章 52: Bears and more bears

-Alariccc Alariccc loooookkk

A cheerful voice rejoiced in his ears, jolting the nobleman out of his daze. He threw the blueberries in his hand into a bag before scanning his surroundings. A tiny wolf was bouncing his way.

-Look, this is my new friend!!

Following him from behind was,

'...a bear?'

A baby nearly threefold larger than Lior tagged along, heading his way.

-Little Bear showed me the way to a hidden treasure. I found some honey, Alaric. Let's go and collect it! Let's go let's go!

"Uh, no wait..."

This bear here... It was a wild animal. Lior couldn't just randomly bring a beast to their camp! It wasn't long ago that they fought a huge bear monster, and now they had a baby bear with following them? This jungle sure had many bears in it.

'But... Uh... It's cute...'

Looking at the tiny, round, and fluffy baby in front of him, Alaric's lips twitched uncontrollably.

-Alaric Alaric, aren't you hungry? Why are you hesitating? Let's go eat honey! Honeyy~

Honey.

The sound echoed in Alaric's mind. If there really was honey here, sure he would like to taste it. They hadn't eaten anything but Calus' tasteless bread these past few days, so everyone craved something delicious. That could be dangerous, though. No one knew what effects a sting from a bee here could have on a human's body.

'Will that elf get angry if we... Um.. steal from the bees, or something?'

As he pondered and savored the sweetness of honey in his mind, Alaric knelt beside the two babies, taking in both of their adorable features.

'They are so cute...'

Reaching out a hand, he carefully moved his fingers towards the baby bear, trying to pat it on the head. The urge was irresistible.

Growl!

Wak- Something slapped against Alaric's hand. Before he noticed what happened, blood gushed out of a wound.

"Wha-"

-Eeek!

Growl! The baby bear didn't let Alaric retract his hand. As if having found an easy target, it clapper clawed the skin in repeated successions. Several smacks came after another, claws digging his flesh deeper down.

-Hey hey, don't hit Alaric! Hey!

The animal, completely ignorant, bore its teeth at Alaric and bent its body, jumping at the man with his jaw open, ready to bite.

"Whoah, hey!"

The mage fell back and covered his face. His eyes closed shut as he curled his body for protection.

But after a few seconds, no teeth rushlessly gnawed his body neither did a tiny animal land on him.

Alaric cracked his eyelids open.

"... What are you doing?"

-Uh, m-master!

Squatting down in front of Alaric, Ian stared at him and the wolf with narrowed eyes while holding the baby bear in front of his face.

"Lior."

-Y-yes. I was just playing with him. Master, I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong I swear!

All the wolf pup's fur stood at their ends.

"Why did you separate a baby from its mom?"

Ian moved the baby closer to him, resting it on his lap. Alaric wanted to warn him to be careful, but he stopped upon seeing how calm the animal was.

-He was alone when I saw him... I didn't separate...

Lior's voice sank low, his ears drooping.

"Okay, alright." Ian brushed a hand against the bear's head. The baby wiggled, wagged its tiny tail, and rubbed itself against the man's palm. Raising two pawa up, the baby bear purred as if asking to be held.

"What the..." Alaric's gaze shifted between his tattered arm and the bear being hugged by Ian, baffled. Wasn't that beast being wild just now?

"Aren't you a mage?"

"Huh?"

"Spells are used in situations like this."

"Oh..." Alaric opened and closed his palm. Blood oozed out of the scratch marks. Ian was right. He could've just cast a shield... "I forgot about that..."

"Fool."

A golden light enveloped Alaric's arm in a flash. Once the light vanished, his hand was erased of all wounds.

"Wow..."

Not even his hand was healed, but all his nervousness also vanished like a lie. Holy power's effects were really great, Alaric thought.

-Master, master, where are you taking my friend? I want to play with him a bit more. Maasterrr, pleasseee, masterrr!!

"His mom must be worried about him."

Grrrrr. The baby kept rubbing its face against Ian's chest.

-Uhhh... Master, do you like bears? Would you be happy if I became a bear next time?

"I'm happy with whatever you are."

-Even if I'm a worm?

"Yes."

-Hehehehe~

Just then, Ian halted. He turned back, staring at Alaric, eyebrows knitted.

-Uh... He could hear our voices...

"Tsk."

Realizing the situation, Alaric lowered his head, pretending not to have heard anything. He remained seated at the same spot until the bluehead eventually left in a sour mood.

'It doesn't feel right...'

Alaric didn't think he'd done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault that he could hear that child's voice, was it? Despite that fact, Ian seemed to blame him. The bluehead didn't say anything about it, but the discomfort was clear on his face.

'I doubt they usually conversed so little...'

They spoke short and brief, mostly cutting their sentences as soon as remembered that Alaric was around, and used writing and signs to communicate instead of speaking freely. Neither Alaric enjoyed this situation nor the two. Ian had all the right to dislike him right now, and Alaric could understand his point, but he still felt somewhat wronged.

'I hope the matter is solved as soon as possible.'

There was no way he could keep pretending to not hear their voice, or for the three of them to avoid each other all the time.

"Whatever!"

There was no point in sitting around and doing nothing. Alaric got back to his feet. He'd better hurry and gather some fruits and rush back to his training.

- - - - - - -

"I can't understand... Why should we travel with an elf?"

When she agreed to join this mercenary group, she never thought she'd meet an elf; so early on their journey at that. That part was fine and most exciting, but not what followed afterward. They couldn't hunt, they couldn't start a bonfire, neither could they rest in a soft and grassy area. The tasteless breads unwillingly given to them by the elf were of no help. They weren't filling at all. The hunger was too strong. It wasn't only Doris who was about to lose her mind.

She wanted meat!!

