347 Bear-san Arrives at the Bear Tunnel (Day 1)
After having our lunch, I told everyone before we depart.
[I’ll speed it up a little more. So don’t make a lot of noise.] Yuna
The ones sitting next to me in the driver’s seat are Noa and Misa, instead of Fina and Shuri.
This was what Noa meant when she said they’re taking turns. It seems that Fina and Shuri got on the bear cub bus while Noa and Misa got on the parent bear bus.
[Fufu, it’s the front!] Noa
[If you make a lot of noise, I’ll send you back to the bear cub bus.] Yuna
[Yuna-san, you’re so mean.] Noa
[I don’t want that.] Misa
Noa hugs Swaying Bear while he yawns and Misa strokes the head of Hugging Bear.
[Be quiet or it’s going to be dangerous.] Yuna
When I grabbed the steering wheel, I poured more magic to increase the speed of the Bear Bus. It feels good. The children in the back became noisy. They kept saying . Apparently, they’re not scared.
Noa and Misa who’re sitting next to me are enjoying it as well. If we keep this speed up, we will be able to reach the tunnel quickly.
However, as soon as the buses started running, the light of the bear cub buses flickers.
I wondered what it was, so I drove the parent bear bus next to it. The adult group scolded me saying .
Moreover, when the director who was sitting at the back asked me to slow down, I had no other choice but to obey. However, because Noa and the children gave me a lifeboat, saying that and it somehow allowed me to get permission to speed up just a little.
[Too bad. I wanted you to make it run faster.] Noa
Noa and Misa, who’re sitting on both of my left and right sides, felt down.
[But it’s still faster than a carriage.] Yuna
[But it’s slower than Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa
You can’t compare it to them. If I want to do it, we can get the same speed as Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. But if I do that, I will be scolded by the adult group again.
Then, we passed a horse-drawn carriage that was going to Crimonia after we depart. The horse-drawn carriage that we passed stops in amazement when they saw my Bear Buses from the front. I also tried to slow down when I saw a carriage in front of me. I tried not to surprise their horse, as they might lose control of it. It’s inevitable since we can’t avoid the road, unlike when I’m riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. So I’ll try to slow down when needed to avoid surprising the horse.
The people in the horse-drawn carriage were surprised when they saw the Bear Buses, but when the children waved from the parent bear bus, they waved their hands back.
When we get back to Crimonia, I’m getting worried about the rumors that will spread.
But none of them should’ve crossed the tunnel from Mereera to Crimonia today, so I thought that we wouldn’t cross anyone. But in the end, we crossed several carriages and horses since our departure.
The Bear Buses ran smoothly. We should be arriving at the tunnel soon. The sun has not set yet. It seems that we arrived earlier than I expected. In this case, it seems that it was okay not to leave at the same time as sunrise or run the bear buses like it was a race.
Un? What’s that?
I can see a wall ahead.
They made that?
I dropped my speed and moved slowly. As we’re following the road, I saw a gate.
It even has a gate.
When we arrive at the gate, there are people standing at the entrance. Then everyone has a surprised look on their faces when they saw my Bear Buses.
[Ano~, I want to go inside, can I go in?] Yuna
I asked the gatekeeper who has no reaction.
[White bear?………… Bear lass?] Gatekeeper
It sounds like he knows me. Looking at my white bear, he tilted his head.
Don’t tell me that he doesn’t recognize me because I’m not in my black bear costume? He’s joking, right?
[You are Bear lass, right?] Gatekeeper
Why are you checking?
[I don’t know which Bear lass you are talking about.] Yuna
[I think there is only one Bear-san.] Noa
Noa, who was sitting next to me, said in a whisper, but I ignored it. There may be a different bear that I and Noa don’t know about.
[Aren’t you the Bear Missy who’s always in a black bear outfit, built a bear bakery and a bear restaurant, and travels with children?] Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper asked me to confirm.
Apparently, the bear that the gatekeeper mentioned was different from me. I don’t remember bringing the children around with me. So I came to the conclusion that it’s a different Bear.
(TC: As a certain P. Bear.)
[There are children on your side and on the back.] Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper instantly refutes the conclusions I came up with. It seems like the gatekeeper was quick on his head. I can’t argue with it.
[You’re always dressed as a black bear, so I was confused for a moment. But it looks like you also dress as a white bear.] Gatekeeper
[I do sometimes. I have a tunnel pass permit, can I go in?] Yuna
[I hear you, but let me just confirm.] Gatekeeper
I offered my guild card. Cliff has given us a free tunnel permit. Once the gatekeeper confirmed, he returned the card to me immediately.
As Cliff promised, we can go in for free. Of course, that includes everyone who is with me. It seems that you normally have to pay here before you can go inside the walled area.
[What can we do before we can enter the tunnel?] Yuna
[If you have time, you are free to look around, I don’t mind.] Gatekeeper
According to Tirumina-san, the tunnel will be closed to traffic around the evening. There is still time until the road is closed.
[Anyway, how do you make this carriage run without a horse?] Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper strangely looks at the Bear Buses. Everyone thinks the same.
[It’s magic.] Yuna
[Magic you say? Well Bear lass was an adventurer who beat the Black Viper after all.] Gatekeeper
Knowing the Black Viper means that this person is from Crimonia.
I would be in trouble if they talk about Kraken here. There is a high probability that no one here knows about Kraken’s subjugation. I think Anzu and the others didn’t talk about it, but it’s possible that Cliff told it to Noa.
