Chapter 741

Bear-san Listening to Old Stories with Everyone

“Thank you.” (Suzuran)

Suzuran looked at my drawing happily.

“I will treasure it forever.” (Suzuran)

“It’s a cheap treasure, isn’t it?” (Kagali)

Well, it wasn’t painted by a top-notch artist. An amateur did it. It was no surprise to me if it was considered cheap.

I did not think my drawings had any value either.

“Kagali-sama, what are you talking about? There is no painting as valuable as this one.” (Sakura)

Sakura said as she looked at the painting of Kagali 

“Yeah. Yuna drew it so well.” (Suzuran)

“I believe Yuna-sama’s painting deserves to be designated a national treasure and housed in the royal treasury.” (Sakura) 

Please don’t do that.

Although I would be sad if they abandoned my painting, it was also true that my painting wasn’t worth putting into a national treasure.

I wouldn’t want my painting to be locked away in a treasure room forever. 

It would be worse than having a picture I drew as a child framed and displayed.

“All right, don’t be angry. It was not like I didn’t like it, I was just embarrassed to be told that a painting drawn of myself would be treated as a treasure by someone.” (Kagali)

So she was just behaving as a tsundere?

Kagali-san, you have too many sides to keep hidden from the world.

She looks like a little girl, but in reality, she is an adult, making her look like a girl with an old soul. Her true identity was that of a fox that had lived for hundreds of years. Now, add the tsundere attribute to the mix. She would be a very popular character if this were a manga or anime world.

“Are you thinking of something strange?” (Kagali)

Let’s not forget she also possessed a keen intuition.

For now, I responded deceptively, “No, I’m not thinking about anything,” and smiled.

Then I drew a picture of Sakura in Misa’s clothes, though not together with the others.

Sakura looked happy.

By the time I finished painting Sakura in Misa’s clothes, I looked outside and saw that the sun was setting.

***

“Dinner is ready!” (Shinobu)

Shinobu called out, timing it just right.

“Kagali-sama, please wake up.” (Suzuran)

“What, is it morning already?” (Kagali)

“No, it’s not. It’s time for dinner.” (Suzuran)

As I started to draw Sakura in Misa’s clothes, Kagali-san yawned and fell asleep before I knew it.

Kagali-san was sleeping on a cushion as a pillow. Suzuran covered her with a large towel so she wouldn’t catch a cold.

We returned to the first room we had been shown.

We each sat down on a cushion, and then our meals were served.

Perhaps they had prepared the meal as soon as I finished painting.

“So, Shinobu, when should we go to the castle?” (Sakura)

Sakura asked while we ate.

Suzuran was not here at the moment.

Kagali-san kept Suzuran-san away from us because she knew that if Suzuran-san were here, it would be difficult for us to discuss something that should not be mentioned in front of her.

Kagali-san also seemed to be taking care of us in her own way.

“I was told that we could visit first thing tomorrow morning.” (Shinobu)

“That early?” (Sakura)

Sakura was surprised.

“The King wanted to meet with Yuna, too.” (Shinobu)

“That’s right, he was even telling me to bring you there as soon as possible” (Kagali)

“Not only that, he was even willing to put aside his work and come here.” (Shinobu)

“But I stopped him with my ‘skill’. You should be grateful.” (Kagali)

I appreciate that, but…

But every King in this world seems to have too much time on their hands, no? 

I wondered if there were any decent, hardworking Kings in this world.

Well, it was better than a tyrant, though.

“Um, what did Yuna-san do in this country? You said you defeated a monster.” (Noa)

“In Sakura-chan’s case I think I can understand why she is hospitable, but even the King has been so hospitable to us.” (Misa)

Noa and Misa, who had no idea that I was involved in defeating a giant serpent, might find the hospitality His Majesty has extended to us very surprising.

“I was just helping people out a little bit and ended up defeating a monster.” (Yuna)

“I’d like to know what that was all about.” (Noa)

“I don’t really want to talk about it because it will sound like I’m bragging if I tell you myself.” (Yuna)

If I tell people that I defeated a ferocious monster and saved the country, it would sound like I was bragging. That’s why I didn’t want to talk about it.

Then Sakura smiled and said, “Well, if it’s alright with you, Yuna-sama, I’ll tell the story instead.”

Sakura took a sip of tea and began to tell her story.

“Once upon a time, this country was attacked by a huge monster called a giant serpent called Orochi with four long necks. It was taller than a mountain and was not a monster that people could stand against. The serpent killed many people. Many people in the Land of Wa fought for their lives to protect what was important to them, but they could not defeat it.” (Sakura)

Noa and the others stopped eating and listened intently.

“When everyone was about to wallow in despair, four adventurers and a woman from a different country appeared, and together they were able to seal the giant serpent on a small island.” (Sakura)

Noa and the others were relieved to hear that they had sealed the monster.

“It wasn’t just those five. Many fought alongside them. Many people put their lives on the line to fight for us, and that’s why we were able to seal the monster.” (Kagali)

Kagali-san pointed out corrections to Sakura’s story.

“That’s right. Many people joined forces to fight, and many did not return. But if it had not been for those five people, I don’t think we would have been able to seal the monster.” (Sakura)

Sakura looked at Kagali-san and smiled.

I did not know what happened back then, but Kagali-san also fought against the giant serpent this time. And I think she saw many people die in front of her eyes.

