Marne-san was looking at me.
The fact that I had defeated 10,000 monsters was kept secret.
Only a few people knew about it.
As far as I knew, only the King, Prime Minister, Ellelaura-san, Cliff, and Sanya-san knew about it. There might be others who knew about it, but it didn't seem to be widespread.
The fact that Marne-san didn't know meant that there was a strict gag order in place.
"How much do you know, Marne-san?" (Yuna)
"The commotion started without my knowledge, and died down before my knowledge, so to be honest, I don't know anything." (Marne)
"That's the general perception. No one has actually seen a horde of monsters, and no one has been attacked. Only some of the knights and adventurers in the castle made a fuss." (Sanya)
Sanya led the adventurers to the location where the monsters were, but all they saw were the corpses of the goblins I had defeated.
"Is Yuna involved in the incident involving the 10,000 monsters? Because she's an adventurer?" (Marne)
"That's true, but..." (Yuna)
Sanya-san looked at me for confirmation.
"Marne-san, are you keeping your mouth shut?" (Marne)
"If His Majesty the King has imposed a gag order, I won't spread it around." (Sanya)
"Well, the one who defeated those 10,000 monsters was... me." (Yuna)
"……Huh?" (Marne)
A strange noise came from Marne-san's mouth.
"Um, so that means you fought some monsters?" (Marne)
"No. She fought and defeated ten thousand monsters." (Sanya)
Sanya-san added to my explanation as if to follow up.
"In order to keep quiet, I had to pretend that an A-rank adventurer had defeated them, and I had to request an audience with His Majesty the King and negotiate, which was a lot of work." (Sanya)
At that time, I asked Sanya and Cliff not to let them know that I had defeated the monster.
Thanks to that, news of my subjugation had not spread.
"As a reward, you have been trusted by His Majesty the King and your guild card has been stamped with the seal of the Kingdom of Elfanica. Yuna-chan, may I have your guild card?" (Sanya)
I handed my guild card to Sanya.
Sanya placed the guild card on the crystal plate on the desk and operated something.
"Come here." (Sanya)
Marne-san and I moved behind Sanya-san.
There was information about my guild card.
"It really does have the seal of the Kingdom of Elfanica on it." (Marne)
"Only those with higher authority can see it, but it's a sign of His Majesty the King's trust." (Sanya)
"…………" (Marne)
"Yuna-chan was also the one who defeated the cockatrice that appeared in the elf village." (Sanya)
"I heard it from Ellelaura, is it true?" (Marne)
"So, I acknowledge Yuna-chan's abilities, and so does His Majesty the King. So you can trust Yuna-chan. Of course, that's if you ignore her bear costume." (Sanya)
Marne-san turned to me.
"Yuna, I'm asking you again. Please be my escort." (Marne)
"Yeah, that's been my intention from the beginning." (Yuna)
"Thank you" (Marne)
With Marne able to feel at ease, we decided to go to the western forest.
"So, where is the Western Forest?" (Yuna)
In response to my question, Sanya stood up, brought a rolled up piece of paper from the shelf, and spread it out on the table.
This was a map of the area around the royal capital.
"If you go out the west gate of the royal capital and keep going, you'll find it. However, the road continues in a way that avoids the forest along the way. You won't get there by just following the road, so you'll have to leave the highway along the way." (Sanya)
Sanya explained as she traced a path with her finger.
The road leading from the capital curved along the way and continued into the town.
Just off the path there was a picture of what appeared to be a forest.
"It takes about four days by horseback to get to this forest." (Sanya)
If it took four days by horse, if I took Kumayuru and Kumakyu, I could probably get there in less than half the time.
It also depended on the movement speed.
Generally speaking, the speed of a horse was the speed at which it walked. If it was running, it was called a fast horse.
When Kumayuru and Kumakyu walked, they could move at the same speed as a horse.
Unlike horses, Kumayuru and Kumakyu could continue running for long distances.
"If you go straight for a couple of days where this road starts to turn, you'll get to the West Forest." (Sanya)
It's easy to understand.
"Well then, we're off."
