KKKB 699

Bear-san, Talk with a Knight

"Yuna-san, I feel a connection with a Knight approaching us." (Noa)

Noa said as she looked at the staircase. Steady footsteps could be heard coming from there. Then the owner of the footsteps appeared in the room. It was certainly a knight, just as Noa said.

"I thought a rat entered the room, but it was a bear, huh?" (Knight)

This man...the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Cyrus. Why are you here? Didn't you go outside of town to kill monsters?" (Ronne)

"Ronne-sama is here too, huh? And what are you doing here?" (Cyrus)

"Rather than asking me why I'm here, I'd like to ask you why you're here. I thought that man told you not to come in here." (Ronne)

"I was looking for you because there was an intruder in the house." (Cyrus)

He was looking for intruders? That means us, I guess? 

"I just came to check the door, which was supposed to be closed, but the lock was broken." (Cyrus)

"Well, then, since you checked, why don't you go away now?" (Ronne)

"Not so fast. As a knight in the service of this mansion, I can't just leave you with two strangers and a bear in this room. Above all, if I see another fairy." (Cyrus)

The man Ronne called Cyrus looked at Primme.

Primme hid behind me, but it was too late.

Making Primme visible backfired.

"Yuna..." (Primme)

Primme said my name anxiously.

"It's okay." (Yuna)

I called out to Primme to reassure her and turned my attention to the knight.

"I'm more interested in the bear girl than anything else." (Cyrus)

"Me?" (Yuna)

"You fought outside the mansion against ten knights, right?" (Cyrus)

"Were you watching that battle?" (Yuna)

Did he witness my fight?

But that place was quite a distance from the mansion.

"I was expecting somebody to come to the mansion, so I waited." (Cyrus)

"I'm sure there was no one nearby." (Yuna)

"There are many ways to see at that distance." (Cyrus)

Telescopes, magic, sure, there were ways to observe.

But someone would only use them if they knew we were coming.

From what the man said earlier.

"So, was the Lord expecting us to come here?" (Yuna)

"Information is not something that can be concealed. You have to make sure that everyone who knows the information keeps their mouths shut. But I can also make a person talk." (Cyrus)

When the number of associates with important secrets increases, there would be many targets from which information could be obtained. And from the perspective of the person who wanted to gather confidential information, they simply had to get one of those people to talk about it.

So that means someone leaked information about what we were planning?

Was it through threats, or force?

"The Lord and some of the other knights know about this, too." (Cyrus)

That would be bad.

"I told you earlier. The more people who know, the greater the chance of information leaking out. The same goes for our side. Well, if we let someone leak our plans, there was also a big chance that your operation would have been canceled." (Cyrus)

That was true.

If we knew that the Lord had found out about our plans, the operation would have been called off.

But from this man's point of view, that seemed like a disadvantage.

"So you are the only one who knows that we are here?" (Yuna)

"Quick witted are you, I'm not that stupid. I have told one of my men who went to defeat the monster to come back with everyone else, so they may be back by now. If they come back to town, they will probably notice the smoke." (Cyrus)

If that happened, the Guild Master and the others would have to fight the returning knights.

Though, there was nothing I could do about it now. I was glad that I captured the knights who were about to leave the mansion. If those knights had joined those who returned, the trouble would have increased.

The Guild Master and the others have already accepted the fact that the knights from the Lord's mansion would be coming to stop them. But since I have already caged them here, and the early return of knights that went outside would only make our advantage become zero.

"But we didn't know just who was going to break into this mansion, so we were looking forward to it, but what showed up were two children and two bears. Oh, and a fairy." (Cyrus)

The man looked at us.

"It was so unexpected, I was troubled when I saw you. But I changed my mind as soon as I saw you fight." (Cyrus)

The man looked at me.

"The power given to me by Ronne-sama is great. However, the other knights are not as strong as I am, and I cannot go to other countries to test my strength. The monsters nearby are weak. I have always wanted to use this power to the fullest." (Cyrus)

The knight who was talking in the hallway said the same thing.

The power that was given to them was temporary. They would lose that power if they did not continuously receive it from Ronne.

"So when I noticed that young lady and the knights fighting, I also wanted to fight her. It looks like she can use a strange kind of magic. She can also move well. For me to defeat a girl with such talent, me who has gained unreasonable power. Wouldn't it be interesting?" (Cyrus)

The man smiled a sly smile. Noa and Primme's faces twitched at the expression. I stepped in front of Noa and Primme.

