839 Bear joins the three of them - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

It's over. I turn my gaze towards the direction the arrow came from. Atop the cliff, Lydia stands with her bow drawn. Zect wears a look of relief, while Mane seems concerned. I raise my hand to signal that it’s finished. Mane and the others ride down the cliff on Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "Yuna, are you okay!?" Mane dismounts from Kumayuru and rushes over, looking worried. "I'm fine." I gently pat Mane on the head. "Don’t treat me like a child." Since she looks like a child and her head was at the perfect height, I instinctively patted her head like I always do with Fina. I shift my gaze towards Lydia. "Yuna-chan, are you hurt? You were tossed around by the giant ape." "I'm fine." To prove I’m okay, I rotate my arms to demonstrate. "Really? You're not overexerting yourself?" From Lydia's perspective, I got punched and tossed by the giant ape, and she must think I have serious injuries. For an ordinary person, it might have been fatal, but thanks to the bear equipment, I’m unharmed. "But why did you come back? I told you it was dangerous and to run away." "...Because I was worried about you, Yuna." "We couldn’t just run away alone." "There might have been something we could've done to help." Their feelings make me happy, but thinking of the danger if the giant ape had attacked Mane and the others is frightening. "I entrusted the three of you to Kumayuru and Kumakyu..." "Kuun." Kumayuru and Kumakyu lower their heads. "We insisted on returning. So, don't scold Kumayuru and Kumakyu." Mane steps in between me and Kumayuru and Kumakyu, defending them. "It's not that I'm truly angry. It’s just that if something happened to you, it would be terrible." "It's our responsibility. It was our decision to come back. It's not Yuna's or the bears’ fault." "Yes, so don’t scold Kumayuru and Kumakyu." "Besides, they protected us from the red apes properly." That’s true, but if something had happened to the three of them, it wouldn't have been easy to accept. When they returned with Mane and the others, I thought of scolding them, but they kept their promise and protected them. When they tell me this, I can’t stay angry. I approach Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "Kumayuru, Kumakyu, thank you for protecting them." "Kuun." I gently pat their heads. Knowing I’m not angry anymore, Kumayuru and Kumakyu happily nuzzle against me. While stroking their heads, I look at Lydia. "Thank you too, Lydia, for helping." I glance at the arrow embedded in the giant ape’s eye. I was surprised when Lydia’s voice reached me. I assumed she’d assist with arrows. "Did you aim for the eye?" Two arrows are lodged in the giant ape’s eyes. Though it couldn’t have been coincidental, I wanted to confirm. Lydia shakes her head. "No, I aimed for the head, but the eyes were a coincidence." Even so, aiming for the head from that distance is impressive. "Mane suggested using wind magic to listen and aim." "Listen?" I’d usually think it’s about reading the wind flow, but listening… that’s new. "Yes, I listened to the sounds of you fighting the giant ape. I don't quite understand it myself, but something like a wind passage? To me, it was a sound passage. I created a wind path towards the giant ape's face and fired the arrows." She relied on sound even during the wolf incident—a remarkable skill. "But with this, it’s over." The giant ape is down, and the red apes fled into the forest once it fell. "Still, to think you managed to bring down such a monstrous ape." "Watching Yuna-chan fight, I was terrified of when you might be killed." "When you got thrown by the giant ape, I thought you were done for." "Yuna, are you really not hurt? Thrown by the giant ape..." "This outfit is special; it even mitigates impacts." "So, wearing it wasn’t just because you love bears." The three of them scrutinize my bear outfit again. "To soften that impact... amazing." Mane and Lydia start touching my bear suit. "So soft." "It feels nice against the skin." "But Mane, you've touched it many times before, haven’t you?" Since joining up with Lydia and Zect, Mane's ridden together on Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "True, but hearing the story gives it a special feel." "For now, step back." I gently distance myself from Lydia and Mane. They reluctantly pull away. "By the way, what