845 Bear, goes to the Adventurer's Guild - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

We arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. It was conveniently located near the Commercial Guild. From a short distance, we could see the Commercial Guild. Led by Zect and Lydia, we entered the building of the Adventurer's Guild. Given it was morning, the place was bustling with adventurers. “Let’s sell quickly and get out of here.” Perhaps uncomfortable in such settings, Mane didn’t seem too pleased as we headed towards the reception. Along the way, passing adventurers cast curious glances at me, whispering, “Bear?” “A bear?” “Is it a bear?” “A bear girl?” Before anyone could approach or ask questions, we made our way straight to the reception desk. “Good morning, Lydia, Zect,” the receptionist greeted. “Good morning, Kuno,” Lydia replied. Zect gave a slight nod while Lydia greeted the receptionist. The receptionist, known as Kuno, shifted her gaze to me. “Before we get to guild business, may I ask about the girl dressed as a bear?” The receptionist couldn't hide her intrigued expression. “Well, this is Yuna. Despite her attire, she’s an adventurer. And this other girl here is—" “I’m Mane, a half-elf, and ‘older’ than you,” Mane stressed the part about being older. While Kuno repeatedly glanced between Mane and me, mumbling “adventurer” and “older,” I remained unbothered as it was something I was used to. Mane, too, didn’t seem to mind. “I understand. So, what brings you here today?” Kuno smoothly transitioned to the business at hand. “We’d like to have some monster materials appraised.” “Certainly, please present your guild cards and the materials.” Zect retrieved a pouch filled with mana stones and a red monkey pelt from his item bag. “You managed all that? Did Lydia and Zect...?” “The real credit goes to Yuna. We just took care of the dismantling,” Lydia explained. Again, I felt Kuno’s gaze upon me. “I apologize, but may I also see Yuna’s guild card?” Of course, I thought to myself, as I fetched my guild card from the bear box. “Rank C Adventurer...” Kuno compared my card to me multiple times and then verified its contents on a crystal tablet. “Amazing. Someone who can take on such monsters alone, and in those numbers... Could she be the rumored...?” Her murmurs hinted at some kind of rumor. “No need to apologize.” I wasn’t surprised by her doubt. My bear attire often drew skepticism. “Then, we’ll take the materials off your hands.” Kuno handed back my guild card, and smoothly took possession of the red monkey, wolf, and goblin mana stones, and the red monkey and wolf pelts. Subsequently, a hefty sum of money was placed in front of Lydia and Zect. “That much...?” A sizable amount of currency was spread across the counter. “Please verify the amount.” After checking, Zect placed the money into a small pouch. “Regarding the slaying record—” “Please attribute it to Yuna, since we only handled the dismantling,” Lydia said. “There’s no point in overestimating our capabilities, which might saddle us with difficult requests we can't handle,” added Zect. Had Zect and Lydia claimed the kills, their ranks might increase, potentially burdening them with dangerous tasks. “Absolutely. The records will be credited to Yuna, not to either of you.” I had no intention of refusing this outcome. That was part of why I accompanied them to the Adventurer’s Guild. Still, it was surprising how easily they believed I was responsible just from showing my guild card. Typically, that's met with disbelief. “Yuna, could I have your guild card once more?” My guild card was updated to reflect the slaying records. With their business concluded, Lydia and Zect expressed their thanks and stepped away from the counter. “Yuna, is it really okay if we keep all of this?” Lydia seemed astonished at the unexpected sum. “It’s fine. Use it to treat Est to something delicious.” “But we’ve already earned from selling medicine to Mane—” “That was just for the herbs you collected. Lydia and Zect did the dismantling.” “Although mostly it was me,” Zect added, which I chose to ignore. “If I handled it, I’d have buried everything without dismantling.” Keeping the tiger wolf and a massive creature was more than enough for me. I might consider adding wolves at most. “So, it's the reward you two earned for dismantling.” One can never have too much money. Someone in the family might fall ill. Money equates to security. “Thank you, Yuna.” “And don’t gamble it away.” “I’m not like my brother, I’d never do that.” “Zect, do you?” “Just a friendly wager over a drink with a friend or two.” “You’ve got friends?” “Of course, I do.” Most people do have friends, after all. Personally, I didn’t. I had no friends in the world I came from, but in this world, I have Fina. A friend with a big age gap? But Fina calls me “Big Sister Yuna.” Could she be more like a little sister? Noa calls me “Yuna-san” and looks up to me, but it doesn’t feel like a friendship. What about someone my age, like Shia? We haven’t gotten that close yet. “……” I decided to stop dwelling on it. It only hurt my feelings. With our transactions complete, we exited the Adventurer's Guild. “Glad we got out of there without incident.” “There’s no danger inside an Adventurer’s Guild, is there?” Mane gave me an odd look when I mentioned getting out safely. “When I visit an Adventurer’s Guild, I often draw unwanted attention because of this outfit.” While not every time, the likelihood was higher than for most. “Hey, Zect, Lydia’s girl, wait up,” a voice called as we stepped outside. Turning around, we saw three adventurers approaching. It seemed leaving the guild smoothly was not in the cards. “Adventurers who usually bring in only weeds now come with such spoils. What trickery did you use?” “That’s our business, not yours.” “Didn’t loot it off some dead adventurer’s body, did you?” Two companions laughed at the man’s remark, indicating they hadn’t overheard our previous conversation with Kuno. “We’d never do such a thing.” “How about you share some with us?” Just as they moved forward, so did I. Bear Punch, triple strike. The men went flying and landed sprawled on the ground. “Striking such worthless individuals is hardly satisfying,” I commented, looking at the bear puppet on my fist. "What... What are you doing!?" The receptionist from earlier raised her voice as she approached. "When I saw the three of them follow Lydia and the others out as soon as they left, I came to check on the situation. Your guild cards will be revoked!" She directed this at the three adventurers on the ground. "We’re the ones who got hit!" "Yeah, we just wanted a little treat!" "I heard everything. You’re the ones at fault," she firmly pointed at the men. A rather impressive display from a receptionist. "And if you try anything with her, the Adventurer's Guild won't turn a blind eye." At her words, the men hurriedly retreated. "We apologize for the trouble." "Thank you for helping us. But I thought the guild doesn't interfere in disputes between adventurers?" "That depends on the situation. If there's trouble, we step in." I see. "And actually, I had heard a bit about you, Yuna." "You know about me?" "A friend of mine works at the Adventurer's Guild in the royal capital. When we last met, she mentioned a strong adventurer dressed as a bear costume." An adventurer in a bear costume—that’s definitely me. "They said that the bear-costumed girl had the Guild Master's trust, connections with nobility, and was stronger than any adventurer around, all while dressed cutely in a bear costume." Being called 'cute' is embarrassing, though. It's not me that's cute—it's the bear costume. No misunderstanding there. "And the Guild Master at the royal capital’s Adventurer's Guild issued instructions to intervene if any trouble arose when the bear-costumed adventurer arrived." The receptionist smiled as she recounted this. "I had forgotten about my conversation with that friend, but seeing your guild card reminded me of the bear-costumed adventurer she'd mentioned." Ah, that's why she murmured "the rumored one?" upon seeing my card. "If you ever have any trouble, don't hesitate to speak up." "Even if I return to the royal capital, make sure to keep Lydia and the others protected like today if they’re bothered." "As long as it's within my sight." "That's fine." No one can manage what happens beyond their view. "Feel free to reach out if there's anything else you need." The receptionist bowed and returned inside the Adventurer's Guild. "So, Yuna, you were famous?" Lydia remarked. "I just caused a bit of a stir at the royal capital’s guild," I said with a nonchalant wave. "A bit of a stir..." Lydia and Zect narrowed their eyes at me. It wasn’t like I’d started it; they were the ones who picked a fight. I’m not to blame.