Chapter 436

436 Bear-san, Fights Kamaitachi, Part 1

There’s a considerable distance between the Kamaitachi and me.

I rushed in.

The cow falls once more as it runs away.

I can see them.

They’re moving on the ground in fast motion.

Are those things Kamaitachi?

They were moving so fast that I couldn’t recognize it clearly, but I was pretty sure it was a small animal like a weasel.

There are about three, four, five, or maybe even more of them.

As I ran, I shot an ice arrow. Even though I have accuracy correction, the Kamaitachi avoided it.

They’re quick.

The Kamaitachi waved their sickle-like arms then the wind blades flew from them. The wind blades came at me while cutting the grass of the pasture. I use magic to create an earth wall to block the wind blades.

The wind blades were not powerful enough to break the wall and simply disappeared.

I walked through the side of the wall and tried to attack the monsters, but they split off to the left and right.

[I’ll take the right one!] Shinobu

As I pondered for a moment, Shinobu called out from behind me and ran off to the right. I went to the left. There, the wind blade of Kamaitachi comes flying at me again.

What a pain!

I imagined the bear’s claws and let the wind magic: bear claw fly; the three claw-like blades cut through the Kamaitachi’s wind blades and went through the caster.

First one.

When I was about to attack the next one, it ran across the ground at great speed and fled towards the forest.

I thought about chasing after it but decided not to pursue it too deeply.

=====

These guys might be a more troublesome opponent than I thought. If they attack me, I’ll just have to fight them back. I don’t know their exact numbers, they move fast, and when they’re at a disadvantage, they escape.

No enemy is difficult to fight than one that runs away.

Just when you think they’ve fled elsewhere, they’ll show up a few days later. They’re exhausting monsters to deal with.

[They got away.] Shinobu

I looked at Shinobu and saw three kunai-like objects stuck into the Kamaitachi lying on the ground. It looked like Shinobu had killed one too.

Shinobu pulls out the kunai stuck in Kamaitachi, wipes it with a cloth, and puts it away in her chest.

She really looks like a ninja.

By the way, her breasts are not big, so that’s the only thing I can relate to.

[Yuna moves fast and your magic is very powerful.] Shinobu

The remnants of my bear magic were still on the ground. I think it was more of an attack than defense. The bear magic prevents the opponent’s attack and at the same time, attacks the opponent. Killing two birds with one stone.

If I really wanted to, I would attack like that and kill all the Kamaitachi.

When he sees that our battle is over, the man comes.

[Did you beat them?] Itsuki

[Me and Yuna got one each. The others escaped into the forest.] Shinobu

Shinobu explained as she looked at the Kamaitachi lying on the ground.

[I see. But thank God. If it hadn’t been for you two, there would have been more damage.] Itsuki

The man turns his gaze to the fallen cow.

[But how did you know that the Kamaitachi were here?] Itsuki

[That’s because Swaying Bear told me.] Yuna

I stroked the head of Swaying Bear that came with the man.

[Swaying Bear knows that?] Shinobu

[He’ll tell me if a monster is nearby.] Yuna

[Perhaps even a sign of someone as well.] Shinobu

[I suppose.] Yuna

[So, did you summon him to your room at the inn, too?] Shinobu

[Who knows.] Yuna

I don’t want Konoha to hear about it, so I cover it up.

[I feel so much better now.] Shinobu

Shinobu seemed convinced and nodded to herself.

At any rate, I put away the Kamaitachi that I defeated in the bear box.

[Are you not going to dismantle it?] Shinobu

[Not now. I’ll chase after them and defeat them first.] Yuna

It’s too much trouble to leave things like this or to wait.

[Are you sure you want to go?] Shinobu

Shinobu confirms.

[We’re wasting our time waiting for the Kamaitachi here, right?] Yuna

If I know when it will appear, I can wait for it. But I don’t like to wait for something that I have no idea when will it come. It’s a waste of time.

I’m more of an attacker than a defender.

And I’m not being reckless. I have detection skills, so I’m not going to be attacked from a blind spot, and I can prepare myself.

Besides, they’ve just entered the forest. The Kamaitachi might not have gone that deep into the forest

[Please stay behind, Shinobu. In case the Kamaitachi come to the village while I’m gone.] Yuna

[No, I’m coming with you. Since I received the request to accompany you, I’ll go with you.] Shinobu

[I’ve got Swaying Bear to keep me company.] Yuna

I turned my gaze to Swaying Bear.

Speaking of a bear as a companion in Japanese folklore, I imagined Kintaro carrying a masakari(broad axe). If I think about it, I’m playing as Kintaro. I don’t like that.

What is it, Swaying Bear? Why are you looking at me with that expression?

I pat Swaying Bear on the head and said, , and kept it to myself.

=====

In the end, I decided to let Shinobu come along with us. And so, Swaying Bear, Shinobu, and I are coming to the forest.

The man looked worried, but he said, .

By the way, Hayatemaru is not here because he was unsummoned.

[Swaying Bear, if you find any monster, let me know.] Yuna

I can tell with my detection skills, but I’ll ask Swaying Bear to help me since Shinobu is also here with us.

