Chapter 8: Bears

  Garfield searched the request board for a mission that would take him away from the city. Of note, one of the Gold requests involved tracking down the missing goblins from the previous day, but Garfield wasn’t interested in it.

  “Ah, Bearclaw, good to see you,” said the leader of Deep End.

  “Smith, was it? Already back for more requests?”

  “Actually no. Some of my party didn’t get back until late. I just came to keep an eye on the open requests. Were you looking to accept one so soon after such a grueling day?”

  “Yes, but I’ll stick to something easy. No need to overdo it,” said Garfield.

  “Probably a good idea, especially given our recent… invitation. You did receive one, right?”

  “Oh yes. Tomorrow evening,” Garfield confirmed.

  “Well, I’ll see you then, if not sooner. Good luck with your request.”

  Garfield accepted a request to exterminate a bear that was harassing a farming village south of the capital. ‘I bet they left some food out and now the bear is digging through their garbage,’ he theorized.

  Garfield exited the city via the south gate. Once out of view, he detoured southwest to a hilly area that appeared uninhabited. After confirming he was alone, Garfield cast a certain spell he’d been planning to use since the prior evening.

  “?Summon Creature of the Sky, a Dragon, Tamed Drake?.” An adolescent fire dragon with a four meter wingspan appeared.

  “Proceed northwest for approximately 10 kilometers, keeping out of sight. Then, steal livestock from a farm when you will be spotted by the farmers. Dispose of the livestock in secret and then proceed to Gaia Zygós’s location. Stalk the area until you are sure humans from the Kingdom’s territory are watching, then fight Lord Kelvar’s forces to the death.”

  The drake roared and flew off. Garfield returned to his original course and arrived at the farming village.

  “Wow, a Gold adventurer for us? I’m glad you’re here, just… surprised,” stated the farmer who had posted the request.

  “I completed a difficult request yesterday so I chose to accept a lower-ranked one today,” Garfield explained.

  “As you probably heard, a bear has been entering my farm and we don’t have the capability to deal with it.”

  “Yes, I will take care of it. Bears are actually a specialty of mine,” Garfield pointed out.

  “Oh, how wonderful for us, then! May I ask how bears became your specialty?”

  “Next time you are at the Adventurer’s Guild, ask how Bearclaw got his name. It might just be faster to show you, though.”

  The farmer lifted an eyebrow as Garfield readied his spell.

  “?Summon Creature of the Forest, a Beast, Bronzeclaw Bear?.”

  The farmer spun around and ran into his farmhouse. Garfield yelled words of apology in his direction.

  “?Mapping: Display Map. Identify Animal Hazards?. ?Magic Telegram: Bronzeclaw Bear, Share Map?. It’s close. Hunt it down.”

  The bear roared and ran off in the precise direction of their target. Garfield approached the farmhouse. The farmer looked out the window carefully and then opened the door.

  “Sorry about that. I sent my bear off to search for the one that’s been bothering you.”

  “I’m sorry for overreacting…” the farmer said. “I’ve just been very sensitive to bears recently…”

  “I understand. My bear is very reliable so you don’t need to worry. I’ll head out myself to make sure your bear is properly taken care of. I’ll return soon.”

  As Garfield walked in the direction Bronzeclaw Bear had run off, he received a sudden signal. The bear was alerting him to a problem, but it lacked the vocabulary to explain. Garfield hurried his pace and arrived at the bear’s location a few minutes later. Bronzeclaw Bear was facing off with a smaller bear, but neither was attacking. Behind the smaller bear were two very young bear cubs.

  “Ah.” Even Garfield had sympathy for the bear cubs. Most likely, they couldn’t survive without their mother. His choices were to abandon the request, fake the mother bear’s death while relocating the family, or option C.

  “?Enchant Creature: Bear Cub x2, Sleep?. Oh, it worked.”

  The mother bear roared in response and attacked. She was no match for Bronzeclaw Bear. Garfield walked over to the sleeping bear cubs.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Garfield: “?Enchant Creature: Bear Cub x2, Ageless?. ?Enchant Creature: Bear Cub x2, Mini: One-half?.” The bear cubs shrank to half their previous size. Garfield released the sleeping spell and they woke up. He still needed to cast one more spell.

  “?Enchant Creature: Bear Cub x2, Control?.” The cubs ran over to Garfield like small friendly dogs. He felt bad about forcing their obedience, but it was better than leaving them for dead. Garfield dismissed Bronzeclaw Bear and returned to the farm with two cubs in tow.

  “W-W-What?”

  “The bear that was terrorizing your farm is dead. I’ll take care of the two cubs it left behind. If you like, I can lead you to the bear’s body to confirm.”

  The farmer visually confirmed the kill and provided Garfield written proof of request completion. Garfield returned to the southern gate of Bretten.

  “Halt. What are… those?”

  “Pet dogs,” Garfield answered.

  “Huh?”

  Several guards came over to inspect the tiny cubs more closely.

  “What breed of dog is this?” the Guard asked.

  “…Ursus Canis?” As Garfield recalled, ursus was a genus for bear, and canis was a genus for dog-like animals… not that anyone here would know that.

  “It won’t bite anyone, right?”

  “Not a chance,” Garfield promised.

  “Fine, whatever. Move along.”

  Garfield picked up one the cubs and placed it on top of his head. He borrowed some rope and connected it to the other cub as a leash. The leash wasn’t necessary, but it would put people at ease. He returned to the guild to report completion.

  “Um, Bearclaw, what’s with the animals?” the clerk asked.

