835 Mane, worried about Yuna - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Mane Worries About Yuna "Mane, run away!" Unlike me, who was late to react, Yuna had already moved. Ordinarily, fear would freeze you in place, rendering you immobile. But Yuna was different. Without hesitation, she started running toward that monstrous giant ape. "Kumayuru, Kumakyu, take care of everyone!" I knew staying there would only be a burden. But even so, I couldn’t just abandon Yuna and run. However, Kumayuru picked me up lightly, tossing me onto her back. "Wait! Your master is still there!" "Kuu~n!" Ignoring my words, Kumayuru dashed away. Alongside us, Kumakyu carried Lydia and Zect on her back as we raced onward. I turned back to see Yuna battling the giant ape, sacrificing her small body to buy us time to escape. Kumayuru and Kumakyu followed their master Yuna's instructions to leave the scene. "We've left Yuna behind. Are you sure this is alright?" "We'd only get in her way." Zect was right. If we stayed, it would only add to Yuna's burden. The best course was to leave. Going back wouldn’t change the fact I couldn’t help. I was powerless. "But..." "Let's trust in Yuna for now." At my words, Lydia also fell silent, understanding that returning wouldn’t change anything. After running for a while, Kumayuru and Kumakyu stopped. They could tell if a monster was near. The fact that they stopped meant the giant ape wasn't chasing us. This meant Yuna had successfully bought us time to escape. We climbed down from Kumayuru and Kumakyu and looked back in the direction where Yuna was. "So, what do we do now?" "What should we do, Mane?" Zect and Lydia both looked at me. I didn’t have an answer to their question. But as the oldest, I needed to decide. Ordinarily, fleeing further would be best. Yet, Kumayuru and Kumakyu stood frozen, looking worriedly in the direction from which we’d come. They seemed to want to return to Yuna. But following Yuna's orders, they'd helped us escape. They would move again only if Yuna died. No, if it came to that, these two might charge at the giant ape. While I was mulling over these thoughts, "Kuu~n, kuu~n." "What's wrong?" "Red apes are coming." Lydia answered on behalf of Kumayuru and Kumakyu. They positioned themselves in front of us. "How many can you tell?" "I think about three, four, maybe five." Lydia strained her ears to confirm. With that number, we had Kumayuru, Kumakyu, Zect, and Lydia with us. "We'll defeat them here." Even if we ran, they would chase us. More importantly, I didn’t want to get any farther from Yuna. Zect drew his sword, and Lydia readied her bow. Kumayuru and Kumakyu let out cries of "Kuu~n, kuu~n." From afar, we could see the red apes closing in. Kumayuru and Kumakyu charged at them. "Lydia, please support Kumayuru and Kumakyu." "Zect, keep an eye on our surroundings." "But I want to..." "No, if anything approaches from another direction, neither Lydia nor I could handle it alone." I could use magic, but not strongly. Moreover, I had little combat experience. The battle began between the bears and the apes. As Kumayuru and Kumakyu swung their arms, blades of wind shot from their claws, attacking the red apes. Kumayuru and Kumakyu’s assault sliced through the apes, felling two of them. "Amazing..." "So strong..." Our worries had been unnecessary. As Yuna had said, Kumayuru and Kumakyu were incredibly powerful. All the pursuing red apes were defeated by them. After dispatching the red apes, Kumayuru and Kumakyu returned, glancing worriedly in the direction Yuna had gone. "You're worried about Yuna, aren’t you?" I petted Kumayuru and Kumakyu. I made a decision, turning to Lydia and Zect. "You two should escape. With Lydia's ability to hear, you should be able to make it out of the forest." Up until now, they'd been gathering herbs using that skill. They should be able to exit the forest. "But what about you, Mane?" "I'll stay. If these two won’t move, I can’t just flee by myself. Besides, it’s partly my responsibility. I plan to head back as far as I can. These two probably want to get as close to Yuna as possible." If anything happens to Yuna, I’ll need to inform Ellelaura, who introduced us. It’s my responsibility. "Sorry. I might not be able to keep my promise." I had promised to make medicine for Lydia and Zect's sister. But that promise might not be kept. "Yuna's strong, isn't she?" "From what I've heard from two people I trust, she's stronger than any adventurer or knight." "Come to think of it, didn’t she say she defeated a Cockatrice and a Wyvern earlier?" "My friend claims she did." It’s hard to believe, but Ellelaura had no reason to lie. "Then we’ll go with you." "Brother!" "But Yuna’s strong, right? Didn’t she