After drinking tea, we headed to the dismantling area. The room was no longer a dismantling place but a place for processing medicinal herbs. Well, this dismantling place only used by Fina, so if Fina wasn't there, it wasn't used. Moving to the dismantling area, Marne-san took out a bottle of mana water and flowers she picked.
"Well then, please bring out the flowers you two have picked." (Marne)
Lydia-san and I did as we were told.
"Open the jar and carefully place the flowers inside." (Marne)
Marne-san set an example. She opened the lid of a bottle filled with mana water and carefully placed the blue flowers she had picked into the bottle. Then the blue flowers turned white.
"It turned white."
"The effect of the flower and my own mana combined together. Then, take out the white flower." (Marne)
Marne-san used a tweezer to grab the flowers floating in the magic water and placed them on the prepared tray.
"Repeat this process several times. When the color stops turning white, the preparation is done." (Marne)
I put the flowers in the water. The flowers didn't dissolve, but they turned white, which is strange.
"I want to put them all together." (Yuna)
"I understand how you feel, but you have to do it carefully. If you do your job sloppily, it will affect the medicine. If you do your job carefully, the medicine will respond." (Marne)
Well, that's true for any job. If I had to choose between someone who does their work carefully and someone who does their work haphazardly, I would choose the person who does their work carefully. Of course, time is limited, but doing sloppy work and letting the quality drop is not good. Lydia-san and I carefully processed the flowers. After a while, the rate at which the flowers turned white slowed down.
"Looks like the mana water is starting to fill up."
After a while, adding blue flowers would make no difference. But strangely enough, the water remained clear. Since we put blue flowers in it, I wished the mana water was blue too.
"Marne-san, the flowers haven't changed color. Is it done?"
"Not yet. Finally, use this stick to add mana little by little while stirring." (Marne)
Marne-san handed me a small stick. It reminded me of the stirring sticks I used in science experiments in elementary school.
"This stick is easy to thread the mana through, so do it slowly and carefully. When it turns blue, it's done." (Marne)
Lydia-san and I took our sticks and stirred slowly. After a while, the mana water turned the same blue as the blue flowers.
"Marne-san, the color has changed." (Yuna)
"Close the lid tightly and you're done. If you still have flowers in stock, dispose of them in the same way." (Marne)
Our hard work continued late into the night. By the way, it seemed that the stirring stick was made from a monster's bone. Lydia-san was surprised to hear this. The higher the monster's rank, the better its performance, and it seemed to be useful when making fine adjustments to mana. Just like with medicinal herbs, it's not just about adding a lot of mana. Well, adding a lot of sugar or salt to food doesn't necessarily make it taste better. There is an appropriate amount for everything. It'll probably take a long time to study to determine that amount. However, I had no idea that monster bones could be used in this way.
When I finished my work and returned to the living room, Zect-san was asleep, hugging Kumayuru and Kumakyu. Seeing Zect-san like that, Lydia-san woke him up. Then we had a late dinner and took a bath.
"Tired~"
"Good job"
Today was all about fighting. In the end, I was tired after taking care of the flowers. But now all that's left is to go home. As they say, a field trip isn't over until you get home. You have to be careful.
......I feel like I've forgotten something, but I can't remember. I guess forgetting is not a big deal.
So, without worrying about it, I got out of the bath and went to sleep. I went to sleep. But then, something soft slapped my face. Maybe it's morning already?
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, let me sleep a little longer." (Yuna)
I was still sleepy. It's like I hadn't slept at all. But Kumayuru and Kumakyu wouldn't let me sleep. I had no choice but to get up. I could see it even through the curtain. It was still midnight. In other words, it was pitch black.
"It's still night." (Yuna)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu looked outside and made a small noise. I had a bad feeling. When I used the detection skill, there were monster reactions. They kept gathering. I hate having my three basic needs — sleep, gaming, and food — disturbed. When I opened the curtains, a magic circle was glowing.
Ah, so this is it.
When I was taking a bath, I thought I had forgotten something, but then I realized it was the magic circle. After defeating the Giant Monkey and gathering the flowers, I completely forgot about the magic circle.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu. I think everyone is tired, so please don't wake them up. But please, just in case." (Yuna)
I left Kumayuru and Kumakyu to look after everyone, then I opened the window and jumped out. I jumped out of a second-floor window, landed on the ground, and ran towards the monster.
Don't come here in the middle of the night. Don't disturb my sleep.
Contrary to my feelings, monsters kept appearing one after another. Anyway, I defeated the monsters that gathered. Be as quiet as possible so as not to wake anyone up. I knew better than anyone that I hated having my sleep disturbed. I was the only one who should have to go through such unpleasant experiences. Don't do to others what you don't like to have done to you. Anyway, I fought.
"Wow, I can't believe I woke up to find countless monsters lying on the ground." (Marne)
Marne-san sighed as he looked at the monsters lying around Bear House. A pack of wolves, and tigerwolves too, had also fallen.
"This is the first time I've seen a wyvern." (Lydia)
Wyverns also came. Lydia-san approached the wyverns and looked at them fearfully.
"Is that a giant worm?" (Zect)
A giant worm also attacked. Zect-san was amazed at the size of the worm.
