Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Chapter 794

Lize, Doing Her Best

Lize’s POV

Yuna-san and Kagali-chan left the house.

I watched them go until they were out of sight.

Little Kagali-chan disappeared, and so did Yuna-san dressed as a black Bear-san.

“…They’re gone.” (Bollard)

Father looked in the direction Yuna-san and Kagali-chan walked away.

“…Yeah.” (Lize)

“They were strange girls.” (Bollard)

They were indeed strange girls.

I was surprised when I first saw the bear house, but I was even more surprised when Yuna-san came out of the bear house dressed as a bear.

Grandpa Bende and Baran-san stayed in the mansion and waited for the arrival of people Father called.

In the meantime, I listened to Grandpa Bende and the others’ stories.

“My family didn’t believe me at first, but in the end, after being skeptical, they soon believed me.” (Bollard)

“It’s the same for me.” (Baran)

“Well, I don’t think they’ll believe me that easily.” (Bende)

Mother, elder sister, and the servants who worked at home saw me and believed us.

If I hadn’t grown up, I didn’t think they would have believed us that easily.

“So I’ll join you too. I’m sure they will understand when they see me.” (Lize)

“I see, unlike us, they only know the young lady from three years ago.” (Baran)

“Yes. They had only witnessed her as a little kid.” (Bende)

My father was the lord of this town.

I’d been with him many times.

“If the young lady has grown into such a beautiful girl, what better proof than that?” (Bende)

Grandpa Bende and the others looked at me.

Putting aside the beauty, there was no doubt that I had grown up.

After a while, the town’s leaders came to our house.

Everyone looked confused as to why they were being called.

“Bollard-sama, why did you call us?” (Megen)

Megen-san, the guild master of the Commerce Guild, asked Father on behalf of the others.

“First of all, what I’m about to tell you is not a lie or a joke, so please listen to the end.” (Bollard)

Father explained that the town and its residents were frozen for three years by an Ice Dragon, just as he explained to Mother.

Then, he told them that the Ice Dragon left the town because of two girls who appeared a few days ago.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone looked at each other.

“Don’t make a joke like that. Not only the buildings, but the documents are also flooded with water. It’s going to be a lot of work to clean up.” (Megen)

Megen-san, who had been listening quietly, said in amazement.

“There’s no way we could have survived after being frozen for three years.” (Grazo)

Grazo-san, the guild master of the Adventurer’s Guild, didn’t believe it either.

Initially, we also thought everyone was frozen to death.

“I need to check how the mine is doing and prepare the iron ore before the ship arrives.” (Megen)

“No. There’s no ship coming, so it’s okay.” (Bollard)

This town had long been abandoned, so ships no longer approached it.

“We’ve got a contract. It’s impossible that they won’t come.” (Megen)

Everyone talked about it as if it happened yesterday.

No matter how much Bende and Baran-san explained, no one believed them.

I quietly stood up.

“It’s been a while, everyone. I’m Lize.” (Lize)

I greeted everyone, looking at their faces.

“Lize?” (Megen)

“Yes, it’s been a while. Megen-san.” (Lize)

Megen-san looked surprised when he saw me.

It seemed that he didn’t recognise me till now after all.

“Are you really Lize?” (Megen)

He seemed surprised by my “sudden” growth.

“For Megen-san, it was only a few days ago that you met me, but for me, it was three years ago. I’m sure you all find it hard to believe what Father and others said. Mother didn’t believe it at first either. But what Father and others are saying is true. Because of the appearance of the Ice Dragon, all contact with other towns was cut off, and no one comes to this town anymore. So, just as Father said, no ships will be coming anytime soon.”

“Were we really frozen for three years?” (Megen)

“Maybe she is Lize-chan’s relative or something.” (Grazo)

Even when they saw me, they still seemed skeptical.

“When I was little, I used to scribble on Megen-san’s important documents and cause trouble. Then I remember him fighting with his wife and complaining to me when I was little.” (Lize)

“Is that really you, Lize-chan!?” (Megen)

Megen-san began to mutter in a small voice, “Really, for three years.”

I then looked at Grazo-san.

“When I went to the Adventurer’s Guild to play, I saw an adventurer’s face and started crying, which caused Grazo-san a lot of trouble.” (Lize)

“Yeah, that happened.” (Grazo)

“And when an adventurer died, you were crying alone, weren’t you?” (Lize)

“You saw me then.” (Grazo)

Everyone started to calm down.

“Lize-chan, were we really frozen for three years?” (Megen)

“Yes. So no ships will come from other towns anytime soon. Do you know what will happen if that happens?” (Lize)

“We won’t be able to get the supplies we need.” (Megen)

“That’s right. The longer you take to understand the current situation, the more serious things will become. We won’t be able to buy things. We won’t be able to sell things.” (Lize)

If supplies didn’t arrive, many people would be in trouble.

If we couldn’t sell the things we dug up from the mines, the number of people in trouble would increase even more.

“So please believe what Father says.” (Lize)

I bowed my head.

“Bollard-sama, it’s true, isn’t it?” (Megen)

“You’re not the same Lize-chan I know.” (Grazo)

“It’s true. I want you to hear what happened in the last three years.” (Bollard)

Father and Grandpa Bende told the story of the past three years.

