The next morning, I left the Bear House in the royal capital and headed for the Adventurer's Guild where I was to meet Marne-san.
As I walked through the royal capital, I heard voices asking, "Bear?" "A Bear?"
I was becoming known in Crimonia, but in the royal capital, only a handful of people knew me.
First of all, the population was different.
It's like living in the countryside and coming to Tokyo occasionally.
If everyone knew who I was, that would be scary.
I pulled my bear hood over my head and headed to the Adventurer's Guild.
I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild on the main street.
I wonder if Marne-san is here?
I looked around and found Marne-san at the entrance to the Adventurer's Guild.
Her clothes were different so for a moment I didn't know who she was.
Yesterday she was wearing researcher-like casual clothes. Today she was wearing a cloak and travel clothes.
"Marne-san, sorry to keep you waiting. You're early, aren't you?" (Yuna)
"I just got here too." (Marne)
It's like the kind of thing a boyfriend who's been waiting for you would say when you're meeting up.
Of course, I'd never had that experience, but did people really say that?
But it's true that I kept Marne-san waiting.
I should have come a little earlier.
"Well then, let's go see Sanya." (Marne)
Marne-san didn't seem to mind that I was late and headed into the Adventurer's Guild.
I followed behind her.
The Royal Capital's Adventurer's Guild was as crowded as ever.
"A bear."
"Cute"
"That bear..."
"Don't come near."
It's been a while since I last came here, but it seemed some adventurers knew me.
"I guess your outfit isn't normal after all." (Marne)
It couldn't be denied, and therefore couldn't be argued against.
Marne-san looked convinced as she saw me drawing attention.
People called me bear and looked at me, but no one came near me.
As I was thinking that, a large male adventurer approached me.
"Hey, girl. It's been a while."
He raised his hand and says hello.
It looked familiar.
"Um, you're from the city of Dezelt..." (Yuna)
He was the adventurer who accompanied me when I went to the pyramid in the desert city of Dezelt.
I thought...
"U-Uragan." (Yuna)
"Looks like you remembered my name this time." (Uragan)
The last time, I stopped by the royal capital to give Fina a birthday present. (See: Chapter 572, Bear Gives Fina a Present, Royal Capital Part 1)
That's when I met Uragan again, but I didn't remember his name.
"You were in the royal capital." (Yuna)
"This is my base. I only work for Dezelt when the money is good. It's rare for you to come to the Adventurer's Guild in the royal capital." (Uragan)
"Hey, I just here for work. How's the armor doing?" (Yuna)
The armor that Uragan was wearing is made from the carapace of a large scorpion, which I gave to him as a token of my thanks and to keep quiet.
"Yeah, it's light and easy to move around in, so it uses up less stamina. Also, it's strong, so I and my comrades have gotten injured less." (Uragan)
That's good then.
Even the smallest thing could be life-threatening.
If you got injured, you would become a burden to your companions and might have to give up on the request halfway through.
I gave it to him as hush money at the time, but I was glad if it's been useful.
As I was talking with Uragan for the first time in a while, an adventurer clad in red armor approached me from behind.
"When I hear bear, it must be you."
The one who called out was an adventurer clad in bright red armor.
Unlike Uragan, I couldn't remember the name, but I immediately remembered the adventurer.
...Baka-Red.
Baka-Red was an adventurer that I met when I went to the mines to obtain mithril, the material needed to make Fina's mithril knife.
He made fun of me and called me Jade's pet, so in my mind I called him Baka-Red.
Besides Baka-Red, his friends include Baka-Blue, Baka-Green, Baka-White, and Baka-Black.
Each one had colored armor and weapons, so that's what I called them in my mind.
"Hey, Barbauld. Do you know the girl?" (Uragan)
Uragan said Baka-Red's name.
I was pretty sure Jade called him by that name too.
In my mind I had called him Baka-Red, so his name had faded from my memory.
"Yeah, this girl stole my prey."
By stealing it, he probably gave up on defeating the mithril golem and started drinking.
Little did he knew that the next day, he would be joining forces with Jade to defeat the monster.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but you shouldn't pick a fight with this girl."
"Who would do something like that? I know her abilities, after all. Besides, you should know that the Guild Master told you not to lay hands on a woman dressed as a bear."
"Oh, I found out later."
The two of them got excited talking about me.
"You're a celebrity, aren't you?" (Marne)
Marne-san, who had been watching us, said as she looked at Uragan and Baka-Red.
"We just happened to work together by accident" (Yuna)
"I see"
I left Uragan and Bakared who were talking and headed to the reception desk.
When I arrived, the receptionist said,
"Yuna-san, right? What brings you here today?" (Receptionist)
She spoke to me.
I caused a commotion at the Adventurer's Guild in the royal capital, and I even provided materials for the dismantling event, so she might know about me.
"Umm, I'd like to speak to Guild Master Sanya-san." (Yuna)
"Please wait a moment" (Receptionist)
The woman stood up and went to the back.
After a while, when he returns, she guided me to the Guild Master's room, where Sanya-san was.
"Sanya-san, it's been a while." (Yuna)
"Welcome, Yuna-chan. And Marne?" (Sanya)
"Long time no see, eh" (Marne)
"What combination?" (Sanya)
"Ellelaura introduced me to Yuna as an escort. I also wanted to hear more about her from Sanya." (Marne)
"Perhaps it's about the escort in the western forest?" (Sanya)
"Yes, that’s right. So, what do you think of her abilities, Sanya?" (Marne)
"Let's see." (Sanya)
Sanya-san looked at me.
