“What?!”
An arrow embedded itself in the ground right where the bear had been up until just a moment ago. I followed its trajectory and instantly raised a wall of earth.
Were they after us? I thought.
I used detection magic to look for their location. Following the angle of the arrow, I noticed one completely still target. I opened up a small hole in the earth wall for visual confirmation, but since the ground sloped up and there were trees around, I couldn’t see who fired the arrow.
They were about a hundred meters away. They also weren’t aiming at me, but at my bear. I looked at the bear and then my clothes, wondering if I might’ve looked like its cub from far away.
“Can you hear me?!” I shouted in the direction the arrow came from. “I’m an adventurer, and this bear is mine. Could you please not fire arrows at us?!”
I waited for a response. If they didn’t answer, my only options were to run or strike back.
“Are you actually an adventurer? Is that bear really harmless?” they replied.
“It won’t hurt you as long as you don’t attack it,” I said. “If you seem like you’re going to attack, then I’m going to attack back.”
They were silent for a short while.
“Alright. Truce.”
A man carrying a bow and arrows emerged from a gap in the trees. He was dressed like a hunter from a videogame.
“Is that bear really yours?” he asked.
“Yeah.” In order to prove it, I pet the bear.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a bear obey a human like that. Sorry for shooting out of nowhere. That big bear just gave me a fright when it turned up.”
“That’s fine, but I was there too. You should have known something was up.”
“Sorry. That outfit made you look like a bear cub from a distance. Where’s a girl like you from? You’re not living in the woods with this bear, are you?”
“We live in a town called Crimonia.”
“Crimonia? That’s pretty far away. Is that look popular in that town or something?” I wished. The only place this look was trending was in Japan. “So why are you in a place like this, miss? It’s dangerous around these parts.”
“I was just taking a walk with my bear. Is it really that dangerous around here?”
“You were taking a walk? While wearing that weird outfit?”
Really, he didn’t have to call it weird. It’s not like I was wearing the suit because I wanted to.
“This place isn’t safe,” he said. “It has a guardian spirit.”
“A guardian what now?”
“It’s a gigantic boar. I shot at your bear because I thought it was the spirit at first.”
“Wait, is it really that big?” My bear was pretty large. If the boar was about the same size…
“Yup, it’s just about as big as that bear. It eats all our crops and attacks people that stray into the forest, so if you’re going to leave,” he said, “you better do it quick.”
“Got it. I’ll be off, then.”
The man hesitated as I climbed back on my bear. “Actually,” he said, “do you have a moment?”
“Sure. What is it?”
He looked at the wall I’d made and asked, “Can you use magic?”
“I can.”
“How strong is that wall?”
“Strong enough to protect against goblin and orc attacks.”
“Orc attacks?! I’ve got something I’d like to ask you, miss. Could you make walls like that around the village’s fields? We’ll pay you what we can, though I’m afraid it won’t be much. I know I’m asking something unreasonable of you, but at this rate the guardian spirit is going to eat the village out of house and home. Please.”
The man lowered his head in supplication. This sounded like a colossal pain in the butt, but it’d leave a bad taste in my mouth to come back and find the village destroyed. I agreed, though reluctantly. “I can do that, but I don’t know if it’ll actually hold up against the guardian spirit.”
I knew how dangerous a charging feral hog was, even back home. I couldn’t imagine how strong a bear-sized one would be, but I definitely couldn’t guarantee my walls would keep it out.
“I understand. I’m Brandaugh, by the way. I live in the village near here.”
“I’m Yuna. I’m an adventurer.”
Having introduced ourselves, we headed towards the village, which was apparently in the opposite direction from where I’d come. I rode on the bear while Brandaugh led the way. As we traveled, he told me he’d give me several days’ worth of vegetables the village had grown in thanks.
As we kept going down the mountain path, the village came into view. A man at the village entrance leveled his spear at us.
“B-Brandaugh, what is that thing behind you?!” the man shouted.
“It’s okay! Lower your weapon. This person in the bear outfit is Yuna—she’s an adventurer. The bear is hers, so we’re in no danger as long as we don’t hurt it.”
“Are you sure?” he said, giving the bear a doubtful look.
“I promise it won’t attack us.”
“Alright, but this isn’t my call to make. I’m going to fetch the village chief, so wait here,” the man told Brandaugh, and ran off into the village.
“Sorry about this. Everyone is on alert because of the guardian spirit.”
I guessed that was a given. I was wearing a strange outfit and had ridden in on what any normal person in this world would see as a ferocious bear.
After a while, the man returned, now accompanied by an older person. “Brandaugh, do you even understand the situation we’re in?”
“It’s because I understand the situation that I brought her here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This young girl can use earth magic. I brought her here so she could make walls to protect us against the guardian spirit.”
“You want to raise walls with magic? It’s true that might help us, but we have no money to pay her with…”
“Some fresh vegetables will do just fine,” I said.
“Are you certain that’s all you want?”
“Yeah, just make sure they’re tasty ones.” Veggies were best when they