Everyone looked incredulous, but listened quietly and occasionally asked questions.

“It’s been three years since the Ice Dragon took up residence on the mountaintop…” (Grazo)

“To lay eggs…” (Bollard)

“Initially, ships came to the town, but once people found out about the Ice Dragon, they stopped coming.” (Grazo)

“So, really, the ship that was supposed to come today…” (Megen)

“…will never come.” (Bollard)

That “today” had already passed three years ago.

“The cargo that is supposed to come in the future…” (Megen)

“…will not come.” (Bollard)

“The ship that comes to buy the iron ore we dug.” (Megen)

“…will not come.” (Bollard)

The guild master of the Commerce Guild and the people involved in the mine operation looked incredulous.

They couldn’t buy or sell anything.

“So hurry up. We need to contact the towns we had a relationship with and return the status quo to what it was three years ago. That won’t be easy. They think our town was destroyed by the Ice Dragon. We need to explain that and ask them to resume trading. But that won’t be easy. They must have found a new trading partner by now.” (Bollard)

“That’s right. If it’s really been three years, they must be buying iron ore from a different place. Even if we ask them to buy from us, they’ll probably continue to buy from others as before.” (Megen)

If they had a new trading partner, they wouldn’t need to buy from our town.

“The same goes for purchasing. Just because we asked doesn’t mean supplies will be ready right away.” (Bollard)

Just because we asked for food didn’t mean it would be easy to get it.

By now, even flour should have started to be sold to a new trading partner.

“If what Bollard-sama is saying is true, it’s going to be a big problem. No, it’s most likely true.” (Megen)

Everyone looked at me.

Their eyes were like those looking at something strange, just like Kagali-chan said.

I was sure they would continue to look at me like this for at least some time.

If Kagali-chan hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have been prepared, and I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

I promised Kagali-chan that I would look forward to the future and do my best.

So I would face it head on.

As long as they looked at me, believed in Father, and took action, I didn’t mind being watched.

“I understand. So, what should we do?” (Megen)

As I looked at everyone, Megen-san asked.

It seemed that he believed me.

We discussed what to do from now on and each of them was assigned a role.

Father wanted the Commerce Guild and merchants to immediately head to other towns, inform them of the current situation in the town, and negotiate to make the relationship the same as it was three years ago.

“Also, some of the buildings in the mines were destroyed by the Ice Dragon, and the ground is in a terrible state. We can’t travel by carriage unless it’s repaired.” (Bollard)

A large footprint had appeared where the Ice Dragon landed, and carriages could not pass through.

Megen-san, the guild master of Commerce Guild, said he would send craftsmen as soon as he could confirm the situation.

“Parts of the mountaintop have collapsed as well, so please be careful as it can lead to a big problem.” (Lize)

I told them the situation on the mountaintop. It was decided to send adventurers to the Ice Dragon’s nest to confirm it.

There was one big problem remaining.

How do we inform the townspeople?

“I will tell them, as that is my role as the lord, but if I tell them the same story as everyone else without much proof, they might still not believe me easily. But I have to tell them. I have to make them understand. They need to realize why the supplies are not arriving. I want everyone to help me.” (Bollard)

“I will inform the members of the Commerce Guild as well. If we spread the word from the guild, it will spread to everyone little by little.” (Megen)

“In reality, I am skeptical as well, but I will inform the adventurers guild about the situation. We will have the adventurers on board as escorts when the merchants visit other towns and have them listen to news about what happened to this town from other towns, that way the town’s people will believe it.” (Grazo)

At the moment, learning about the town’s situation from the outside may be the quickest way to make them believe everything.

“Now that I think of it, is it true that another Ice Dragon came, and a girl dressed as a bear and a young child fought it and drove it away?” (Grazo)

“It’s true.” (Bollard)

“Who are those girls?” (Grazo)

“I tried to stop them and have them come here as well, but they went home today. I know it’s hard to believe. I have the Ice Dragon’s horns and scales, so I want you to check them out.” (Bollard)

Father proved the truth by showing the Ice Dragon’s horns and scales.

Everyone looked surprised when they saw the Ice Dragon’s horns and scales, and Megen-san, the Commerce Guild master, had sparkling eyes.

“What are you going to do with these?” (Megen)

Yuna-san and Kagali-chan told us to use them to rebuild the town.

But the reason she handed these over was because we thought that the townspeople had died, and many things would be needed, but in the end, the townspeople were still alive.

“For now, I have no intention of doing anything with them. They were given to us by the benefactor who saved this town. I’m not going to make a hasty decision on what to do with them.” (Bollard)

Megen-san looked disappointed at Father’s words.

I agreed with Father that there was no need to sell these items.

The townspeople were alive.

The town that was frozen over was in a terrible state, but as long as the residents were alive, everything would be fine if we worked together to rebuild the town.

And so, everyone who gathered in the mansion began to move.

“Thank you, Lize.” (Bollard)

Father thanked me.

“Everyone believed me because you told them.” (Bollard)

I was glad I was of some help.

Can’t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click HERE to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!