I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 61

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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 61

Ber went rigid beside Kaien’s shoes.
Of all the rotten luck.
And of all people, it had to be him!
The shock scattered every impulse of Spring Power into the void. She knew she should run—fast—but her body refused to obey.
‘…….’
Sallow skin, dark hollows carved beneath his eyes. A frame thinner and more delicate than other boys his age.
The original narrative always included descriptions like that. But the Kaien standing before her now—
His complexion was healthy. No dark circles. His build was anything but frail.
‘For someone his age, isn’t that a pretty broad set of shoulders?’
Louie was only a year younger, true, but he had an iron constitution and had trained in Swordsmanship since childhood. Yet Kaien’s shoulders seemed even wider than Louie’s……?
She didn’t need to search for any marks on him. Just looking at him made it obvious.
‘He’s nothing but a healthy young man!’
The certainty that she’d been rewriting the original story for two whole years pressed against her temples like a headache.
Meanwhile, Kaien simply stared at the animal that had appeared before him.
A creature about half the size of his shoes—white fur, long ears, legs longer than a common rabbit’s.
An Arctic hare.
The moment Kaien’s mind went blank, the hare began pressing its front paws to its head in distress.
“Hey, are you all right?”
Kaien knelt quickly to check on the creature. The hare, cradling its head, suddenly let out a anguished cry. Kaaah!
Hearing a sound unlike anything a hare should make, Kaien reached out in urgency, his fingers brushing through white fur as he tried to gather the animal into his arms. In that instant, the hare’s body stiffened.
The creature began to tremble violently—a reaction thick with terror aimed directly at him. Could it have caught the scent of a wolf? It wasn’t long ago he’d been mocked for carrying no scent of a predator at all, not even a wolf’s.
“It’s all right.”
A smile touched his lips as Kaien spoke softly.
“I’ll take you to the Infirmary.”
That careful touch and gentle voice left Ber bewildered.
“I’m not going to hurt you. So please don’t be so frightened, okay?”
Such a tender smile. Such a sweet voice.
Beyond surprise lay something closer to shock.
‘……Something.’
He felt so different from the Kaien of the original story.
Tension drained from Ber’s body without her noticing. Confirming that the hare had gone limp, Kaien carefully lifted the small furry bundle.
His pace was quick, yet her vision never wavered. He was moving with such deliberate care.
His hands were cold. As that coolness eased her burning skin, Ber found herself pressing her back against his palm without thinking.
The throbbing in her temples, the fever, the suffocating tightness in her chest—all of it seemed to ease.
Ber closed her eyes. Her body swayed slowly, as if rocked on a gentle sea.
Soon, consciousness slipped away.

“……!”
Awareness returned.
She pushed herself up and quickly surveyed the space around her. A curtain hung beside the bed where she’d been lying. The Infirmary.
As she checked her body, she realized she’d already shifted back to human form. The moment she pulled the blanket up to cover her bare chest, the curtain slid open.
“You’re awake.”
It was the School Nurse. The same person she’d met two years ago.
“Any discomfort anywhere?”
Ber shook her head silently.
There truly wasn’t. The headache, the fever, the breathing difficulty—all of it had vanished cleanly.
Why on earth had it gotten better again?
Two years of training in Spring Power, countless hours and effort, yet it remained an inscrutable force.
“Do you remember? You shifted into animal form in the Garden, they said. You had quite a fever……but it seems you’re doing better now.”
The School Nurse placed a hand on Ber’s forehead to check her temperature quickly, then smiled.
“Here—your uniform and shoes. The friend who brought you here picked them up.”
Ber offered a brief greeting and accepted her uniform and shoes. The Nurse drew the curtain closed as if to give her privacy to change.
When Ber emerged in her uniform and opened the curtain, the School Nurse offered something with a smile.
A sheet that resembled a guest book. It appeared to be a record of students who visited the Infirmary.
“It’s lucky I was here. I’m often away on weekends.”
“……I’m sorry.”
Ber offered an automatic apology as she filled in the form.
“No apology needed. Come by anytime if you’re not feeling well. And listen—Therianthropes sometimes shift into animal form when they’re tired, or sometimes for no reason at all. It’s especially common during adolescence like yours. So don’t be embarrassed about it.”
It was warm counsel, but for Ber, sudden shifts were far too familiar a thing. There was no shame in it for her.
Pallas had once offered words of comfort—uncharacteristically gentle for him—saying it was unavoidable as long as she carried Spring Power.
“Yes, thank you.”
Ber bowed and extended the completed form.
As the Nurse took the record and their eyes met, something seemed to click. An exclamation escaped her.
“You’re that girl from back then, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Don’t you remember me? Well, I suppose that’s natural given what happened that day. You brought in a Therianthrope who’d shifted into animal form and then collapsed right in front of the Infirmary.”
At the Nurse’s words about that day two years ago, Ber’s fingertips trembled.
“I didn’t realize you’d enrolled at the Academy. You’re doing all right now?”
As Ber quietly nodded, the Nurse pressed a hand to her chest and spoke.
“Your name is Ber……was it? Well, goodness—now that I think about it, that black-furred Therianthrope student you brought in back then was the one who brought you here today. It’s as if you’ve repaid each other’s debts. Do you happen to know that student’s name? I’m fairly certain he was a third-year—”
“Oh, yes, I do know him.”
Ber cut the Nurse off urgently and bolted from the Infirmary.
“I’ll greet him properly later, I promise!”
As she ran frantically toward the Dormitory, Ber swallowed hard.
If even the Nurse was only now recognizing her, then Kaien certainly hadn’t figured it out yet. That she was the one who’d brought him to the Infirmary that day.
‘At least I was in rabbit form when we ran into each other.’
Perhaps he’d seen her face two years ago. It was possible.
But even if he had, he’d never suspect I’d cured him. Healing an incurable Lung Disease overnight? Even I don’t believe it.
‘So I just need to make sure we don’t cross paths again.’
Pushing down her anxiety, Ber bit her lower lip.

***

A Lung Disease deemed incurable by medical examination.
It had healed in a single day.
After that, everything around Kaien changed dramatically. The position of Firstborn Heir, which had seemed on the verge of being stripped away, fell completely into his hands, and even his father’s new wife and her son voiced no objections.
The reason was simple: Kaien’s prowess in Swordsmanship had become so undeniable that no one could dispute it. He had truly become worthy of the Next Marquis.
After receiving a full recovery diagnosis, Kaien threw himself into grueling Rehabilitation every day. Once he could move with the vigor of a healthy person, he devoted himself entirely to Swordsmanship training. Thanks to that dedication, he quickly reached a level of skill that satisfied his father.
Even now, the cause remained unknown.
No one had ever discovered who, or what, or how his broken body had been healed.
One thing alone was certain: his illness had been completely cured on that day, two years ago, when he’d fought Raul and collapsed.
Yet Kaien was simply grateful. Whether chance or destiny, the good health he’d gained—he wanted to burn brightly with it. He wanted to be recognized as a perfect Next Marquis, and to wring an apology from his father for taking a new wife.
So today too, he was returning to the Dormitory after finishing weekend training with a glad heart.
As he walked a shortcut toward the Dormitory, something suddenly caught beneath his foot and he stopped.
Looking down, he found a white furry bundle—a small animal, to be precise.
An Arctic hare.
The moment Kaien identified the creature, his mind was brushed by an old legend that had clung to him in the past.
The old tale—whether to believe it or not—that if the next Incarnation of Eostra were born, it would be an Arctic hare Therianthrope.
Why was that legendary animal rolling around on the grass of the Imperial Academy’s grounds?

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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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