"What is this?"
The men rolled to the ground and looked at the dirt wrapped around their feet. They tried to pull it out but couldn't get out. My magic couldn't be broken easily.
"Just to confirm, why did you attack us?" (Yuna)
"We are thieves. It is natural for us to steal things."
Despite that, they were weak thieves. When I thought of a thief, I imagined a strong, burly man with a mean look in his eyes, someone who licks his knives. And yet, the men in front of me looked weak. I guess they thought they could steal from two little girls.
"So you were planning to disguise yourself as thieves and dispose of us then?" (Marne)
Marne-san looked convinced. Otherwise, I didn't think they would attack, even though Kumayuru and Kumakyu were there.
"If you kill me, I will not be able to get the pharmacist to justice for his crimes, right?" (Marne)
Dead men tell no tales. Marne-san was to return to the royal capital and give instructions to investigate the ingredients of the medicine and the pharmacist. But if Marne-san could not return to the royal capital, nothing would be done.
"That's unfortunate, but I have a strong guard." (Marne)
Marne-san turned her gaze to me. It's a little embarrassing, but I also felt happy when she said that.
"We don't kill people. We just steal things and money."
"Certainly, if the drugs are stolen, the evidence will disappear, right?" (Marne)
I guess they were at least just trying to get the drugs, which was the evidence, back.
"Well, either way you attacked me, so it doesn't make a difference." (Marne)
Marne-san approached the man on the ground.
"If you tell me everything, I may be able to give you leniency. Why don't you just be honest?" (Marne)
"What have you been saying all this time, girl?"
"There's no point in denying it. You guys attacked me on orders, didn't you?" (Marne)
"......?"
The men’s reaction was slow.
"Tell me the name of the man who gave you the orders." (Marne)
"The reason we attacked you girls was because you passed through here."
Marne-san and I looked at each other. The men insisted that they didn't know. They didn't talk about Corbeau. In that case, I'd just threaten them.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, there are some delicious meats." (Yuna)
Hearing my words, Kumayuru and Kumakyu approached the fallen man.
"This guy's got a lot of meat on him." (Yuna)
I turned my attention to the man nearby.
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru turned his eyes to the man.
"S-stop, don't come any closer!"
The man tried to escape, but because he was tied up he could only crawl like a caterpillar.
"For now, why don't you try eating one of his arms?" (Yuna)
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu drooled in front of the man.
"I honestly don't know what you girls are talking about."
It's amazing that he had been able to resist the fear of being eaten by Kumayuru and Kumakyu, who had revealed so much about him up until now. But I was not the only one here.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, want some other meat?" (Yuna)
As I spoke, Kumayuru and Kumakyu looked at another thief. And then they licked the thief, tasting it. Each time, the thieves' faces would twitch, but no one would speak. They would say, "I don't know," or "I just wanted money."
"Maybe their family is being held hostage? Or they have some kind of weakness exposed?" (Yuna)
"Yuna, you're smart, aren't you?" (Marne)
It's typical of this kind of noble to take advantage of someone's weakness and make them follow orders. That's why they couldn't say anything, and they couldn't resist.
"We'll help you, so just tell us the truth. If you go any further, your punishment will become even more severe." (Marne)
Marne-san gently asked.
"I really don't know. I did it because I was short of money."
It's amazing how loyal they were. Maybe Corbeau was actually a good person? In fact, I had never met anyone named Corbeau. But there's no way that Lydia-san and her family were lying, and in the first place, Est's red bumps were caused by the medicine given by the pharmacist Corbeau. Hmm, I don't know.
"Marne-san, what will you do?" (Yuna)
"That's unexpected. I didn't think you'd be so tight-lipped. Maybe I'll have to use a truth serum. But if I do, they'll just turn into a wreck." (Marne)
The thief trembled as Marne-san talked to herself.
"I can adjust the amount. But with this level of loyalty, their mental strength is probably high, so I have to use more. But then they'll turn into an addict..." (Marne)
"By the way, do you have truth serum?" (Yuna)
"Of course, I have." (Marne)
Why do you carry something like that around?
"Would anyone like to try a drink?" (Marne)
Marne-san asked the bandits, but they all shook their heads. Nobody wanted to be an outcast.
"Even if I were to give them the truth serum, it would be too much trouble to do that here, so for now, let's get them in the carriage and head back to town." (Marne)
It's a hassle, but it's closer to the city than going back to the royal capital.
"Forgive me, this is the first time I've attacked you."
"That's true."
This was what criminals said when they got caught shoplifting or thieving. If it's a first offense, maybe they'd be forgiven.
"I have a wife and kids at home."
This was also a classic. They tried to appeal to sympathy and asked for forgiveness. There were plenty of men in this world who had wives and kids. It was no excuse for committing a crime.
"If you want me to forgive you, you must tell the truth. Then, as an informant, you will be given leniency." (Marne)
"I said, we're not being asked by anyone."
Do you really have to be that loyal to Corbeau? I guess he has a hold on their weakness after all.
"Come on, get in the carriage." (Marne)
As Marne-san was getting the men into the carriage, Kumayuru and Kumakyu cried "Kyuu~n" as they looked towards the road leading to the town.
