Chapter 529

Bear-san, Obediently Complies

I was talking to Cereille and missed the timing to change into my bear suit.

The hooded figure walked toward us.

Considering the words directed at Cereille earlier and the direction in which he appeared, this hooded, suspicious man was the one Cereille after, the one who kidnapped her brother Keith.

And you can tell from his voice that hes a man.

But I have a feeling I have seen this hooded person somewhere before.

Where was it?

The nagging feeling stuck in the back of my head, but I cant recall.

Who is the young lady with that bear? I should have written that you should come alone, but it seems different from the letter. (Man)

The hooded man looked at me.

Thats (Cereille)

Cereille looked at me and gave me a troubled look.

Does that mean I can break my promise too? (Man)

The man laughed and asked Cereille.

Cereille tried to say something, but she swallowed her words. So I answered the hooded mans words instead.

Im a friend of Cereille. I saw her running out of the city alone in a hurry, so I chased after her. I didnt know why she left the city alone, came here, or was going to meet someone. So its not like Cereille broke her promise. (Yuna)

I knew nothing when I left the city, so Im not lying.

I only heard about it a few minutes ago.

Well, fine. One more student is not a problem. And its my first reunion with Cereille-sama in 10 years. Im open-minded, Ill forgive it. (Man)

He is wearing a hood, but I can see the mouth of a smiling man.

Swaying Bear is also here. I wanted to say something, but I stopped myself.

Ten years. Then, I knew it, you killed my mother. (Cereille)

Cereille asked as she squeezed her voice out.

Yeah, I am the man who killed your mother. (Man)

The man said and took the hood off himself. The face of a man in his late thirties emerges from under the hood. His face was emaciated.

You were so young that you would not remember my face. (Man)

I do not remember your face, but I remember that laughing mouth. And the unpleasantness when you touched me with your b.l.o.o.d.y hands after you killed my mother. (Cereille)

Fufu, that would be an honor. (Man)

The man sarcastically smiled at Cereilles words.

Cereille noticeably tightened her fist.

So, is Keith safe? (Cereille)

Hes alive. For now. Although, what happens in the future is up to you. (Man)

The man laughed.

Now, I think it would be easy to beat the guy here, seize him right here and now, and get him to tell us about Keith. But that doesnt mean this guy doesnt have friends.

Without knowing Keiths current situation, messing with him here is not a good idea. I guess he knows that, and Cereille was holding back.

You can tell by the look on Cereilles face and her clenched hand.

Where is Keith? Ive come as promised, so please return Keith. (Cereille)

Was that the promise? (Man)

The man turned his gaze on me.

You said it was no problem. (Cereille)

I was joking. I will take you to your brother to give him back to you. But I will have to ask her to come along as well. (Man)

I thought of changing into a bear costume and going ahead if he let me go, but it seems useless.

If only I had any acting ability, I could have cried and said, Please help me, I have nothing to do with this, or I wont tell anyone, so please let me go.

But, unfortunately, my acting sucks, and Im not comfortable with saying weak words anyway. Also, its embarra.s.sing.

She has nothing to do with this! Im the only one you wanted! (Cereille)

Cereille tried to send me back, even if Im not involved.

Well certainly, shes irrelevant. But its your fault that she knows about all of this. Besides, if she reported this to the city guards, I would be in a lot of trouble. Now then, will you abandon Cereille-sama and run away, Cereilles-sama friend? (Man)

The man emphasized the abandon and friend parts and gave me a nasty smile.

But I could kinda grasp the situation.

The man who killed Cereilles mother showed up, kidnapped her brother, and called Cereille.

What I didnt understand was why did he call Cereille?

From the way Cereille talks, it sounds like she was with her mother when she was killed. 10 years ago, Cereille was very young. It was hard to believe that the young Cereille would hold a grudge against a man.

And why, now, after 10 years?

Currently, theres not enough information. Either way, my actions will not change.

Whatever the reason, I need to protect Cereille, beat the guy, and save Keith. Thats all.

But its not a good idea to offend the man now.

I understand. I shall go with you. (Yuna)

Yuna!? (Cereille)

Cereille was surprised at my words.

