“You are strong. I lost.” (Cereille)
Cereille admitted defeat and stood up.
There was no face of a sore loser in her expression but rather an honest admission of defeat. It seems she was not a bad character after all.
“You were strong too.” (Yuna)
“You don’t need to be considerate. There was a clear gap between you and me that cannot be bridged. I understand that much.” (Cereille)
“That’s not the case. I couldn’t do anything and was on the defensive side.” (Yuna)
At my words, Cereille looked surprised and then smiled.
“Yuna, you are a funny person.” (Cereille)
“Funny? Even though I’m not dressed as a bear? I can understand why she would say that if I’m a bear, but not when I’m dressed like this.
Noa and Shia came when I was about to refute Cereille’s words.
“Yuna-san, that was cool.” (Noa)
Noa happily hugged me.
“Noire, you have a good escort with you.” (Cereille)
“Yes, Yuna-san is very strong. She always helps me when I am in trouble.” (Noa)
Noa answered with a big smile.
“Yuna-san, to beat Cereille by such a margin, yet still have room to spare, is quite amazing.” (Shia)
“Room?” (Yuna)
I tilted my head to Shia’s words.
Cereille and Shea seemed to have a strange evaluation of me.
Shia knows I am strong, but did it look like I just won the match with so much room to spare? Or did it just look that way in general?
“Normally, when someone gets hit that hard, they would panic, get confused, and be vulnerable to attacks, but Yuna-san, you didn’t change a single expression on your face as you received Cereille’s attack head-on.” (Shia)
“At least I wanted to change her expression even once, but no matter how much I pushed in, I couldn’t do it in the end.” (Cereille)
Was that perhaps how they saw it?
I was on the defensive, I intended to lead Cereille to a come-from-behind victory, but that didn’t look to be how it went.
Thinking back, I certainly don’t remember changing my expression.
Apparently, I have no talent as an actress.
“I did the last thrust, which I thought could be called cowardly in a practice match, but even that didn’t work. I am sorry about that last one, though.” (Cereille)
“Doesn’t anyone use thrust?” (Yuna)
Spears, rapiers, and swords use thrusts. As well as knives. Thrust was a valid attack. Even Jubei-san used it casually.
“We do not use thrust in practice matches because it is dangerous. Of course, regular attacks are also dangerous, but we must wear protective gear when it comes to thrusting. We don’t do it like this because it’s very dangerous.” (Cereille)
Cereille looked at the uniforms.
When you say it like that, it’s certainly dangerous. I didn’t intend to hurt Cereille, and I wasn’t wearing my bear suit, but I felt that even if she hit me with a wooden sword, I wouldn’t be injured. Maybe I still have my game brain on. My life won’t be in danger if I am in a game. And even when I came to this world, I was protected by the absolute protection of the bear equipment. Yeah, I need to be more aware of the dangers.
“That’s why the thrust was not fair. Still, I felt like you could avoid the thrust. So I launched my final attack, but I was still completely defeated.” (Cereille)
So she knew that I was holding back. That’s why she believed that I would dodge, so she gambled on the final attack.
So, when I ducked the thrust, she twisted her body and attacked me as if she had read my action. No wonder she acted so quickly after the thrust. It was the action she had planned from the beginning.
In other words, my performance was as obvious as Shia’s. I’ll have to think a little more next time.
“I’m returning this. Thank you.” (Cereille)
Cereille returned her wooden sword, so I put it in the bear box together with my wooden sword.
“So those gloves not only served as an item bag, but they also protected your hands. Your soft hands also made a little more sense to me now. But how is it that your arms are so soft?” (Cereille)
Cereille grabbed my squishy upper arms.
That’s because I was a hikikomori with no muscle training. Any more rubbing would damage me psychologically, so I ran away from Cereille and moved behind Shia.
“Shia, I’m sorry for interrupting your practice.” (Cereille)
“Me and everyone saw something good, so there’s no problem.” (Shia)
Shia turned her gaze to the right. She looked at the students from the royal capital who were watching us.
I forgot the existence of the other students.
Perhaps the students were aware that I was taking it easy on Cereille?
“Well then, all’s well and ends well. But it’s not magic, so she can’t help you with the exchange.” (Cereille)
“Even if it wasn’t magic, it was a great match.” (Shia)
“I lost that one-sided match, though.” (Cereille)
“I’ve seen how intense Cereille’s attacks and how Yuna-san skillfully deflected it, both of you were amazing.” (Shia)
“Thank you. It’s a little comforting to hear you say that. Next time we have a match, I’ll show you something a little less embarrassing.” (Cereille)
Next time? There is no next time, you know.
I want to leave the game lobby once and for all.
“I will leave you now, as it would not be right to interrupt your practice forever.” (Cereille)
Phew, it looks like the argument about the escort was going to end without incident. I’m glad it didn’t turn into a magic match or anything.
“Noa, what are we going to do now?” (Yuna)
I asked Noa.
After a walk around the city, the plan for the day was to meet with Shia and tell her that we had arrived in the city of Euphalia.
