When I blew away the snow that piled up in front of the cave, we were met with beautiful weather.
The weather was so beautiful, it was as if the snowstorm was just a dream.
It was to the point that it was almost too bright for an ex-hikikomori like me.
I asked the two of them to leave the cave before I put away the Bear House.
When I left the cave, the two were having problems walking on the fresh snow.
ãYuna-chan, what will you do about your house?ã
Since we had grown closer during yesterdayâs meal, they were now using ãchanã instead of ãsanã.
It was more comfortable for me this way.
ãI made it with magic, so I can put it away with magic as well.ã
ãYuna-chan, you are really a strong adventurer, arenât you?ã
ãI am just a normal, rank D adventurer, you know.ã
It was a really dubious phrase, if I had to say so myself.
If there were any other adventurers wearing a Bear suit, going through the snowy mountain alone, and even bringing out a house, I would really want to meet them.
ãThen, as I explained yesterday, I will bring out my summoned beasts, so donât be surprised, okay?ã
During the meal yesterday, I told them that I could summon Bears and showed them their cub forms.
Today though, their sizes would be different from yesterday.
ãSo big...ã
ãDamon-san, Ranya-san, please ride Swaying Bear, who I introduced to you yesterday.ã
ãIs this really the same bear you showed us yesterday?ã
Damon-san approached Swaying Bear timidly.
ãIs it really okay?ã
ãIf you donât do anything bad or badmouth him, it will be okay.ã
ãBadmouth...the human language...?ã
ãHe understands it. Swaying Bear, squat to let them on.ã
Hearing that, Swaying Bear lowered his body.
Seeing that, Damon-san was at a loss for words.
ãThis is...Swaying Bear...I am counting on you!ã
Damon-san said so and climbed onto Swaying Bear.
Swaying Bear turned his head to Damon-san and nodded.
ãAmazing, he really understands human speech.ã
ãRanya-san too, get on. We will depart soon.ã
Ranya-san nodded and positioned herself behind her husband. When the two of them were on, Swaying Bear rose slowly.
Carrying two adults was probably the limit for Swaying Bear.
ãYou shouldnât be able to fall, but hold on tight.ã
I hopped on Hugging Bear and we embarked towards the city.
We started off slowly at first, at walking speed, but as they got used to it, we gradually raised the speed.
We were on the snowy mountain so we couldnât move as fast as we could on the flatlands, but it was still faster than a humanâs walking speed.
ãThe weather on the mountain can change quickly, so we will go a little faster, okay?ã
We raised the speed some more and ascended the mountain range.
The Snow Darumas that appeared during this period were easily killed with fire magic.
I thought that the two of them would be okay with Swaying Bear there, but it would be troublesome if they got attacked.
ãThis is simply...ã
ãAmazing!ã
It seemed that before meeting me, the two of them always hid or changed routes when encountering monsters.
Well, a Snow Daruma couldnât be killed by normal attacks, so defeating it was impossible for normal people.
After moving for a while, we arrived at the other side of the mountain.
We could see the blue sea spreading out in the distance.
Oh, itâs the sea that I saw in my dreams.
If I descend this snowy mountain, the sea is waiting for me.
The Kraken was waiting there too, though.
If the Kraken hadnât been there, it would have been the best...
Even though we could see the sea from here, it didnât mean that it was close.
We could see it, but how far was it?
It should be around the same distance as going down from the top of Mount Fuji, I think?
Of course, a hikikomori like me had never gone to the top of Mount Fuji. Even if I tried, I didnât think I would be able to reach the top with the strength of a hikikomori.
The bears descended the mountain.
The two who were on Swaying Bear were somewhat noisy since a while ago.
They were saying something like âStop!â or âToo fast!â or âWe will die!â.
Well, we were going down the mountain, so there was nothing we could do about it.
Was this how it felt to ride the roller coaster I saw on TV? I couldnât really tell, because I never rode one.
Some hours passed and we arrived at the base of the mountain.
ãAre the two of you alright?ã
ãYes, somehow.ã
ãI...Iâm fine.ã
The two stopped screaming midway and did their best to hold on to Swaying Bear.
ãStill, thinking about how much time it took us to climb this mountain, it makes me sad.ã
After descending the mountain, around halfway to the city, we climbed down from the bears and started walking.
The reason was that I didnât want to cause an uproar.
At dusk, we finally arrived at the city.
ãWe really returned in just one day.ã
The two were muttering something like âWhat was the point of our hardships...â
As we arrived near the town, we felt a salty breeze blowing.
We could feel that we were coming closer to the sea. I say this, but even in Japan, I never went to the sea.
Still, I went there in the game.
It was a sea packed with monsters, though...
As we approached the city, we saw the city guards standing by the gates.
ãDamon, you are back!ã
ãYeah, this missy saved us from near death.ã
The city guard turned to look at me.
ãHuh? A bear?ã
ãI am the adventurer Yuna.ã
I brought out my guild card.
ãRank D...ã
He seemed surprised that a little girl like me was already a rank D adventurer.
I probably seemed to be rank E at best.
ãDamon, finally. Did you manage to reach Crimonia?ã
Damon-san shook his head.
ãWe ran out of strength midway.ã
ãI see. Still, itâs great that you two were saved. Bear missy, thank you.ã
ãI found them on my way here, so donât worry about it.ã
ãI see. I believe you have heard about the cityâs current situation from Damon, but I welcome you nonetheless.ã
He said, before letting us enter the city.