happened to the sword the giant ape carried? Where did it fall?" Zect glances around. "He had it when he jumped off the cliff." "I stored the Goblin King's sword in the item pouch." I take out the Goblin King's sword from my bear box. "That’s huge." "Isn't that heavy for you, Yuna-chan?" I’m holding it with one hand. Seeing Zect interested, I offer it to him. He casually accepts it without thinking. "It's... heavy." Zect holds it with both hands but lets it drop to the ground. "This weight..." Lydia tries to lift the fallen Goblin King’s sword with her slender arms but can’t. "Yuna-chan, you were holding it with one hand?" "Uh, might be thanks to the bear's blessing..." I deflect with the secret art of the bear's protection. "If attacked with such a sword, I wouldn’t be able to block it. Could anyone deflect that with a knife?" "Brother, couldn’t manage it, right?" "I know that! Honestly, I doubt anyone could." "Yuna-chan seemed to manage." "Yuna's just extraordinary." In truth, it’s thanks to the bear equipment and my gaming experience. I store the Goblin King’s sword back into the bear box. "This ape was enormous." "But it’s really dead, right?" "It’s dead." I confirm there's no response with my detection skill. "It’s frozen." Its eyes are pierced with arrows, and its body is encased in ice. "Yuna-chan, you really are an amazing adventurer." "That's not true." "Feigning modesty can be off-putting." Mane interjects. "Now I understand why Ellelaura and Sanya trust you so completely—not just for your strength. Because you tried to protect us and let us escape, yet didn't flee for your own safety and chose to fight the giant ape. You could have left us behind, but you didn’t." If I left them behind, I'd only feel wretched. Besides, with the bear equipment, I believed I could defeat it. If worse came to worst, I could always escape. "Thank you, Yuna." Mane thanks me once again. "That's right. Without you, Yuna-chan, we would have been dead. Thank you for saving us many times," Lydia says, mirroring Mane’s gratitude, then looks at Zect. "Come on, brother." "Yeah, thank you. Without you, Yuna, Lydia and I would have been snake food. I can't offer much in return, but ask if there's anything I can do." Being thanked so earnestly is a bit embarrassing. "Don't worry about it. Besides, the only reason I could fight the monster with confidence was because these two were with me." I glance at Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "With Kumayuru and Kumakyu, I was sure they'd keep you three safe." "Kuun," they reply happily. "So, Yuna, what do you plan to do with the giant ape?" Mane asks as I'm petting Kumayuru and Kumakyu. "If I hand it over to the Adventurer's Guild, I can earn some money, right?" I have money, but it's always good to have more. More importantly, leaving it here might end up feeding other monsters, leading to a second or third giant ape, which would be troublesome. "Yeah, but Lydia helped defeat it too." "No, I don't need anything. I just fired arrows from afar. You’re the one who defeated it, Yuna-chan, so it’s yours." "In that case, I'll accept it. Would it be best to hand it over to Sanya-san?" It’d be a hassle to bring it to Crimonia and deal with the commotion, so I’ll consult with Sanya-san once I return to the capital. "If so, could I take it?" Mane asks somewhat hesitantly. "You want it? You can have it if you want." "I'll pay for it properly. I just thought I'd like to check out the magic stone." The Goblin King's and the giant ape's magic stones... they did shine. I'm curious too, but I can't investigate it myself. Thus, I decide to let Mane have the giant ape. First, I ask Lydia to pull out the arrows. Noticing how unsettling it looks upon closer inspection, I promptly store it in the bear box. "What about the red apes?" Zect surveys the surroundings and focuses on the fallen red apes. "Should we bury them?" "That would be wasteful. The red apes’ furs can be sold." "Since I'll take the giant ape, Lydia, and the others should take them." "I can't accept it when I didn't defeat them." "You can use them for your sister's medicine." "Really, is that okay?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Alright then, I’m not great at it, but let’s dismantle them." "Brother, do your best." "Help me, will you." Lydia and Zect pick up the red apes and move towards the river. Left behind, Mane and I gaze at the tree we came for.