After returning to the royal capital, I sent Kumayuru and Kumakyu home and then got into a carriage to head to the castle. When I saw a carriage being prepared with Ellelaura-san's single command, "Prepare a carriage," I couldn't help but think that she was truly a noble. When the carriage tried to enter through the entrance of the castle where the Ministry of Magic was located, it was stopped by the gatekeeper at the entrance.
"Ellelaura-sama, His Majesty the King is calling for you." (Gatekeeper)
"Could it be that the message is being sent to all the gates?" (Elleaura)
Apparently, Ellelaura-san had read the message to the gatekeeper and attempted to enter through the Ministry entrance rather than the main gate.
"Once you return to the castle, it is said to be something urgent." (Gatekeeper)
"Ellelaura, good luck." (Marne)
Marné-san said with a smile and headed out the door on the other side to get off the carriage. However, Ellelaura-san grabbed Marné-san's arm.
"Marné-sama, I won't let you get away." (Ellelaura)
"You're the only one being called." (Marne)
"I believe it was you, Marné-sama, who came up with that reason. And you promised to help me explain my situation to His Majesty about this thank you gift, right?" (Ellelaura)
They looked at each other quietly. Marné-san looked resigned.
"Sigh, I get it." (Marne)
It seemed that Marné-san had decided to go to meet the King with Ellelaura-san.
"Well, maybe I should go home and come back tomorrow." (Yuna)
When I tried to stand up to get off the carriage, someone grabbed my arms from both sides.
"No." (Ellelaura + Marne)
"Yuna-chan, you're coming with us too." (Ellelaura)
"That's right. What, are you trying to run away by yourself?" (Marne)
"No, it has nothing to do with me, right?" (Yuna)
My job was to guard Marné-san.
"Yuna, you're my bodyguard, right?" (Marne)
"I guess so, but..." (Yuna)
The guard job was over. My job ended as she got home. Since she had returned to the royal capital, she no longer needed an escort.
"Protect me from His Majesty." (Marne)
My job did not include getting scolded together with the King or making excuses on her behalf. So, there was only one answer.
"I politely decline." (Yuna)
When I apologized, the gatekeeper called out to me with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry about that. He said if there's a girl dressed as a bear, bring her along." (Gatekeeper)
"……why?" (Yuna)
In the end, I decided to go too. Well, I thought it might be a good idea to tell him about the magic circle that was deep in the forest, so I decided to go with him. We came to the office where the King works.
"Are you back?" (King)
"I just returned today from work requested by the Ministry of Magic, Marné-sama." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san emphasized that it was work that Marné-san had asked her to do.
"You just dumped all your work on me." (King)
"It was an emergency." (Ellelaura)
"So Marné, why did you call Ellelaura? It just made me have more work to do, you know." (King)
The King asked, looking at Marné-san. Marné-san explained what happened this time. Because a noble was involved, she could not handle the matter on her own, so she asked Ellelaura-san for help.
"If that's the case, it won't be a problem even if it's not Ellelaura, right?" (King)
"Of all the nobles I know, Ellelaura is the only one I can trust who knows what's going on." (Marne)
Ellelaura-san looked happy to hear that she was trusted. Certainly, Ellelaura-san can be trusted.
"However, Ellelaura. If you are going to be away from the castle for several days, make sure you let me know. I will forgive you this time as it is an emergency, but there is still a lot of work left, so you won't be able to rest for a while." (King)
"Tyranny." (Ellelaura)
It's a black company. I don't think it's right for a company to stop functioning just because one employee is absent. However, it was difficult to replace someone as talented as Ellelaura-san, so it was a difficult decision to make.
"Yuna, I'm sorry that Marné caused you trouble." (King)
"No, it's work after all. So, why did you call me?" (Yuna)
"There's no real reason. I just wanted to tell you to go see Flora when you have time." (King)
That's the only reason I would prefer not to be called. I wanted him to understand how it felt to be an ordinary citizen being summoned by the King.
"After this, I'll come and see her." (Yuna)
"Well then, you can all go back to work." (King)
"Wait a minute" (Yuna)
I spoke out.
"There's something I think I should tell Your Majesty about." (Yuna)
"What?" (King)
I looked around me. There were several civil servants who assisted the King in his work.
"Is it a bother?" (King)
"It's over now, but I thought I should report it." (Yuna)
"About that, right?" (Marne)
Marné-san seemed to understand too.
"I was thinking of submitting the report later, but I think it might be better to tell me now." (Yuna)
When the king saw us, he cleared the room. There were only four of us left in the room—His Majesty the King, Ellelaura-san, Marné-san, and me.
"So what?" (King)
Marné-san and I talk about the magic circle we found deep in the forest. And what I broke.
"I think it's probably the magic circle from when 10,000 monsters were gathered together." (Yuna)
"There were reports that the monsters had moved out of that forest..." (King)
"For now, the magic circle has been destroyed, so monsters won't gather there." (Yuna)
"I see, thank you." (King)
"Aren't you angry? It could have been important evidence." (Yuna)
"No, there's no problem with destroying it. If something like that remains, someone might misuse it. If it wasn't there in the first place, no one would be able to use it." (King)
Apparently, the King had the same idea as me.
"And the ringleader is dead. It's unnecessary." (King)
The only thing that worried me was that man's house. There might be research materials on magic circles remaining in the house. A prototype of a magic circle to summon monsters. A finished drawing. Furthermore, there was also the presence of a man who appeared in the town of Euphalia. Though they were both dead, it was entirely possible that their research materials were still lying dormant somewhere. However, talking about it wouldn't solve anything and the King should know that. Therefore, it would be best to get rid of any documents that could summon monsters. With the conversation over, we left the King's office.
