I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 56

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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 56

Two years had passed.
Ber, sixteen years old.
“Now then, Miss. Would you raise your right arm for me?”
Following Anna’s instruction, Ber studied her own reflection in the mirror.
She had grown quite tall compared to two years ago. Her sleeves and dress hem no longer fit properly, and the seamstress had become a frequent visitor for alterations. The round fullness of her cheeks had also begun to fade.
“You have such a determined look in your eyes, Miss. Nervous about the Academy Entrance Ceremony?”
“A little.”
Ber nodded, admitting it honestly.
She had trained hard for the past two years. Thanks to that effort, she could now control Spring Power to a reasonable degree. Alongside her training, she had pursued her studies as well. With Heinz’s help, she had also acquired knowledge of this world that she had previously lacked.
But still, stepping beyond the castle walls required courage.
‘Eina is sixteen this year too. Now the original story begins to unfold.’
There’s so much I need to do. There are things I want to avoid failing at, and things I’ve been avoiding that I need to face now.
This was my first time turning sixteen.
When would an opportunity like this come again? That’s right. Let me give it a try. I can do this!
“Don’t worry, Miss.”
“Hmm?”
Pulled from her thoughts by the voice, Ber turned to look at Anna in confusion.
“You’ll do wonderfully. You’ve worked so hard all this time. I stake my reputation on it!”
“……Thank you, Anna.”
Taking Anna’s hand and stroking the back of it, Ber smiled. Had it been in earlier times, Anna would have nestled into her embrace, but somewhere along the way, the young lady had become far more grown.

Dressed neatly in her gown, Ber walked down the Corridor alongside Anna. Then someone approached from the opposite direction.
“Miss Ber.”
“Heinz!”
Ber waved cheerfully toward him. Heinz, however, wore a somewhat melancholy expression.
“So even you are entering the Academy. Things will feel lonelier here.”
“Oh, come now. You’ve complained about teaching me all this time.”
“Complained? Not at all. Every moment has been a joy.”
Ber found herself at a loss for words. Why was he like this? His character had changed so much from when they first met.
She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and extended her hand to Heinz.
“We can meet again anytime, so Heinz—even if you do rise in the world, you mustn’t forget us, understood?”
“Rise in the world? At my age, what use have I for such things?”
“No. Heinz, you will rise—I’m certain of it.”
You’ll become the military commander overseeing the Imperial Knights, Grandfather.
“And how can you be so certain of that, Miss?”
Watching Heinz chuckle, Ber felt she’d been too emphatic with her certainty and added a thought.
“Just because. You’re a good person, Heinz. I believe good people rise in the world.”
“Rising in the world because one is good……. What a wonderfully naive view of the world that is.”
Chuckling again, Heinz took the hand Ber offered.

