I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 68

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

Episode 68

Ber’s eyes snapped open as she felt her body lift weightlessly into the air, wind rushing past her face.
In her small, dark pupils was reflected a face that made her want to ask “of all people, why?”
Kaien Nuarel.
He held her tiny frame cradled in both hands, staring down at her small face with unwavering intensity.
While standing atop a tree.
The sky stretched vast and impossibly blue. Autumn wind struck her face. Through gaps in falling leaves, the wild boar far below looked smaller still.
And there was her own body, suspended not on earth but in the heavens themselves.
Gasp——!
Ber startled violently, flailing her limbs toward Kaien in panic.
“Ah…… careful now.”
Kaien held her tightly against his chest and spoke in a murmur. Trembling, Ber managed to lift her head as his hand stroked gently down her back.
The moment Ber peeked up at Kaien’s face, he smiled softly and whispered again.
“Sorry. There’s something I need to confirm, so bear with me for just a moment.”
Before Ber could even process his words, Kaien lifted her skyward again.
The sun, breaking through clouds, hung suspended above the figure on the tree and the small creature in his arms.
The moment that dazzling sunlight fell upon them, Lorenzo below the tree witnessed a sight he had never imagined possible.
Lorenzo was chasing after a white shadow that had vanished in an instant.
—Where the hell did this bastard go!
He searched frantically around him, nostrils flaring, peering irritably for any small shape.
It had been only a fleeting moment, a brief glimpse as it passed, but he had seen it clearly. The thing was smaller than he could have imagined.

“If I weren’t a bear, and were instead that legendary beast, the Yeti, what would you do?”

Remembering what the creature had said before, Lorenzo let out a derisive snort. So small—what was it? A Yeti? That was ridiculous.
And that time it suddenly collapsed and fell asleep—that was probably just because its body was in bad condition. It happened to fall asleep when that thing put its hands on him, so it couldn’t possibly have any such incomprehensible power.
Excitement made Lorenzo’s breathing grow ragged and harsh. He had to catch that bastard quickly and show the other fools. Show them how this pathetic creature had been bluffing and mocking them all along.
As he tore through the undergrowth and around the trees searching frantically, Lorenzo suddenly lifted his head. The area around him seemed to have grown dark.
—……?
Lorenzo’s eyes opened in confusion. The darkness came from a sudden shadow falling across his head. A shadow far too large to be merely the shade of a tree.
Seized by curiosity, Lorenzo lifted his gaze higher, looking up at the sky. And in that moment, he froze solid.
A colossal shadow. Absolutely massive.
Because of the blinding sunlight pouring down, he could see only its silhouette, but he could infer what this “creature” must look like.
A body far larger than the trees themselves. Shoulders spread impossibly wide and enormous arms raised toward the sky. And atop its head, sharp, pointed ears like horns.
—What…… what is that.
The moment those words tumbled from his slack jaw, Lorenzo remembered.

“Would the patriarch of the Grizzly Family really adopt a humanoid that wasn’t even useful?”

It was unassailably true.
The Border Count of Grizzly. He had taken dogs that were not particularly strong and cultivated them into the Sled Dog Knight Order, the empire’s mightiest military force. If such a Border Count had gone so far as to adopt a humanoid, it would be incomparably stronger than those sled dogs.
That’s right. If that bloodthirsty murderer truly existed, then certainly——

“If I were that legendary beast, the Yeti, what would you do?”

A legendary beast that dominated the Northern Highland with its eternal snows—such a Yeti would bow to nothing.
Confronted with this undeniable reality before his eyes, Lorenzo had no choice but to accept it.
That girl’s boasting had not been a lie.
The moment he was certain of this, the shadow moved.
It turned its head to look down, then slowly raised its arm. The instant that shadowed finger pointed at the boar below, at him——
Squeal——!
Lorenzo shrieked and fled in blind panic.

