“This is my daughter Noir. She’s been wanting to meet you.”
When she caught sight of me, the little girl’s eyes glittered. She dashed over to me. “Are you the bear? My name is Noir. Please call me Noa.”
“Umm, I’m Yuna. Could you please call me by my name instead of referring to me as the bear?”
“Got it. Your name is Yuna.”
Noa sat down next to me and looked me up and down.
“Um, may I give you a hug?” she asked, seeming sheepish.
“Sure.”
I would’ve said no to a boy, even if they were a kid, but I couldn’t turn her down such a cute little girl.
“Thank you so very much.”
Noa hugged me. I gave her a pat on her head, which just reached my chest. Between Fina and this, maybe little-sister types were just my thing.
“You’re so soft. And you also smell nice.” She rubbed her head into my belly. “I saw you in town once, Yuna.”
Cliff just said something about that, didn’t he?
“I only saw you from afar, but you looked so cute that I couldn’t stop looking at you. Since then I have been asking father to tell me about you. I’ve wanted to meet you for so long!”
“So, what do you want me to do?” I asked Cliff.
“I haven’t decided on anything in particular. Why don’t you just talk to my daughter?”
“I want to hear about how you defeated the monsters!”
It wasn’t that exciting a tale—all I did was sling some magic around. Still, the little girl was clearly desperate for a story, and I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I told her about my fights with the goblin king and the tigerwolves, leaving out the grim and unflattering parts. Noa’s eyes glittered as she listened to me. Cliff remained silent and sipped his drink.
“That’s amazing!”
“You believe me? I might be lying.”
“I believe you. My father has told me the same stories, anyway.”
“As I said earlier, I looked into you. The least I could do was fact-check what I heard about your accomplishments,” Cliff said.
I guessed that since you could determine time of death from a mana gem, the only thing they couldn’t verify was whether I’d racked up those kills entirely on my own. Since my well of monster-slaying yarns had run dry, I figured I was done, but Noa was still watching me.
“May I ask you something, Yuna?” she ventured, as though it were difficult to say.
“What do you need?”
“Um…would you show me your bear summons?”
“My summons?”
“Yes. I’ve been wanting to see your beast summons ever since I heard about them from my father.”
“I’d like to see them as well.”
“You sure? Might be dangerous.”
“Is that so?” said Cliff.
“Well, I suppose it should be fine as long as you don’t try to attack them or hurt me.”
“I have no intentions of doing that. I have nothing to gain from attacking you—not to mention that my daughter would hate me if I did.”
With Lord Cliff’s assent, I decided I’d summon Kumayuru and Kumakyu in the mansion’s gardens. Noa led us there happily while Lala trailed behind us.
Chapter 29:
The Bear Finishes Her Quest
WE ALL MOVED over to a place I figured was the back of the gardens. The gardens were spacious, as you’d expect of a lord’s residence. Apparently, the guards also used it as a training ground, though it was empty at the moment.
“Yuna, is this enough room?”
“This’ll do. I’m going to summon them, now. Come, Kumayuru, Kumakyu.”
It wasn’t like there was a set phrase to summon them, but I tried to come up with something that seemed appropriate. Two giant furballs, one black and one white, exploded out of the bear puppets. They started to move, slowly, turning to show us their faces.
“Kumayuru, Kumakyu, come over here.”
When I called them, they happily trotted over to me. They looked pretty cute when they did, but everyone behind me started making a commotion.
“They’re bears. There are bears! Yuna, may I touch them?!” Noa was jumping up and down.
“Madame Noir, that’s dangerous! Please keep back!” Lala grabbed Noa’s arm, shielding her with her body.
“Lala, please let me go! I can’t see the bears! I want to touch them!”
But the maid held her firmly. “Please say something, Master Cliff!”
“I think it should be fine.”
“Master Cliff?!”
Since her employer had given the go-ahead, Lala backed off. Freed from the maid’s grip, Noa slowly approached the bears.
“May I really touch them?”
“It’s fine. Give them a gentle pat.”
Noa gently touched Kumayuru. She patted Kumakyu with her other hand. The two bears squinted their eyes at her, seeming pleased.
“They are so warm. And soft!” Noa hugged Kumakyu’s neck.
“Want to ride them?”
“May I really?!”
“Kumakyu, you good?”
Kumakyu lowered itself to the ground by way of reply, making it easier for Noa to get on. Noa cautiously started to climb onto Kumakyu’s back.
“It’s okay, you won’t fall.”
I lent her a hand and got her mounted. Once Kumakyu made sure Noa was safely settled, the bear slowly stood up.
“Whoa! It’s so high.” She seemed to be enjoying herself. “Yuna, may we take a walk? Just even once around the house?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Kumakyu, please take good care of Noa.” I didn’t know how big the house was, but I guessed going around it once couldn’t hurt.
Kumakyu cooed quietly in response. With Noa astride its back, the bear started to slowly shamble off.
“M-Madame Noir!” Lala scurried after them in a fluster.
Cliff watched Noa, the maid, and the bear depart. Once they were out of sight, he came over to me.
“Forgive me, but may I touch one too?” he asked.
“I guess,” I said. It’s not like I could refuse.
Cliff slowly patted Kumayuru. “Oh, the fur feels nice. A great texture, too.”
“You want to ride it?”
“May I?”
“Just once around the house, like Noa.”
“Right, I understand.”
As soon as Cliff was mounted on Kumayuru, he urged the bear on, trying to catch up with Noa. A little while passed before the two of them returned, side by side on their respective bears.
“Yuna, thank you