"Marne, Yuna-chan, if you get your hands on anything unusual, please inform the Adventurer's Guild." (Sanya)
Marne-san and I left the room.
I looked around.
There was no sign of Uragan and Baka-Red.
I left the Adventurer's Guild and walked towards the gate to leave the Royal Capital.
Every time this happened, I heard the word bear from all over the place.
And at the same time, their gaze.
"I now understand what Sanya meant. Let's leave the royal capital quickly." (Marne)
Marne-san walked along shyly.
I followed along in silence.
And then, when I arrived outside the royal capital, I summoned Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
I would ride Kumayuru and Marne-san would ride Kumakyu.
And first we set off along the road.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu carried us on our journey.
"After riding it, I understand what Sanya is saying. It's more comfortable than a horse, it's softer, and the back is wide, so you can even lie down." (Marne)
Marne-san was lying down, holding Kumakyu in her arms.
"The horse and carriage hurt my back." (Marne)
"You won't fall off, so it's okay to sleep." (Yuna)
"I was working late into the night yesterday, so I'm feeling good and sleepy." (Marne)
"I'll wake you up if anything happens, do you want to sleep?" (Yuna)
"Is it okay?" (Marne)
When I agreed, she must have been really sleepy because she fell asleep.
"Well then, Kumayuru and Kumakyu, let's go." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n." (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu ran.
The highway continued on and on. I was amazed every time I passed a carriage.
Normally, if I noticed a carriage or something, I'd make sure to veer off the road, but this time, Marne-san was asleep, so I was staying on the road.
If I rode on unmaintained ground, it would shake and wake her up.
So I tried to rideon the highway as much as possible.
After running for a while, Marne-san got up.
"Did you sleep well?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, I slept really well." (Marne)
Marne-san looked up.
"It's pretty sunny out. Maybe these kids have been running all this time?" (Yuna)
Marne-san asked, touching Kumakyu.
"Yeah, it's about time to let Kumayuru and Kumakyu rest, so let's have lunch." (Yuna)
There was a large tree a little way from the road, so we decided to take a break and have lunch underneath it.
We laid a sheet under the tree and served the bread and fruit juice that Morin-san had baked.
"Did you, prepared it for me?" (Marne)
"It's delicious, so eat it." (Yuna)
Marne-san picked up the bread and put it in her mouth.
"It's soft and delicious." (Marne)
I was glad it suited her taste.
Well, I didn't think there are many people who didn't like Morin-san bread.
"Perhaps even a few days' worth of food?" (Marne)
"I think it's enough for a few days, or even a few months." (Yuna)
"…………!?" (Marne)
Marne-san was surprised by my words.
"I've prepared some as well, but if you eat this, you won't be able to eat the preserved food I brought." (Marne)
"Did Marne-san bring as well?" (Yuna)
"I prepared some for you just in case." (Marne)
Come to think of it, we didn't talk about the bear house or food yesterday.
"This looks freshly baked, I wonder if it was bought this morning?" (Marne)
Explaining the Bear Box would be a hassle, so I'd keep quiet.
"But a few months' worth of food, it is an amazing item bag." (Marne)
She might be surprised if I took out a bear house with this.
After lunch we set off again.
"Marne-san, this time ride Kumayuru." (Yuna)
"Kumayuru, is that a black bear?" (Marne)
"These kids, if I keep riding only on one of them, they'll get sulky." (Yuna)
Hearing my words, Marne-san approached Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"Yes, I think you would like to give your master a ride. Kumakyu, isn't it? Thank you for giving me a ride here." (Marne)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumakyu)
Marne-san stroked Kumakyu's body and got closer to Kumayuru.
"I'm not your master, but I'll be in your care." (Marne)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru sat down in front of Marne-san as if asking her to get on.
"Thank you" (Marne)
Marne-san rode Kumayuru and I rode Kumakyu.
With us on board, Kumayuru and Kumakyu set off towards the western forest.
Author's Note
Sorry, I was late because I had to do a final check for typos.
So, off we go.
*We will be taking a break from posting on Wednesday.[1]
*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 planned and 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
[1] Next chapter (Chapter 811) will be on the next Sunday (7 July).