Bear-san, Splits Up And Catches Up

“Could it be that it came!?” (Mia)

Mia looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who started squealing.

I checked it with my detection skill. There’s a reaction indicating that the slime is approaching.

“Yep, it looks like it’s here.” (Yuna)

Unfortunately, our hope that it would not come after us was shattered.

“Well then, shall we go?” (Kagali)

As we had discussed, we would return to the town, drawing the slime’s attention toward us.

I gave Mia and Carol some more food, took the horse out of the dismantling room, and then we went outside the bear house.

“Are you really going?” (Mia)

Mia looks worried.

“It’s okay. Since these kids are here, it won’t catch up to us, so don’t worry, we’ll return to the town while skillfully kiting it.” (Yuna)

“I’m sure you guys will be fine, but still, be careful.” (Mia)

(Editor: Kiting = basically keeping the monster engaged at a certain length, like playing tag, intending to lure their attention away for a specific period while another action is ongoing)

We rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, while Mia and Carol rode their horse.

“Well then, off we go.” (Yuna)

“We’ll be waiting for you, so come back, you hear!” (Mia)

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, ran in the direction of the slime’s reaction.

“Mia-oneechan and Carol-oneechan, are they going to be okay?” (Fina)

“If we can draw the slime toward us, I think they’ll be fine.” (Yuna)

There’s a possibility that other monsters will attack us, but we can’t take care of them there. Besides, Mia and Carol are adventurers. We came all the way to the town of Heschlag. We should be able to handle that.

“I can see it now.” (Kagali)

Kagali-san leans forward and looks ahead.

In the distance, I could see the water reflecting light… That’s the slime.

“You might want to take a little detour.” (Kagali)

“Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, we’re going to move in a big left turn.” (Yuna)

“Kuu~n”

While maintaining a distance from the slime, we passed by the left side of the slime, attracted its attention, and lured it directly to the town of Heschlag.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with us on board, ran at a distance that prevented us from being attacked by the slime.

“I can’t tell if the slime is changing direction since it’s so big.” (Yuna)

I can’t tell by using my detection skill. It’s just a huge dot of slime reaction. If it moves a little more, I can see the reaction.

I check the slime’s behavior with my detection skill while riding on the back of Swaying Bear.

“……Hmm?” (Yuna)

“What’s wrong, Yuna-oneesan?” (Fina)

Looking at the detection skill, the slime is moving strangely.

Just as an obstacle splits a flowing river in two, a stream of slime splits into two.

A part of the slime moves toward us, and the other moves in a different direction.

“It looks like the slime is splitting in two.” (Yuna)

“What did you say?!” (Kagali)

“It’s the direction where Mia and Carol are!” (Yuna)

In my words, Kagali-san and Fina are at a loss.

“It can split up?” (Kagali)

“I’m not quite sure, but…” (Yuna)

I can’t tell now, but it looks like it’s stretching from left to right.

I don’t know what will happen in the end.

“What happens to the magic tool if it splits up?” (Fina)

It’s just as Fina says. What will happen to the other half that doesn’t have a magic tool?

“I don’t know what will happen, but dividing is bad. If the other half is heading toward Mia and Carol has the magic tool, we would have to chase Mia and Carol all the way back to their town. And even if we could draw the slime chasing us into Heschlag, it would be meaningless we had no magic tool. Right now, we should avoid the unexpected.” (Kagali)

The idea of breaking it down and defeating each of the smaller parts pops into my mind, but Fina’s words countered it. 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

“But then, even if we head to the town, Mia-oneechan, and Carol-oneechan…” (Fina)

In the first place, even if it splits into two, it’s still a big slime.

It would be easier to destroy each individual if they were divided into at least 100 equal parts.

“For now, we have to retreat to Mia and Carol’s positions. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, turn back! Return to Mia and Carol!” (Yuna)

“Kuu~n”

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear turned around, and they started running.

******

-Mia’s Point of View-

“They’re gone.” (Mia)

“Yeah. Will they be okay?” (Carol)

Carol and I saw the three people riding on a black and white bear.

“It seems that both of them care about Fina-chan, so I don’t think they’ll push themselves too hard. Even so, I still don’t really understand the three of them, but I think they’ll be fine.” (Mia)

“I agree. Kagali-san is a fox with mysterious powers, Yuna-san can defeat knight armors, they also have Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan, and Fina-chan is cute.” (Carol)

“The last part has nothing to do with it.” (Mia)

“Fufu, indeed.” (Carol)

They truly were a strange trio.

We move to a shady spot under a tree and wait for Yuna and the others to return.

All we can do now is pray for Yuna and the others to return safely.

“What if Yuna and the others don’t come back?” (Mia)

“…………”

It was a word I casually said, but Carol did not respond. She knows that there’s no answer to such a question.

Kagali said she would escape by flying, but there’s even a chance she could fail and be eaten by the slime.

“Then I guess we have no choice but to ask someone for help.” (Carol)

Carol gives it some thought and then speaks her mind.

Even if we were to ask for help, there are no adventurers who can defeat that slime. The same thing for the knights and mages under the royal family. There’s no telling how many people the slime would attack during that time.