'What if I secretly catch a fish from the nearby river and fry it with my magic? No one would know... No, maybe I can share some with Miss Eleen? And a tiny bit with Alaric... Isn't this a decent plan?'

"What's on your mind?"

"Gasp!"

Startled out of her guts, Doris turned around, only to see the doctor approaching him from afar. With a confounded face, she blurted out her thoughts.

"Let's catch a fish and fry it over fire magic."

"...Pardon?" After the initial shock, a rare glint glimmered in Eleen's pupils. "You can do that? I'm in!"

"Wait, really?"

Eleen grabbed the other girl's arm and pulled her towards the river not too far away.

"Yes, of course. It's such a brilliant idea! I can't take this hunger anymore."

"Won't we get caught?"

"Not if we are fast enough. That elf and Raven went to spar somewhere far away, so I don't think they'll come back for now. Tsk. I don't know why we should travel and tolerate that elf. Sir Ian can be so strange sometimes."

They'd been traveling together, and what the group experienced was true hell. The only benefit Claus had for them was that they didn't get lost or wander around aimlessly, as he knew the jungle like the back of his hand.

And the whole while, the sole person who seemed to enjoy all this was Ian.

'Not actually enjoying, but he doesn't seem to suffer or mind anything at all!'

He was such a weird person.

The more they traveled, the more she found this man to be different from the others. He wasn't outstanding or powerful, he was just different in a way that she couldn't understand. How could he force an elf to join their group and be their guide when he'd only met him by chance in the middle of nowhere? Could she do it if it was her? Probably not. Eleen was so frustrated at their first meeting that she'd use her first chance to smack that elf on the back of his head.

'But he's not a bad guy.'

Despite their first encounter not being a very nice one, Claus wasn't as much of an asshole as she thought he'd be. He even apologized for his rudeness that day. He knew basic survival skills, was a decent archer, and knew the jungle well. His only flaw was his great price as an elf and oversensitivity about nature. If not for his keenness over protecting the forest, he'd be a decent person to travel with.

"Anyway, let's just hurry up."

"Let's hide some fish for Alaric as well."

"Yes yes, him too. Raven? Probably not. Sir Ian won't get any either since he's the one who brought this upon us."

The girls chuckled mischievously while rushing towards the river, chitchatting on their way.

"I... Find it somewhat unjust, but alright. It can be his punishment."

- - - - - - -

Somewhere deep inside the forest, in a spot well hidden among the woods, two figures faced each other, clashing with one another. Fist met fist, kicks followed one another, and the ground gradually shattered under the weight of two warriors.

"Huff... huff... Heh, not bad."

Claus wiped the sweat off his chin as he panted for air. His opponent was also breathless, yet he didn't seem as haggard as him. At his comment, Raven raised a brow, as if offended by the elf's still so proud ego.

"Not too bad for an elf!" Raven retorted, attempting a counterattack.

"...What was that supposed to mean?"

They'd decided not to use the weapons they specialized with and spar with their bare hands. The method increased the effectiveness of their training severalfold. They could use the time to interact with each other as well, though they decided not to, most of the time.

"Why would a nature-loving elf who neither hunts nor fights learn archery?"

Claus raised on one leg, using the other to kick the opponent's face. "It's a tradition, of course."

"Tsk." Raven easily dodged the attack first before attacking the elf's lower abdomen. Claus had to jump back to avoid the impact.

"I'm among the, huff, best elf warriors, you see. Hah!"

Before he could think of another move, Raven's figure suddenly vanished. "Then elves are weak." Thud- A punch landed on his back, forcing Claus to retreat.

"What did you-"

GROOWWWLLLL

Cutting their conversation was a roar coming from behind the bushes. Both men stopped their training, instantly getting on guard.

"Another monster? ...No, it's an animal."

Not caring about the elf, Raven picked up his sword from the ground, immediately unsheathing it.

"Wait, you can't harm it."

"Shut. Up."

The elf didn't shut up. Raven decided not to listen to him any longer. With a beast standing in front of them, there was no way he would just stand and watch. If the animal attacked them, he'd deal with it. And then deal with the elf, maybe. No, that'd be a problem.

As if sensing their strength, the bear too, hesitated. It kept moving around, eyeing the two humans from afar while bearing its teeth. The tense standstill only lasted for a second, as the beast finally launched at the humans with all its might.

"Heeeeyyyy!! Wait uppp!"

Right when he was about to slash with his sword, a voice forced him to stop his actions at once. Raven could see a cloaked individual running at them. He jumped to the right to avoid the bear's claws before moving in Ian's direction, standing between him and the beast.

"Look, isn't that your mother?"

"Growl?"

His lord was... Holding a baby bear in his arms?

The bear cub reluctantly glanced at the adult bear, letting out a noise. The beast also stopped attacking them, watching the scene from the distance.

Ian bent and put the baby down.

"Heyo, go over your mother."

"Growll?"

"Don't stare at me. Go!"

"....!"

"What the..." Ian scuffed and pushed the baby from behind. "Go over there. Look how hurt your mother looks!"

The adult bear's face looked like any other bear, no different, not seeming hurt. Clicking his tongue, Ian picked up the baby once again and walked directly over to the mother. Before Raven could understand or stop him, his lord was already in front of the beast.

"You should watch directly over your child if you don't want some nasty guy to steal it."

"Grrr..."

The beast watched the human, unphased. After receiving a few more scolding, the bear finally took the cub in her mouth, turned around, and left.

"....."

"....What's it?"

The silence was heavy and awkward.

"What did I just witness..." Claus couldn't close his gaped jaw. "Human, how did you do that?"

"...Huh?"

"My lord, you can't approach danger so casually!"

"...Huh?"

Ian tilted his head.

"I'm hungry, let's go eat."