Bear-san Meets Up Jubei-san
After relaxing in the garden with tea, we went to see other places.
âYuna, can I have a moment? My master wants to meet you.â (Shinobu)
âJubei-san?â (Yuna)
Jubei-san was the name of Shinobuâs master.
I fought him when I first arrived in this country.
I got a little angry at the time and got serious.
âI donât mind. What about Noa and the others?â (Yuna)
âIf you donât mind, Iâll go with you.â (Noa)
âYes, I donât mind as well.â (Misa)
âMe too.â (Fina)
âMe too!â (Shuri)
After I confirmed with everyone, they agreed to follow me.
âSo, who is this Jubei-san?â (Noa)
âShinobu-san said he was her master?â (Misa)
âHeâs the master who taught me how to fight.â (Shinobu)
âEh, Shinobu-san? Can you fight?â (Noa)
Noa and the others were surprised.
âYes, I can, but Iâm not as strong as Yunaâ¦â (Shinobu)
âNo, Shinobu is strong.â (Yuna)
âYouâre so flattering. I know Iâm weak.â (Shinobu)
Although Shinobu claimed otherwise, I still think sheâs a strong fighter.
My strength was only thanks to my bear equipment.
If I were not wearing my bear outfit, Iâd be too weak to even beat Fina.
We headed to Jubei-sanâs place while listening to Shinobuâs story.
â¦
After some time, we arrived at a place that looked like a training ground.
âSo thereâs a place like this in here as well.â (Noa)
âThis is where the soldiers train.â (Shinobu)
âBut thereâs no one here.â (Noa)
âThereâs no one here at this time of day.â (Shinobu)
âAh, but there is one person here.â (Yuna)
Misa and everyone looked in the direction I was looking and saw Jubei-san, a man with a samurai-like appearance.
âMaster!â (Shinobu)
ââ¦You have arrived.â (Jubei)
Jubei-san walked over to me.
âJubei-san, I heard you called me.â (Yuna)
âSorry. Iâd like to ask Yuna something.â (Jubei)
âWhat would you like to ask me?â (Yuna)
âCould you spar with Shinobu?â (Jubei)
ââWhat! Fight with Yuna (Shinobu)?ââ
My voice and Shinobuâs voice cried out in unison.
âWhy is Shinobu surprised?â (Jubei)
âMaster, you never told me about this arrangement before. What do you want by making me do this? Why ask me to spar with Yuna out of nowhere.â (Shinobu)
âItâs because youâre probably blaming yourself again for not being able to do anything in the last battle you were involved with Yuna.â (Jubei)
âYeah, but I donât understand why I suddenly have to fight Yuna.â (Shinobu)
âI want you to see for yourself what you are trying to reach and overcome.â (Jubei)
âShinobu, are you aiming to be like me?â (Yuna)
âJubei-Sama!â
Shinobu shouted in embarrassment.
I was also a little embarrassed by the compliment.
âIâm not aiming to be like you, I just wanted to be as strong as Yuna.â (Shinobu)
âBut Shinobu is strong too.â (Yuna)
âAre you being sarcastic?â (Shinobu)
I didnât mean to be sarcastic.
I honestly think Shinobu was strong.
âShinobu-san, have you never fought Yuna before?â (Noa)
âNo, I havenât. I watched my master fight her though.â (Shinobu)
âWhat you learn from watching is different from what you learn from fighting. If you want to become strong, you should fight Yuna at least once.â (Jubei)
What Juubei-san said was right.
Even in games, you learn by watching the movements of other players. Of course, just watching didnât make you stronger. There were some things you wouldnât understand until you actually experienced them. If you could become stronger just by watching, no one would have any trouble.
âYuna-san, are you fine with having a match with Shinobu-san?â (Juubei)
âI didnât want to accept it, butâ¦â (Yuna)
I knew that Juubei-san was doing this for Shinobuâs sake.
Shinobu looked at me.
âIf itâs not a bother to Yuna, Iâd also like to ask you to spar with me.â (Shinobu)
Shinobuâs expression was serious as well.
It was not an atmosphere where I could refuse.
ââ¦Okay. But what format should the match be?â (Yuna)
âIs there any weapon or fighting style that Yuna is bad at?â (Shinobu)
I thought about Juubei-sanâs words for a moment.
In the game, I was a magic swordsman. I couldnât think of any fighting style that I was bad at. Conversely, there was no specific fighting style that I was excellent at as well. I was pretty balanced or rather a little too balanced. Thatâs why I could fight with a sword, knife, hand-to-hand combat, and magic.
I was like a jack of all trades, master of none.
âBasically none.â (Yuna)
âWell, if you can say that, Yuna is a monster.â (Shinobu)
To call me a Monster, how terrible.
âShinobu-san, Yuna-san is not a monster. Sheâs a Bear-san.â (Noa)
Noa said aloud what I was thinking to retort with.
âSorry. I didnât mean that Yuna is a real monster. I meant it as Yuna being remarkable because she can say that she has no weaknesses.â (Shinobu)
âIf thatâs the case, then I do agreeâ¦â (Noa)
Noa agreed.
No, I donât agree with that.
âFor now, no magic. Letâs fight with short swords.â (Jubei)
Juubei-san decided the content of the match. I have no problem with it, so I agreed.
Shinobu and I picked up some short swords.
