The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9
“Miel is all grimy and smelly and covered in germs, right?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“If you get close to Miel, you’ll catch a disease.”
At the child’s perfectly serious words, Zerpeon’s expression stiffened slightly.
His cousins and servants always said the same thing.
Miel had no parents, so he was terribly filthy, always reeking of that grimy smell.
Even though he scrubbed himself clean every single day, the odor wouldn’t wash away.
“Ugh, don’t you smell that stench? That dark thing reeks like rotten—”
“Hey, don’t go near him. You might catch something—”
A childhood memory surfaced suddenly, and Zerpeon slowly closed and opened his eyes, then strode purposefully toward the child.
Without hesitation, he scooped the boy up into his arms.
“…!”
Miel’s eyes went wide as saucers, and he began to thrash.
“No, no, you’ll catch a disease…!”
Watching the child squirm so desperately to escape, Zerpeon only tightened his grip.
Something twisted and swelled in his chest.
“You won’t catch anything. There’s no smell.”
“…!”
Miel’s eyes grew even larger.
Then, all at once, a sweet scent wafted up.
Zerpeon, who had been walking with the child in his arms, went still.
‘…Is this what Lisar was talking about?’
In fact, Lisar had mentioned that the child gave off a sweet smell, but Zerpeon had never caught it before.
Not until today. Not until now.
“…You really don’t smell anything?”
“No.”
“But Miel hasn’t washed or scrubbed properly since being in the mountains…?”
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
His heart was racing.
Miel placed his small hand carefully over that wild, beating heart.
He had never heard anyone say such a thing before. Everyone always said Miel reeked.
So Miel had always believed that a foul odor clung to him.
“No.”
But…there were people who would tell Miel that he didn’t smell like something filthy.
‘A kind person!’
Even though Miel clearly did smell, this person was saying kind things for his sake.
‘Miel will repay this kindness.’
He would make sure of it.
After repaying the debt, he wanted so badly to go to the Panda Clan.
“Let’s start the treatment.”
“Okay…”
Miel, now in better spirits, hopped up and down on his feet.
Dirt caked on his shoes came loose and scattered across the ground.
Some of it inevitably fell onto Zerpeon’s clothes, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.
Of course, the oblivious Miel noticed nothing.
‘But what does “grimy” even mean…?’
Honestly, he didn’t quite understand the word.
Zerpeon moved his eyes slowly and shifted his stance.
“So where has my little bear been? Hunting?”
“No, look at this!”
The child thrust something high into the air.
“…This is.”
Zerpeon’s eyes widened suddenly as he saw what lay in Miel’s hand.
* * *
The previous night, near dawn.
After failing his first plan to cry, Miel had slept deeply throughout the day, then lay awake all night unable to find sleep as evening fell.
‘They didn’t scold me even when I gave them a gift here.’
Yet the tingling, rapid beat of his heart didn’t feel like something bad.
After eating food cooked from the fish Miel had caught that morning and patting his full belly contentedly, he resolved to put his second plan into action.
‘Brave little Miel.’
Bang!
Transformed into a baby bear through Shapeshifting, Miel gazed down solemnly from the mountainside she’d climbed yesterday.
Below, a rugged mountain path twisted into view.
‘Miel couldn’t cry from failing the punishment.’
So Miel chose a second way to cry.
The baby bear, eyes squeezed shut, began galloping on all fours from a distance—pitter-patter-pitter-patter.
“Rooooarrr!”
And then threw herself down the slope!
The second plan.
‘Give Miel strength!!’
It was tumbling, just like when her cousin had shoved her—rolling and rolling down the mountainside!
Tumble-tumble-tumble.
Miel’s round, plump body rolled down the jagged mountain path!
“Owww, owww!”
The soft, round body that had been bouncing down the slope finally—
Thud.
Crashed into a thicket and stopped.
“Ouch… ouch…”
Bump.
A lump swelled up on her head.
“It hurts!”
‘I want to make honey cake mother better!’
In the moment Miel whimpered in pain and made her wish,
Plink.
Natural tears streamed down and fell onto the dirt ground.
At the same instant, the fallen tears transformed into a small pearl!
A pale pink pearl no bigger than Miel’s tiny fingernail.
Each time a tear dripped onto the small pearl, it gradually grew larger.
