I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13

‘……’
Heat flooded Na Bom’s small face.
Seized by sudden remorse, Na Bom quickly stretched out a paw and brushed the snow from Rui’s face.
Looks like he’s not hurt.
Then, shifting direction, Na Bom pushed Rui’s round body deeper into the cave with trembling legs.
Phew.
With shaking front paws, Na Bom wiped down the small cub’s chest and let out a long breath.
Thank goodness.
The inside of the cave is much warmer than outside, after all.
Na Bom soon turned back to Rui, eyes wide, and began pulling off the clothes wrapped around the cub.
Staying here, the snow would melt and the clothes would become soaking wet. If Rui caught a cold on top of that, it would be a disaster.
‘You can’t let your guard down with a cold, not for a moment.’
Na Bom pulled desperately at the garments, grunting with effort. Unable to remove them by strength alone, Na Bom began tearing at the fabric with teeth, bit by bit.
Then Na Bom ventured back outside, carried a mouthful of dried hay from beneath the snow, and returned. After making several trips, Na Bom had gathered a heap of hay and spread it over Rui.
‘That should do it.’
Na Bom puffed out a proud chest, gazing at Rui covered in hay.
‘The remaining problems are.’
Not knowing where this place was.
And the fact that Rui hadn’t woken up…… I suppose.
What was Na Bom to do?
Even the short distance to the cave had been exhausting; there was no way Na Bom could make it back to Grizzly Castle carrying Rui. Na Bom didn’t even know the castle’s exact location.
So first, Na Bom had to wake Rui.
Just as Na Bom steeled himself and raised a tiny rabbit fist.
Perk. Na Bom’s ears pricked up and twitched.
An unknown roar, distant and faint.
The sound of something enormously large, something in tremendous quantity, crashing down—trees toppling and birds scattering into flight—all reached Na Bom’s ears at once.
The world swam before Na Bom’s eyes, and he sank to the ground.
He’d never experienced anything like this.
The roar came from much farther away than the animal’s footsteps Na Bom had heard before meeting Rui. In other words…… from atop the great Mountain Range that divided the Arctic from the Northern Region.
It was only for a moment that Na Bom remained crouched; he sprang up and bolted from the cave.
He tried to peer at the Mountain Range beyond the forest, but all he could see through the trees was a hazy snow squall.
Yet.
‘……That sound came from so far away.’
And though Na Bom had no idea why, he was certain the sound had come from the Mountain Range.
The nature of the roar remained unknown, but there was one more certainty.
An anomaly from the Mountain Range. It would surely reach this place as well.
Na Bom rushed back into the cave.
‘Rui, wake up!’
Na Bom shouted urgently, striking Rui’s body in a panic. But Rui did not wake.
Growing desperate, Na Bom climbed onto Rui and began pounding the brown-furred face with rabbit fists.
Perhaps because Rui was still young, Na Bom’s attacks seemed to be landing. But Rui’s eyes didn’t open. When Rui’s cheeks began to swell, Na Bom finally stopped.
Frustrated, Na Bom struck his own chest, then reached toward Rui again.
‘If you don’t wake up…… this is really bad……!’
Grrr, grrrr!
Na Bom tried to pry open Rui’s eyelids with a paw, but it was no use.
Na Bom’s breathing came fast and ragged as his eyes darted wildly.
What is this? No matter what I do, he won’t wake.
Why all of a sudden?
Could it be.
A possibility that flickered through Na Bom’s mind made his paws tremble.
‘……Winter Hibernation?’
But something felt wrong.

“A bear’s winter hibernation isn’t true sleep—it’s closer to dormancy, a state of prolonged rest. Even during hibernation, external stimuli can wake them, and they may wander about.”

