It's over.
I looked in the direction the arrow came from.
From the top of the cliff, Lydia-san was readying her bow.
Zect-san had a look of relief on his face, while Marne-san had a worried look on her face.
I held up my hand to show I was done.
Marne-san and the others rode on Kumayuru and Kumakyu and came down the cliff.
"Yuna, are you okay?!" (Marne)
When Marne-san got off Kumayuru, she ran up to me looking worried.
"I'm okay" (Yuna)
I patted Marne-san's head.
"Don't treat me like a child" (Marne)
She looked like a child and her head was in just the right position, so I always ended up patting her like I was making her Fina.
I turned to Lydia-san.
"Yuna-chan, are you hurt? The Giant Monkey threw you around." (Lydia)
"I'm okay" (Yuna)
To prove that I was okay, I moved my arms around.
"Really? You're not pushing yourself too hard?" (Lydia)
From Lydia-san's perspective, it looked like I had been punched and thrown around by the Giant Monkey and was seriously injured.
For an ordinary person, this would have been a fatal injury, but thanks to my Bear Equipment, I was unharmed.
"But why did you come back? I told you to run away because it was dangerous, right?" (Yuna)
"...That's because I was worried about Yuna." (Marne)
"We can't run away alone."
"There might be something we can do."
I appreciated the sentiment, but it was dangerous to think that the Giant Monkey might have attacked Marne-san and the others.
"Kumayuru and Kumakyu, I left the three of them in your care..." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu lowered their heads.
"We asked them to come back because we had to. So please don't scold Kumayuru and Kumakyu." (Marne)
Marne-san stepped in between me, Kumayuru and Kumakyu and defended them.
"I'm not really angry or anything. I'm just worried that it would be terrible if something were to happen to any of you." (Yuna)
"That's our own fault. We were the ones who decided to come back. It's not Yuna or Kumayuru's fault." (Marne)
"Yes, so don't scold Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan." (Lydia)
"Plus, they did a great job protecting us from the Red Monkeys." (Zect)
That's true, but if something were to happen to the three of them, it wouldn't be something that could be easily dismissed.
I wanted to scold them when they returned with Marne-san and the others, but they kept their promise and protected the three of them.
After three people told me that, I couldn't be any angrier.
I approached Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, thank you for protecting the three of them." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
I gently stroked Kumayuru and Kumakyu's heads.
When Kumayuru and Kumakyu realized that I was not angry, they happily came clinging to me.
I stroked Kumayuru and Kumakyu's heads and looked at Lydia-san.
"Lydia-san, thanks for your help too." (Yuna)
I looked at the arrow stuck in the Giant Monkey's eye.
I was surprised when I heard a voice from Lydia-san.
I was thinking that if she was going to provide support it would be arrows.
"Did you aim for the eyes?" (Yuna)
The two arrows were stuck in the Giant Monkey's eyes.
There's no way two arrows would hit in the eye by chance, but I wanted to make sure.
Lydia-san shook her head.
"No, I aimed for the head, but the eyes were just an accident." (Lydia)
Still, aiming for the head from that distance is impressive.
"Marne-san told me to use wind magic, listen to the sound, and aim." (Lydia)
"Sound?" (Yuna)
Normally I would imagine it's by reading the wind, but this was the first time I had heard of it being done by listening to sound.
"Yeah, I heard the sounds of Yuna-chan and the Giant Monkey fighting. I don't really know, maybe a wind path? To me it was a sound path. I made a wind path to the Giant Monkey's face and shot an arrow." (Lydia)
Even with Wolf she relied on sound to fire her arrows, which was amazing.
"But this is the end of it."
The Giant Monkey was defeated, and once the Giant Monkey was defeated, the Red Monkeys fled into the forest.
"Even so, it's impressive that you were able to defeat such a monstrous monkey." (Marne)
"When I saw Yuna-chan fighting, I was scared that she would be killed at any moment." (Lydia)
"I thought you were going to die when the Giant Monkey threw you." (Zect)
"Yuna, are you sure you're not hurt after being thrown by the Giant Monkey?" (Marne)
"These clothes are specially made, so they'll cushion the impact." (Yuna)
"You weren't wearing it because you like bears, huh?"
The three of them took another look at the bear costume I was wearing.
"It's amazing how it can soften that impact."
Marne-san and Lydia-san started touching my bear suit.
"Soft" (Lydia)
"It feels good on the skin" (Marne)
"Marne-san, you have touched it many times." (Yuna)
Since Lydia-san and Zect-san got together, Marne-san and I had been riding together on Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"That's true, but after hearing that story, it feels special." (Marne)
"For now, leave." (Yuna)
I left Lydia-san and Marne-san.
Lydia-san and Marne-san looked reluctant to leave.
"Now that I think about it, the sword the Giant Monkey had is gone. Where did it go?" (Zect)
Zect-san looked around.
"He still had it when he jumped off the cliff." (Zect)
"I put the Goblin King sword in my item bag." (Yuna)
I took out the Goblin King's sword from the Bear Box.
"Big." (Zect)
"Yuna-chan, isn't it heavy?" (Lydia)
I held it in one hand.
Zect-san looked like he wanted to hold it, so I offered it to him.
Zect-san casually accepted it.
Maybe he accepted it without thinking about it.
"Oh, it's heavy." (Zect)
Zect-san held it with both hands, but he dropped it to the ground.
