Chapter 399 Bear-san, Heads To The Gate Of Trials

When I heard of Rikkas age, I wondered if I should change the way I called her. It was indeed awkward to call someone older than me without honorifics (except for Cliff and Toya), so I decided to call her Rikka-san. Im glad I didnt call her Rikka-chan.

After buying some souvenirs, we had a little late lunch. Of course, we were the center of attention when we entered the cafeteria.

[Thank you very much, Rikka-san. I was able to buy something nice for my brother.] Ruimin

Ruimin looks happy, but I wonder if her brother Lucca would really be happy with a bear figurine as a souvenir. However, I dont think a knight figurine would suit an elf boy. Though, what would make an elf child happy?

[Im glad youre happy with it. Where would you like to go next after we finish eating? Ill take you anywhere you want to go.] Rikka

There are a few Id like to visit and I havent been to all of them yet.

[Ive heard about the gate of trials in this city, where is it? Id like to take a look.] Yuna

[The gate of trials? Could it be, Yuna-chan? Youre going to partic.i.p.ate?] Rikka

[No, Im not going to partic.i.p.ate.] Yuna

In the first place, there are no weaponsmiths that will ask a bear.

[An adventurer I know is going to be partic.i.p.ating, so I was a little curious.] Yuna

Im interested, not just a little. It looks like a fascinating event. Id love to partic.i.p.ate, but since I cant, Im going to be there to support Jade-san instead. I dont mind going with Jade-san and the others on the day. But before that, Id like to take a peek at the gate of trials site.

[Is that so? Gordo, Ghazal, and dad all praised Yuna-chans abilities, but its a waste. If dad could make a sword, he would ask Yuna-chan to use it.] Rikka

[Rojina-san isnt making swords anymore, isnt he?] Yuna

[

U~n

, I dont know. He doesnt seem to be motivated for a while now. But when he saw Gordo and Ghazals knives earlier, I saw dads serious face for the first time in a long time. Maybe hell start making one again.] Rikka

It would be nice if that happened. It was worth it for me and Fina to come. Without her, she wouldnt have been able to show him Gordo-sans knife. If I hadnt come, I wouldnt have been able to show him Ghazal-sans knife.

It was nice to be able to show them the knives they had both made. Both Gordo-san and Ghazal-san might be sad if they find out that their master, Rojina-san, has not made a sword for some time now. Thats why Im a little troubled about how to report it when I return to the royal capital and Crimonia. Will I tell them the truth or deceive them? But if he is going to make me a weapon, then I wont have to tell a lie.

After having our lunch, we headed for the test gate event site.

[Its going to be a long walk from here, so is everyone still okay?] Rikka

Rikka-san said that the test gate event site is on the outskirts of the city, so its quite far.

Well, it doesnt matter how far away it is, I have my bear gear so Ill be fine, but

[Id like to see it too, so Ill go with you.] Fina

[Ill come with you too.] Ruimin

Both of them replied energetically. It seems my worries are unnecessary.

And so, we arrived near the test gate site.

Rikka-san was right, it was in a remote location. Rather than saying it was somewhere around here, it might be more correct to say it was WAY beyond there.

[Whats this?] Yuna

In front of me were stairs leading all the way up to the mountain.

[Could it be, its up these stairs?] Fina

[Its up there?] Ruimin

I look up. Just looking at it seems to hurt my thighs.

[How many steps are there?] Yuna

[I dont know, Ive never counted it.] Rikka

Its more than a thousand steps.* As a recluse, Ive never climbed or even seen such a long staircase before, so I cant imagine the actual number of steps just by looking at it. But its definitely an incredibly long staircase.

Well, there are no stairs I cant climb, no matter how many steps it has, Ill be fine as long as I have my bear shoes. But thats not the case with Fina and the others.

[Well, what about you two? Do you want to stay here and wait for us?] Rikka

[Ive been running around in the forest for a long time, so I should be fine.] Ruimin

[I dont know if I can climb, but Ill do my best.] Fina

If no one is around, Ill summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But thats not the case this time. Looking up the stairs, I can see a few people climbing up and down.

[If you get tired, Ill give you a piggyback ride.] Yuna

Its easy enough to carry Fina up the stairs on my back since Im using the bear cheat.

[Ill do my best.] Fina

Fina looked up and slowly walked up the stairs. Ruimin lightly runs up the stairs, skipping a few steps. Rikka-san mumbled in a small voice,

and started climbing the stairs.

I followed the three of them up the mountain.

[

U~u

, Ruimin-san. Youre too fast.] Fina

Ruimin is waving her hand from way up ahead. As expected of an elf who grew up in the forest. For Ruimin, this kind of stairs is just like running up a mountain.

Fina tried to chase after Ruimin but lost her breath in the process.

Halfway up, I started to climb at my own pace. But now, Im matching Finas pace.

[Tell me when youre tired.] Yuna

[Yeah.] Fina

We climbed the stairs with Ruimin in the lead. Rikka-san, Fina, and I followed. About halfway up the stairs, Finas foot stops.

[Fina. Lets take a break.] Yuna

I took out some cold water from the bear box and gave it to Fina. Fina received the gla.s.s of water and drank it in one gulp.

