810 Bear, leaves for the west forest - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Mane is looking at me. The fact that I defeated an army of ten thousand monsters is kept secret. Only a select few are aware of this. As far as I know, that includes the King, the Prime Minister, Ellelaura, Cliff, and Sanya. There might be a few others, but it hasn’t spread around. The fact that Mane isn’t aware of it shows that the gag order is being enforced properly. "Mane, what do you know about the situation?" "Honestly, I know nothing. The commotion happened before I was aware, and it settled before I knew it." "That's the general perception, isn't it? No one saw the monster horde firsthand, and no one was attacked. It was just a bit of a fuss among some knights and adventurers from the castle." Sanya led the adventurers to where the monsters were, but all they found were the dead goblins I had already dealt with. "Did Yuna have something to do with the ten thousand monsters because she's an adventurer?" "That's part of it..." Sanya looks to confirm with me. "Mane, can you keep a secret?" "If there's a gag order from His Majesty, I won’t spread any rumors." "Well, it was me who defeated the ten thousand monsters." "………Huh?" A strange sound escapes Mane’s lips. "You mean you fought some of the monsters?" "No, it means I fought and defeated all ten thousand of them." Sanya supplements my explanation with a sense of support. "To keep it a secret, I declared that an A-rank adventurer had done the subjugation. I even negotiated directly with the King. It was quite a hassle." At that time, I asked Sanya and Cliff to ensure it wasn’t known that I did the subjugation. Thanks to that, it hasn’t spread around. "Because of that, she gained His Majesty's trust, and Elphanica Kingdom's seal is on her guild card. Yuna, can you give me your guild card?" I hand my guild card to Sanya. She places it on a crystal slate on the table and operates something. "Come over here." Mane and I move behind Sanya. There's my guild card's information displayed. "It really does have the Elphanica Kingdom seal." "Only those with high-level authority can see it, but it's a token of the King's trust." "…………" "Besides, Yuna also defeated a Cockatrice that appeared in the Elf Village." "I heard from Ellelaura, but it's true then." "That's why both I and His Majesty recognize Yuna’s abilities. So you can trust Yuna, except for her bear outfit." Mane looks at me. "Yuna, I'm formally asking again: Can you be my escort?" "Yeah, I was planning to from the beginning." "Thank you." With Mane reassured, we decided to head to the Western Forest. "So where is the Western Forest?" In response to my question, Sanya stands and fetches a scroll-like paper from the shelf and spreads it on the table. It’s a map of the area surrounding the royal capital. "Leave through the western gate of the capital and continue straight, but the road diverts around the forest. You’ll need to leave the highway at some point to get there." Sanya traces the route with her finger as she explains. The road from the capital curves and continues to a town. There’s a depiction of a forest beyond where the path diverges. "It takes about four days on horseback to reach this forest." If it takes four days by horse, Kumataku and Kumayuru can probably do it in less than half the time, depending on our travel speed. Typically, when people refer to a horse's speed, they mean the pace at which a horse walks. It’s known as 'swift horse' when galloping. Kumataku and Kumayuru can walk at a horse's pace and run long distances unlike horses. "If you go straight for about two days from where the road starts to curve, you’ll reach the Western Forest." That’s easy to understand. "Alright, we're heading out." "Mane, Yuna, if you find anything rare, let the Adventurers' Guild know." Mane and I leave the room. I look around. There's no sign of Uragan and Bakareddo. We exit the Adventurers' Guild and head towards the gate to leave the capital. From all around, I hear whispers of "bear." And the gazes that accompany them. "Now I understand what Sanya meant. Let's leave the capital quickly." Mane walks with slight embarrassment. I follow her in silence. Outside the capital, I summon Kumayuru and Kumayuru. I ride on Kumayuru, and Mane on Kumayuru. First, we set off along the road. Kumayuru and Kumayuru carry us while running. "Now that I've ridden them, I understand what Sanya meant. The ride is more comfortable than a horse, softer, and the back is broad enough to lie down." Mane sprawls out, hugging onto Kumayuru. "Horses or carriages make your back hurt." "You won't fall off, so you can sleep if you want." "I worked late into the night yesterday, so it’s making me sleepy." "If anything happens, I'll wake you, so do you want to sleep?" "Is that okay?" When I nod, truly sleepy, she dozes off. "Alright, Kumayuru, Kumayuru, let’s go." "Ku~n." Kumayuru and Kumayuru take off. The highway stretches endlessly. Whenever we pass or overtake a carriage, people are surprised. Normally, I would steer away from the highway if I noticed any carriages, but since Mane is asleep, I stick to the road. If I left the paved area we'd inevitably wake her due to the bumpiness. So I keep to the highway. After running for a while, Mane wakes up. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, very comfortably." Mane looks up at the sky. "The sun is quite high. Have these kids been running the whole time?" Mane asks, petting Kumayuru. "Yes, it’s about time to rest Kumayuru and Kumayuru, and have lunch." Spotting a large tree a little off the highway, we decide to take a break there for lunch. We lay a sheet under the tree and bring out bread and juice prepared by Morin. "Did you prepare this?" "It's delicious, so please have some." Mane takes a piece of bread and bites into it. "It's soft. And delicious." I’m glad it suits her taste. Then again, it's rare for someone to not like Morin's bread. "And did you prepare several days' worth of food too?" "Not just several days, it’s probably enough for months." "………!?" Mane is astonished at my words. "I brought some provisions too, but after this meal, I might not want to eat the preserved food I packed." "Mane, you brought supplies as well?" "Yes, I even prepared some for you." Now that she mentions it, yesterday I hadn’t brought up the bear house or our food supplies. "This bread tastes freshly baked; did you buy it this morning?" It would be too troublesome to explain about the Kuma Box, so I keep quiet. "But still, having enough food for several months, you must have an incredible item bag." If I were to bring out the bear house, she might be even more amazed. Once we finish lunch, we set off again. "Mane, this time ride on Kumayuru." "Kumayuru is the black bear, right?" "These two get a bit sulky if one of them is ridden continuously." Hearing this, Mane approaches both Kumayuru and Kumayuru. "You're right. They probably want to carry their owner. Thank you for carrying me this far, Kumayuru." "Kuu~n." Mane pats Kumayuru and then approaches Kumayuru. "I'm not your owner, but take care of me, alright?" "Kuu~n." Kumayuru sits, inviting Mane to hop on. "Thank you." Mane mounts Kumayuru, while I get on Kumayuru. The two bears, now carrying us, start running towards the Western Forest.