Is something coming?
"Why are these kids?" (Marne)
Marne-san asked, knowing what happened as she had experienced these many times before.
"People are coming this way at an incredible speed." (Yuna)
The detection skill had five reactions to people moving in this direction from the direction of the city. It had fast movement speed.
"It's like riding a horse." (Yuna)
"It's a pain to be seen here." (Marne)
I tied up the men and put them in the carriage. Looking at this situation, it's hard to tell who's the bad guy.
"What should we do?" (Yuna)
"Well, if they doubt you, you can just explain, right?" (Marne)
At the moment, there's nothing that could be done. Once I made that decision, I saw a horse running towards me.
"Looks like they're in a hurry." (Yuna)
Is it an emergency? They were getting closer and closer. There were 5 people.
"There they're."
The horse riders stopped in front of us.
"A woman dressed as a bear and a female brat. Looks like there's no doubt about it."
"Looks like we've caught up."
"I was almost going to get scolded."
"It's probably your fault for drinking and oversleeping."
"No, Leader was probably asleep when we woke up."
"I'm fine. If you guys don't wake me up, then who will?"
"That's terrible."
Laughter ensued.
"But I'm glad we made it in time."
"Ah"
The men looked at me and Marne-san.
"Hey, Marne-san. Don't tell me..." (Yuna)
"It seems so." (Marne)
Marne-san turned around and saw the men who attacked us.
"Sorry. I seem to have misunderstood." (Marne)
Marne-san bowed her head slightly.
"Hey, kids. Give us the medicine you stole from Corbeau-san's shop yesterday."
Oh, he said the name. I knew it, they were the real thing. The guys behind us were fakes. It might seem odd to call thieves fake, but the men in front of us were the ones we were waiting for.
"That was something I paid for." (Marne)
"Well then, you choose. Either just take the medicine and go home, or you get hurt by us and then go home."
"Do you think it's okay to do that?" (Marne)
"It's Corbeau-sama's orders, so it'll be fine."
"Also, I heard you have money."
"Yes, I have." (Marne)
Marne-san made a point of showing the men the small bag full of money.
"Give that too!" (Leader)
The men attacked. I stepped before Marne-san.
Bear punch, bear punch, bear punch, kuma punch.
The four men were blown away. The remaining men saw the men being blown away and hastily drew their sword.
"Stay away!" (Leader)
"If you don't get close, you can't take the medicine or the money, you know." (Yuna)
It's as if we were being attacked. They were the ones that attacked first. For now, I used a bear punch and blew the last one away. I had been punching boring things a lot lately. I bound the fallen men with earth magic.
"So, there's no doubt that you are the ones who attacked us on Corbeau's orders, right?" (Marne)
"I don't know." (Leader)
You mentioned the name Corbeau earlier, right? Ah, how troublesome.
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu also seemed to understand, as they approached the men with drooling eyes.
"There are five of them, so you can eat one that looks delicious" (Yuna)
"I'm disgusting. If you're going to eat me, then eat the other four..." (Leader)
The leader-like man looked at the other four.
"This guy is more fleshy than a skinny guy like me..." (1st: skinny)
The thin man looked at the fat man.
"I'm greasy and tasteless. Instead, you'd rather have this muscular guy..." (2nd: fat)
A fat man looked at the muscular man.
"My muscles are hard. In that case, normal ones would be better..." (3rd: muscular)
He looked at an ordinary guy with no special features.
"No, girl, that can't be right to say I'm the best meat. I'm average. In that case..." (4th: ordinary)
The ordinary guy looked at the man called the leader. And it's not just the ordinary guy who looked, the skinny guy, the fat guy, and the muscular guy too.
"That's certainly true." (1st)
"The leader is the best" (2nd)
"I'm sure his meat is delicious because he always eats delicious food." (3rd)
The four of them abandoned their leader.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! If anyone is going to say the best meat, it must be Corbeau-sama." (5th, Leader)
"Surely" (Other 4)
The four of them nodded at their leader's words. It's like watching a comedy sketch. Both Marne-san and I looked at them in amazement.
Author's Note
Happy new year
It's been a long time, and Kuma is now in his 11th year.
We look forward to your continued support of Kuma this year.
As I said last time, my next post will be delayed.
*"Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic chapter 130 (12/27) is currently available on PASH UP (niconico manga chapter 123 is currently available)
*Episode 22 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off (12/27) 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
When you see a pattern like "Bear Bear Bear Kuma" then the raw is probably:
くま、クマ、熊、ベアー (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear)
Bandits' Meat Summary
| Bandit | What he thinks of himself | Who he thinks is the better one | Reason |
| 1st (skinny) | Skinny | 2nd | More flesh |
| 2nd (fat) | Greasy and tasteless | 3rd | Muscular |
| 3rd (muscular) | Hard meat | 4th | Normal |
| 4th (ordinary) | Average | 5th (leader) | Delicious |
| 5th (leader) | Corbeau | Best meat |
Extra Credit
Thanks to T.V. (TV.Station) for the corrections and suggestions.