Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-san Plays Hide-and-Seek, Part 1

“They’re very energetic, aren’t they?” (Sakura)

Sakura smiled as she watched Noa and the others walk out of the room.

Noa and Misa might be noble ladies, but they have a childlike quality. On the other hand, Sakura was mature.

It might not be improper to say that she was an adult on the inside, just like Kagali-san.

Just as Noa and Misa left the room, Noa turned around to look at Sakura.

“Would you like to join us, Sakura?” (Noa)

Noa invited Sakura.

“Are you sure?” (Sakura)

“Yes, because people who like Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear are our friends.” (Noa)

Sakura looked happy to hear those words.

Sakura looked at me.

I nodded.

“Yes. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be happy to join you guys.” (Sakura)

Sakura walked out of the room. Shinobu quietly followed behind her as if watching over her.

It could not be helped that she was her guardian, but she looked more like a stalker.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were with them, so they didn’t need an escort, but I guess she was just faithful to her job.

Shinobu may look like a chatterbox, but she was earnest regarding her job.

I looked at Kagali-san, who remained behind.

“Kagali-san, you haven’t returned to your original form, have you? Or maybe you can do that, but you like your current looks more?” (Yuna)

“It’s not my preference. Why do you think I like this form? If I could return to my original form, I could go to a tavern and drink whenever I want.” (Kagali)

Well, in her current form, they would not serve her alcohol if she went to a tavern. Most likely, she would be refused entry even before setting foot in.

“You’re still dressed as a bear, aren’t you?” (Kagali)

“Well, I have the bear’s blessing.” (Yuna)

“In that case, if you dress up as a fox, you’ll get the fox’s blessing.” (Kagali)

“If one can receive such a blessing, Sakura might be pleased to dress in a fox outfit.” (Yuna)

Kagali-san and I laughed at the thought of Sakura in a fox costume.

“How much do those two know about you?” (Kagali)

“They know about the Bear Transfer Gate and Bear Phone, but I never told them about my fight with Orochi in this country.” (Yuna)

[I defeated a big monster called the Giant Serpent called Orochi in the Land of Wa, so the king thanked me and rewarded me with this mansion.]

I could never reveal that.

It would sound like I’m bragging.

“Also, I didn’t tell them about Kagali-san.” (Yuna)

“I see.” (Kagali)

I didn’t know how they would react if they knew that Kagali-san had lived for hundreds of years and could change into a fox.

Besides, it would be challenging to explain all of it.

“Are they trustworthy in your eyes?” (Kagali)

“Yes, they are trustworthy. That’s why I told them about this place and even brought them here. But that doesn’t mean you have to tell them about yourself.” (Yuna)

What I thought of them was for me to decide.

And just because I believed in them did not mean that others also had to do the same.

Moreover, it should be up to the person to decide what they want others to know about them.

I didn’t even tell Fina, the person I trusted the most, that I came from another world.

“Okay.” (Kagali)

“Also, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from drinking in front of those girls. It’s too much trouble to explain.” (Yuna)

Generally speaking, children were not supposed to drink alcohol. That was true both in the Land of Wa and in Crimonia.

…I didn’t know about Dwarves, though.

“How have you been lately?” (Kagali)

“Lately, you mean after the slime incident?” (Yuna)

“You are a person who loves trouble and sticks her nose in it.” (Kagali)

“Yeah, I have a hard time keeping my nose out of trouble.” (Yuna)

I thought for a moment before answering.

“After that, all I did was fight a king spider and search for fairies.” (Yuna)

“…” (Kagali)

Kagali-San looked at me with dismay.

“Fighting a king spider is one thing, but searching for fairies… you’re doing many things, aren’t you?” (Kagali)

Indeed, I have done many things after what happened here.

But as an adventurer, one would typically be doing a lot of hunting and fighting. Considering what other adventurers do, what I did was not much work in comparison.

However, I would acknowledge that I do tend to run into many unusual troubles.

Thus, I ended up talking about the details of my journey involving spiders and fairies to accompany Kagali-san’s drinks until Fina and the others came back.

Kagali-san seemed to enjoy listening to my stories.

After speaking with Kagali-san for a while, Fina and the others returned.

The five of them were talking amiably.

I could tell their relationship was not the same as when they left, and I could see that Fina and the others had grown closer to Sakura.

Noa asked me as she entered the room, “Yuna-san, can we play hide-and-seek in this building?”

“Hide and Seek?” (Yuna)

“I told them that I have never played hide-and-seek before.” (Sakura)

Sakura said shyly.

“I’ve never played hide-and-seek either.” (Misa)

Misa followed Sakura’s words.

Well, Sakura lived in a unique environment, and Misa was a noble young lady, so knowing they had never played hide-and-seek before was not surprising.

“But why did you think of playing hide-and-seek all of a sudden?” (Yuna)

“Shuri said it would be fun to play hide-and-seek.” (Sakura)

“Because there are so many rooms, so many places to hide.” (Shuri)

Indeed, there were many places that looked suitable to hide in this house.

This house is a great place to play hide and seek.

“I don’t mind.” (Yuna)

“Yes!” (Shuri)

“Thank you, Yuna-san!” (Sakura)

The five of them looked happy.

“We need someone to play the role of the monster, you know?” (Noa)

“The monster is the one who finds the players, right?” (Sakura)

The monster, huh? Apparently, they called the seeker a monster instead of a demon in this world.

“Will anyone play the role of the monster?” (Yuna)

No one raised their hand.

It seemed like everyone wanted to play hide-and-seek, but no one wanted to play the role of the searcher.

“Then I’ll play the role of the monster.” (Shinobu)

Shinobu, who had remained silent until now, offered.