The walk was canceled because Cereille caught us, but we were able to meet Shia early.
“Oneesama is practicing, right?” (Noa)
“The day after tomorrow is the day of the event, so we don’t have enough time to practice. Besides, Euphalia Academy kindly offered us a place to practice, so we have to use it.” (Shia)
“I’m so sorry. It’s been a long time since I saw you, Oneesama, and I wanted to talk to you.” (Noa)
“What are you saying. We went to the sea together.” (Shia)
“Yes, but at that time, Fina and the others are with us.” (Noa)
Noa looked a little disappointed. Seeing Noa like that, Shia put her hand on Noa’s head.
“I have a rest day tomorrow, so it should be fine. We can be together tomorrow.” (Shia)
“Really!?” (Noa)
Noa looks happy at Shia’s words.
“I want to be with Noa too, so I’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the bridge in front of the school.” (Shia)
“Okay. That’s a promise. Well then, I mustn’t interfere with your practice, so we’re going back.” (Noa)
Noa was happy with tomorrow’s promise.
For now, Noa and I left the ground with Cereille so as not to disturb their practice.
I think there were some students in the back saying something, but I don’t really care.
“I didn’t expect to lose. I thought I was already strong, but there is always someone better after all.” (Cereille)
The bear equipment was the reason for my physical ability. Without the bear puppet, I would not be able to hold or block a sword. Without the bear’s shoes, I would not be able to stand my ground. All I did was the technique to block and attack. So I’m not proud of it.
“Who taught you to use the sword, Yuna?” (Cereille)
A game. Though I can’t say that.
“Hmmm, well, various people.” (Yuna)
There was an NPC (non-player character) who taught me how to handle weapons in the tutorial. Then there was a time when I was watching and learning how other players fought. There’s also information from the Internet and other sources, which could also be called a teacher, no exaggeration.
The rest was learned by being attacked repeatedly, or worse, dying.
“I see. Even if you are taught, it is very hard to learn it. Some people can’t do it. But you must be very talented to have mastered it at that age, Yuna. I envy you.” (Cereille)
Don’t praise me so much because it hurts my heart.
“Yuna-san was amazing, but Cereille-sama was also amazing. How do I say it, it was beautiful.” (Noa)
Noa made a follow-up that I’m not sure if it can be called a follow-up.
“Fufu, thank you for saying that. But my sensei told me that a sword is just a sword, so if you want to be stronger, you need to learn how to properly use it.” (Cereille)
“But if you can use magic, I think you can do a lot with it.” (Yuna)
“That’s right. I wanted to have a match using magic with Yuna.” (Cereille)
“I’m not going to have another match with you.” (Yuna)
“That’s a shame. If Yuna participated in the exchange meeting, I could have had my revenge.” (Cereille)
Unfortunately, I don’t plan to participate. After all, even though I’m wearing a uniform, I’m not a student.
“Oh, by the way, Noire. How long have you been in the city?” (Cereille)
“Since yesterday, I had promised to meet Oneesama at a later time today, so I was taking a walk with Yuna-san until then.” (Noa)
“I see that’s how you met with me. If you came to the city yesterday, where are you staying?” (Cereille)
“At an inn on the main street near where I met Cereille-sama. There was a bath in the room and the food was delicious.” (Noa)
Noa did not hesitate to explain the location of the inn.
“Oh, that inn. That’s a solid, reputable inn.” (Cereille)
Cereille seemed to understand immediately from Noa’s explanation.
As expected, that inn has a good reputation.
The innkeeper, who saw my outfit, didn’t look down on me. She may have thought that if I was the daughter of some wealthy family, she would have been in big trouble, so she may have just stayed out of it.
Cereille thinks for a moment.
“……I see. Noire, please stay at my house with her while you are in town.” (Cereille)
“That’s.” (Noa)
“Don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about giving you an escort. Let me entertain you and Yuna, including apologizing for this incident.” (Cereille)
“…Yuna-san.” (Noa)
Noa asked me with her eyes saying, “What are we going to do?”.
“We appreciate the offer, but we’ve already paid for our lodging.” (Yuna)
I gently refused. I don’t feel at ease in the house of someone I just met. If possible, I would like to refrain from doing so.
“That means, all we have to do is get your money back from the inn. The inn is owned by an acquaintance of mine, so I will go and talk to him.” (Cereille)
It didn’t mean that I wasted money, but it didn’t seem to make sense in a roundabout way.
=====
Author’s Note:
Sorry for the delay.
[Notice] We will be releasing volume 11 of Kuma on November 30 this month. Information about the store purchase bonus will be available soon. We will report it on our activity report and Twitter, so please wait a little longer.
[Notice] The following is the schedule for the release of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear.
November 30: Volume 11 will be released.
January: Volume 11.5 scheduled for release (SS collection of store specials and newly written SS are planned)
February: Comic book volume 2 scheduled for release
March: Volume 12 scheduled for release
Four books will be released in 5 months. Thank you for your cooperation.
We will report any changes in the release date.
