Chapter 158 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (10) (1/2)

We waited for what seemed like forty minutes.

From the top of the mountainside, a bear, at least two meters tall, slowly appeared.

“They finally approached us.”

“They must have been vigilant.”

Aoi, who was sitting on a slightly larger rock face, stroked Nana’s sleeping head and looked at me.

“You can’t live in the woods or mountains without that much caution.”

Rouge, who was sitting next to Aoi, nodded in agreement.

On my lap, Jaja and the little bear were happily playing. They really get along well, don’t they?

“It was worth the wait. I didn’t want to have their bows pointed at us because of a misunderstanding.”

Officer Inoue, who had been leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, straightened his posture and prepared to greet them.

The negotiations and explanations were to be left to Officer Inoue.

He is a policeman and a public servant. In terms of position, he is a member of the country that is protecting them.

“W-what should we do?”

“We should stay back and not interfere. It can’t be helped that they already saw us.”

The little dragons went behind me.

They were so absorbed in their stories that they forgot to hide. These careless dragons.

They’re so carefree that it really worries me.

“Hmm. We’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Kyu?”

The little bear looks up curiously at Rouge’s question.

When she saw Rouge’s somewhat lonely face, she stood up unsteadily and touched Rouge’s face.

“Kuah?”

“Hmm. It’s okay. Sweetie.”

Rouge slowly stroked the little bear’s head as she gently tapped Rouge’s face with her little hands.

“Now, are the other beastmen not moving?”

“‘Huh?’

I asked Wera as I picked up Jaja from Rouge’s lap.

“Yeah, they seem to be lurking behind trees and in the grass, watching us.”

Wera replied, looking around.

Thanks to Azui and Wera’s noses and ears, we knew all along that they were surrounding us.

Once they spotted us, they stayed at a distance, probably waiting to see what would happen.

Eventually, the other beastmen received the news and joined in, completing our encirclement with their well-coordinated movements.

“They’re not going to attack us after all this, are they?”

“The fact that they sent a representative suggests that they intend to talk to us. They know that if they try to harm us, the little bear might be in danger.”

Of course, we had no intention of doing anything to the little bear, but in short, they’re worried that an arrow or something may accidentally hit the little bear.

There is no way that such a mistake could happen because we have Rouge, who can put up fire walls, and Aoi, who seems to be confident in her wind barrier, but they don’t know that.

“The presence of Jaja-chan and Nana-chan has worked in our favor. I think it’s partly because the sight of a smiling baby has taken their guard down, you know?”

That’s right. It’s only natural that one takes to such cute kids.

We didn’t want to mislead them by taking a stance, so we decided to pretend that we didn’t know about the existence of the beastmen, and we showed them that we didn’t have any strange intentions by letting Jaja and the little bear play innocently.

Nana was asleep the whole time.

You wouldn’t think that such an easygoing group of people would be malicious.

There were about five beastmen with bows and arrows, probably men.

Their bows were already drawn, but the tip of the arrow was pointing toward the ground.

I guess they are trying to be ready to respond immediately if something goes wrong.

“Ah, Aerilikatte. Zung manana.”

The bear in the lead suddenly spoke to me.

“What?”

Huh? Did I lose my hearing?

“Ah… I completely forgot about it. I should have listened.”

Officer Inoue scratched his short hair and made a troubled face.

“This tribe is like a tribe of other languages. We can’t communicate without a sphere.”

“Eh? Is that so?”

The world’s most famous and most used magic tool that automatically translates between different languages.

That’s the word sphere.

They are only made in Fracion, a large country on the sphere continent, and even the small ones for home use cost a fortune.

Of course, there’s no way we’d have such an expensive item.

That’s troubling. Is the language barrier getting in the way here?

“Hm. Kunpei. Leave it to me and Aoi.”

“Huh?”

Rouge, who had stood up before I knew it, put her hand on my shoulder.