When I think about that, I can’t help but wonder how she felt at that time.

“It must have been such a terrible thing.” (Noa)

“It was hundreds of years ago. So, over time, the seal that so many people had risked their lives for began to weaken. The seal could not be further reinforced, and there was no way to deal with it. If the seal of the serpent was broken, many people would die, just as they did hundreds of years ago. While we were wondering what to do, she appeared…” (Sakura)

Sakura then turned to me.

“Yuna-san?” (Noa)

“Yes, Yuna-sama took on the task of defeating the monster after hearing our story.” (Sakura)

Originally, I didn’t accept the job straight away. I was planning to decide only a course of action after listening to what Kagali-san had to say but in the end I agreed anyway.

“Yuna-sama used that mysterious door to bring people she knew, and together with them, and she defeated the monster.” (Sakura)

When I met with Kagali-san, she told me that she had to meet Mumroot-san, and while the three of us were in the middle of planning on how to deal with the seal, the serpent broke free from the seal.

So just as usual, I simply went with the flow of the situation and ended up defeating the serpent.

Sakura took a sip of her tea, pausing.

“The King thanked Yuna-sama for saving the country, and Yuna-sama was supposed to be declared as the hero of this country. But Yuna-sama refused. Her reason was that she didn’t want to stand out.” (Sakura)

Sakura looked at me and smiled.

“We respected Yuna-sama’s feelings and decided to keep the fact that Yuna-sama saved our country in the minds of a few.” (Sakura)

“You almost made me a hero in her place.” (Shinobu)

I tried to push the reward to Shinobu, but she refused.

“The King of this country gave Yuna-sama this mansion as a token of his appreciation.” (Sakura)

Sakura’s story ended.

Some parts of the story were not told.

They were about Sakura’s prophetic dream, as well as things about Kagali-san, and Mumroot-san.

There was no need to talk about them, which was fine with me, too.

I stopped thinking, looked around, and noticed that Noa and the others were looking at me.

“Yuna-san, you are always helping people somewhere.” (Noa)

“No, I’m not always helping people.” (Yuna)

I was not such a good person that I would help anyone and everyone.

If I had been consistently helping people, as Noa suggested, I would have been traveling with the Bear Equipment God gave me, assisting those in need across different locations, rather than lazing around. 

But I enjoyed my spare time and relaxed.

“Yuna-san, please don’t underestimate my Yuna-san information.” (Noa)

What was this ‘Yuna-san information’? 

“Yuna-san saved a village by defeating the Black Viper. Saved the Royal Capital by defeating 10,000 monsters. Defeated a Kraken and saved Mileela. In Shirin, she rescued Misa by beating up the Salvado family. And even defeated a Black Tiger.” (Noa)

“Yes, that’s right. She also saved me and my grandfather from being attacked by monsters, and she saved many people who were being threatened by the Salvado Family.” (Misa)

And even Misa joined in.

“And many other things, too.” (Noa)

I wonder what it was about.

The latest information that Noa had in her knowledge base was our recent event, which involved the fairies. Also, there was a possibility that the events in the desert had been reported to Cliff and were passed to Noa from Ellelaura-san. I doubt that they would know about the events with elves, though.

There was also the matter of the town at the lake.

If you ask me, I think I have been helping people everywhere I go.

But it was not like I was trying to save them all. It just happened as things progressed.

And with Black Viper, it was because I wanted to see the Black Viper. The 10,000 monsters were there on the way to pick up Cliff, so I just beat them, and aiding the town of Mileela was because I wanted to procure rice, miso, and soy sauce. In the case with the Black Tiger, I was there simply because I was hired to protect Shia and the other students, and it was only obvious to me to raid the Salvado Family, after they hit Noa and Fina and then kidnapped Misa. I still had enough heart to at least help when there were troubles in front of me.

Of course, I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t have the strength. I have bear equipment that God gave me.

“And what else does Fina know?” (Noa)

Noa turned to Fina.

“Well, Yuna Onee-chan saved me from being attacked by wolves.” (Fina)

“Also, she saved my mom.” (Shuri)

Even Shuri joined the conversation.

“Yuna Onee-chan is always protecting people.” (Misa)

“Hmm, Yuna-sama helps many people, not just in the Land of Wa.” (Sakura)

I wanted to deny it, but what Noa and the others said was technically true.

“A Black Viper, a Black Tiger, and 10,000 monsters…?” (Shinobu)

“Truly, you are doing outrageous things.” (Kagali)

“I think I just caught a glimpse of Yuna’s strength. I want to know the secret of how she became so strong.” (Shinobu)

The secret of my strength? 

It was the bear equipment and the combat experience I gained in the game.

Without my bear equipment, I would not be able to execute the combat maneuvers that I learnt from playing the game.

Without the combat experience I gained in the game, I would have been too scared to fight monsters.

So without one or the other, I would not have been able to become strong.

After we finished eating and talking, we took off our Japanese clothes to take a bath.

Noa and the others were reluctant to remove their clothes, but Sakura told them, “If you want to put them on at any time, just let us know,” they finally changed their clothes.

When we went to bed at night, we decided that we would like to wear the yukata that Sakura was wearing, so Sakura smiled and prepared a yukata for all of us.

Me?

I slept in my white bear outfit because I was everyone’s bodyguard.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep