859 Bear, hands over the monster - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

I received the payment for the current request from Mane, and all that's left is to submit the completion documents to the Adventurer's Guild. Apparently, the fees for the guild have already been taken care of. Watching Mane's growth, I was about to leave. "Yuna, hold on a moment, aren't you forgetting something?" "...?" Is there something I forgot? "The monsters. The giant ape and the Goblin King. And then, the massive snake." Ah, I did forget. It had been decided that Mane would take the giant ape. She also agreed to take the Goblin King and the massive snake. "Well, I can't say much since I completely forgot about the ice dragon materials myself." "Can I bring them out here?" "Definitely not! Imagine bringing out blood-soaked monsters here—it would create a huge problem." As I thought, it wasn't possible. "Then, how about the rooftop from earlier?" "Hmm, the Goblin King and the giant ape can be left in other research rooms, so please place them there. As for the massive snake, there’s something I want to confirm, and it can't be done inside the research building." Mane seemed to be deep in thought. "Yuna, stay over here tonight. I'll have everything prepared by tomorrow morning." "Stay over? Here?" "I have a bedroom in the back." "With you, Mane?" "You can stay here if you like, or with the staff at the castle dormitory." I'd rather not do that. "I'll head back, then." "Back? To Crimonia?" "I’ve got a house in the royal capital as well." I hardly use it, but still. "Really?" "Yeah, I'll come back tomorrow morning." "Got it. I’ll inform the gatekeepers and receptionists, so come again tomorrow, alright?" "Understood." It's a bit of a hassle, but there's no choice. I exit the Ministry of Magic's research lab and head toward the gate within the castle grounds. "We've been expecting you." "Huh?" "Lady Ellelaura instructed us to see you home." I thought about refusing, but I was too tired and accepted the ride. Eventually, I reached my bear house in the royal capital. The coachman, who hadn't realized my house was bear-themed, was wide-eyed upon seeing it. I thanked him and entered the bear house. "I'm exhausted." It's been a while since I’ve stayed at the bear house in the royal capital. I expected everything to be done today, but it wasn't. The next morning, as I leave the bear house to meet Mane, the carriage from yesterday is waiting outside. "Good morning. We’ve been expecting you." The coachman from yesterday greets me politely. "Um, what’s this about?" "Mane asked me to escort you." So, it’s Mane's doing this time. "How long have you been waiting?" "Don't worry about it." But I do worry. They could have just called for me. Shaking with the motions of the carriage, I head to the Ministry of Magic. After a simple identity check, the carriage enters the castle grounds and stops in front of the Ministry building. "Thank you." I offer my thanks and get off the carriage. As I make my way to the reception desk, "We’ve been expecting you. Here’s your entry permit." I'm handed a card. With it, I get on the elevator and head to Mane's research lab. "Yuna, I've been waiting. I've informed the various departments." I had just entered the room when Mane and I got into the elevator, descending to a lower floor. "What’s this place?" "This is the department that researches monsters. It’s outside my expertise, so we’ll have the Goblin King and the giant ape researched here." Mane leads the way down the corridor. Passersby are surprised by my appearance. "We’re entering now." Without waiting for a response, Mane opens the door. Inside, a man is waiting. "Lady Mane, we’ve been expecting you. Um, she is..." "She provided the Goblin King and the giant ape, Yuna. Please place them on the floor." The Goblin King and the giant ape are massive and won’t fit on standard dismantling tables, so they need to be placed on the floor. Following instructions, I bring out the Goblin King and the giant ape. "Alright, please handle the rest." With those words, Mane leaves the room, and I follow her out. "Let's head to the next place." We take the elevator back to the first floor. I expected us to head back outside through the reception, but Mane starts walking in another direction. "Mane?" "The area behind the building is designed like the rooftop for experiments." Mane waves a card over a magic stone near the door. The door opens, leading us to the back of the building. The area is enclosed by walls, hidden from outside view, and provides ample space—enough to release the giant snake. At the center stands a familiar figure. "Yuna, I’ve been waiting for you." It’s Ellelaura. "Lady Mane, the preparations for disassembly are complete." "Thank you. Yuna, please bring out the snake." I retrieve the giant two-headed snake from the bear box. "It’s truly massive." It’s big enough to swallow a human whole. Though its mouth is set agape and in a dire state. "And the Goblin King and giant ape too?" Mane seems to have briefed her as she mutters quietly. "I’ve requested for them to be taken to the upper department, so if you’d like to check, please do so later." "Understood. Let me call the dismantling team." Ellelaura opens the door we had come through and steps inside the building. "Who’re the dismantling people?" "I wanted to verify the snake's magic stones, so I had Ellelaura arrange for it." "Magic stones?" "If my theory is correct, there