It was dangerous to use real swords, so we used wooden swords.
Well, even if they were wooden swords, they could still injure you if you got hit in the wrong place, but they were still much safer than a real weapon.
âDoes Yuna use two weapons as well?â (Shinobu)
Shinobu also had two short swords.
âOne is fine, but if Shinobu uses two, then so will I.â (Yuna)
âYuna really can do anything.â (Shinobu)
âItâs not that I can do anything, Iâm just a jack of all trades, master of none.â (Yuna)
I didnât have a weapon that I specialized in.
I tried my hand at everything.
You see, I mostly played games solo (though I sometimes formed parties), and there were weapons that made some quests easy to clear.
My character in the game was mainly a magic swordsman, but Iâve also used knives and other kinds of weaponry as well.
âItâs incredible that you are not just a jack of all trades, master of none. But you can use two weapons as well.â (Shinobu)
âUm, is it that difficult to use two weapons?â (Noa)
Noa asked.
âThatâs right. The easiest way to understand this is to imagine that there are various soups on a table. Then, hold a spoon in each hand and instantly try to drink the soup that you are instructed to eat. Normally, even if that specific soup was far away, you would use the spoon in your dominant hand to reach for it.â (Shinobu)
Noa and the others made the gesture of holding the spoon as Shinobu said.
âUh, itâs certainly difficult.â (Noa)
âItâs not that itâs difficult to do, but it would be awkward if you are not used to it and would still tend to use your dominant hand.â (Shinobu)
âThatâs what it means to hold a weapon in both hands. What to do with the weapon in your right hand, what to do with the weapon in your left hand. You had to fight while always thinking about it.â (Jubei)
âIt really is difficult to use two weapons at the same time, huh.â (Noa)
âBut on the flip side, your opponent will also dislike you. It will be like fighting two people.â (Shinobu)
After Shinobuâs brief explanation, along with some additions from Jubei, Shinobu and I took some distance and faced each other with wooden short swords.
âIâm going to fight with the intention to learn from you.â (Shinobu)
âMe as well.â (Yuna)
Shinobu took a breath and stepped forward.
Quick.
Just when I thought sheâd stepped forward, she was already within my reach.
Shinobu closed the distance in one go and waved her the short sword in her right hand. I took a step back to dodge. Then Shinobu took another step forward, and the short sword she was holding in her left hand came at me. I deflected it with my short sword in my right hand. Shinobu used the momentum of her step to pass me by.
Two strikes in a split-second, it was a quick exchange of offense and defense.
With a normal opponent, that would have been the end.
I turned my eyes to where Shinobu had run past, and without a momentâs hesitation, she launched an attack.
This time it was a combo.
The short swords she held in both hands came flying at me, right and left.
Shinobu moved left and right to make it harder for me to block, but I blocked all of her attacks with my short sword.
Gradually, Shinobuâs face started to look impatient.
I deflected Shinobuâs short sword a little more forcefully.
Shinobuâs right hand was knocked back.
With her right arm knocked away, it left her body defenseless. With that opening, I attacked with the short sword I was holding in my right hand.
Shinobu blocked the short sword in my right hand with the short sword in her left hand.
But that was not the end.
I quickly returned my left hand that first deflected Shinobuâs short sword and delivered a follow-up attack with it.
Shinobu pulled her body back with force, causing my short sword to cut through the air. Shinobu then jumped back lightly to put some distance between us.
âYuna, youâre really strong.â (Shinobu)
âShinobu is more than strong enough I would say.â (Yuna)
âYou blocked all my attacks with such easeâ¦â (Shinobu)
âShould I have gone easy on you?â (Yuna)
âIf you do that, Iâll get angry.â (Shinobu)
Shinobu said and prepared for the next clash.
Then the match between me and Shinobu continued.
âI canât move anymore.â (Shinobu)
Shinobu fell to the ground.
For the final clash, I grabbed Shinobuâs outstretched arm, twisted her body, and threw her away.
âShinobu, do you now understand just how strong Yuna is?â (Jubei)
Juubei-san asked Shinobu.
âYuna is better at everything, both in movement and prediction. Above all, her stamina is different. How can she move like that even though sheâs dressed like a bear, which just by looking at her made me imagine how difficult it is to move in that outfit?â (Shinobu)@@novelbin@@
âThatâs right. First, itâs not that Yuna just had a lot of stamina. She only moves to the bare minimum.â (Jubei)
Shinobu often moved left and right to create openings for me. I was mostly blocking attacks, so I didnât move much.
âIâm losing confidence. How much experience did Yuna have to become this strong?â (Shinobu)
âI want to know too. I think Yunaâs movements are the result of many battles. She has probably fought numerous opponents.â (Jubei)
âIs it that obvious?â (Yuna)
âI can tell by the experience of fighting her and watching her fight with Shinobu.â (Jubei)
I wondered if one would really be able to understand someone elseâs experience if they reached the level of mastery that Juubei-san had reached?
âIâve indeed fought many people just like Juubei-san said. Iâve fought with people using normal swords, great swords, spears, knives, dual swords, axes, hammers, and other blunt weapons, and Iâve also fought people who use magic.â (Yuna)
But it was only in a game after all.
However, that experience was useful in this world.
Well, even with that experience, what I have learned and accumulated would have been useless without my bear equipment.
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