"Well then, I'm off to work." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san said this as she left the room. Even though she had only just returned home, this time I found myself feeling sorry for her.
"Ellelaura, thank you. You helped me out a lot. I'll thank you again next time." (Marne)
"Then please treat me to a meal next time." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san walked alone down the corridor. Marné-san and I walked in opposite directions.
"So, do you think you can make medicine from those flowers?" (Yuna)
The goal this time was to get medicine to help Marné-san grow.
"Yeah, one step closer." (Marne)
"One step?" (Yuna)
"Did you think I'd actually finish it?" (Marne)
"Yeah, well." (Yuna)
"If it were that easy to make a medicine, it wouldn't have taken decades. There are still many more materials we need. We just need to gather them steadily." (Marne)
"I see. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know. I'll help you as much as I can." (Yuna)
If it was an impossible request, I would refuse.
"I'll count on you then." (Marne)
"If I were knowledgeable about medicinal herbs, I could gather them for you." (Yuna)
I knew next to nothing about medicinal herbs. Even if I went looking for them, they all looked the same.
"That's right. Yuna is an adventurer, so if you have any information on dragons, please let me know." (Marne)
"Dragon?" (Yuna)
"I also need some dragon materials, you see." (Marne)
When I thought of dragons, the first thing that came to mind was the ice dragon.
"So, if it's a dragon, then it's fine?" (Yuna)
"That's right. There are fire dragons, water dragons, earth dragons, wind dragons, and many others, but I want the material that the dragon's mana has trapped inside." (Marne)
What are those four? Do they exist?
"Is there anyone who can defeat a dragon?" (Yuna)
The ice dragon was strong.
"You don't have to defeat them. Sometimes you'll find scales scattered along the way, or when dragons fight, their corpses may come up." (Marne)
Indeed, the Ice Dragons were fighting each other.
"If you get any such information, please let me know." (Marne)
What should I do about this? I had the materials from the Ice Dragon. But it wasn't among the dragons that Marné-san mentioned.
"What happened?" (Marne)
Marné-san looked at me as if peering up from below.
"Um, well, I have the materials from an Ice Dragon, but it's not good, is it?" (Yuna)
I asked just in case.
"Whaaaa—" (Marne)
Marné-san's voice echoes throughout the castle. I quickly covered Marné-san's mouth with my bear puppet.
"Uh huh." (Marne)
Marné-san was growling with her mouth covered by a bear puppet. I slowly removed it from her mouth.
"Ha, ha, you're going to kill me." (Marne)
"Sorry, but Marné-san, you suddenly started yelling." (Yuna)
"Because you said you have the material from an ice dragon!" (Marne)
"Marné-san, you're too loud." (Yuna)
I looked around but there was no one there.
"Is that true?" (Marne)
"Yeah, well." (Yuna)
"Is it a fake? Is someone tricking you?" (Marne)
"Um, I fought the ice dragon." (Yuna)
"What?" (Marne)
I also closed Marné-san's mouth.
"Ughhh." (Marne)
I slowly removed my hand from Marné-san's mouth.
"Did you fight?" (Marne)
"Yeah" (Yuna)
"So why are you here, alive and with all your limbs intact?" (Marne)
After all, it really is at that level, huh?
"Because it's an ice dragon, so is it not that good?" (Yuna)
"That's not true. The ice dragon is a dragon on the same level as the four great dragons. Anyway, we can't talk here, so let's go to my room." (Marne)
I was brought to Marné-san's workplace at the Ministry of Magic.
"So, is it true that you fought an ice dragon?" (Marne)
"It just happened." (Yuna)
"Normally, you don't just fight randomly. So what happened?" (Marne)
"After a lot of things happened, I did end up with the horns and scales... I think?" (Yuna)
"That 'a lot of things' part is what I'm curious about!" (Marne)
Even if I told her that the Ice Dragon gave it to me as an apology, I didn't think she would believe me.
"Um, by the way, do you have it with you now?" (Marne)
"It's in my item bag." (Yuna)
"May I see it?" (Marne)
"Which one?" (Yuna)
I could show the scales, but the horn was big.
"If possible, please give me both." (Marne)
"That's fine. I'd like you to keep it a secret from others." (Yuna)
I didn't want this to become even more of a fuss.
"Yes, I promise." (Marne)
"But I think it's a bit narrow to put a corner here." (Yuna)
Last time, Ellelaura-san and I cleaned up Marné-san's room in order to summon Kumayuru and Kumakyu, but only a little.
"Then let's go to the roof." (Yuna)
Author's Note
The returned to the royal capital.
It looks like it will be a while before Marné-san grows.
Book Volume 21 on sale February 7th (Friday)
Please check the activity report for details such as the cover and distribution locations of in-store purchase bonuses.
We are currently accepting requests for new stories for the 22nd volume of the book, short stories for store purchase bonuses, and other new stories. If you have any suggestions, please write them in the activity report.
*Sorry. I will not be posting the next post due to work on the paperback edition.
I hope to post next time in a week.
*Posting will occur every 4 days.
*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.)
*131st chapter of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic is currently available on PASH UP! neo (125th chapter of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
*Episode 23 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off is currently available on PASH UP! neo (Episode 20 of NicoNico Manga is currently available)
If you have time, please check out the comic version.
[Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear to be released]
Book 21 released on February 7, 2025. (Next volume, volume 22, 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 Gaiden Volume 3 was released on December 20, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, Volume 4, has not yet been decided.)
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, 12, has yet to be 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 Notes
Thanks to TV.Station for the corrections