  “Is there anything odd about an adventurer named Bearclaw having pet bears?”

  “Yes?”

  “I rescued them from certain death,” Garfield explained. “It’s the least I can do. And aren’t they cute?”

  The clerk’s expression melted into a smile as she gazed at the tiny bears’ little faces. When Garfield stepped away from the counter, all five members of White Glow approached.

  “Sir Garfield! Do you prefer being called Sir Garfield or Bearclaw? Wait, what are those!?” the priestess asked, eyes glued to the bears.

  “You can call me whatever you like. These are bear cubs I rescued.”

  “So cute!” all five party members called out.

  “May we touch them?” their warrior asked.

  “Sure.”

  The priestess asked another question while her party took turns petting the bears.

  “What are their names?”

  “…Names?”

  “Well, are they boys or girls?” the priestess asked.

  “…”

  Garfield had some work to do.

  --

  As Garfield was finishing up at the guild, a lone woman walked down the streets of Bretton, lost in thought.

  ‘I can’t keep avoiding the boss forever… What should I do? Will he let me simply recuse myself of all matters involving that mysterious guy?’

  Lilah continued down the street, not paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly, she tripped on something. “Huh?”

  Lilah looked behind her and saw a small animal lying spread-eagled on its back. Its leash linked it to the arm of a certain man.

  “You stepped on my bear!”

  “I-I’m sorry! Wait, you are…?”

  Garfield bent over to sooth the bear. Lilah started stepping backwards slowly as she recognized this was the man who was previously her target.

  “Oh, the bear is fine.” Garfield reported. “It takes more than a footstep to hurt it. It’s bigger than it looks.”

  ‘Bigger than it looks? What the heck? Wait, I shouldn’t be here!’ Just as Lilah was about to turn on her heel and leave…

  “Wait, I remember you. You’re the woman who was sleeping in my bed.”

  Lilah froze. She wasn’t sure what Garfield would do now that he knew.

  “How about you explain what that was?”

  Lilah acquiesced. “I was trying to make contact with you… discreetly. I was going to wake you up and explain myself but… the bed was really comfortable and I just kinda fell asleep.”

  “How did you end up in the bed!?”

  “I-I’m sorry!”

  “Well… I’m curious now. Come with me.”

  “Huh?”

  “This needs to be discreet, right?” Garfield confirmed. “Follow me.”

  Garfield boldly led Lilah to his room at the inn.

  “Have a seat.”

  The only place to sit was on the bed. Lilah sat down, appreciating the bed’s softness once more. Garfield remained standing, arms crossed.

  “So, what did you need?”

  Lilah felt guilty that she had originally intended to mislead and manipulate the man considering how cooperative he was being now. In the past, she would have interpreted his behavior as weakness to be exploited. Now, with her confidence shattered following her defeat of the previous day, she wouldn’t dream of misleading him.

  “I was going to invite you to join our organization.”

  “Organization?” Garfield asked.

  “We are… opposed… to this culture where people must live at the whims of noble society. We take matters into our own hands and conduct whatever business we please, regardless of the laws which keep the rich richer.”

  “Hm. And why me?” Garfield wondered aloud.

  “By chance, we witnessed your impressive use of magic, specifically, reproducing gold coins. We didn’t want to see you scooped up by nobles or others who would use your ability to maintain the status quo.”

  Garfield pressed his palm into his face at the realization that somebody had been watching him use his duplication magic back when he first arrived in the city.

  “So, your boss wants me to make a bunch of gold for him to fund his black market enterprises?”

  “No! Well, yes, probably, but… I don’t want that to happen.”

  “Huh? What do you want, then?” Garfield asked, confused.

  “Nothing, anymore.”

  “I… see. To be honest, I don’t care much for monarchies or class-based societies like this one either,” Garfield acknowledged. “However, I doubt your organization’s intentions are entirely noble.”

  Lilah didn’t object.

  “How about this. I’ll meet with your boss. Even if we can’t come to terms, it’s better to establish friendly relations, right?”

  While Lilah thought about this, one of the bear cubs climbed into her lap, brimming with expectation. She gave in and pet the bear for a while before speaking up.

  “Okay. I can make the arrangements. Can you accompany me to one of our safe houses tomorrow evening?”

  “Oh, tomorrow evening is bad. I already have a commitment," said Garfield.

  “You’re an adventurer, right? Forgive me if this is rude, but what type of business do you have on an evening?”

  “Apparently, the royal palace is throwing a banquet in my honor.”

  “Royal Palace!? Banquet in your honor!?”

  Lilah collapsed backwards onto the bed with her legs dangling off the side. “I give up.”

  A few moments later, Lilah began snoring softly.

  In the basement below a certain establishment, the rogue reported, “Lilah made contact with the target.”

  “What? I thought she was out,” the boss responded.

  “It may have been a coincidence. She seemed to stumble into him.”

  “Unbelievable. So, what happened?”

  “She followed him back to his inn,” the rogue explained.

  “Oh? Maybe she’s more convincing than she realized.”

  “Maybe. However, he seemed to be leading the way. She didn’t exactly twist his arm.”

  “Now I’m worried. Is Lilah safe?” the boss asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s too risky to go in the inn and investigate.”

  “I can’t imagine she betrayed us…”

  “She seemed really shaken yesterday. I doubt she has anything against you or the organization, but she may not be able to keep her mouth shut.”

  “Bring in more people,” the boss ordered. “I want her and that troublemaker monitored around the clock.”

  “Aye.”