighting Kamaitachi together, and eating the same food together.
I can only imagine how bad I would feel if Shinobu died without my knowledge because of my refusal.
I let out a deep sigh.
[All right, all right. Iâll do it. But thereâs one condition.] Yuna
[What is it? Are you asking for my body? If itâs you, Yuna, then...] Shinobu
Shinobu tried to take off her clothes starting from her shoulders.
[No! I donât want that!] Yuna
[Oh, thatâs terrible. To say such a thing to my body.] Shinobu
Shinobu squirmed and mimicked crying.
Youâre saying you might die, but you can still fool around like that, I see.
[If I think Shinobu is in danger, Iâll take action.] Yuna
[Does that mean youâre going to get in the way of taking out my enemy?] Shinobu
[No, Iâm not. Itâs synonymous that when Shinobu loses, youâre as good as dead. So before that happens, Iâll do something about it. I wonât keep my promise if you die, Shinobu.] Yuna
This is the only thing I canât compromise.
If someone I know were to die or get seriously injured in front of me, I would have severe PTSD.
[I canât say no if you look at me that seriously. Iâll leave that to your judgment.] Shinobu
I decided to accept Shinobuâs request.
=====
Authorâs Note:
I still donât know what Shinobuâs true intentions are, but Iâm going to help her catch the guy.
Volume 8 of Kuma will be released tomorrow, December 22. I signed it the other day, so if any readers are interested in it, please do so. If you click on the cover of volume 8 below, you will be taken to the publisherâs special offers page.
And then, volume 9 will also be released.
The release date is scheduled for March, three months after the release of volume 8. Please note that the web version will be closed at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year for this reason.
Also, we are looking for SS and new writings in the activity report.
The comicalization is also progressing well. But Iâm sorry I canât say anything more about it.
#