If I wanted to escape, I could always do so because I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But if I escape now, I dont know what will happen to Cereille and Keith. Then, I should stick with them for a while. As long as I knew where Keith was, I could handle it. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that Im not wearing my bear costume.

Well, if push comes to shove, I can always wear it over the uniform if I want to.

Its a big help that shes a very understanding young lady. (Man)

Yuna (Cereille)

Dont worry about it Cereille. Ill go with you. If I run away here, I wont know what will happen to you and your brother now, will I? (Yuna)

Well, if he wants me to follow, Ill just keep up for a while.

Thank you for being so understanding. If you had escaped, I would have had to kill her brother. (Man)

The man said kill easily. If he really killed Cereilles mother, he could do it.

But if what the man said is true, it means Keith is still alive. If he is somewhat injured, he can be healed, so as long as hes alive, there is a chance to rescue him. So, as long as there is no danger, I will follow the man.

Where is Keith then?

A short distance from here. He is safe for now, although what will happen to him depends on what you do. (Man)

The man gave a creepy smile.

Oh, I want to pulverize that ridiculous face.

Both the mocking laughter and the att.i.tude are irritating, and its probably the confidence of knowing that he has the upper hand.

I want to hit him so badly, but I hold it in now, and be patient.

People are tolerant creatures.

I clenched my fists and tried to put up with it.

Even so, its amazing that a young lady like you has a bear. (Man)

The man looked at Swaying Bear beside me curiously.

I am probably the only person who rides a bear instead of a horse.

Hes my precious family. (Yuna)

Then, you will have to say goodbye to that family of yours. (Man)

Dont tell me youre going to kill him? (Yuna)

I stared at the man.

I am a gentleman. I would never do such a terrible thing in front of you ladies. Now then (Man)

He said it as if implying something.

However, I dont want you to get on it and run away, so well walk from here. If you tie the horse and the bear to a tree there or something, thats fine. If you refuse, I will take care of them here. (Man)

The man created fire magic in his right hand.

Swaying Bear would be fine, but not Cereilles horse.

Alright, fine. (Yuna)

Sorry, Yuna. (Cereille)

Cereille apologized. But it wasnt her fault.

Cereille used the horse reins as rope and tied them around the tree so it wouldnt run away. I took out a rope, attached it to Swaying Bears neck, and tied it around the tree as if I were imitating her. I tried to make it look like that.

Swaying Bear. Im sorry, just bear with it a little. (Yuna)

`Ku~u ~ n

Swaying Bear cried sadly.

But only a little.

There, satisfied? (Yuna)

Its a really quiet bear. If I had more time, I would like to check it out, but sadly, I dont, so Ill give up for now. Lets go to your brother now, shall we? Please follow me. (Man)

Perhaps satisfied with our actions, the man turned his back on us and started to walk ahead.

Oh, and please dont attack me from behind. If anything should happen to me, your brother will not survive. (Man)

I understand, quickly guide us to my brother. Please . (Cereille)

Cereille looks frustrated, and yet she still walks behind the man. Im at the furthest of the group, but I quickly repatriated Swaying Bear and followed behind them as if nothing had happened.

It was instantaneous, so the two walking in front of me were unaware that I had already repatriated Swaying Bear.

Now then, whats going to happen from here?

If I could use my detection skills, I could locate Keith, but since Im in uniform, I cannot use it. Furthermore, theres a possibility that monsters could be nearby, so I have to be careful.

Honestly, this situation made me appreciate the bear costume, Swaying Bear, and Hugging Bear even more.

However, Ive been saying many times before, why didnt you give me the skills and power to do this myself?

I wouldnt have had to suffer this hards.h.i.+p, otherwise.

For now, I will take action only after we ensure Keiths safety.

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Authors Note:

[Notice of postponement] Due to various circ.u.mstances, we have decided to postpone the release of k.u.ma k.u.ma k.u.ma Bear Volume 12, which was scheduled to be released on March 29. Volume 12 will be released on April 26. Im sorry for the readers who were looking forward to it. And thank you for your understanding.