KKKB 757

Bear-san Watches over Fina and the Others as they Ride on Birds

"Are there birds on the lake?" (Noa)

Fina and Shuri were explaining to Noa and Misa about the birds we were going to see.

"The bird swims in the lake." (Shuri)

Shuri, who had ridden the bird from the lake before, explained to Noa.

"So we are not going to ride the birds and fly in the sky?" (Noa)

"Too bad." (Misa)

Apparently, Noa and Misa thought that they might be able to fly if they ride on the birds.

"You're just going to ride the bird that swims on the water, do you not want to?" (Yuna)

"No, I want to ride a bird." (Noa)

"I would like to see a big bird." (Misa)

We started walking towards the lake.

"Are the buildings in this town mostly made of stone?" (Noa)

Noa asked, looking at the houses built around them.

"Wood is precious here." (Yuna)

There was a lake, so there was a small forest. But wood was still precious.

"That's right. Things that are easy to get in Crimonia are difficult to get here." (Noa)

"And vice versa. Things that are easy to get here are difficult to get in Crimonia." (Misa)

"That's why merchants travel between cities and countries to trade." (Noa)

"Thanks to those merchants, things that are in faraway places and things that are made can come to us." (Misa)

"We should be grateful." (Noa)

That didn't mean that using the Bear Transfer Gate to make the merchants' hard work go to waste.

But God gave it to me, so we should make good use of it. It was okay to have things that others might want.

While I was making excuses in my head, Noa and the others continued talking about economics, and Fina and Shuri listened with admiration.

We soon arrived at the lake while listening to their childish talks.

Large birds were swimming in the lake.

"A huge bird is swimming." (Noa)

"Noa-san, there's a child on the bird." (Misa)

"Yuna-san, I want to ride it quickly." (Noa)

"Okay, okay, don't rush it." (Yuna)

I calmed Noa and Misa down and started walking towards the place where we could ride the birds.

Shuri usually made a big fuss, but this time it was Noa and Misa who made a big fuss, Shuri was explaining things to them while Fina supplemented it.

"Fina and Shuri have ridden it before, right?" (Noa)

"Yes." (Fina)

"Yeah, we did." (Shuri)

"Uh, Yuna-san, let's hurry." (Noa)

"That's right. We might not be able to ride it." (Misa)

Noa and Misa grabbed my hand and continued.

"You don't have to be in a rush." (Yuna)

"I think the number of birds is fixed." (Misa)

"That's right. The number of birds is not infinite. We might not be able to ride anymore." (Noa)

When I heard that, I couldn't say anything back. So hurried a little to the bird station, being pulled by Noa and Misa.

It was then that I realized.

"Ah, we need swimsuits." (Yuna)

I prepared a swimsuit when we went on a company trip to Mileela, but I forgot to ask them to bring it.

"I have a swimsuit. Fina said we might use it, so I prepared it." (Noa)

"Really?" (Yuna)

"I didn't know where Yuna-oneechan was going to take us, but I thought we might need it." (Fina)

As expected, she had more planning skills than me.

I was a little worried that she was too serious.

And I think that she could be a little more childish.

We soon arrived at the bird station.

"It's a big bird." (Noa)

There was a fence, and inside the fence were big birds.

"It's big when you look at it up close." (Yuna)

"Yuna-oneechan, do the birds have names?" (Misa)

They didn't think they had individual names.

"If I recall correctly, the bird was called a Camole. That was the name of the bird." (Yuna)

"...Camole." (Noa)

"Yuna-san, I want to ride it soon." (Misa)

"Then let's go to that hut." (Yuna)

There was a small hut near the fence where the birds were resting.

We went inside the hut.

When we went inside, the man in the hut was surprised the moment he saw me.

"That bear that was with Carina-sama at that time..." (Bird Keeper)

"Do you remember me?" (Yuna)

"Of course. Once you see a child dressed like that, you won't forget it." (Bird Keeper)

I think there should be other people who have visited here with Carina.

