"It feels good." (Marne)
Marne-san stretched out in the bathtub.
"I can't believe there really is a bath. Yuna is a noblewoman after all. She's also acquainted with Ellelaura." (Marne)
"I'm an adventurer." (Yuna)
Although I had invested in the stores, I thought of "Bear's Relaxing Shop" as Morin-san's store and "Kuma Shokudo" as Anzu's store.
"Besides, there is no noblewoman with such nobility." (Yuna)
Both Tilia and Shia exuded the aura of noble ladies. Though I'd give them a benefit of the doubt and thought they're children of a wealthy merchant.
"That all depends on the education. There are plenty of incredible nobles out there." (Marne)
Well, that's certainly true.
Not all of them were young ladies like Tilia and Shia.
Among them were some incredibly noble children.
It reminded me of Misa's birthday party.
That son was awful.
"Well, if you don't want to tell the truth, I won't pursue it any further. Everyone has their past that they don't want to talk about." (Marne)
You're right that it's a past that I didn't want to be asked about, but maybe the past that Marne-san thought of was different from the past that I thought of.
Either way, I couldn't tell her that I was from another world, so I'd just leave it as Marne-san's misunderstanding.
After getting out of the bath, I dried Marne-san's long hair, which reached down to her waist, with a hair dryer.
"There's even a heater." (Marne)
It looked like something similar to a hair dryer.
Fina didn't seem to know, but it only blew out warm air, so it wouldn't be surprising if it did.
"I think it's dry now." (Yuna)
"Thanks. Then I'll do your hair." (Marne)
"It's okay because I can do it myself." (Yuna)
Up until now I'd done it myself.
"There's no way I, the adult, would let a younger child do it." (Marne)
That's right. Marne-san was older.
I couldn't help but be influenced by appearances and treated Marne-san as if she were younger than me.
I would take advantage of Marne-san's kindness and asked for a help.
"Given your age, you're like a daughter to me." (Marne)
Maybe grandchild? I wouldn't say. Maybe she'd get angry if I said it.
Marne-san carefully dried my hair.
After getting out of the bath and drying our hair, we got ready for bed.
"Marne-san, can you sleep alone?" (Yuna)
"I'm an adult. I can sleep alone." (Marne)
She replied sounding a little angry.
Apparently, she felt like she was being treated like a child.
"That's not what I meant, but this is a dangerous place where monsters appear, so I thought you might be worried and unable to sleep." (Yuna)
When it came to monsters, it didn't matter if they're adults or children.
Even adult adventurers were afraid to sleep alone in a place where monsters might appear.
It's a dangerous journey.
"Hot food and a bath. I was so relaxed I felt like I was at home and forgot about it." (Marne)
That just meant she was able to rest well.
It's dangerous to be physically and mentally tired while traveling.
I wish I could have relaxed.
"This is outside the royal capital, so there is a risk of being attacked by monsters." (Marne)
"As I said before, if it's just wolves or goblins, in this house you'll be fine. If you're worried, I thought I'd lend you Kumayuru or Kumakyu. If anything happens, they'll protect you." (Yuna)
Marne-san saw Kumayuru and Kumakyu who had turned into bear cubs.
"Yes. It would be a great help if you could lend it to me." (Marne)
"Well then, Kumayuru, please take care of Marne-san." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumaruyu)
Kumayuru went to Marne-san's place.
Marne-san held Kumayuru in her arms.
"Nice to meet you, Kumayuru." (Marne)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
"Is it okay to leave around sunrise?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, I don't mind." (Marne)
I asked Marne-san to use the guest room on the second floor, and I went into my room with Kumakyu and sat down on the bed.
"Thank you for today. Please help me again tomorrow." (Marne)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumakyu cried as if to say, "Leave it to me."
I set my Kumakyu alarm and went to sleep.
Something soft was pressed against my face.
I knew because I'd experienced it many times.
The hands of Kumayuru and Kumakyu
Or so I thought, but since Kumayuru was sleeping with Marne-san today, this move was Kumakyu.
My thoughts became clearer.
"Good morning, Kumakyu." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n"
The Kumakyu alarm woke me up in a good mood.
I got out of bed and opened the curtains to see the sun beginning to rise.
Maybe I'd come into this world and am living a really regular life.
However, I just went to bed early because there was no entertainment like TV, games, the internet, manga, or novels to keep me awake at night.
"I wonder if Marne-san is asleep?" (Yuna)
First of all, I'd wake her up and prepare breakfast.
I knocked on Marne-san's door, but there was no response.
I opened the door and entered the room to find Marne-san sleeping comfortably, hugging Kumayuru.
"Marne-san, it's morning." (Yuna)
"What, is it morning already?" (Marne)
Marne-san's eyes opened. Kumayuru, who was sleeping next to her, also started to move.