“Yes, if the effect of the magic is the same as the translation magic, the spirits can also do it with dragon qi. So Ru-anesama and I will negotiate with them, okay?”

“Eh? Is that so?”

I didn’t know that. Spirits are so useful.

“Kunpei, have you forgotten that I came from another country? I’ve been studying it a little bit lately, but Japanese is difficult.”

As Rouge tilted her head, I remembered.

I remembered that she came to Japan from the continent across the sea. I didn’t notice it because we were having normal conversations, but it’s strange that she can speak in Japanese, isn’t it?

“I’ve been living in Japan for 40 years now, so I can speak it, but Ru-anesama has been talking to Kunpei and the others with the help of spirits from the beginning. Dragons have their own language, but it’s not understood by Kunpei-san and the others.”

Huh. I didn’t notice that at all. Maybe that’s the reason why Rouge’s mouth doesn’t move much?

Ah, now that you mention it, last night.

The conversation I had with Azui and Wera in the distance was more of a roar than words.

Is that kind of howling dragon language?

I looked at the little herb dragons hiding behind me.

“We’re talking to you through the spirits even now, you know?”

“It’s a very simple technique. We don’t even need to control the spirits. The only difference with translation magic is that the effect is limited to you.”

“Then I’m counting on you. I’m no good, if it had been a police car, it would have been loaded with a portable sphere.”

Officer Inoue stepped back with a wry smile.

“Are you okay with negotiating, Rouge? I can’t say you’re a very talkative person.”

“Hm, excuse me, I like to talk, even though I look like this. I just never had anyone to talk to before.”

Please don’t come out with something sad. I’ll sympathize with you.

“You too, Aoi. Don’t you have a fear of strangers?”

And you used to be a recluse.

“N-not so much these days! …Well, it’s a little scary. But it is for the sake of the little bear! I’ll do my best!”

Aoi stood up with great enthusiasm, holding back Nana who was slightly slipping.

She slowly stood in front of the bear beastmen while fixing the baby sling that was digging into her shoulder.

That beastman in the lead is the representative?

He carried a bow larger than the other four, and his waistcoat-like cloth was gaudily embroidered.

On his exposed upper body, he wore a black arrowhead pendant, the same as the one worn by the little bear, but this one had a lot more arrowheads. I wondered what the meaning of the arrowheads that were strung together like beads were.

When I looked, I saw that the other beastmen were also wearing black arrowhead pendants, though in different numbers.

“Oh, um… Hello! Nice to meet you! We’re here escorting a lost child. My name is Aoinoun Dragoline Kazmachi. This is Rouge-anesama. This is Kazamachi Kunpei.”

Aoi, looking nervous, bowed deeply.

Somewhat worried, I positioned myself right next to her and unintentionally hugged her shoulder.

To my left stood Rouge, holding the little bear.

“Yusufuts, Beara Kelusha. Gownosse. …Grumeluerte. Avolonial. …Lyrica, elte aero?”

The bear beastmen who seemed to be the representative gestured to Aoi to tell her something.

It’s no good. I have no idea what you’re talking about.

“Um, you’re Gaunosse the head hunter of the Beara tribe? Yes, that’s right. Yesterday, we took care of Ririka-chan downstream at the river! I think she was hungry and was attracted by the smell of the rice balls. She ate well yesterday, and this morning she was eating bread and salad, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, right? She doesn’t seem to be injured either.”

Aoi also began to explain, waving her hands in an exaggerated manner.

That’s good, it seems she’s able to communicate. Is Ririka the name of the little bear?”

“Hmm. Ririka was very well behaved. How did she get lost?”

Rouge nodded lightly and cut into the conversation.

“Elle, Ambasca. Gurmel elte. Lirica palma, permaci. Liricaemma, caelo, fugleran.”

“What? Is that so? Ririka-chan’s mother, is she alright?”

Aoi seemed to be somewhat surprised.

“Oh, hey, Rouge. What is it?”

I asked secretly in Rouge’s ear.

