Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

As we entered the Bear House, the two elf sisters looked around restlessly.

I made sure to have them take their shoes off before entering, of course.

「Yuna-chan, you’re not going to take yours off?」

「They don’t get dirty, so it’s fine.」

I showed them the soles of the Bear-san Shoes.

「Oh, they really are clean.」

「Go ahead and find a place to sit while I prepare dinner.」

「I’ll help you.」

「Oh, me too.」

「No, it’s okay. You two feel free to relax.」

I politely declined their offers to help. Before I started to prepare the food, however, I first went to the bathroom to prepare the bath, so we could get in right after diner.

I was looking forward to sleeping in my bed after a nice, warm bath.

When I was done, I went to the kitchen and prepared us a simple dinner.

It was just the usual: Morin-san’s bread and Anzu’s soup. This time around, I also chopped up some vegetables to go with it.

Rice would be quite nice, too, but taking out bread was just simpler.

「This is delicious.」

「Yeah, the soup is so nice and warm.」

「There’s plenty more, so let me know if you want seconds.」

「I never would have imagined that we would be able to eat dinner in a house when camping outside.」

Sanya-san said and looked around the room.

「Even if it rains, we can rest without having to worry about getting wet at all.」

Ruimin said earnestly, which sadly only made me imagine her getting drenched by rain during her trip to the capital.

「We don’t have to keep watch, either.」

Ruimin continued her voice sounding even happier now.

I wouldn’t want to keep watch all night, either, so I could understand how she felt.

Heck, just thinking about it made me sleepy.

「Even though we’re in a house, we still need to keep watch. Thieves could attack while we sleep.」

Ruimin’s face darkened when Sanya-san said that.

「You don’t have to worry about keeping watch; these two will do it for us.」

I said and looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, curled up by my feet.

「Those two?」

「They will alert me if there are dangers nearby.」

The Bears realized I was talking about them, so they looked up and cried out softly.

「Wow, these summoned beasts of yours really are amazing.」

「They really are.」

The elf sisters looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear with admiration, inciting another happy cry from them.

「Anyway, because they are here, we can rest easy.」

「Still, won’t we need to stop by a town or village eventually, to get supplies?」

Sanya-san asked me.

Well, I had plenty of food in my Bear Box, and we even had a bath here. We should have everything we needed for our trip, so there wasn’t really a reason for us to purposely stop at any towns or villages.

With our bellies full, we moved to the living room, where we just relaxed for a bit. Ruimin eventually began to play with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear while Sanya-san and I simply watched.

「So, Yuna-chan, where can we sleep? I don’t mind sleeping right here in the living room.」

「There’s a guest bedroom, so you can sleep there. Before we head of to bed, though, would you like to take a bath?」

「A bath?!」

「Could it be that elves don’t take baths…?」

Was my image of elves spending their time playing around in cold water wrong?

Maybe they didn’t even have to take baths?

「We do, but a bath? Here?」

Oh, so they did take them.

「Yeah, here. I already prepared it for you, so please take it before you head to bed.」

「Are you really telling me there’s a bath in this house?」

「Yes…」

Because they seemed so skeptical, I guided the elf sisters to the bathroom.

「Feel free to use the towels over there. I have also prepared some clothes you two can wear while you sleep, so the bedsheets don’t get dirty too quickly.」

「Bedsheets?!」

「Yes, bedsheets. To go over a bed you sleep on?」

I irritably shared common sense with them, but Sanya-san and Ruimin still wore troubled expressions.

「May I say something, Yuna-chan?」

「Sure…」

「You really lack common sense.」

Apparently, my common sense lacked common sense.

Wait, that made no sense at all.

「Onee-chan, is this normal for people in the capital?」

「Not in the slightest.」

It was normal… Who was really lacking the common sense here, huh?

「Anyway, just think of the bath as a way to remove your fatigue from this trip. It’s large enough for both of you to fit in at once.」

I had taken a bath together with both Fina and Noa, and we had no problems, so there should be plenty of room for the two of them.

「Seems like even all three of us could fit easily. Why don’t you join us, Yuna-chan, so we can chat?」

Sanya-san suggested after peeking into the bathing area.

「I’ll take one after you two are done.」

「No, we can’t have that. If we are going to take separate baths, then we should be the ones to go after you. We are the guests here, after all. You were kind enough to let us stay in this house and even cook us dinner. 」

「Onee-san’s right. I’ll wash your back for you, Yuna-san.」

「No, you don’t have to.」

Now even Ruimin was trying to convince me.

I just wanted to bathe on my own today, but was shot down spectacularly and ended up going in with them.

As expected of an elf, Sanya-san had a beautiful body. Her breasts were by no means huge, but she had a nice, slim figure. I could see no wrinkles on her skin, and her long, light green hair just completed the perfect picture. She had the feel of an adult woman.

While Ruimin’s body more closely resembled that of a child, her waist was still way slimmer than mine. At least the size of her breasts were the same… Anyways, looking at how slim these elf sisters were, I wondered, was it even possible for elves to get fat? I had never seen a fat elf in any manga or games.

I stopped myself from staring at them and undressed as well.

I felt Ruimin’s gaze on me, but I simply ignored it.

「You have beautiful hair, Yuna-san.」

「Your hair is really pretty too, Ruimin.」

Her hair was very similar to that of Sanya-san. As expected of sisters, huh.