Ber stood before the carriage, ready to depart for the Capital.
Traveling with her were Theodore, Alexei, and Nook, captain of the Sled Dog Knight Unit.
At sixteen, Alexei had finally passed his examination this year and become a full-fledged knight of the Sled Dog Knight Unit.
Alexei sprang lightly onto his horse. Over the past two years, he had grown taller still. For him to mount so effortlessly without a mounting block was remarkable.
Noticing Ber’s upward gaze from below, Alexei turned his attention toward her.
“Miss? Did you wish to say something?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
Ber simply shook her head.
His voice had deepened too—he sounded like a full-grown man now.
Perdi, Louie, Alexei. The bear and the dogs had growth rates in a completely different league.
‘I’ve grown too, but compared to them I’m still tiny.’
Perhaps it was from having spent her childhood trapped inside a rabbit’s body. With the gender difference and everything else, she couldn’t help it, but Ber found herself admiring their height and long, graceful builds.
Well, at least as an Arctic hare, her limbs were fairly long!
Rallying her spirits, Ber approached the carriage. With Theodore’s escort, she climbed aboard.
The moment she turned to wave goodbye to everyone, Ber froze.
A crowd had gathered in front of the carriage.
It seemed every servant, staff member, and knight of the Sled Dog Knight Unit had assembled.
Whether or not Ber’s startled heart was visible, Anna stepped forward and raised her hand, and everyone began to shout at once.
“Congratulations on your admission to the Imperial Academy, Miss Ber! Safe travels!”
She nearly covered her ears at the ringing chorus, but managed to hold back. She had never imagined such a fervent send-off would be waiting for her.
Just as Ber was about to express her gratitude,
“Before you leave, please show us your rabbit form!”
A knight with a stern expression raised his hand and shouted.
That man—he’d been one of the most frequent faces during her Spring Power training.
In the sudden silence, Ber looked away from the knight and lowered her head.
“So you all don’t really like me in human form?”
At Ber’s deflated tone, Olsen let out a fierce yell and charged at the knight. What nonsense are you spouting to the young lady, you fool! Amid the shouts and cries, Ber smirked and lifted her head.
“Well, if you insist on it like that, I suppose I have no choice.”
At Ber’s words, the commotion instantly ceased. All eyes fixed on her as she cried out.
“Here!”
Bright radiance burst from Ber’s body. Her form began to dissolve, and her dress slipped down with a soft rustle to the carriage floor.
One section of the fallen dress puffed up very slightly. What had swollen like a small hill began to squirm, and soon a white face poked out from beneath it.
The rabbit’s gaze swept across the gathered faces before it suddenly sprang up from inside the dress.
Tap! The rabbit landed lightly atop the dress and proudly stretched one front leg.
“……So… cute.”
At someone’s breathless word, the knight who had raised his hand burst into enthusiastic cheers.
Though his fierce face blushed red as he erupted in fervor, something about it was endearingly fearsome, and Ber found herself enjoying it.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
She stretched one leg, then the other, then hopped and played dead and posed in various ways, showcasing an array of positions.
Each movement of the rabbit drew shouts of delight. Ber’s movements grew more energetic.
A bear and dogs going wild over a rabbit. The Grizzly Family really was strange.
‘But it’s…… so warm.’
Spurred on by their cheers, her poses grew increasingly exuberant, and soon her breathing began to quicken.
With one final pose—front paws planted on her haunches, chest proudly out—Ber waved both front legs to everyone.
At this last gesture, Ribe laughed aloud. Everyone watched with warm eyes as the mistress, who so rarely showed such open mirth, bid farewell to the little rabbit.
The carriage rolled forward as cheers echoed behind them. Ber sat in front beside Theodore, her little nose held high in the air.
“Ber.”
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Theodore’s voice seemed far colder than usual.
The rabbit’s ears perked up and turned toward him. He gazed out the window as he spoke.
“From now on, you must not show that form so freely to others.”
At his stern tone, Ber’s heart skipped in alarm as she nodded meekly.
‘I suppose I did overdo it.’
The enthusiastic attention had been so new that she’d felt like some sort of idol.
I need to be careful. I’ll be living at the Academy after all.
Reminding herself, Ber made a small fist with her rabbit paw.
Meanwhile, Theodore glanced at Ber sidelong and bit his lower lip.
Such uninhibited Animalization, and yet she had never shown it like that before me.

***

Well before the opening ceremony was to begin, quite a crowd of students had gathered at the front gates of the Imperial Academy.
Their purpose, as they observed each carriage that stopped and each person who descended, was singular: to distinguish competitors from potential allies—in short, to lay groundwork for building connections.
Even the number of horses pulling each carriage and the number of escorts revealed much. One could tell at a glance what degree of power a student’s house wielded.
The brightest scions of powerful families had come from across the Empire seeking the finest education.
These were children whose very lives and family fortunes could change with but a modest friendship struck today.
Another carriage came to a halt at the front gates.
Two horses. Two escorts. But the carriage itself looked rather shabby. By standards of power, perhaps middling.
Two escorts dismounted. One, by his youthful face, seemed freshly knighted. The other, marked by a scar across his cheek and weathered skin, bore all the signs of a long military career.
As expected, one of the observing students murmured,
“Isn’t that the captain of the Sled Dog Knight Unit……?”
“What?”
The students’ eyes widened.
If it was the Sled Dog Knight Unit, then inside the carriage must be——
The students’ suspicion proved correct. From the carriage descended Theodore Grizzly, head of the Grizzly Family.
“Something doesn’t add up.”
“That’s right. I heard the Grizzly Family only has two sons.”
And both of them were already enrolled at the Imperial Academy.
Could there be another child entering school?
Every eye at the front gates fixed on the carriage.
Then, stepping into view before the carriage door, was a girl with silver-white hair in a pale sky-blue dress.

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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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