ãWhat are you planning on doing now, Yuna-chan?ã
ãItâs already late today, so in order to be in shape tomorrow, I will just go to sleep. I would be saved if you introduce me to an inn.ã
ãAn inn, huh. It is possible that you wonât be able to get a meal, you know.ã
ãItâs okay. I have my own food after all.ã
ãBut, Yuna-chan, you donât have to go to an inn, you can just come to our house.ã
ãHmm... I will pass. You didnât see your family in a long time, right? You donât have to mind me.ã
ãBut you gave us so much food.ã
Yesterday, I gave them an item bag packed with 3 wolves, wheat flour and vegetables.
The two of them went to buy things from Crimonia without an item bag...
Surely they decided to go together because they didnât have one.
Still, saying that they would climb the mountain while carrying food, I could only think of them as reckless.
That proved the extent to which they had their backs against a wall.
ãIf you want to thank me, you can just guide me through the city.ã
ãThank you. If you have something you want to see, just tell us. We will show you around tomorrow.ã
Even after walking around a little, I noticed no liveliness.
There was next to zero pedestrian traffic.
Even in the big plaza, there was almost nobody to be seen.
Well, it was good for me, because it reduced the number of gazes on me.
ãNormally, there are a lot of stalls around here.ã
Ranya-san said, looking sad.
ãBecause of the Kraken, we canât fish anymore.ã
ãAnd the Commerce Guild is monopolizing the spots by the shore, right?ã
ãYeah. Even in these circumstances, they are just thinking about making money.ã
Well, my image of the Commerce Guild was something like that, though.
They would say something like âAre we making any profit?â, while rubbing their hands.
ãDamon!ã
A voice called to Damon from behind us.
When we looked back, a man around Damon-sanâs age was approaching us.
ãJuremo...ã
ãWhen did you return?ã
ãJust now.ã
ãI see. I was really shocked when I heard that you would climb the mountain to go to Crimonia.ã
ãWe had nearly no food left after all.ã
ãI apologize for that.ã
The man apologized when he heard Damon-sanâs words.
ãItâs not your fault, Juremo. Yuna, this is Juremo, who is working at the Commerce Guild.ã
ãThe corrupted one?ã
ãHe is on the good side.ã
ãThe good side, thatâs not a good way to put it, isnât it?ã
ãEven so, you are better than your comrades.ã
ãMaybe, but you didnât introduce this girl in strange clothing yet.ã
ãShe is the adventurer Yuna. She is our saviour. She saved us on the snowy mountain when we collapsed.ã
ãYou had such a difficult time. Thank you for saving Damon.ã
He thanked me.
ãSo, did you procure food?ã
ãYuna shared the food she had on her.ã
ãI see. An adventurer just arrived to kill the bandits, so you will be able go through the coastal road with him, somehow.ã
ãThatâs impossible. In the end, he will flee.ã
ãHe is a rank C adventurer, so he wonât do something like fleeing.ã
ãIf he is a rank C, then....ã
ãThe only problem would be if he accepted a request from someone who wants to leave the town.ã
Were rank C adventurers strong?
Even if he couldnât kill the Kraken, it would be nice if he defeated the bandits.
A bit later, we arrived at a crossroad and parted ways with Juremo.
ãYuna-chan, here is the inn.ã
Unexpectedly, there was a big inn.
ãItâs because there were a lot of people who came here from other cities by boat to buy fish. There are no people coming now, so I am sure that there will be open rooms.ã
ãThanks. Then, I count on you tomorrow.ã
I parted with the two of them and entered the inn.
After entering, I saw a tanned macho sitting at the counter.
As I stepped inside, I locked eyes with the macho.
ãMuscle?ã
ãBear?ã
The two of us uttered the characteristic of the other.
ãI want to stay here.ã
ãOh, sorry. I didnât think a client would come, so...How many people?ã
ãI am alone, though.ã
ãBear missy, you canât say such lies. You couldnât have come all the way here alone. There is a Kraken in the sea and bandits on the coastal road. The fact that there is no way to come to this city alone safely, is something well known by the people living here.ã
ãWell, I came through the mountain range after all.ã
ãAnd that is even harder to believe. Coming through the impregnable mountain range...ã
ãI donât care if you donât believe me, I just want to stay here.ã
ãThere are a lot of free rooms. But I canât make food.ã
ãI donât need it. Uncle, do you have something to eat for yourself?ã
ãYeah, itâs an inn after all. I have some preserved food. But, I have to divide it amongst the people I know. It may be bad to say this, but I do not have enough food to share with a stranger. If you give me ingredients though, I can make it for you.ã
I had the bread I asked Morin-san to bake and other things to eat, but it would be troublesome if he continued to look at me with a dull expression, so I decided to give him the ingredients.
I took out wolves, vegetables, and flour from the Bear Box.
ãThen, make it with this, please.ã
ãThis much!?ãn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The muscled uncle looked at the ingredients that appeared before him with surprise.
ãWell, I donât know how long I will be staying here, so if it isnât enough, just say so.ã
ãOkay, understood. Then, I will do the preparations for the meal immediately. Honestly, I really wanted to make you a delicious fish meal, though.ã
ãI am Yuna.ã
ãYeah, nice to meet you, Bear missy.ã
Why didnât he use my name even though I told it to him?
It seemed that the equation ãMe = Bear missyã would spread to the world if it continued this way.
Well, compared to that, ãMe = Bear girlã was already the equation in Crimonia.