[Thank you, Yuna-oneesan.] Fina

[Yuna-chan. I need water too.] Rikka

I gave Rikka-san the same cold water.

[Its cold and delicious.] Rikka

[Yuna-san, Ill have some too.] Ruimin

Ruimin, who was supposed to be way up the stairs, was nearby. How nice of you to come all the way back. I cant believe shes the same person who was lying in front of my house. Well, thats because she hadnt eaten anything for a few days.

I handed Ruimin a gla.s.s of water, which she also drank in one gulp.

And after drinking my gla.s.s of water, we resumed our ascent.

[Come on, Fina, hang in there. If youre tired, I can let you ride on my back, you know? Or would you prefer to be carried like a princess?] Yuna

I wish I could summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, but theres no way I can in this place, so Ill offer my back or arms instead.

[

U~u

, Im not a little child anymore, Ill be fine.] Fina

Fina puffed out her cheeks a little and declined the piggyback ride and the princess carry. It wasnt that I think she was a child or anything, it was just that I thought she might be tired.

[Arent you tired yourself, Yuna-oneesan? When we were at the beach, you collapsed back then.] Fina

[I didnt have the bears blessing back then. Now I have the bears blessing, so Im fine.] Yuna

[Wha, whats a bears blessing?] Rikka

An out-of-breath Rikka-san asks.

[Its a blessing from the bear G.o.d and Im receiving that power through the bear gear. Well, in reality, Im just strengthening my body with magical power.] Yuna

I answer with a mixture of bear blessing and magic enhancement.

The stairs went on and on and I am too weak to climb them without my bear gear. Thats why I couldnt take off my bear gear.

While Im climbing the stairs while wearing such cheat armor, Fina is climbing with sweat dripping from her forehead.

U~u

, I feel so guilty.

[Fina, my back and arms are always free.] Yuna

I showed my back and arms to Fina.

Fina smiled a little and replied, [Its okay].

We finally finished climbing the long stairs and looked down. The long stairs continued far down. How did we get up from there? If I didnt have my bear gear, Id never want to climb it. But the other three who didnt have the cheat gear made it up on their own.

[Im tired, but it feels good.] Fina

Fina, out of breath, is looking at the city below. A panoramic view of the city unfolds. This alone was worth the climb.

[Does everyone who attends the gate of trials event have to climb up here?] Yuna

[Its only once a year. Besides, the blacksmiths will be there to keep them company, and its the adventurers who will take on the trials, so it should be fine.] Rikka

Well, the adventurers are always carrying weapons with them. Also, they are always walking in the mountains and places with bad footholds. They should be able to climb those stairs easily. The way they train is different from normal people. If it werent for the bear cheat, I would never have been able to become an adventurer.

After looking at the view below, I looked towards the mountainside. There is a square platform at the top of the stairs, and a building can be seen on the mountainside at the back. Around the building, some people have climbed the stairs, gathered. They looked like adventurers and blacksmiths. I wonder if theyre here to check out the place like we are.

The adventurers who had come for a preliminary inspection were surprised to see my bear gear, but I ignored them as usual and walked up to the building. The building is white and looks like a temple. In front of the temple-like building, there is a large door that looks like a gate.

[Is this the gate of trials?] Yuna

[No, the gate of trials is within that gate.] Rikka

[Cant we go inside?] Yuna

I pounded on the door with my bear puppet.

[The Guildmaster of the Blacksmiths Guild will open the door when the gate of trials opens. Until then, no one will be allowed inside.] Rikka

[So, when will they open? They were saying something about it opening soon.] Yuna

Toyas test will last until the gate of trials closes. Im curious about that too, so I asked her.

[No one knows for sure. We just know that every year, at around this time, the gate of trials will open.] Rikka

[The way you put it, Rikka-san, it sounds like the gate will open by itself.] Yuna

[Yes. The gate of trials opens and closes on its own. Thats why we dont know the exact date when the gate opens. It seems that some people tried to force the gate open a long time ago and they had to build a building in front of the gate. Nowadays, no one tries to break down the building to get inside the gate.] Rikka

It looks like some people couldnt wait and tried to break down the gate to get in, but it seems that there are idiots everywhere who cause trouble.

But there is no set date for the opening of the gate of trials. I hope it will open soon.

Authors Note:

Finally, were at episode 399. The next episode will be 400. It goes by fast, doesnt it?

Volume 7 will be released on July 28th. There are some changes to the story in this volume. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

Ive posted images of the Korean and Taiwanese versions of k.u.ma k.u.ma k.u.ma Bear on Twitter. If youre interested, please take a look. The Bear is expanding overseas.

The next post may be an SS post. If there is no post in three days, I might be taking a break and I may be posting it in six days. Thank you for your understanding.

*Ah, the infamous 7000 steps to High Hrothgar (Which is not really 7000 in the vanilla game, not even 1000). I knew were in Tamriel.

I envy you, you know. To climb the 7,000 Steps again I made the pilgrimage once, did you know that? High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place. Very disconnected from the troubles of this world..

-Jarl Balgruuf the Greater

Maiq once walked to High Hrothgar. So many steps, he lost count.

-Maiq the Liar