The day after getting the medicine back from Marné, I was compounding the medicine as usual when I received information about Marné, who I gave instructions to look into yesterday.
First of all, she hadn't appeared in any other pharmacy besides mine.
I found out what Marné was doing in the Commercial Guild.
Apparently, she had asked the guild master for information about pharmacists in this town.
However, she had not appeared at any other pharmacy.
So, was she here to check out my store?
Either way, it was old information.
However, the following information helped me understand Marné's actions.
Someone saw the siblings who harvested herbs at the Adventurer's Guild come to sell the monster materials. They were accompanied by a small child and a woman dressed as a bear.
This woman dressed as a bear was definitely the bear woman who came to my shop with Marné.
In other words, the little woman who was with those siblings was Marné.
Without the bear woman, I would never have known the connection between Marné and the siblings.
The reason they came to my store was probably because they heard the story from the siblings, became suspicious of my medicine, and bought medicine from my store.
"Hehe" (Corbeau)
It was a wise decision.
I was glad I was able to get the medicine back right away.
If it hadn't been recovered, it would have been examined at a laboratory in the royal capital.
If that were to happen, there would be no excuse.
However, if there was a problem, it would be what Marné's current state was.
There was a good chance she was alive.
After all, I should have had them killed her no matter what.
But the situation was not the worst.
Even if Marné was alive, there was no evidence that I gave orders to the men. We also retrieved the medicine that Marné had from my store.
All that's left now was to rearrange the medicines on display in stores so that they were actually effective.
But for that I needed herbs.
I had planned to buy the herbs from those siblings, so I didn't have any in stock.
The siblings were back in town.
What happened to the herbs?
Usually, instead of me making medicine, he brought medicinal herbs.
But if I considered that Marné made the medicine for the siblings, then my medicine was no longer necessary, and there was no need for them to bring me medicinal herbs.
Is Marné getting in my way here too?
But a deal is a deal.
There was no information about them selling medicinal herbs to the Commercial Guild.
If so, they should still have it.
I stood up, left the room, and made my way to the area where the siblings lived.
There were only poor looking houses in this area.
It must have been around here.
I was asked many times, but I only came to their house once.
Here it is.
The house looked familiar.
I knocked on the door.
It was the younger sister who came out.
"Corbeau-san? Why are you here?" (Lydia)
"I heard you were back in town. So I came to pick up some medicinal herbs." (Corbeau)
"Corbeau-san, you came all the way to our house?" (Lydia)
Ah, I see.
I made a point of coming here.
"I just needed it." (Corbeau)
"Sorry, but we don't have any herbs." (Lydia)
"What do you mean?" (Corbeau)
"We sold the herbs to another pharmacist." (Lydia)
"Don't be ridiculous. That's not what we promised." (Corbeau)
They sold medicinal herbs.
"Who did you sell them to?" (Corbeau)
"Although she looks like a child, she has become a fine pharmacist. She even made medicine for my sister, who you couldn't cure, and she is now getting better." (Lydia)
It's Marné after all, huh?
Are you going to get in my way here too?
Moreover, she made medicine for my wealthy siblings and cured their illnesses.
Furthermore, she even took the medicinal herbs that I was supposed to receive.
"Corbeau-san, thank you for everything so far." (Lydia)
The woman thanked me deeply.
"My sister's illness has also been cured. I will no longer be able to give you any medicinal herbs, so please do not come to my house." (Lydia)
"But the contract says..." (Corbeau)
"Yes, in exchange for you, Corbeau-san, making medicine for us, we were giving you medicinal herbs, but since we no longer need the medicine, we can no longer give you the herbs." (Lydia)
Once the illness was cured, there was no reason to take the herbs.
Do I have no choice but to let go of the person who brings me medicinal herbs for free?
What should I do?
"Well, I'll raise the price a little and continue buying them." (Corbeau)
If the person was poor, it should be okay if you increased the purchase price a little.
"I'm sorry. But it's okay, because someone we know will be able to buy it from us at a fair price." (Lydia)
It sounded like the part about fair price was emphasized.
"Thank you for everything so far." (Lydia)
The woman bowed her head and closed the door.
Don't be ridiculous. Don't be ridiculous. Don't be ridiculous.
Who do you think I am?
I'm the lord's son and a pharmacist.
I was frustrated.
The source of income was gone.
And it was all Marné's fault.
After all, I should have killed her.
But now, the medicinal herb.
If Marné was alive, she would definitely return.
I needed to prepare some medicine for that time.
If I had known about the relationship between the siblings and Marné earlier, I could have instructed the men who attacked Marné to retrieve the medicinal herbs as well.