[One more thing.] Shinobu

[What?] Yuna

[Yuna, do you understand what Swaying Bear is saying?] Shinobu

[I know what he’s trying to tell me.] Yuna

[That’s amazing.] Shinobu

[We’ll we’ve been together for a long time.] Yuna

I’ve only known Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear for a few months, but I feel as if I’ve been with them for years. Now, I can’t imagine my life without Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

Checking with the detection skill, there is a response from the Kamaitachi. Apparently, they had not escaped deep into the forest. If they had escaped at that speed, they would have easily gone outside the detection skill.

Did they feel safe when they entered the forest?

There’s a narrow path, so we continued on.

I’m in the lead, and Swaying Bear is behind me. Shinobu is walking at the rear.

[I’ll protect your back, Yuna.] Shinobu

[It’s okay, Swaying Bear already got my back.] Yuna

Swaying Bear replies, with cry.

[U~u, that’s so cold. I want you to tell me that you’re leaving that to me too.] Shinobu

There was no way I could trust my back to someone I had just met.

And more importantly, she was an overly suspicious ninja. A ninja will do her best for her master, but I don’t think she’ll risk her life for me, whom she’s only known for a few days. In the first place, if I don’t know what Shinobu is capable of, I can’t trust her.

The only ones I can trust my behind to are Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

=====

While I’m checking my detection skills, I slowly close the distance between me and the Kamaitachi.

Two of them are nearby.

Swaying Bear makes a small sound.

[Are they nearby, perhaps?] Shinobu

Shinobu asked in a quiet voice as Swaying Bear cried.

[They’re here.] Yuna

They are in a position with some vegetation a little further ahead.

I used my detection skills to check the distance and direction, then shot two ice arrows in the direction of the Kamaitachi’s reaction. Then the reaction of the Kamaitachi disappears from my detection skill.

It seems that I hit them safely. If they cannot see it, they can’t avoid it, so it’ll hit.

I went to retrieve the defeated monsters.

[Did you kill it, by any chance?] Shinobu

[Just two of them. But it looks like some of them are still out there. I’m going to move carefully so they won’t notice me. Don’t make a sound.] Yuna

If they move that fast through the forest, it will be troublesome in many ways. The best thing to do is to defeat it before it can move.

[I’m good at moving quietly, so I’ll be fine.] Shinobu

Being good at sneaking around is scary since you can be a stalker. But then again, ninjas are in the business of gathering information, so maybe they are a kind of stalker in a sense.

Once I collected the Kamaitachi I’ve killed with the ice arrow, I head to the next one.

=====

Every time Swaying Bear makes a small cry, I defeat the Kamaitachi.

We proceeded through the forest, while defeating the Kamaitachi, and had already killed about ten of them.

[I don’t have a turn.] Shinobu

I wanted to see what Shinobu could do, but I didn’t want Kamaitachi to notice us and run away.

After successfully defeating them, I fired an ice arrow at the next one, which caused the vegetation to rustle, so the Kamaitachi moved.

It was avoided for the first time in a while!

They came out of the vegetation, and their fur has a different color.

[Silver?] Yuna

What jumped out of the vegetation was a silver-haired Kamaitachi.

[Is that a silver kamaitachi? That’s a troublesome one.] Shinobu

Shinobu has an annoyed look on her face.

[What do you mean by that?] Yuna

[Think of it as an incredibly strong variant. They move fast and have keen senses, so it’s hard to hit them. Also, that Kamaitachi’s attacks can even cut through a cheap iron armor.] Shinobu

That sound’s pretty bad.

But the detection skill only labeled it as Kamaitachi. Couldn’t that be a Kamaitachi subspecies or a Silver Kamaitachi?

[It looks like there are two of them.] Yuna

Coming out of the grass, there were two silver Kamaitachi.

[Can I trust you with the other one?] Yuna

I’ll ask Shinobu to work a little. If she refuses or runs away, that’s fine. That’s just how far she’s come.

[I’d like to decline, but I can’t, can I?] Shinobu

[You said you’re going to assist me, didn’t you?] Yuna

[……Roger that.] Shinobu

Shinobu didn’t say no but smiled and accepted. Maybe she was confident that she could defeat it.

[Don’t worry about me, I can take it down.] Yuna

[Do your best.] Shinobu

[Swaying Bear said one of them was around that tree.] Yuna

I used my detection skills to see which direction they ran off in and let her know.

[Thanks.] Shinobu

Shinobu pats Swaying Bear’s head.

[Swaying Bear, do you want to return?] Yuna

I showed him the bear puppet.

Swaying Bear cried and shook his head.

[Then, can you handle the other kamaitachi?] Yuna

There’s another reaction from Kamaitachi a short distance away.

It would be troublesome if they showed up in the middle of fighting the silver kamaitachi.

Swaying Bear cried and looked happy at my request. It seems that he is happy to be relied on by me.

But I’m worried about him alone, so I decide to have Hugging Bear summoned as well.

I didn’t want to summon him because of Shinobu, but I have to reduce the danger to Swaying Bear.

I summoned Hugging Bear from the white bear puppet in my left hand.

[A white bear?] Shinobu

[Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, please take care of the other Kamaitachi around us. But if there are any silver dwarfs, I’ll take them down, so steer clear from them.] Yuna

<>

Hugging Bear, just like Swaying Bear, has a expression.

[All right, let’s go.] Yuna

[Are you ignoring my questions?……] Shinobu

I knew that Shinobu had been looking like she wanted to ask about Hugging Bear earlier. But now was not the time to explain.

As soon as I start moving, everyone followed suit.