I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 14

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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 14

And so Na Bom reached the flat Snowy Field, having crossed the massive snow ridge.
The snow still did not relent, churning up a brilliant white haze as it rushed forward with terrifying force.
‘I actually… crossed that.’
Having surged through the snow’s waves like a surfer moments before, Na Bom found herself seized by a fresh sense of awe.
Was this the true power that an Arctic hare possessed?
Simply by abandoning her human past and accepting herself as a hare, she could wield such strength.
Feeling as though she had suddenly evolved from a small creature into a beast of prey, Na Bom’s shoulders drew back, a surge of confidence flowing through her. For a moment, it felt as though she could accomplish anything.
Still moving quickly along the scent trail, Na Bom suddenly came to a halt.
The path was blocked.
If what she had just crossed was a small river, this was an ocean.
Flowing down the slope was a waterfall of snow.
A Snow Avalanche so vast that Na Bom’s legs—no, even a white wolf’s legs, or perhaps a brown bear’s—could not cross.
The strength drained from Na Bom’s four paws. A beast? Hardly. The Arctic hare was nothing but a small, fragile creature after all.
‘What do I do?’
Na Bom narrowed her eyes and peered beyond the avalanche. Over the tremendous roar of falling snow, she could distinctly hear dozens of footsteps drawing closer.
If she could cross here, she would meet them right away.
As she thought this and took an unconscious step forward, a deep boom reverberated beneath her feet, and the Snowy Field split apart.
‘…!’
Na Bom jumped backward in shock. The moment she created distance, the ground beneath her crumbled and fell away.
The avalanche’s tremor was causing the slope to collapse.
She had to find another path, now…!
Just as she was turning to descend the slope, something caught the corner of Na Bom’s broad field of vision.
Sleds drawn by dozens of sled dogs. And people riding upon them.
Among them, a face had become quite familiar to her.
‘Theodore…!’
The patriarch of the Grizzly Family had come all this way with the Sled Dog Knight Order.
Surely to find Lui.
‘Thank goodness. The footsteps belong to our allies!’
Lui’s father. The most reliable ally of all.
Na Bom let out a breath of relief, then began hopping in place and waved her front paws toward them.
Here, over here! This way to the Cave! Look here, please!
Hop, hop, hop!
Though she hopped with all her effort, Theodore and none of the knights responded. They didn’t even seem to notice that Na Bom was standing on the slope above them.
Her frantic hopping ceased as she sank to the ground. Her ears drooped.
A small white rabbit jumping about in a snowy field like this would never be visible. And besides.
‘My voice… doesn’t reach them.’
Not to these new parents of hers.
Not to Anna, Lui, Ferdi, or Malamute. Not to Theodore either.
Her voice had never reached any of them. Though she had known this all along.

—How would you like to speak with everyone in human form?

Perhaps that was why she had dreamed such a dream not long ago.
Afresh, the fact that her voice did not reach them struck her with bitterness.
If only she could speak, she could reach them even from this distance.
Just as Na Bom scraped her front paws across the snow in frustration.
Theodore began giving orders. It was clear he meant to take a different route because of the avalanche.
If she lost them here, she would have to catch up again. And even if she did, they might pass by without noticing her.
Time was running out…!
The moment Na Bom glanced up at the distant Mountain Range, the sound of dogs barking caused Theodore’s party to change direction.
‘No.’
Without thinking, Na Bom bolted toward the edge of the slope.
‘You can’t go that way!’
She leaped up from the spot and called out again.
‘This is the right way, look here!’
She jumped and waved her paws and cried out with all her heart, but still they did not turn to look.
‘Please….’
Standing on her hind legs, Na Bom placed her front paws together at her chest as if in prayer. Her eyes closed of their own accord.
And because her eyes were closed, she did not feel the glow that now radiated from her small body.
‘Please help me.’
It was then that Na Bom’s voice, repeated over and over in her heart with such yearning, finally reached them.
Theodore and all of the Sled Dog Knight Order came to a halt.
‘Please save Lui…!’
A voice rang out clearly within their minds—desperate, pleading.
There was no doubt. They heard it.
Theodore lifted his head toward the slope beside the descending snow ridge.
Within the blinding light, a small white rabbit stood visible.