Kaien, who had been holding the rabbit aloft and studying its small face intently for some time, nodded quietly to himself.
“……Yes, just as I thought.”
The autumn wind whipped across Ber’s face and ears so fiercely she didn’t hear Kaien’s murmur. Kaien whispered close to her ear, asking softly.
“By the way, playing tag with a wild boar inside the academy is awfully dangerous. How did you end up being chased?”
‘…….’
Ber hesitated for a moment, then shook her head firmly.
No matter how skilled she’d become with Animal Body Language since childhood, there was no way she could explain the full story.
She could use Telepathy to speak directly into Kaien’s mind, but doing so would be the same as broadcasting “I’m an Incarnation.”
And more than that.
The fact that he’s speaking to me so casually means——
‘I must have been found out as that Arctic Rabbit that day……!’
Well, there certainly wasn’t another Arctic Rabbit humanoid in the Imperial Academy besides her. If they’d seen her collapsed in animal form in the brush, and if that form had been an Arctic Rabbit, it would have been particularly memorable.
‘In any case, it’s fine.’
Even if Kaien had figured out she was that Arctic Rabbit humanoid from that day, there was no evidence or basis for him to realize that it was she who had healed his lung disease.
Kaien hummed thoughtfully, then slowly turned his head to point down at Lorenzo below.
“That’s the humanoid down there, isn’t it? Since we can’t stay here forever, I should——”
Squeal——!
The boar’s shriek swallowed Kaien’s words.
The instant Kaien’s finger pointed precisely at Lorenzo, the terrified boar bolted away at full speed. It was a complete rout.
Kaien seemed momentarily at a loss for words in the sudden turn of events. Ber felt the same.
‘……What on earth just happened?’
She followed Kaien’s gaze to examine their surroundings but detected no sign of faculty or students approaching.
“Oh, look at that.”
Kaien suddenly pointed downward with his finger, drawing her gaze lower, and there she saw an enormous shadow.
“Maybe it ran because of that shadow.”
‘Ah…….’
The shadow cast by both her and Kaien combined formed a shape that looked, with perfect timing, exactly like a horned giant.
Now that she thought about it, she had foolishly boasted to that boy that she was a Yeti and asked what he’d do—complete nonsense—but maybe he actually believed it.
“Well…… it wasn’t intentional, but I seem to have been of great help to you. What do you think?”
Ber didn’t understand what he meant by the question, so she simply tilted her head. Kaien smiled gently and elaborated.
“If I’ve been helpful, would you listen to what I have to say from now on?”
Since it was true that he had helped, Ber nodded without fully understanding. Kaien watched the rabbit’s face bob up and down, then slowly descended from the tree.
Within a few steps, Kaien reached the ground and carefully set Ber atop a nearby rock. Then he rummaged through the surrounding brush, quickly found her school uniform, and folded it neatly beside the rock.
“There we are. The boar ran off in the other direction, so things should be quiet for a while.”
With that, he sat down carefully beside the rock where Ber was perched.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a long time now. But first, let me ask how you’ve been. Since that day, how has your health been? You didn’t transform into an animal today because something was hurting again, did you?”
Kaien looked down at her with worried eyes and asked. Ber shook her head vigorously. So, he did remember that day’s rabbit—it was her, after all.
“Thank goodness.”
At Ber’s response, Kaien seemed greatly relieved. Puzzled by his reaction, the rabbit opened her small dark eyes wide.
It was like the expression of someone who had finally discovered something precious they’d been searching for all along. Why did he look at her that way? She had no time to dwell on such thoughts.
“First Year, General Studies, Imperial Academy. Ber Grizzly.”
At Kaien’s precise recitation of her full identity, Ber’s shoulders drew up rigid and tight.
“That night, I went to confirm your name from the school nurse.”
‘…….’
“I’m sorry. I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t help myself. Because I realized something.”
Kaien’s grey eyes, alight with earnest conviction, held the tiniest of rabbits within them, precious and cherished.
“Ber. That you were the one who healed my lung disease two years ago.”

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