should be two magic stones. If there are, it might be possible to create a certain type of magic tool." And just as I was about to ask what kind of tool, the door opens, and Ellelaura returns with about five men in tow. "There’s really a huge snake here." "Lady Ellelaura, may we approach it?" "Go ahead." With Ellelaura’s permission, the men approach the snake. "It has two heads, but both have been destroyed." "The body shows signs of cuts." "Those must be attack marks." "How did they manage to defeat such a monster?" "Lady Ellelaura, about this creature...?" "I cannot reveal the origin of this creature. You also must remain silent as per our agreement. Just focus on dismantling as per the contract." "As long as we get to dismantle rare creatures and earn our money, that's what matters." "Ellelaura, who are those people?" "They specialize in dismantling. Occasionally, rare monsters are brought to the castle. They're the ones entrusted with the dismantling. They're tight-lipped, follow contracts, and there's no risk of a leak. You can rest easy. If anything were to be leaked..." "We take pride in our work. We won’t disclose anything." "All we care about is dismantling rare creatures." "After this disassembly is complete, let’s also have them handle the Goblin King and the giant ape, shall we?" Mane's suggestion lights up the eyes of the men. It’s a little intimidating. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but could you please retrieve the magic stones first?" Mane requested. "It might take some time since I'm not sure where they are," one of the men replied. "That's fine," she reassured him. With Mane's permission, the men began dismantling the giant snake. Their dissection was both meticulous and remarkably swift. I remembered a dismantling event from before, and they were certainly not falling behind. Perhaps they had even participated in that event. However, I could hardly remember the participants from that time, except for the image of Fina diligently dismantling. "I found it," one of the men reported, approaching us with a colorless magic stone in hand. "It's large," Mane commented. Though it's big, it's still smaller compared to the kraken or the giant serpent. "I believe there's another one. Please continue searching," Mane instructed. True to her words, after some time, they found another magic stone, similarly colorless. "Lady Mane, this creature had two magic stones from a single body?" one of the men asked. "Yes, this two-headed snake possessed two separate consciences. In fact, each had distinct abilities—one was a normal snake, while the other emitted poison. That's why I suspected there would be two magic stones." "Is it so unusual to have two?" "It is indeed rare. Encountering a creature with two magic stones is a rarity, and the odds of obtaining them after defeating such a creature are even lower." Come to think of it, I hadn't encountered other creatures with two magic stones before—except for the large serpent with five. "So, the two-headed snake is a rare creature, then?" "Yes, with this, we might be able to create it," Mane grinned. "Create what?" "A magic tool that allows communication over long distances." "...!?" "Lady Mane, are you serious?" one of the men asked incredulously. "Yes, with this size, it should be viable over a considerable distance." So we could make a Bear Phone? "Can't it be made with other magic stones?" "No, researchers in the past have tried, but even using stones from the same species, it never worked. It's believed that the stones' resonance, or the fact they were born in the same body, allows it. Historically, the only successful attempts used two stones taken from the same entity." Seems like something akin to monozygotic twins. "These are equally sized and are exceptionally rare, incomparable to regular magic stones." "Is that so?" "You're taking this lightly," Mane noted with a hint of chagrin. Well, it's just that only I can use it, but I already have the Bear Phone and can make as many as I want. To me, there's no difference from normal large magic stones. "Ellelaura, make sure to compensate Yuna generously. No telling her we bought it cheap," Mane instructed with a smile. "I won't do that. But I likely won't sell again," I replied. "Yuna's revenge would be frightening," Ellelaura chuckled. "Lady Mane, the creatures you've acquired are the giant two-headed snake, the giant ape, and the Goblin King—is that correct? Yuna, is it alright if the payment is made later?" "I'm fine with a loan," I teased. "Hehe, a loan of such magnitude is intimidating, so I'll pay you. After all, it'll come from the national treasury." So, that means taxes, huh. "We wouldn’t waste money," Mane said as if reading my mind. "If communication was possible over long distances, transmissions would be faster. That alone reduces time and manpower. The giant ape and Goblin King will be beneficial for future countermeasures when they appear again. Moreover, once the research is concluded, their materials will also be valuable. So it isn't a misuse of taxpayers' money." Mane made her point well. If it's for future benefits, it’s not wasted tax money. The materials’ sale would likely offset the costs. Not particularly worried about money, I replied, "Whenever is fine." Soon, research staff arrived and began examining the two-headed snake. "Yuna, thank you," Mane expressed her gratitude, clutching the magic stones happily as she returned to her research lab.