***

‘Please help me.’
A strange voice suddenly pierced Theodore’s mind, and his brow furrowed.
High and clear—the voice of a young girl.
What was this?
It resembled the way beastkin spoke to each other when transformed to animal form. Yet something felt wrong about it. The voice came through far too distinctly, so much so that he could not even determine which direction it was coming from.
Just as Theodore was about to blow his whistle to stop his unit, he saw that they had all come to a standstill of their own accord.
The sled dogs’ ears stood erect.
Could it be… this voice.
Could everyone be hearing it?
‘Please save Lui…!’
Then, as the voice came again, the right edge of his vision began to shimmer.
Theodore turned his head sharply toward the light.
Beyond the snow ridge, brilliant light burst forth from the slope above. And within that radiance stood a small living form—a rabbit, eyes shut tight, its front paws clasped together at its chest.
“……”
Theodore descended from the sled.
Without taking his eyes from the rabbit, he spoke tersely.
“Shield your eyes.”
“…Sir?”
The confused unit members, struck by the sudden voice in their minds, did not comprehend the commander’s order.
Theodore’s form rippled and unraveled. In the next instant, the massive body of a bear burst forth, shredding his garments.
Thud, crunch!
He seized an enormous tree that had stood in their path, wrenching it out by its roots with one massive paw, and hurled it into the snow river. Boulders laden with snow followed it—cast away with casual force. Seeing their patriarch at work, the unit members began to move as well.
“Block the avalanche!”
“Use whatever materials you can find!”
The sled dogs raced to gather whatever loose materials lay at hand, while some of the attendants who had been riding in human form on the sleds transformed into bear shape and began lending their strength to the effort.
Wood and stone began to accumulate upstream of the avalanche. Soon the flow of snow would shift. Theodore pressed forward through the snow ridge, moving ever onward.
The avalanche was tremendous. Even for Theodore—a brown bear of dimensions far beyond that of any ordinary specimen—the river of snow rose to the level of his jaw.
Yet Theodore did not lose his footing. His gaze remained fixed unswervingly on the rabbit standing on the slope as he advanced.
Did the rabbit sense his stare?
Na Bom’s shut eyelids fluttered open. Her dark eyes widened in astonishment as she saw Theodore pushing through the avalanche toward her. Her tail, wound tight with tension, suddenly went slack with relief.
And in that very moment, the light enveloping her body was drawn inward, sucked swiftly into her heart.
‘Gasp….’
The sound of Na Bom’s urgent intake of breath reverberated through Theodore’s mind.
Along with the light, he had heard a voice he had never heard from the rabbit before. And now that light had vanished. Something had surely changed in the rabbit’s body.
Theodore burst forward through the lessening snow ridge.
In moments, something fell from the slope above.
Not a rabbit—something larger than such a small creature. A body closer in size to that of a human child……
—…!
There was no time for thought. The edge of the slope where the rabbit had stood gave way and collapsed.
Theodore ran through the cascading snow without hesitation. Something was falling. A small form visible through the white, white hair streaming in the wind.
He rose to his hind legs, stretching his front paws toward the sky. On his toes, pressing desperately upward, he received the falling form in his paws.
What fell was a human. A young girl.
A small body. Thin, slender limbs. Cheeks flushed red with cold. Fair skin. Long white hair that reached to her waist.
Could it be. This child was……
As Theodore fell into thought for a moment, the girl’s shoulders trembled. At the sight, he moved urgently, reaching for the Cloak that hung loosely at his neck, tearing it free and wrapping it around the child’s body.
“Ah……”
Then slowly, the girl opened her eyes.
In her dark eyes fixed upon Theodore, there was no fear. As though she already knew the true nature of the brown bear holding her.

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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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