"I don't need to think about it. The power you have acquired through unwarranted means is meaningless if you can't use it properly." (Yuna)

The knights I fought were unable to utilize the power they got from Ronne.

If I had been a normal girl with no experience in the game, I wouldn't have been able to wield a weapon. I wouldn't have been able to adapt using magic.

Even though it was a game, I have fought others in that game as if I were facing them in real life, making it possible for me to fully utilize the bear equipment that God gave me.

Fina and Noa, who had never fought before, should not be able to use all the abilities of the bear equipment even if I was able to let them use it.

When they get attacked, they might close their eyes, their sword movement would be dulled, or they might be unable to move out of fear.

"I am glad to hear you say so. For all who have fought me say that I am cowardly. I gave up my pride and swore an oath to my Lord to master this power."

Well, it sure was cowardly to fight with power given to you by someone else.

I, too, fight with bear equipment given to me by God.

But there was one difference.

I have not used my power for evil. I could say that with confidence. I never used my power to commit unreasonable violence (although I do hit people who piss me off), nor do I intend to use it to rule a country (ruling a country would be too much trouble), nor did I use it to build something useless like a harem (I don't want to be popular with the opposite gender).

On the other hand, I have no intention of using my power to become a hero or a heroic person (I consider this the most troublesome thing of all).

I was using my bear powers to enjoy this world in a leisurely manner.

But there was a big price to pay to use that power.

I took another look at my outfit.

I have to dress up as a bear to fully utilize its power.

I wonder if he would be willing to dress up as a bear as well.

I want to ask him about that.

I, too, have accepted the bear after many struggles.

This man dressed as a bear....

"Pfft." (Yuna)

I imagined it and burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" (Cyrus)

"I just thought that you didn't have that much pride at all being a Knight. If you truly are willing to throw away your pride, you have to be willing to do as much as I am doing right now." (Yuna)

To me, to abandon pride would mean dressing up as a bear, like I do.

"I don't know what you mean by that, but it's time to fight. Shall you show me the power you used to fight the knights?" (Cyrus)

He licked his lips.

Apparently, this man was a fighting maniac.

"Cyrus, are you telling me that you would fight with these children? I did not give you the power to do this!" (Ronne)

"Ronne-sama, I hope you understand your position." (Cyrus)

"What do you mean by my position? Didn't I ask you to only use my power to protect yourselves?" (Ronne)

"Isn't that why we have knights protecting you?" (Cyrus)

"I didn't ask for that." (Ronne)

"And do you know how hard the knights are working to protect that man?" (Cyrus)

"That's...," Ronne trailed off in silence.

"Enough of that. Collecting magic stones is your fault for taking away the adventurers' jobs. It's also because you took away the magic power from the residents. Aren't you ashamed to talk about it as if it were Ronne's fault, and then corner her?"

"That's right. A Lord's job is to protect the livelihood of the residents. Of course, he can't solve every problem, but he shouldn't make his citizens unhappy." (Noa)

Noa, who had been silent, raised her voice.

Noa understood what a Lord was supposed to do, even though she was only a child.

"A person who makes the people unhappy for his own gain is not fit to be a Lord. And a knight who follows such a Lord is also not a knight. A knight protects the weak." (Noa)

"Hmmm, that is the illusion of a child. A knight does not protect the weak. They obey their lord's orders. If the lord commands them to fight monsters, they fight with their lives. If he orders you to kill a person, they will kill that person. That is a knight who serves." (Cyrus)

"Will you still do it while knowing that what the Lord is doing is wrong?" (Noa)

"A knight swears an oath to his lord, regardless if that lord is good or bad, and knights keep their oaths. Enough chit-chat. Either way, I am looking forward to fighting this young lady." (Cyrus)

The man drew his sword.

"Are you going to fight here? Wouldn't it be a disaster if this room was destroyed?" (Yuna)

"Is that meant as a warning to me or to you?" (Cyrus)

For both of us, of course.

But depending on how much the man knew about how things work here, it would be less concerning for him than for me.

For my part, I'd rather not have this room destroyed right now.

"You don't seem to have any sense of chivalry." (Yuna)

"I am honored by your compliment." (Cyrus)

It seemed sarcasm did not work.

"Besides, those earth bears are a nuisance." (Cyrus)

I guess he had seen me use those earth bears, so he decided to fight me here.

This man did not like to fight fair, I see. He just wanted to bully people, that's all.