Chapter 122 - Bear-san Fights The Black Tiger (1/2)

Bear-san Fights The Black Tiger

I used detection magic, but I hadn’t noticed the Black Tiger.

I only looked in our vicinity, so it was my mistake.

If I had summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they would have probably found it.

It was a complete failure on my part.

「Why is such a monster here?」

Marcus whispered.

n.o.body answered his question, though.

They were all looking at the Black Tiger, which was devouring the goblins.

「Anyway, we should run away.」

「Marcus, don’t move!」

The moment Marcus tried to move, the Black Tiger looked our way while sniffing the air.

It was just a matter of time before it discovered us.

If we didn’t move, it would discover us using its sense of smell.

If we moved, it would discover us by the sound we would make.

Also, there was no way we could outrun it.

「Marcus……」

Timor and Cattleya seemed worried and looked at Marcus.

I knew it, they were leaving the decision to Marcus, their party leader.

It was a terrible thing to do to a student who had no experience.

After looking at everyone, Marcus swallowed his saliva and spoke up.

「I-I will be a decoy, so you guys have to use that chance to flee!」

「Marcus!?」

They were all surprised by his words.

I was surprised too, of course. I really didn’t think he would say something like that.

「I’m the one that got us in this situation. If only I didn’t promise that I would try to kill the goblins…」

「That’s not a reason for you to sacrifice yourself, right?」

「If it continues like this, we will all be killed, you know!」

「That’s……」

The Black Tiger was slowly approaching our hiding spot while smelling the air around it.

「I will make an opening, so make sure to use it!」

「If we all attack it…」

「That would be impossible, of course. Also, someone has to inform the village. If we all died here, who would do it? Adventurers who can kill a Black Tiger have to come from the capital. If the villagers aren’t warned, they will also be killed, you know!」

「That’s true, but…」

「Stop arguing and just go!」

It was finally my turn, right?

My role as a guard had come.

I tried to speak up, but Timor spoke up before me.

「Marcus, I will also stay with you.」

「Timor……」

「We can’t let the girls die, after all. With two decoys, we will give them more time. No hard feelings for which one gets eaten first, okay?」

「Timor, you are saying some really cool things, but your hands are shaking, you know…」

Timor’s hands, which were holding onto his staff, were indeed shaking.

It wasn’t just his hands that were shaking. His legs, which were supporting him, were also trembling.

「Hahaha, Marcus, you’re also shaking, you know.」

Marcus and Timor were laughing, but they weren’t smiling.

Still, they must have been happy after confirming their friends.h.i.+p.

I had to barge into this serious scene with my Bear Clothes, right?

It was a really difficult thing to do, though…

I couldn’t just stay put, either; the Black Tiger was still slowly approaching us.

「When we rush in, you guys have to run, okay?」

Marcus said while looking at us, the girls.

「Marcus, Timor……」

Cattleya hesitated a bit, then nodded.

「Okay. We will absolutely make it out alive. s.h.i.+a-san, Yuna-san, we will be going.」

With her trembling hands, Cattleya grasped ours.

「Yuna-san…」

s.h.i.+a looked at me with a worried expression.

「Timor, let’s go!」

「Y-yes.」

The moment they tried to leave the thicket, I grabbed their clothes.

「What!?」

「From here on, it’s my job.」

As expected, I couldn’t just let them go.

「What are you saying!?」

「It’s my fault that I didn’t find the Black Tiger. Also, my job is to protect each and every one of you.」

I stepped in front of Marcus and left the thicket.

I used the detection magic and saw wolves coming this way as if they were gathering under the Black Tiger.

Even if the students were able to flee from the Black Tiger, they would be attacked by the wolves.

I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

「Protect these four, okay?」

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear answered with a “Kuun” and went to the students.

「What are those!?」

Marcus, Timor, and Cattleya were all shocked when they saw Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

「They are Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.」

s.h.i.+a told them.

「But, their size is…」

「That’s their real size, you know.」

「The four of you have to stay near Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear. Wolves are gathering from all around here, after all.」

「Yuna-san…」

s.h.i.+a looked at me with a worried expression again.

「s.h.i.+a, I leave these three to you.」

「Okay. Please don’t die, you hear me?」

I smiled and waved.

「s.h.i.+a, what are you saying? It’s definitely impossible for her.」

「Marcus. Please leave it to Yuna-san from now on.」

「There is no way I could do that!」

s.h.i.+a stopped Marcus, who tried to stop me.

「There is no problem. Yuna-san can defeat it.」

I left the other three students to s.h.i.+a and went to defeat the Black Tiger by myself.

When the Black Tiger saw me, it stopped advancing and started to circle around me, as if to see what I would do.

It was huge. It was way bigger than the Tiger Wolf I had defeated before.

After looking at me for a while, the Black Tiger recognized me as its prey, roared and leapt at me, reducing the distance between us in an instant, and bared its sharp fangs at me.

I dodged by taking a big step to the right.

It was fast.

It was faster than the Tiger Wolves, and there was also a lot strength behind its attacks.

I was also stronger than I was in the past, though.

If it was just defeating it, there was no problem. I would just kill with a Fire Bear.

The problem was that if I used fire, its beautiful fur would be burned to a crisp, and that would be a waste.

I really wanted its fur to become a carpet in my home, if possible, in a perfect state. Fina should be able to skin it perfectly.

If I used a sword or wind magic, there would be holes in the fur. Launching ice magic at its head wouldn’t be good, either. So, that left me with drowning it with my water magic?

I was thinking about how to defeat the Black Tiger while evading its attacks.

I tried to stop its movements with earth magic, but it was too fast for me to catch it. It evaded all the attacks that came from the ground.

Then, how about this?