Putting away my clothes, I noticed that Ruimin was already ready, while Sanya-san was still taking off a bracelet from her wrist. The blacelete had a beautiful green gem in it. As expected of an adult woman; she wore a shining, ornate jewelry.

「Okay, I’m heading in first.」

Ruimin said and started to rushed towards the bathing area stark naked, but was suddenly grabbed by the arm by Sanya-san.

「Ruimin, wait a second.」

「What’s wrong, Onee-chan?」

「What happened to your bracelet?」

As soon as Sanya-san asked Ruimin about her bracelet, her facial expression changed.

「I didn’t notice it until now, but you haven’t been wearing it.」

「That’s because…」

Ruimin hesitated.

Maybe Sanya-san was talking about a bracelet similar to the one she wore.

「What happened to your bracelet?!」

「That hurts, onee-chan.」

The atmosphere suddenly took a serious turn.

「I don’t really understand what’s going on, but how about we head into the bath first?」

I really didn’t feel comfortable having two girls argue in the changing room, stark naked.

Sanya-san begrudgingly accepted my request and let go of Ruimin’s arm.

As we started to wash ourselves, Sanya-san kept glaring at Ruimin, causing her to keep to herself as she washed up.

She really must be angry about Ruimin not wearing the bracelet. Based on Ruimin’s reaction, she probably lost it.

「How long are you going to wash yourself for, Ruimin? Hurry up and come over here so you can explain yourself.」

Sanya-san called out to Ruimin who still hadn’t entered the bathtub.

Riumin took slowly lowered herself inside, looking completely terrified.

「Alright, explain! Why aren’t you wearing your bracelet?」

「Because I sold it…」

「Ruimin! Do you know just how important that bracelet is for us elves?!」

「I know. I’m sorry.」

Ruimin apologized sincerely.

「Explain to me exactly what had happened.」

Ruimin started to explain. On her way to the capital, she had run out of money.

While she had been looking for a way to earn some, a female adventurer called out to her and offered her a job.

「What kind of a job?」

「She said it was a job that involved handling valuable and delicate wares.」

Ruimin had accidentally torn a painting, and from that, I could understand how the rest of it went down.

「I had no money to repay them for the torn painting.」

「So you had to sell your bracelet.」

Ruimin nodded and hugged her knees, which somehow randomly reminded me of having to sit out a game in a school gym.

Sanya-san sighed.

「Haa, I get it. Still, we need to get it back, then.」

「But, the money…」

「Don’t worry, I have enough to pay for it. Leave it to your Onee-san.」

「Onee-chan, I’m sorry.」

It looked like the whole thing would warp up nicely, and we wouldn’t have to continue traveling in a hostile mood. What a relief.

「Is that bracelet really important?」

「It’s important for our village. That bracelet holds a very valuable gemstone, which is given to us by our parents when we become adults.」

So, it was very important…

「The stone is imbued with the parents’ magical energy all the way until their child becomes an adult. 」

So, when a child was born, their parents would get a stone for them and then pass it to them once they grew up in form of a bracelet.

From what I understood, it didn’t even have to be a bracelet.

Some chose to make it into a necklace or a hairpiece.

Males would mostly get bracelets, though.

「It’s a very important item that the parents give to their children to wish for their safety once they start their adult lives. Do you realize what you did by giving it away?!」

「I’m sorry.」

「Sigh. That’s enough for now, I guess… I know you didn’t sell it on purpose. I just forgot how clumsy you are during the time we were apart.」

Bubble bubble.

Ruimin submerged half her face into the water, making bubbles with her mouth.

「I just wish you would have told me immediately instead of keeping quiet about it.」

Sanya-san said and gently put her hand on Ruimin’s head.

「I get that it has a lot of sentimental value to you elves, but how much is it even worth to others?」

From what I had heard so far, it didn’t seem like it would be very valuable to someone else.

Something that was very valuable to an individual or a family, could easily be worth nothing to other people.

So, even if it was used as compensation, there would be no point in someone taking the bracelet if they couldn’t sell it, and it would matter if the painting was just pricey, or really expensive.

「The wearer gains divine blessing of the wind.」

「Divine blessing of the wind?」

「In other words, wearing the bracelet will strengthen one’s wind magic. If they knew about that effect, then they would definitely want it.」

Oh, so it was a power up item.

Even I kind of wanted one.

Still, with my Bear Suit, wouldn’t it be pointless?

Yeah, my Bear Suit was strong enough as it was. I probably would have loved to get it if I were still in the game, though.

With elf sisters now made up, we got out of the bath.

Should I change into the White Bear? Nah. It’s better to stay as the Black Bear; it would be a pain to explain White Bear to them. They had asked enough questions already.

After we finished drying our hair, I took the two of them to their bedroom. It was the same one I had let Cliff stay in before. I had washed all the sheets and cleaned the room, so it should be like he was never here.

「There’s a bed.」

「Can we really use this room?」

「Yeah, enjoy.」

I said and gestured them inside.

「Traveling on bears, which also keep guard for us, a house, warm food, a warm bath, and even beds. I really don’t know who’s the actual guide here.」

I couldn’t get to the Elf Village on my own, though. I needed someone to guide me there.

「If any monsters cross our path, I will definitely protect you, Yuna-san.」

Sanya-san smiled as she watched Ruimin punch the air with her fists.

Wait… Would I have to somehow get us in situation where Ruimin could keep her promise?

Author’s Note:

Only now it really feels like the elf arc has actually begun.

The e-book being published was an addition to the announcement about the second volume, so I wanted to announce it here.