"If you're with her and don't mind Yuna-chan's outfit, I think she's the best bodyguard. There's no stronger adventurer than Yuna-chan, and she even has a summoned bear to help her get around." (Sanya)
"You mean the black bear and the white bear?" (Marne)
"You know?" (Sanya)
"I saw it yesterday." (Marne)
"It can detect monsters and has a fast movement speed, so you can escape from them. Above all, it's soft and feels great." (Sanya)
"It certainly was soft." (Marne)
"Even cuter." (Sanya)
"That doesn't seem to be relevant." (Marne)
"It matters. If you're going to be traveling for hours, you need healing." (Sanya)
Certainly, I could understand what Sanya was saying.
"If you had to choose between riding on the back of a sweaty old man or riding on Yuna-chan's bear, which would you choose?" (Sanya)
Marne-san froze for a few seconds.
That's a bad analogy.
"Sorry. I was wrong." (Marne)
Marne-san sincerely apologized.
Maybe she imagined it.
The sweaty old man wasn't bad. But if I had to compare it with Kumayuru and Kumakyu, I would choose Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
There's nothing wrong with being a sweaty old man.
It's Sanya's fault for giving that analogy.
It's often compared to a horse.
"Plus, with Yuna-chan as my guardian, you'll have a comfortable home to yourself, so you can relax at night and not get tired." (Sanya)
"House?" (Marne)
"Bed and bath included." (Sanya)
"Bed and bath?" (Marne)
"Plus, the food that Yuna-chan serves is delicious. On a long journey, food can be an issue, but with Yuna-chan, there's no need to worry about that. There's no one better than Yuna-chan to guard us." (Sanya)
I felt embarrassed when I received so many compliments.
"But only if you can stand the embarrassment of walking next to Yuna-chan dressed as a bear." (Sanya)
So that means you're embarrassed to walk next to me?
"Once we leave the royal capital, that won't be an issue. All I ask is that you have the ability to protect me, and that you don't run away and leave me behind. I'm weak." (Marne)
I didn't think that's something to be proud of.
"I think you'll be fine, Yuna-chan. But if you go to the western forest, be careful." (Sanya)
"It's dangerous, isn't it?" (Yuna)
"The further inside you go, the more dangerous it becomes, so that's fine." (Sanya)
"Any information?" (Yuna)
"Generally, it's not shared, so even the guild doesn't know much about it." (Sanya)
"Why?" (Yuna)
"For an adventurer, information is the second most important thing after life. If other adventurers find out about the safe route, their advantage will be gone." (Sanya)
Certainly, adventurers were companions, but they were also rivals.
Even in games, I wanted the route I found to be my own.
We might talk after we had completed the game, but we would never talk before.
"Yuna-chan, do you remember the story about the ten thousand monsters?" (Sanya)
"What's this all of a sudden? I remember it." (Yuna)
I might forget Baka Red's name, but I would never forget that.
"After that, I investigated where the monsters were gathered from and found that it was highly likely they were brought from the western forest." (Sanya)
Collecting monsters was not an easy task.
"I looked it up." (Sanya)
"That's true. There's no way a monster would suddenly appear." (Yuna)
"Then, we found traces of movement from the western forest." (Sanya)
"But they managed to bring me all the way to the forest near the royal capital without being noticed." (Yuna)
And that number was collected without anyone knowing.
"Well, they have that much magic. I suppose it was possible."
I heard a little about the man from the King.
A long time ago, a wizard lived in the castle, but he did some bad things and was banished by the king.
It seemed that the wizard had a grudge against the king, and gathered 10,000 monsters with the intention of attacking the royal capital.
"What have you guys been talking about for a while now?" (Marne)
As Sanya and I were talking, Marne-san asked me a question, not seeming to understand.
"Marne, don't know?" (Sanya)
"What are you talking about? Don't leave me out and talk like you two know each other." (Marne)
"How much can I say? His Majesty the King has imposed a gag order." (Sanya)
"All of them." (Marne)
"No, I can't. It's not something I can talk about." (Sanya)
"Then who can tell us the story?" (Marne)
"That is up to the parties involved..." (Sanya)
Sanya-san turned her gaze to me.
Marne-san followed Sanya-san's gaze and looked at me.
"Yuna?" (Marne)
"It's a gag order imposed by His Majesty the King to protect Yuna-chan." (Sanya)
"Who are you?" (Marne)
Marne-san looked at me quizzically.
Author's Note
It's been a while since we've seen Uragan and Baka Red.
I want to write about Bakaranger again.
*Sorry. We will be closed next Sunday or the following Wednesday.
*I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply to your comments. I'll resume as soon as I have time.
*Posting dates are Wednesday and Sunday at midnight.
If I will be taking a break, I will announce this in the postscript, and if I am suddenly unable to post, I will let you know in an activity report or on X (the former Twitter).
[Book release schedule]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is in the works.)
The 11th volume of the comic was released on December 1, 2023. (The 12th volume is scheduled for release on August 2, and is currently in preparation.)
The second volume of the comic spin-off was released on March 5, 2024.
The paperback version of volume 10 was released on May 2, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Sanya on the cover is August 20, 2024. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The next volume, volume 11, is currently in the works.)
Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.
Translator's Note
Next post will be on normal schedule, but after that...