“Ririka’s mother has been sick in bed. She disappeared from the village when her father took his eyes off her while nursing her mother.”

Oh, that must have been so surprising and worrying.

I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t found her.

After a few conversations between Aoi and Gaunosse-san, they found out how the little bear, or Ririka, got lost.

It seems that the Beara tribe are a migratory tribe that uses large canoe-like boats to move around, mainly along the river, and their current village is located upstream from the river where we were playing.

Ririka’s mother was lying in bed with a seasonal illness.

Her father was taking care of her, but the energetic Ririka was playing around when she got on a boat and was swept away by some accident.

When she disappeared, everyone made a fuss and looked around the village for her. They noticed that there was one boat missing, so they rushed down the river and found a boat by the shore.

They had mistakenly thought she had gone into the mountains and had been searching the mountains since yesterday.

Actually, she had just followed the river downstream and we had taken her under our protection.

I see, the boat was the reason why she could walk such a long distance even though she was a baby. That’s one mystery solved.

But it’s really dangerous. What if she had fallen into the river by mistake?

“Um, the father is on his way here now and her mother is very worried and very weak.”

Aoi translated with concern.

As a mother with a baby of her own, I guess it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

We have to be careful, too. In the case of Jaja and Nana, they are able to fly, so we have to be even more careful.

“It’s really dangerous to take our eyes off them. I’m so glad we found her. Hey, you little tomboy. You shouldn’t be walking around on your own either.”

“Kyu!”

Rouge picked up Ririka, looked her in the eye, and gently scolded her.

The one who was being scolded didn’t seem to understand and was happily wiggling her arms and legs.

I mean, this kid was on her own for a whole day, wasn’t she? I wonder if she was worried about her parents being away. She’s an unexpectedly bold child.

“Ririka!”

“Ririka! Ririka!”

I heard a voice calling for her from the top of the mountain slope.

I looked up to see two bear beastmen coming down the slope at high speed, their faces pale.

It seems your parents have arrived.

“Ku! Kyuu!”

Ririka squealed with delight when she saw them.

“Hm, go ahead.”

When Rouge saw that, she lowered Ririka to the ground with a wry smile.

She landed slowly, kicked the ground with her arms and legs without looking aside, and ran to her parents.

“I’m glad. That’s a relief.”

A few words leaked out of Rouge’s mouth as she saw her off.

You don’t look like you’re… relieved, though. You’ve got to put up with being lonely.

“Ririka! Ririka!”

“Aah! Ririka! Hotegrull! Ririka!”

The bear couple picked up Ririka, who rushed to them, and hugged her tightly.

The family was digesting their reunion, tears streaming from their round eyes.

“… that’s good, isn’t it?”

“Ah. Well, I guess that settles it. Hmm?”

Aoi exhaled as she patted her chest and leaned on my shoulder.

“We’ve also got to get our act together…”

Oh, I guess she saw a little bit of herself in that parent and child relationship.

I would also be distraught when I think about Jaja and Nana being gone.

If I’ve been running all over town, looking for them in the woods, and if I still can’t find them.

I don’t want to think about it too much. I have to be careful not to let that happen.

They’re too important to lose in a moment of carelessness.

“… Ah, yes.”

I took Jaja and Aoi took Nana.

Each of us held tightly in our arms, and we huddled together.

This is the perfect form, this is the best form. Nothing should be missing. No one should be left out.

Before we came to that house, we never imagined what we’d become, but now it’s all we have.

“U-um!”

“Hm?”

Ririka-chan’s father came running towards us.

The image of a black bear over two meters tall, with black fur, walking on two legs, coming at you from the mountainside.

I was a little freaked out even though I knew it was coming.

“Oh, thank you! I’m going to be there. Nihongo tokotto wakaru. Japanese is a little clearer. Ririka, arigato. Desu.”

Ririka father tried his best to express his gratitude in broken Japanese. There were still tears in the corners of his eyes.

I could feel the joy from his face rather than his words.