Mylene-san may also be talking about it to Tirumina-san who has no idea what it was. There are many people who do not know about it.
[Nevertheless, you made this wall.] Yuna
[The tunnel was a very important place. It was made according to Cliff-sama’s instructions.] Gatekeeper
A wall with a height of about 3m was made to surround the tunnel. In this case, monsters cannot enter the tunnel, not even bandits. You can’t go through the tunnel without permission.
Also, When I look at the entrance of the gate I can see that there are a lot of people. While thinking that there are only that many people, a building that seems to be an inn can also be seen, as well as several other buildings.
Cliff did say that he would make something like an inn and a military station, but he built a lot more than I expected.
U~n, I didn’t come here in a while, and it’s already changed this much.
[Thanks to that, I can rest assured with safety, that’s why I applied to this job.] Gatekeeper
Certainly, if there are no walls, it would be scary if there are only a few people protecting the tunnel.
We entered the wall with the permission of the gatekeeper uncle at the guard station.
Was it because we stood out when the Bear Buses were moving while we’re looking at the surroundings? Everyone was watching the Bear Bus.
I thought of having a short break, but should we just enter the tunnel?
But why are there so many people?
The inn’s management and security, what about it?
[Yuna-san, are we heading into the tunnel as it is?] Noa
[U~n, what should we do?] Yuna
I checked with the children, including the director, and everyone on the bear cub bus. It is a good idea to take a break and I also wanted it, so we decided to take a short one.
I parked the Bear Buses away from the road, then we decided to explore the surroundings.
When we come near the tunnel, there are several children.
[That looks like Bear-san in the store.] Misa
[But this Bear-san has a sword, not a bread.] Noa
In front of the tunnel are stone statues of bears made on Cliff’s request. It’s the same as the deformed bears in the store in Crimonia. Crimonia’s bears have bread, while tunnel bears have swords. I made it so it looks like they’re protecting the tunnel.
[Did you made that too?] Noa
Noa, who’s next to me asked.
[It was made by Cliff’s request.] Yuna
[My father?] Noa
[I said I didn’t like it, but Cliff forced me…] Yuna
I’m not lying. It is a fact that he forced me to make it.
I tried to look sad.
[Father is so cruel!] Noa
[You think so too, Noa?] Yuna
[Yes! He refused when I asked for bear statues to be built in front of our house, yet he asked you to build them in a place like this! That’s just unfair!] Noa
Etto, that’s your issue?
Strange, somehow the conversation isn’t moving.
[When I return, I will ask my father again.] Noa
[No, don’t ask him.] Yuna
If I make it in front of the lord’s mansion, the dignity of Cliff as a lord will be lost.
It could be mistaken for my house. Even if Cliff doesn’t reject it, I will.
[Then, how about in the garden?] Noa
[I want it in my house too.] Misa
Noa said something stupid, so Misa started saying something even more stupid.
They say that people are easily affected by the other people nearby, and Misa seems to become more and more like Noa, so getting I’m worried about her future.
[I won’t make it.] Yuna
[Oh come on~. Yuna-san, please make it.] Noa
Noah grabbed my bear clothes while asking me. If I made a bear statue in Cliff’s residence, I would get scolded by Cliff. So I rejected Noa’s request and moved on to a different place.
And so, we explored the area around the tunnel and learned a few things. Inside the enclosed wall were the inn, the garrison, the stable, the warehouse, and the market stalls. They sell frozen fish here. It seems that you can purchase without paying the toll for the tunnel.
In addition, it seems that you can leave your luggage in the warehouse on Crimonia side, then they will be transported so you can to pick it up at Mereera side and vice versa.
This might be the reason why we crossed so many horse-drawn carriages on our way to Mereera despite the fact that they weren’t supposed to use the tunnel today.
Then, after finishing our short break, I checked the number of people properly before leaving. When we entered the tunnel, the light magic stone that was installed inside lit up, so neither the light of the Bear Buses nor my light magic was necessary.
There are no horse-drawn carriages in front of us, so we’re proceeding smoothly.
There are few carriages heading to Mereera at this time. So today, the direction of traffic is going to Mereera, those who were staying at the inn will depart in the morning. If so, their carriages would most likely travel the whole day and exit the tunnel in the middle of the night.
The Bear Buses go through the tunnel.
At the beginning of the tunnel, the children were having fun, but soon became bored of the seemingly endless tunnel and no one made a noise. As expected, I also did not speed up in the tunnel. If we collide with a wall, it will be a serious problem.
[Yuna-san, how long is this tunnel?] Noa
[Well, I don’t know. I’ve only been riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, so I don’t know the distance.] Yuna
[That’s true.] Noa
[Both of you can sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.] Yuna
[No, I want to talk to Yuna-san, so it’s okay.] Noa
[I also want to talk to Yuna-oneesama.] Misa
[Well then, can you tell me some story? What I’m doing is kinda monotonous so I’m feeling a bit sleepy.] Yuna
The tunnel may be interesting at first, but it gets boring so quickly. Unlike the scenery outside, there is no change and the same wall pattern continues. The sleep effect is very high. That’s why I’m happy to have someone to talk to.
And so, Noa and Misa, talked about the recent stories and some old tales.
Author’s Note:
As I wrote in the postscript and activity report in the past, the bear statue in front of the Bear Tunnel is the same as the book version, so it’s a deformed bear with a sword.
The bear in the shop has bread.
