Chapter 439

439 Bear-san, Listens To Shinobu’s Story

We thanked them for the meal and headed back to town. When we left the village, a lot of people saw us off.

[Swaying Bear was very popular.] Shinobu

The children would quietly gather around Swaying Bear.

The meat was delicious, as one would expect from high-grade meat.

I rode Swaying Bear back to town. Shinobu, riding Hayatemaru, runs beside me.

[Yuna, I need to talk to you about something when we get back.] Shinobu

[Talk about what?] Yuna

[I want you to hear my story.] Shinobu

[Could it possibly have something to do with this request?] Yuna

[Well, that’s a part of it.] Shinobu

She tried to deceive me earlier, so what does she mean by that?

Or was it something she couldn’t talk about back there?

[I don’t want any trouble.] Yuna

I’m here as a tourist. I don’t want to be bothered.

[U~u, don’t say that.] Shinobu

[That means it’s troublesome, isn’t it?] Yuna

[…It’s troublesome.] Shinobu

Shinobu answered honestly.

[If that’s the case, I don’t want to hear it.] Yuna

[Don’t say that, please listen to me! I’m begging you.] Shinobu

[I’ll only listen to you if you tell me everything without hiding anything from me.] Yuna

I want to know why Shinobu is following me around.

I don’t understand why Shinobu accepted the request. She said something like it was meaningless unless she was with me. I can’t quite figure out the true meaning of Shinobu’s actions and words.

It’s not like I’m going to let it bother me.

If it’s too much pain to listen, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear it.

[All right. I’ll tell you when we get back to town.] Shinobu

=====

When Shinobu and I got back to the town, we went to the Adventurer’s Guild to report our success.

[We’re back.] Shinobu

Shinobu walks into the Adventurer’s Guild as if she were back home. The fact that Shinobu shouted out like that as she entered drew a lot of attention.

But Shinobu didn’t seem to mind and casually went to the reception desk.

[We’ve finished the request.] Shinobu

Shinobu took out the request form and her guild card, so I took out my guild card as well.

The receptionist checks the request form.

The request form is signed by Itsuki-san, certifying that the request has been fulfilled.

[Thank you for your hard work. So, what do you want to do about the Kamaitachi? Do you want to sell them?] Receptionist

[Yes, please. My clothes got torn because of the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

Shinobu showed the receptionist where the torn part was.

[Ara, that’s unusual, Shinobu.] Receptionist

[That’s because of the silver kamaitachi. There are three of them.] Shinobu

[Is that so? Well then, where is it, Shinobu-san?] Receptionist

[I have one. And Yuna has two.] Shinobu

[When you say Yuna, you mean…….] Receptionist

The receptionist looked at me.

[Is that true?] Receptionist

She’s looking at me in disbelief.

[It’s true. Yuna defeated most of the Kamaitachi by herself.] Shinobu

Well, actually, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are the ones who defeated it.

[What about your Kamaitachi, Yuna?] Receptionist

I don’t know what to do. Should I sell it?

Or should I ask Fina to dismantle it?

She doesn’t have that much dismantle work, but I bought her a mithril knife, so it’s decided.

I’m going to ask Fina to do it. If she can’t do it, I can ask Gentz-san.

[No, I’m good.] Yuna

[It may turn bad.] Receptionist

[My item bag is special, so it’ll be fine.] Yuna

Then I crunch the bear puppet.

=====

[Then I’ll hand over the reward, please split it between yourselves.] Receptionist

The receptionist puts the money on the table. Then Shinobu grabs about ten percent of the money.

[My share would be about this.] Shinobu

[Half is fine.] Yuna

[I can’t do that. I only defeated a few of them. That’s why the rest is Yuna’s share.] Shinobu

[Are you sure?] Yuna

Certainly so, based on the number we’ve defeated, but Shinobu has given me information about the Kamaitachi. That information is well worth the money.