Maybe they were her friends.

But it seemed like people simply couldn't easily forget someone dressed as a bear.

In fact, it didn't seem like he remembered Fina and Shuri.

In other words, he only recognized me as a bear, so if I took off my bear costume, would he still recognize me?

"So, did you come to ride birds this time too?" (Bird Keeper)

"Yeah, I want to let these children ride the birds." (Yuna)

"So there's four of you. There should be enough birds resting right now for all of you. Please go change in that room, and I'll get the bird ready." (Bird Keeper)

I paid the fee and told Fina and the others to change into their swimsuits.

The man then left the hut and went inside the fenced area, where he started choosing birds for Noa and the others to ride from among the many birds there.

Then the four chosen birds arrived.

At that moment, Fina and the others come out of the room, having changed into their swimsuits.

"Well, some of you may have ridden them before, but I'll just give you a word of warning. Don't go too far." (Bird Keeper)

"Um, this is my first time riding them, what should I do?" (Noa)

"You can make them follow your commands like a horse, but it takes some skill. So basically, just ride them. Also, don't move around while on the bird. You might get thrown off. No matter what animal you ride, if you move around on their back, you'll get thrown off. Sometimes some kids stand on the bird or hit it to make it move faster. That's dangerous, so don't do that. Camoles are basically trained not to go too far. Also, they're trained to carry people and come back after a while. Well, when I say training, I mean they only come back to get foo and sometimes they don't come back immediately, but when they don't, I'll use this whistle to call them back, so don't worry." (Bird Keeper)

A whistle was hanging from the man's neck.

"Any other questions?" (Bird Keeper)

"So we can't play with everyone?" (Noa)

"That's alright. Camoles have a habit of acting together. Especially these four are brothers, so they always act together." (Bird Keeper)

Maybe that was why he chose these four.

Since there were no other questions, Noa and the others decided to ride the Camole.

There was a small pier, and the Camoles politely lined up and waited for Noa and the others to board.

It was like waiting in line for a taxi.

"Nice to meet you." (Noa)

Noa got on the Camole and called out to them while gently stroking its back. Misa, Fina, and Shuri saw this and did the same.

"Don't shake the girls off, you guys." (Bird Keeper)

"Que!"

The Camole cried and started to move smoothly and swim in the lake.

"It's moving. It's swimming on the water!" (Noa)

"Don't get too excited!" (Bird Keeper)

"Okay." (Noa)

The Camole swam on the lake with Noa and the others on board.

Even though they were far away, I could hear the happy voices of Noa and the others.

I was worried that they might fall, but if that happened, I could use my bear skill to walk on water, so I could rush over right away.

At worse, I have Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to rush towards them.

"They are not a resident of this town, are you?" (Bird Keeper)

As I was watching Noa and the others, the old man speaks to me.

"Yeah. That's right." (Yuna)

"So you took those kids and went through that desert. It must have been hard." (Bird Keeper)

I couldn't tell him that it was easy because I used the Bear Transfer Gate.

"Yeah, well..." (Yuna)

"I already said this before, but have fun. This lake almost dried up once before." (Bird Keeper)

Yeah, I knew about that.

"At that time, the lord of this town worked hard, and we were able to restore it to its original state. At that time, many people were thinking of leaving this town. I didn't think of doing that because I had the birds." (Bird Keeper)

The old man laughed.

"When the lake disappears, the birds die. At that time, I thought I might die as well." (Bird Keeper)

"Why are you telling me this?" (Yuna)

"I wonder why. Lady Carina comes over sometimes. She talks about you then. Maybe that's why." (Bird Keeper)

Carina was...

"You must be an acquaintance of Lady Carina. I don't know what your relationship is, but please take good care of Lady Carina." (Bird Keeper)

The man said so and went back to the hut.

...Carina.

Perhaps I should go and see her for the first time in a while.

I did tell her my secrets like I did with Noa, but I think she might find out that I was here soon.

If she found out, she might be sad that I didn't visit her.