King Bear’s mother finally stormed into the village.
Over at the White Crow tent, the other squad members were also bewildered. They had taken off the bird-head masks and coats they wore during the day, and were now in casual shirts and pants. Looking closely, it was clear they were all different races.
“Ah, Noah-san, where have you been? We were looking for you!”
The squad members rushed towards him the moment they saw him. They were in a panic, wondering what to do.
“Let’s escape quickly! There are rumors of a bear!”
“What about the patients? Can we leave them?”
“What do you want us to do then, just die? I don’t want to.”
I quietly spoke to Noah, who was behind me.
“Hey, are you okay? Can you stand?”
“Y-yes. Everyone, please calm down. The villagers are fighting for us right now.”
“What? That means they’re nearby, don’t they!”
Everyone started to buzz at someone’s remark. Noah’s small voice was drowned out by the commotion. Some started to flee on their own, while others were still agonizing over what to do. I wondered if these people had never worked in such a remote area before. If they couldn’t fight at all, they should have had escorts, but well, there was no point asking about that now.
What should be done now…
“Hey!! Be quiet! There’s no point in making noise!”
I exhaled all the air from my lungs and shouted as loudly as I could. It seemed to work, as the commotion suddenly died down.
“Haaa, for now, listen to Noah. Come on, you shouldn’t be slacking off forever. You’re going to be the next captain, aren’t you?”
There comes a time when everyone has to do something. For him, that time was now. Everyone here was being tested for leadership potential.
“Y-yes. Everyone, please return to your respective tents. And do not come out until you hear my signal. For the tents with patients, please ensure each has one doctor and one nurse assigned.”
At his instruction, the previously bickering squad members moved as one. The doctors and nurses discussed who would go where and quickly took their positions.
“Thank you, I apologize. This has temporarily calmed the situation.”
“That’s good, but why are there no escorts? I think someone should be here in such a dangerous place.”
“W-well, you see… it’s a matter of budget. We usually have support from the Pharmacists Association, but this time there seems to be some trouble. Apparently, the chairman is under suspicion of fraud.”
The chairman of the Pharmacists Association… I think I’ve heard that name somewhere. Well, for now, let’s put that question aside.
“I’m going back. Noah, you stay with everyone.”
“Yes, please be careful. Ah… um, what is that?”
Noah pointed behind me with a trembling hand. When I slowly turned around, the small bear was there. It emerged from between the tents. Had it followed its mother? This was going to be troublesome. I wondered if there was a way to make it leave without provoking it.
Right, I remembered hearing that making a loud noise might startle it and make it run away. Damn, if only I had my shield here. Unfortunately, I had left it in the room with my luggage. The small bear confirmed our presence, licked its lips, and began to sharpen its claws.
Then, it raised both its arms to intimidate us and came towards us.
“Noah, hurry and get into the tent.”
“Y-yes!”
It seemed I had no choice but to fight. I drew my sword and assumed a stance against the approaching bear. But suddenly, it changed direction and swung its front paws down on the next tent. The fabric ripped with a tearing sound, and screams could be heard from inside.
“A-a bear attacked us!”
“Go away, go away!”
Why? This guy was clearly playing with us. It knew we were weaker than it and was enjoying our reactions. How dare it!
“Hey, I’m your opponent!”
I ran towards the small bear, which was threatening the people hiding in the tent. It noticed my approach and turned to face me, growling. It spread its arms, trying to make itself look bigger. It’s no good, if I charge in and stab its stomach, I’ll be attacked from above. I was too helpless against a wild animal.
Right, I’ll be the decoy and lure it away. That way, safety can be secured for a while. I picked up an empty bottle nearby and threw it at the bear. The bottle hit its eye area.
“Gya, fshew.”
The bear rubbed its face vigorously and retreated. Maybe this would work? I threw a box I found nearby again. The bear slowly backed away.
“Hahaha, good. Yo, go home!”
Then, I threw anything I could get my hands on as a final blow. It must not have expected me to throw things at it. It still lacked experience. If it learns from this, it will stop picking on the weak.
“Is everyone okay?”
I peeked inside through the tear in the tent.
“I-I’m okay… no. B-behind you…”
“That guy ran away.”
“No…”
The person inside covered their mouth, suppressing their voice. Had it come back again? Persistent fellow.
“……”
I was also speechless. When I turned around, there was a bear, a size larger than the previous one. There were two cubs.