[It’s a fair share. You don’t need to worry about it. Instead, I’ll ask Yuna to hear me out.] Shinobu

[Are you perhaps trying to give me some money so I can’t refuse?] Yuna

They say <nothing is more expensive than free of charge>.

[Don’t think that I’m naive.] Yuna

After much deliberation, I decided to accept it. If it comes down to it, I’ll just refuse.

[I’ll take that as a yes then, thank you.] Shinobu

I put the money away in the bear box.

Now that I had my guild card back and had finished reporting my request, all I had to do was return to the inn and relax.

But first, I need to hear what Shinobu has to say.

[So, where do you want to talk?] Yuna

[I don’t want anyone to hear us, so can we go back to the inn?] Shinobu

[Okay, then…] Yuna

I’ll listen to Shinobu’s story in my room at the inn.

So we returned to the inn.

=====

[Yuna-sama, Shinobu-sama, welcome back.] Konoha

Konoha welcomes us.

[I’m back. I’d like to have dinner when it’s ready.] Yuna

[I’m also staying here, so I’ll need a room.] Shinobu

[Yes, thank you.] Konoha

After completing the accommodation formalities, Shinobu went to the room where I was staying.

[It’s a nice room.] Shinobu

Shinobu scurried around the room.

I sat down on a cushion in my room.

[So, what’s the story?] Yuna

Shinobu also sat on the opposite side of the table on a cushion.

[I’m actually looking for this guy.] Shinobu

Shinobu pulled out something from her chest. It was a sheet of paper, folded in four, and when she unfolded it, I saw a sketch of a man with a bad physiognomy.

He had bad eyesight and his left eye was covered with an eye patch.

It looks like a wanted poster.

[Who is this picture of a bad guy with a bad attitude?] Yuna

He’s definitely not the type of person you want to have anything to do with.

[He’s the man who killed my parents.] Shinobu

[……]

A silence flows.

A sudden heavy word came out of her mouth.

I began to regret having asked. When I read manga and novels, I find that revenge stories rarely have a happy ending. Most of them make me sad as well.

[Are you going to ask Swaying Bear to find him? If so, then I can’t do it.] Yuna

What Swaying Bear can do is the same as the detection skill. It also seems to be able to find out about people that I know like Fina and the others. So, I can’t search for someone I’ve never met before.

[No, I’m not. Although, it would be helpful if you could, of course. I think he’s in town.] Shinobu

This town is huge. It’s not easy to find a single person in here.

[What then?] Yuna

[Yuna, you’re stronger than me, aren’t you?] Shinobu

[Shinobu might be stronger.] Yuna

[That’s not true. Yuna is stronger than me.] Shinobu

Did you follow me to see how strong I am?

But when you first meet me, you don’t think I’m strong, do you? Everyone thought I’m just a girl in a strange outfit after all.

I feel like the order of what she’s saying and what she’s doing is not quite right.

[So you want me to beat up this guy?] Yuna

[I’m simply asking you just in case.] Shinobu

[Just in case?] Yuna

I thought she was going to ask me to help her avenge her parents, but that’s not it.

[I’ll get this man. So, I want you to watch over me in case I fail. Of course, I’m not asking you for free. I’ll pay you.] Shinobu

Shinobu said and pulled out a drawstring bag from the item bag. When she opened the bag, I saw some money in it.

It’s a fair amount of money. You can probably buy a small house with it.

[This is all of my money. If I die, I want you to catch that man.] Shinobu

She looks at me with a serious expression.

[There’s no point in having money when you’re dead. That’s why I’m giving it to Yuna. Oh, but if I succeed, I’ll take my money back.] Shinobu

Shinobu said such words with a smile on her face.

[I may run away with money, you know.] Yuna

[I’ve been watching Yuna for the past two days. I knew you wouldn’t do something like that, that’s why I asked you. Moreover, Yuna approached Itsuki-san, who was in trouble.] Shinobu

I just wanted to see Kamaitachi at that time.