"When you wake up, come downstairs. Kumayuru, please make sure Marne-san doesn't go back to sleep." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
I asked Kumayuru to take care of Marne-san. I went down to the first floor with Kumakyu.
As I was preparing breakfast, Marne-san came in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
It would be cute if she was a child, but Marne-san was an adult. She looked like a sloppy adult.
"……sleepy" (Marne)
"Were you unable to sleep because you were afraid a monster would come?" (Yuna)
"No, I was just thinking about Kumayuru. It's impossible for a bear to become small. I was thinking about that and ended up going to bed late." (Marne)
I didn't have the answer to that question.
The only thing I could say was that skills could make you smaller.
However, since there were no skills other than magic in this world, there was no way to explain it, and it could not be done.
If I were to talk about it, I was sure I would be asked, "What are skills?"
Skills were hard to explain.
Marne-san, looking sleepy, nibbled on bread.
"Why do bears get smaller and larger? Maybe people can get smaller too?" (Marne)
Or so she muttered.
I didn't care, I'd eat the bread.
Morin-san's bread was delicious.
And after breakfast we set off.
I put away the bear house and returned Kumayuru and Kumakyu to their normal size.
"The bear has gotten so big. It's strange how a little bear can get so big." (Marne)
Marne-san touched Kumayuru's body.
"Well then, let's start by riding the Kumakyu like we did yesterday, and then we'll switch places along the way." (Yuna)
Marne-san simply rode Kumakyu.
With us on board, Kumayuru and Kumakyu headed toward the western forest.
We ran through the grasslands and cross the rocky mountains.
Along the way, a pack of wolves appeared, but I quickly defeated them.
"You're really strong." (Marne)
"You didn't believe it?" (Yuna)
"I believe in Ellelaura and Sanya, but you're just a cute girl dressed as a bear. I won't be completely sure until I see you with my own eyes." (Marne)
Well, no matter how much others told her about it, I didn't think she'd believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.
"I also thought the reason you're strong is because these bears are strong." (Marne)
Marne-san looked at Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"Kumayuru and Kumakyu are also strong. So when I'm fighting monsters, don't leave Kumayuru and Kumakyu behind." (Yuna)
After lunch, we swapped Kumayuru and Kumakyu, and as dusk approached, the forest came into view.
"It's dangerous to go into the forest now, so let's go in tomorrow morning." (Marne)
I agreed with Marne-san. Even if I had the bear house, we would be safe in the forest, but I wouldn't take any chances.
I set up the bear house and stayed there the same way as yesterday.
By the way, I switched sleeping with Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
The next morning, we come closer to enter the forest.
Trees began to grow and gradually became lush.
"It looks like there are some adventurers from around here." (Marne)
Marne-san said, looking diagonally upwards.
Following Marne-san's gaze, I saw something red fluttering on a tree branch.
For a moment I thought it was a red snake, but I was wrong.
"What is this red string? Ribbon? What is it?" (Yuna)
The tree branches were tied with red ribbons, like those used to wrap gifts.
"What, you don't know?" (Marne)
"Does Marne-san know?" (Yuna)
"It's a landmark. It's used by adventurers when entering deep forests and the like." (Marne)
I'd been into the forest a few times, but I'd never seen it.
That might just be how deep this forest was.
"Kumayuru, come closer." (Marne)
At Marne-san's urging, Kumayuru approached the tree to which the ribbon was tied.
"The direction the knot in the ribbon came from. And the direction the nail is in is the direction you want to move to." (Marne)
Nail?
Indeed, upon closer inspection, there was a nail stuck in it.
Apparently, it wasn't just to keep the ribbon from flying away.
The nail was pointing towards the forest.
If Marne-san's explanation was correct, this was where the adventurers entered.
"It's quite faded, so it's quite old." (Marne)
Marne-san reached out and touched the ribbon.
"So, does that mean adventurers entered through here a long time ago?" (Yuna)
"An adventurer tied this ribbon. I think many adventurers have used this ribbon as a landmark and entered the area since then. Proceeding means you're safe." (Marne)
You might think it's safe if someone else had taken that path.
"Or maybe not everyone came back." (Marne)
That meant they're all dead.
"Also, there could be false information to prevent other adventurers from using it." (Marne)
"Then it can't be used." (Yuna)
"Well, that's unlikely. Whether you trust it or not is up to you." (Marne)
In the end it's about moving forward on our own.
Well, I had bear mapping skills, so I wouldn't get lost.
Author's Note
If you only have a landmark, you won't know which way to go. You won't know which direction to go back to, so you need to know the direction you came from and the direction you're heading in.
Well, in Yuna's case, she has the skills, so it's not necessary.
※I am very sorry.
Volume 11 of the paperback edition, volume 12 of the comic adaptation, and volume 21 of the original work are all being reviewed,
I will be posting only on Sundays for a while.
...
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.