...No, wait. I instructed those men to take the money.
It was possible that the men also retrieved some medicinal herbs along with the money.
I went back to the store and called again for the men who had attacked Marné.
The next day.
"You can't get in touch with the guys?" (Corbeau)
"Yes, they're not in their usual place. No one has seen them recently."
"For now, hurry up and find them and bring them to me!" (Corbeau)
"We will increase our numbers and search."
"I'm going out, so if you find them, have them wait in the guest room." (Corbeau)
I gave instructions and left the room.
Damn, this is so annoying.
I headed to the Commercial Guild. The plan was to go after checking if the men had any herbs, but if I couldn't find them, I would have to make my next move.
"Isn't it Corbeau-sama?" (Employee)
A man called out to me. This man was an employee of the Commercial Guild. He was my father's subordinate.
"What can I bring you today?" (Employee)
"I want some herbs." (Corbeau)
I handed the man the paper with the list of medicinal herbs.
"And that's urgent." (Corbeau)
"Some are in stock, some are not." (Employee)
"Hurry and get it ready!" (Corbeau)
"Please give us about 10 days." (Employee)
"That's too long." (Corbeau)
"Even if you say it's long, the herbs we don't have in stock are all those that grow in dangerous forests. We have to ask the Adventurer's Guild for help. We'll have to go and collect them from there. Even if we hurry..." (Employee)
"I know that." (Corbeau)
I was no amateur either. I knew the habitat of medicinal herbs.
"I'll pay two or three times the going rate, so hurry up." (Corbeau)
It was not about money now. It was a race against time.
"I'll hurry, but I can't promise anything. If they don't have any adventurers who knows a lot about medicinal herbs, they won't be able to find them." (Employee)
Not just any adventurer would do. If you hire an adventurer who can't tell the difference between herbs and weeds, they'll just come back with trash. That wouldn't have been the case with those siblings. This was also Marné's fault.
"If you're in a hurry, why don't you ask another pharmacist?" (Employee)
Surely. That never occurred to me. I ordered the herbs in stock to be delivered to the store, then left the Commercial Guild and headed for another pharmacy.
"Why isn't there one?" (Corbeau)
"That herb is for Corbeau-sama's exclusive use."
That's right. This medicine was only for sale in my shop, so I didn't let other pharmacists make it.
This was where it backfired.
Well, it would be the same if I went to another pharmacist.
Maybe I should just say that I had no medicines or herbs in stock and couldn't make anything and close the shop for a while.
That would reduce sales.
Above all, if my father heard about it, it would cause trouble.
For now, I got some information about Marné.
I went back to the store and checked the information.
The whereabouts of the men who attacked Marné were unknown.
I couldn't get the herbs I needed.
There was no information about Marné from other pharmacists.
There was no new information from the Commercial Guild and the Adventurer's Guild either.
While I was thinking about what to do, there was a knock on the door.
"Get in" (Corbeau)
"Corbeau-sama" (A man)
A man entered the room.
"What? Have you found the men?" (Corbeau)
"Well, someone has seen a bear in the city." (A man)
"Bear?" (Corbeau)
What are you talking about? There's no way there would be bears in the city. There are soldiers at the entrance to the city. First of all, what's the point in saying that there's a bear in the city? It doesn't concern me.
"It is the woman dressed as a bear who was with Marné from the Ministry of Magic whom Corbeau-sama is looking for." (A man)
Come to think of it, there was a woman dressed as a bear with Marné.
"Apparently, there was a small child with the woman dressed as a bear." (A man)
It's Marné.
"When was that?" (Corbeau)
"Today. A friend of mine saw a woman walking around dressed as a bear. She looked so strange that he remembered her." (A man)
In other words, Marné was safe.
This is bad. I guess I had no choice but to use this.
I opened the desk drawer and saw the medicine bottle.
Author's Note
Is it about time to settle this?
Volume 21 of the book is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 7th.
Please check the activity report for details such as the cover and distribution locations of in-store purchase bonuses.
*Sorry. For the time being, I will be posting once a week.
*If I take a break, I will post a comment, and if I am suddenly unable to post, I will contact you via activity reports or X (formerly Twitter). (I'm sorry if I can't do this.)
※"Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic chapter 130 (12/27) is currently available on PASH UP (125th chapter of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
*Episode 22 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off (12/27) is currently available on PASH UP (Episode 20 is currently available on NicoNico Manga)
If you have time, please check out the comic version.
[Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear to be released]
Book 21 is scheduled for release on February 7, 2025. (The next book, volume 22, is currently 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.