"Yuna, I know you're strong, but I think it would have been better if you'd woken me up." (Marne)
"No, I thought you were tired." (Yuna)
"If you had woken me up, I could have provided cover with my bow." (Lydia)
Certainly, if she had fired the arrow from within Bear House, it might have been a little easier. But if I woke one person up, I would wake everyone up. I was sure Lydia-san was tired too. If there was no need to wake them up, I wished they just sleep.
"What is this ground being dug up?"
"It's the mark left by destroying the magic circle." (Yuna)
In the middle of the battle, a magic circle glowed and summoned monsters. I got angry at the monsters that kept coming at me and destroyed the magic circle.
"A precious magic circle..." (Marne[1])
"What? Was Marne-san planning to gather monsters and destroy the country?" (Yuna)
Did you actually have such a desire?
"I wouldn't do that." (Marne)
"In that case, there won't be any problem if I destroy it, right?" (Yuna)
I dug up the ground and destroyed the magic circle without a trace, so that it would never be activated again. If only a part of it had been destroyed, it might not have been activated. However, as an amateur, I didn't understand the structure of the magic circle. I couldn't determine which part affects which. If it was left half-completed and monsters started gathering there would be no point in destroying it. So the entire magic circle was destroyed. Restoration was now impossible.
"Well, maybe you're right. If we had reported it to the government, it might have become a subject of research." (Marne)
There was a good possibility.
"No one knows if that will be a good thing or a bad thing."
"Isn't the only purpose of that magic circles to gather monsters?" (Lydia)
Lydia-san, who had been listening to the conversation, asked. If a magic circle that gathers monsters were created in an enemy country, it might be possible to destroy that country without using any of their own people. If a monster attacks, unrelated people will also die.
"Yes. That may be the general rule. But it can be useful depending on how it's used. One thing that comes to mind right away is that depending on where it's installed, it might be possible to stop monsters coming into human settlements." (Marne)
If you built it in the opposite direction to the village, monsters would head towards the magic circle.
"Also, like the Red Monkeys and the wolves were fighting, we might be able to make monsters fight each other and reduce their numbers." (Marne)
"Also, we might be able to set a trap near the magic circle, right?" (Yuna)
I also said what came to my mind. If you set a trap, you can defeat the monster safely.
"If you put it that way, I think it's a good thing, too." (Lydia)
"If used properly, it can create a way for people to live safely. But if used incorrectly, the opposite can happen. That's what Lydia had in mind from the very beginning." (Marne)
Gathering monsters was a dangerous act. If they approached without you knowing, you would be attacked by a horde. It would be fine if it was just wolves or goblins, but a ferocious Giant Monkey like this one might be born. The giant worm might also be affected like this. Even wyverns were coming. There were many risk factors.
"There's no guarantee that it will be safe to use. Someone could misuse it, even a country." (Marne)
"Is the current king dangerous?" (Lydia)
"The current king is a pacifist. But there's no telling what will happen next. What's more, someone might ignore the king and misuse the magic circle. No one knows what will happen in decades or centuries. So it's better if there aren't any magic circles that can summon monsters." (Marne)
Some people had become unhappy because of this magic circle. Some people used it for bad purposes. There is a saying that poison can be poison, but it can also be medicine. Some lives are saved, but some are lost. It is difficult to say which is correct. However, there was no need for a magic circle to summon monsters.
"That's right. If a monster appears, the adventurers can just defeat it. That's what we adventurers are for." (Zect)
"Yuna, perhaps you knew and broke it." (Marne)
"I was just pissed off at the magic circle that was disturbing my sleep so I destroyed it." (Yuna)
"Well, I'll leave it at that." (Marne)
"What do you mean?" (Yuna)
"Yuna has eliminated something that could have been a source of trouble in the future." (Marne)
"You're overestimating me." (Yuna)
However, there was one girl who became unhappy. It's better without it.
"Well then, what are we going to do about this monster?" (Zect)
Zect-san looked around. Many monsters had fallen.
"This is bothersome. Yuna, put everything in the item bag." (Marne)
"Eh, all of them?" (Yuna)
"That's right. Your item bag won't get damaged if you put it in. We don't have time to clean it up here, and we can't just leave it there. In that case, that's the only option." (Marne)
I reluctantly put the defeated monsters away into the Bear Box. By the way, Lydia-san and Zect-san only collected the magic stones from the goblins, and Marne-san used magic to dig a hole in the ground and bury them. The goblin's magic stone was accepted by Lydia-san and her brother as the disposal fee.
"Goblin's magic stones and Red Monkey's. How much money will it be worth?"
"There are also Red Monkey's furs and some medicinal herbs we collected with Marne-san."
It would be nice if it was worth a reasonable amount. Once we'd finished dealing with the monsters, we set off outside the forest. This time, we came back.
Author's Note
The forest is over.
This time it's the town of Lydia-san.
*I'm sorry. The next post may be delayed by 1-2 days.
*A new comic story has been posted.
*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 129 (11/27) is currently available on PASH UP (niconico manga chapter 123 is currently available)
*Episode 21 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off (11/27) is currently available on PASH UP (Episode 17 of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
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.
Translation Note
[1] From this point, when discussing magic circle pros and cons, probably I got dialogue owner wrong. At first, Marne was obsessed with the magic circle, but then she was on the opposite side. If I analyze the speech pattern, this is the most probable one. Did I miss something?