The pearl, which had been only the size of Miel’s fingernail, grew with each falling tear until it became the size of an adult man’s thumbnail.
“Success!”
Miel, transformed back into human form and covered in grime from head to toe, grinned widely.
A pearl that formed when Miel cried while making a wish!
Crack.
A very faint sound of fracturing echoed.
The stone lodged in Miel’s forehead bore a tiny hairline fracture.
Unaware of anything, the delighted Miel laughed and jumped up from the ground in an instant.
[…….]
Something she didn’t know had been there—her eyes locked with it, right before her face.
[Hey, you… can you actually see me……?]
Miel broke into a cold sweat even as she quickly glanced down, pretending to stuff the pearl into her pocket.
“Ah. I-I’m late! Baby bears need to sleep early, so… Miel, I, I have to go back now!”
Miel shouted at empty air, placed the pearl in her mouth, and—Bang!—transformed into a baby bear.
She was ready to bolt.
“……!”
But the translucent thing appeared before her again—when had it moved?
[A scrawny baby bear pretending not to see me……?]
The owner of that eerie voice stared intently at the baby bear that was Miel.
The moment Miel stiffly bowed her head,
[You can see me, obviously.]
Their eyes met again.
Snicker.
The translucent something that rose from the earth laughed.
“Screeeeeech!”
Miel, who had been suppressing her screams, finally let out a shriek at the sight of the translucent specter right before her, its head bobbing back and forth.
[Goodness, anyone watching would think you’d seen a monster.]
The translucent thing clicked its tongue in disapproval.
Miel transformed back to human form and shook her head.
“W-w-who are you……?”
Hiccup!
Miel’s eyes, which had been working so hard to seem brave, began to glisten with tears.
No matter how courageous and remarkable Miel was—a panda just like the hero of “The Troublesome Bear Cub”—that didn’t mean meeting a ghost in pitch darkness was acceptable.
[Me? Dragonian.]
Miel blinked.
“Huh…?”
She had no idea what he meant.
Slightly taller than Miel, the figure looked to be around ten years old, with horns crowning his head and vertical pupils cut sharply into his eyes.
His hair was coarse and wiry, and his cheeks and body were covered in something like scales.
[You don’t know me?]
The translucent ghost asked.
“Nope.”
As she talked, the pounding in Miel’s chest had calmed, and she tucked the pouch she’d flung away back into her possession.
“Alright then.”
With that, she turned away, ignoring the translucent thing.
With her small body, she waddled down the uneven path, swinging her little arms as she made her way downward with determination.
The fact that he’d introduced himself as ‘Dragonian’ made him blink.
[That kid… is ignoring me…?]
Ha!
Dragonian burst into a loud laugh and quickly flew over to Miel’s side.
[Hey.]
“Ugh, I’ve gotta get going…”
Miel trudged down the mountain path with her head lowered.
Hoot, hoot—
Whoosh, shhhhhh—!
Thump, thump.
Each time an unidentifiable sound reached her from the nighttime mountain, Miel’s body trembled, quivering like leaves.
Even squeezing her eyes shut and opening them again, she pressed forward.
[So you took out the Ung-core—you’re planning to break that curse, are you? But that won’t be nearly enough.]
Miel, carefully making her way down the mountain path so she wouldn’t slip, stopped short.
“Ung… what now…?”
What was that?
[That orb you just pulled out. It’s the Ung-core. The source of life the Bernear Clan possesses. The core power that maintains the Bernear’s barrier. True, the Ung-core does have Purification Ability.]
Miel’s lips formed a triangle.
She looked utterly bewildered, as if she hadn’t understood a single word.
The face of the translucent boy who’d been explaining so proudly, Dragonian, crumpled in frustration.
[Listen! The woman who’s cursed and collapsed right now—she became an Evil Spirit, but she became an Evil Spirit while still under the curse’s influence! Do you understand?]
Miel’s lips remained shaped like a triangle, and her mouth puckered out slightly.
“Curse… an’ evil spirit….”
Roll, roll.
Roll, roll.
Her eyes spinning, Miel thrust up her stubby thumb.
“Evil spirit cursed… you mean…? Miel understands too…!”
Her pupils were shaking as if there were an earthquake in them.
Dragonian’s mouth fell open.
[Dammit, you didn’t understand any of it…!]

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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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