"What is this weight?" (Lydia)
Lydia-san tried to pick up the Goblin King's sword, which had been dropped to the ground, with her frail arms, but was unable to lift it.
"Yuna-chan, you were holding it in one hand, right?" (Lydia)
"Umm, maybe this is also thanks to the Bear's Blessing..." (Yuna)
Secret technique: using the Bear's Blessing to disguise it.
"If I were attacked with a sword like that, I wouldn't be able to block it. But can you block it with a knife?" (Zect)
"Well, I guess that's too much for you, nii-san." (Lydia)
"I know that. Actually, I don't think there's anyone who can do that." (Zect)
"I think Yuna-chan did." (Lydia)
"Yuna is amazing."
In reality, it's all thanks to Bear Equipment and my experience with games.
I put the Goblin King's sword away inside the Bear Box.
"Even so, this monkey was so big."
"It's really dead, right?"
"It's dead."
I checked with my detection skill, but there was no reaction.
"It's freezing."
Arrows were stuck in the eyes and the body was frozen.
"Yuna-chan is truly an amazing adventurer, isn't she?" (Lydia)
"That's not true." (Yuna)
"Humility is sarcastic." (Marne)
Marne-san interjected.
"I think I truly understand why Ellelaura and Sanya trusted you. It's not just your strength. You let us go when you tried to protect us. And you didn't run away to survive, instead you fought the Giant Monkey. You could have abandoned us, but you didn't." (Marne)
If I abandoned them, I would only feel worse.
Plus, I knew I could defeat it because I had the Bear Equipment.
If necessary, I could have run away.
"Thank you, Yuna." (Marne)
Marne-san thanked me again.
"That's right. If it weren't for Yuna-chan, I would be dead. Thank you, Yuna-chan, for helping me so many times." (Lydia)
Lydia-san also thanked Marne-san and looked at Zect-san.
"Hey, you too, nii-san." (Lydia)
"Yeah, thank you. If it weren't for Yuna, Lydia and I would have been eaten by the giant Snake. I can't thank you very much, but please let me know if there's anything I can do for you." (Zect)
Now that I think about it, I felt a bit embarrassed when someone thanked me.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, it was thanks to these kids that I was able to fight monsters with peace of mind." (Yuna)
I looked at Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"I believed that Kumayuru and Kumakyu would protect the three of you." (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu cried happily.
"So, Yuna, what are you going to do about this Giant Monkey?" (Marne)
As I was petting Kumayuru and Kumakyu, Marne-san asked me.
"If I hand it over to the Adventurer's Guild, I'll get some money, right?" (Yuna)
I had money, but it didn't hurt to have more.
Above all, if we left it alone, the monsters would eat it and a second or third Giant Monkey would appear, which would be troublesome.
"Yeah, but I defeated it with Lydia-san together." (Yuna)
"No, I don't need it. I just shot an arrow at it from a distance. Yuna-chan killed it, so it belongs to Yuna-chan." (Lydia)
"Well, I'll take it then. Should I hand it over to Sanya-san?" (Yuna)
If I took it to Crimonia, it would be a hassle because it would cause a fuss, so I would talk to Sanya-san when I got back to the royal capital.
"In that case, can I take it?" (Marne)
Marne-san said a little hesitantly.
"Do you want it? If you want it, I can give it to you." (Yuna)
"I'll pay you properly. I was just curious about the magic stone, so I wanted to check it out." (Marne)
The magic stones of the Goblin King and the Giant Monkey?
It was glowing.
I was curious too, but I couldn't research it myself.
So, I decided to hand the Giant Monkey over to Marne-san.
For now, I'd ask Lydia-san to remove the arrows.
Looking at it again it looks disgusting, so I immediately put it away in the Bear Box.
"What about the Red Monkeys?" (Zect)
This time, Zect-san looked around and then focused his attention on the fallen Red Monkeys.
"Bury them?" (Yuna)
"What a waste. Red Monkey's fur can be sold." (Zect)
"In that case, I'll take Giant Monkey, and you two the others." (Yuna)
"I can't get it if I haven't defeated it." (Zect)
"The Red Monkeys should pay for your sister's medicine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah"
"Thank you"
"Well then, I'm not very good at it, but I'll do the dismanling." (Zect)
"Nii-san, do your best." (Lydia)
"You help out too." (Zect)
Lydia-san and Zect-san took the Red Monkeys and moved to the river.
Marne-san and I were left behind and looked at the tree we were looking for.
Author's Note
The next step is to collect the material.
Side story volume 3 is scheduled for release on December 20th
Posting will occur every 4 days.
*If I will be taking a break, I will announce it in the postscript, and if I am suddenly unable to post, I will let you know in the activity report or on X (formerly Twitter).
*"Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic chapter 128 (11/13) is currently available on PASH UP (Niconico Manga chapter 123 is currently available)
*Episode 20 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off is currently available on PASH UP (episode 17 is currently available on NicoNico Manga)
If you have time, please check out the comic version.
[Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear to be released]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is planned and in the works.)
The 12th volume of the comic was released on August 3, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, 13, has not yet been decided.)
Comicalized spin-off volume 2 was released on March 5, 2024. (The next volume, volume 3, is scheduled for release on December 20th.)
The 11th volume of the paperback edition was released on October 4, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Shuri on the cover is January 20, 2025. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The release date for the next volume, 12th volume, has not yet been decided.)
*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.