That’s what Grandfather had said. But despite the external stimuli—hard enough to swell his cheeks—Rui hadn’t woken.
Besides, hibernation wasn’t supposed to start until next month. It couldn’t be winter hibernation.
No, never mind about that right now!
No matter what. I have to find a way.
A way to escape this forest with Rui.
Just as Na Bom’s eyes were spinning with thoughts, his paws suddenly twitched.
That strange sensation again.
Felt through his paw pads, beneath his feet.
The faint vibration of countless footsteps shaking the earth.
He was certain.
It was the same footsteps he’d felt before the roar.
Na Bom couldn’t tell how far away they were, how many there were, or whether they were allies or enemies.
‘There are people coming this way.’
Na Bom laid a paw across Rui’s body and thought to himself.
‘I’ll be back in a moment.’
Na Bom dashed from the cave and began to run.
Across the snowy ground, the vibration traveled through his paws. Following the vibration, sound soon became audible as well.
From the sound alone, these appeared to be four-legged creatures. Were they mere animals or sentient beings? In any case, there were enough footsteps that there must be at least twenty of them.
Please. Let them be allies. Let them be sentient beings who understand my Body Language.
Praying silently as he ran, Na Bom felt a massive impact sweep across the entire ground. The rabbit staggered, losing his footing for a moment.
‘That sound again.’
The roar from the Mountain Range. This time, Na Bom felt a disturbing vibration as well.
Na Bom lifted his head to survey the Mountain Range deep within the forest, far in the distance.
From here, he could observe it with his eyes.
What was that hazy smoke-like thing blanketing the upper part of the Mountain Range?
‘……An Avalanche.’
An avalanche had occurred at the summit of the Mountain Range.
That roar Na Bom had heard in the cave—that must have been it. How on earth had he heard a sound from so far away?
Of course, that hardly mattered now. Na Bom’s round, jet-black eyes returned their focus forward.
Faster. I have to go faster.
If I can see an avalanche from here, the snow will surely reach this forest. That small cave will be swept away in an instant!
‘……!’
Following the footsteps, Na Bom suddenly emerged into an open space.
A white hill that Na Bom hadn’t seen when he’d ventured deep into the forest searching for Rui.
Because of the jutting terrain, there were fewer dense trees than elsewhere, making it feel as though Na Bom had stumbled into a clearing.
In any case, the footsteps were coming from beyond this hill.
Na Bom bolted up the white hill without hesitation.
The moment Na Bom reached the top of the slope.
Rumble-rumble. Na Bom lifted his head at the sound of something cascading down.
Snow was pouring down. A massive torrent of snow was flowing over the downward slope of the hill like a raging river.
‘The avalanche already……!’
At this rate, the path ahead was blocked. But no matter how fast Na Bom ran, there was no way to outrun that avalanche.
Na Bom swallowed hard and looked down at his own feet.
Thick, fluffy fur covered the four paw pads—fur with a dense underlayer. Because of this fur, Na Bom’s feet didn’t sink into the snow. He could glide across it.
‘I am a rabbit.’
Na Bom had never reminded himself of this fact like this before. He’d lived with the sensation of a human soul trapped in a rabbit’s body.

But now the situation was different.
The fur covering his four feet and the powerful hind legs that could leap so high—Na Bom had to believe in the physical abilities of a rabbit. Now, more than ever, was the moment to be acutely aware that he was a rabbit!
‘I am…… an Arctic hare!’
Na Bom cried out silently and jumped into the advancing snow.
Na Bom gasped in shock.
It felt like being caught in the swift, violent current of a raging river. One moment of carelessness and he’d be swept away, dragged downstream to who-knows-where, or in the worst case…….
But there was no time to dwell on grim thoughts.
A fierce torrent of snow rushed from the right side, sweeping across Na Bom’s small body. A large snowball, one that had tumbled down from the mountain’s summit alongside the avalanche, was bearing down on the small hare.
But Na Bom, being an Arctic hare, could read the situation without even turning to look. The rabbit’s field of vision was far wider than a human’s. And a rabbit’s hind legs possessed explosive power beyond imagination!
Na Bom threw his entire strength into a kick.
He jumped higher than seemed possible, as though launching himself into the heavens.
Whoosh!
After leaping to avoid the fierce torrent of snow, Na Bom landed on a rolling snowball beneath him and sprang upward again.
With momentum on his side, Na Bom easily cleared a snowball even larger than himself.
The speed and height exceeded anything Na Bom could have imagined—his paws trembled.
This is…….
‘This is so much fun!’
Is this what ice-skating feels like? Skiing? Snowboarding? Whatever it is, I want to keep doing this!
Caught up in the thrill of this winter sport—an experience wholly new to him—Na Bom forgot his fear of the avalanche entirely.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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