But, just like Carol said, I don’t think there’s anything else we can do.

“Is it okay if we leave the town immediately after asking for help?” (Mia)

If the slime chases us, the damage can be minimized.

“I don’t know. Even if we leave the town, it may still attack the people. At the moment, we don’t know if it’s chasing us for personal reasons or if it’s because we are humans. If it reacts when it finds many people, it might ignore us and head for the town.” (Carol)

If the town is attacked, we may be able to escape at the cost of many people’s lives.

Even if we can escape, we will carry the sin of the weight of many deaths for the rest of our lives.

I can’t bear the weight of that.

“I’m sorry, Carol. It’s my fault that you’re in this situation.” (Mia)

Carol wouldn’t have been involved if she hadn’t come with me.

Everything is my fault.

“No. It’s not your fault, Mia-chan. I said I would follow you because it was my intention.” (Carol)

Carol has always been kind. She is my only best friend. So I am distressed that I have involved Carol in this situation.

Time has passed since Yuna and the others went. It seems so long, yet it’s short and unsettling. Even if they could stop the slime’s magic tool, it would take two days at the earliest for them to return.

“Mia-chan, have some tea and calm down a bit.” (Carol)

Carol hands me a cup of tea.

“Thank you.” (Mia)

I drank the tea in one go.

Thanks to the tea, I’ve calmed down a little.

But that was only momentarily, and the horse let out an unsettling neigh.

“What!? What’s wrong?” (Mia)

I ran to the horse, stroked it, and calmed it down.

“Mi, Mia-chan!” (Carol)

“What?” (Mia)

“Look at that!” (Carol)

Carol’s pointing hand is trembling.

In the direction of her trembling fingertip is a humongous slime.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” (Mia)

“……Slime!” (Carol)

Why did the slime come to us?

“Could it be that Yuna and the others were eaten?” (Mia)

Since it ate Yuna and the others, did it target us next?

“There’s no such thing. Both Yuna-chan and Kagali-san are strong. Besides, they’re riding Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.” (Carol)

Certainly, with that inexhaustible physical strength to keep running, and those fast legs, I think those bears would be able to escape from the slime easily.

The moment I said that something terrible came to my mind.

“Could it be that they used us as decoys and ran away?” (Mia)

If Yuna and her friends are safe since Yuna and her bears can escape from the slime, then…

“That’s not true!” (Carol)

“Then why is the slime coming this way? According to them, Yuna and the others were going to attract the slimes and take them to Heschlag!” (Mia)

“That’s right, but…” (Carol)

Betrayed…

I believed in them.

No, everyone values their own life.

Besides, it’s a life that Yuna and her friends have saved many times.

It can’t be helped if they decided to abandon it.

We were just helpless.

“Mia-chan, run away!” (Carol)

“Uh, yeah.” (Mia)

We ran away from the slime when Carol and I got on our horse.

Once again, you can clearly see the abnormality of Yuna’s bears. Horses will gradually get tired. Unlike Yuna’s bears, the horse can only run for a short time.

What’s more, it’s running with me and Carol on board.

If the horse keeps running like this with two people on it, the horse could topple over. If that happens, both riders will die.

I don’t want Carol to die.

I had to make a decision before the horse trips.

……No need to even think about it.

I stopped the horse and got off.

“Mia-chan?” (Carol)

“Carol, go. If you’re alone, you might be able to escape.” (Mia)

“I can’t do that!” (Carol)

“At this rate, both of us will die.” (Mia)

“Then I…” (Carol)

Carol tries to get off the horse, but I silently hit the horse’s butt.

The horse must have felt the pain and it started running with Carol on it.

“Mia-chan!” (Carol)

At least, I can save Carol.

Please take care of my sisters.

Besides, someone has to tell them about the slime.

If Carol meets someone, she could tell them about the slime.

My death will not be in vain.

My death to save Carol.

The slime approaches.

It’s like a massive moving lake.

“Fufu“

This is the first time I’ve seen a moving lake, but it could be better described. No wonder, I’m an idiot.

I can’t help but smile.

I closed my eyes because I’m scared of the approaching slime.

If the slime eats me, I won’t be able to save myself.

Do I suffer like drowning in water? Or will my body melt away?

I don’t like it either way.

At least I wanted to die painlessly.

“Mia!”

From somewhere, I hear a voice calling my name.

That’s strange.

When I open my eyes, a black bear and a white bear are running in front of me.

Why are they here?

“Mia, reach out.” (Yuna)

Yuna’s black bear gloves grasp my outstretched hand with great strength. I am relieved by its strength. Then I rode on Swaying Bear’s back.

Yuna’s back is warm.

She’s a bear. So it’s natural for her to be warm.

The warmth brings tears to my eyes.

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Author’s Note:

I’m sorry for not progressing much.

I imagined what would happen if it split up, so I wanted to write about it.

※ As always, thanks to everyone who has reported typos.

Please note that some of the kanji characters have been corrected in accordance with the book, so there are some parts that have not been corrected.

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