[When the cows got attacked, you reacted faster than anyone else.] Shinobu

We’re there to defeat them, so it’s only natural that I’ll move at a moment’s notice.

[The villagers were in trouble, so you went into the dangerous forest to kill the Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

I simply didn’t want to spend too much time hunting it.

[You didn’t brag or negotiate for a higher fee even though you defeated the Silver Kamaitachi.] Shinobu

That was Shinobu’s way of saying negotiation, or something like that.

[Moreover, you refused the additional request fee because you were treated to a meal.] Shinobu

I just refused that because Swaying Bear ate a lot of meat.

[Is that why you refuse the payment this time?] Yuna

[That’s a fair share.] Shinobu

[But why me? Aren’t there other strong adventurers out there? Isn’t it strange that you would ask me, a person you just met, to help you?] Yuna

If you think about it, no one would normally ask someone like me who’s wearing a bear costume.

[It’s a woman’s intuition. When I first saw you, I was so curious that I couldn’t take my eyes off you.] Shinobu

Maybe you couldn’t just take your eyes off me because you were curious about my outfit.

[So, when I saw how good you are, I decided to ask for your help.] Shinobu

Hmmm, I don’t think she’s lying, but I feel like she’s hiding her true intentions.

[Is that man that strong?] Yuna

Shinobu is a rank C adventurer. She was trusted by the Adventurer’s Guild. Her rank is not just a name. She had also defeated the silver Kamaitachi that I had struggled with.

[He’s strong. It will probably be a close fight. I don’t intend to lose, but I can’t say that I can definitely win. That’s why I want to ask you, Yuna, to back me up.] Shinobu

Shinobu bowed her head.

I don’t think I should have listened to it, but it’s a subtle story.

[You’re not trying to defeat him, but to simply capture him.] Yuna

[He has various criminal records.] Shinobu

[Then why don’t you go to a certain place and ask them to get him?] Yuna

[There’s no evidence. So I’m going to catch him and make him talk.] Shinobu

That makes it quite difficult. The stronger the opponent, the harder it is to catch them. The closer the power difference is, the harder it will be. The slightest mistake can kill you.

So that’s what Shinobu means when she asked me <just in case>.

All I could do was sigh.

After all, Shinobu and I have already been on the same page, taking requests together, fighting Kamaitachi together, and eating the same food together.

I can only imagine how bad I would feel if Shinobu died without my knowledge because of my refusal.

<If I had been there, she might not have died.>

I let out a deep sigh.

[All right, all right. I’ll do it. But there’s one condition.] Yuna

[What is it? Are you asking for my body? If it’s you, Yuna, then…] Shinobu

Shinobu tried to take off her clothes starting from her shoulders.

[No! I don’t want that!] Yuna

[Oh, that’s terrible. To say such a thing to my body.] Shinobu

Shinobu squirmed and mimicked crying.

You’re saying you might die, but you can still fool around like that, I see.

[If I think Shinobu is in danger, I’ll take action.] Yuna

[Does that mean you’re going to get in the way of taking out my enemy?] Shinobu

[No, I’m not. It’s synonymous that when Shinobu loses, you’re as good as dead. So before that happens, I’ll do something about it. I won’t keep my promise if you die, Shinobu.] Yuna

This is the only thing I can’t compromise.

If someone I know were to die or get seriously injured in front of me, I would have severe PTSD.

[I can’t say no if you look at me that seriously. I’ll leave that to your judgment.] Shinobu

I decided to accept Shinobu’s request.

=====

Author’s Note:

I still don’t know what Shinobu’s true intentions are, but I’m going to help her catch the guy.

Volume 8 of Kuma will be released tomorrow, December 22. I signed it the other day, so if any readers are interested in it, please do so. If you click on the cover of volume 8 below, you will be taken to the publisher’s special offers page.

And then, volume 9 will also be released.

The release date is scheduled for March, three months after the release of volume 8. Please note that the web version will be closed at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year for this reason.

Also, we are looking for SS and new writings in the activity report.

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