“Shinobu, are you sure?” (Yuna)

“Yes, I’ll do it. But you’d better hide properly, or I will find you soon.” (Shinobu)

Shinobu became the demon…or rather the monster.

Everyone ran out of the room.

“Young people are so dazzling, aren’t they?” (Kagali)

“You don’t look any older than them.” (Yuna)

Kagali-san, dressed as a young girl, was not very convincing in her words.

Well, it was a little too late for that.

After a while, I heard voices from everywhere saying, “Ready”.

Shinobu left the room. Within a few minutes, Shuri returned, followed by Noa, Misa, Sakura, and Fina.

“Aren’t you fast?” (Yuna)

“Shinobu-san showed up and found where we were hiding in no time at all.” (Noa)

“Yes, Shinobu nee-chan is amazing.” (Shuri)

“Shinobu, you didn’t use magic, did you?” (Yuna)

“No, I didn’t have to use any magic to find them because it was just that easy to find them all.” (Shinobu)

Everyone suspected Shinobu for one reason or another. But as far as I know, Shinobu didn’t seem to have done anything. But Shinobu’s face was suspicious.

Shinobu was smiling, so I suspected that there was something behind that smile.

She was definitely hiding something.

Kagali-san interrupted them.

“Her ears. She can hear you and your friends and know where you are and how far away you are.” (Kagali)

“Shinobu, is that true?” (Yuna)

“Well, hide-and-seek is like that, isn’t it? When I was a child in the mountains, I trained myself to know the direction and distance just by hearing voices.” (Shinobu)

She sounded just like a ninja.

How was that even possible?

“Then next time, you guys don’t have to call back that you are ready. Let’s set the hiding time to three minutes, and when the three minutes are up, Shinobu can go looking for everyone.” (Yuna)

“Okay, okay. When this hourglass falls, I’ll come looking for everyone.” (Shinobu)

Shinobu turned the hourglass upside down, followed by everyone rushing out of the room. Then, after confirming that the hourglass had run out, Shinobu left the room.

However, just like the previous round, Fina and the others were quickly spotted and brought back, even after they thought they would take more work to be discovered.

“Are you sure you were hiding well?” (Yuna)

“Yes, I was hiding well. But Shinobu-san didn’t take any time to find me.” (Noa)

Everyone nodded at Noa’s words.

“Kagali-sama, how did Shinobu find us?” (Sakura)

“Even if you don’t speak, her ears can hear running, going down the stairs, opening the sliding door, and opening the door… That’s all she needs to pinpoint your location.” (Kagali)

In other words, Shinobu was hearing the sound of their movements and finding them based on it. No wonder it was so easy for her to find everyone.

Shinobu had too much of an advantage.

“Kagali-sama, you shouldn’t reveal it.” (Shinobu)

“You’re just not being mature about it.” (Kagali)

I agree.

“I’m just teaching them how to play hide-and-seek.” (Shinobu)

“No, hide-and-seek is supposed to be fun.” (Shuri)

“How can we beat Shinobu, then?” (Noa)

“We can’t.” (Sakura)

“Why not?” (Noa)

“I’m sure she’s got tricks on all the sliding doors and stuff.” (Sakura)

“Tricks?” (Noa)

“Tricks… oh, I see…” (Yuna)

“Yuna-san, do you know what Shinobu-san did?” (Noa)

“She put small pieces of paper or some item between the sliding doors. When Noa and the others opened the door, that item would fall out.” (Yuna)

“So she knows which room we are hiding in?” (Noa)

“Moreover, she knows the direction from the sound.” (Yuna)

“So it’s easy for her to find us.” (Noa)

“Shinobu, that’s terrible. You want to win by doing that?” (Sakura)

“You’re not very mature, are you?” (Kagali)

“No, it’s just part of the game.” (Shinobu)

Overall, it was decided that it would be boring if Shinobu played the demon (or monster) role, so they decided to play hide-and-seek with each other instead.

“Everyone is terrible.” (Shinobu)

No, it was Shinobu who was terrible.

And everyone seemed to enjoy the hide-and-seek without Shinobu.

“Yuna, would you join us playing for the last round?” (Noa)

“You want me to play hide-and-seek?” (Yuna)

“Yes, that’s right.” (Noa)

“Well, even if she hides, Shinobu will find her if Yuna did join.” (Kagali)

There was no way I would join after hearing such a talk from Kagali-san.

“Let’s have it the other way around. I’ll hide, and Yuna will find me. Oh, and of course, don’t ask the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to do it.” (Shinobu)

“There’s no merit in doing it, so I’m going to refuse.” (Yuna)

Above all, it was too much trouble.

“Alright, I’ll buy everyone’s meals if you win.” (Shinobu)

I didn’t have to do it because I wasn’t troubled with money, but after hearing about it, Sakura and the others started to take an interest in Shinobu and me playing hide-and-seek.

“Yuna-sama and Shinobu are playing? Who will win?” (Sakura)

“If it is Shinobu-san who is hiding, then I guess Shinobu-san will win.” (Noa)

“But it is Yuna Onee-chan who will be searching for her.” (Shuri)

“What do you think, Fina?” (Sakura)

“Well, Yuna Onee-chan?” (Fina)

“Yeah, I think so, too.” (Noa)

“I think Yuna Onee-sama, too.” (Misa)

Noa and Misa followed Fina’s words.

Everyone voted for me to win.

“You’re all terrible. Sakura-sama, you think I’ll win, don’t you?” (Shinobu)

Sakura looked at Shinobu and then at me. Then she looked at Shinobu again, bowed her head, and apologized.

“…I am sorry. I, too, am on the side that thinks Yuna-sama will win.” (Sakura)

“That’s terrible. I’ll hide in a place where you’ll never find me.” (Shinobu)

I didn’t say I was going to play, you know?

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