say she fought and defeated a Goblin King?" That’s what Yuna said. Her tone made it hard to believe she was lying. "Plus, she easily defeated that giant snake. Among the adventurers I know, she’s the strongest. Let's believe Yuna will win." "If you're saying so, brother..." Lydia seemed convinced to stay as well. We decided to turn back. "Kumayuru, Kumakyu, can you get us close without being noticed? Just as far as is safe." "Kuu~n." At my request, Kumayuru and Kumakyu gave a worried look. It was truly wondrous how they understood my words. "You’re concerned about Yuna too, aren’t you? If we’re close, we could help her if needed." "Kuun." At my suggestion, Kumayuru and Kumakyu exchanged glances, weighing their decision. "If Yuna is angry we returned, I’ll make sure to protect you." I was resolved to do at least that. "Kuu~n." With "Kuun, Kuun," Kumayuru and Kumakyu discussed amongst themselves. "It’s truly amazing to see bears conversing like that." Having reached a decision, Kumayuru and Kumakyu let out a "Kuu~n" and crouched down for us to ride. "Thank you." We mounted Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "Lydia, please listen carefully. Tell us about Yuna and the giant ape's situation, and if any red apes or other monsters approach." If she could hear it, she could gauge the situation. There was a chance the red apes might attack. Slowly, we made our way back toward where Yuna was. As we retraced our steps, Lydia reacted. "I heard it. Yuna and the giant ape are fighting." I felt a wave of relief wash over me, knowing Yuna was still alive. "What’s the situation?" Lydia quickly closed her eyes, trying to listen intently. "I hear the ape moving around. There's jumping, clashing sounds—like metal against something hard. Metal against metal?" "Metal against metal? Does that mean they're clashing swords?" No, Yuna didn't have a sword. That's impossible. Wait... I remembered. Yuna sparred with the head of the knights. Is it magic? No, that’s not it. I had heard she fought in place of a female student aiming to become a knight. And she defeated the head of the knights with a sword. That means Yuna can wield a sword as well. "Maybe it's Yuna clashing against it." "But Yuna's a mage, isn't she?" I thought so too. But then I remembered what Ellelaura had said. "Yuna can wield a sword too. I only heard about it, so I’m not sure of her skill, but she has the power to defeat the Kingdom’s knight commander and vice-commander." "Come on, defeating the Kingdom’s knight commander? That’s just a joke." "I only heard it as a rumor too, but according to a friend, Yuna did defeat them." Though he had a bad personality, the knight commander was skilled. "If that’s true, then Yuna excels both in magic and swordsmanship." But even with Yuna’s skills, she hadn’t defeated the giant ape yet. Kumayuru and Kumakyu came to a halt. This seemed to be as far as we could go. We were still far away from the scene. That’s when I remembered something I had with me. I pulled out a telescope from my item bag. "Mane, you had something like that too?" "Yes, I thought it might be useful for finding our target tree. I brought extras too, so if you want to see, I'll lend you one." I retrieved two more telescopes, giving them to Lydia and Zect. I quickly looked through mine. Yuna and the giant ape were locked in combat, both moving constantly. "Hey, is that a knife Yuna is wielding?" The giant ape wielded the massive sword that the Goblin King once had. In contrast, Yuna held a knife. The great sword swung by the ape was deftly avoided by Yuna, and sometimes she even parried the sword with her own small knife. "Incredible." "How can she parry such a large sword with such a tiny knife?" Yuna leaped back, creating distance, and then unleashed a fire spell. The sword wielded by the giant ape cleaved through the flames, dispersing them. Fire wouldn't work. The red apes had a resistance to fire, and even more so for the giant ape. Ordinary fire spells wouldn’t defeat it. Yet Yuna launched her flames toward the red ape once more. "What’s that shape in the flames?" Just as Zect pointed out, Yuna's conjured fire spell took the shape of a bear. This wasn’t the time to be playing around with bear-shaped flames in the middle of a battle. Unsurprisingly, the flame bear was sliced by the sword, scattering apart. "Is the sword absorbing Yuna’s magic?" The sword glowed red. The sword that the Goblin King wielded. It was said to start as an ordinary sword and transformed over time through magic, becoming the Goblin King’s sword. If the sword had further transformed under the giant ape's magic, who knows the extent of its power now. The giant ape closed in on Yuna, sword raised to strike her down. "Yuna!"