Chapter 62

What comes to mind when you hear the word “bear”?

Cuddly teddy bears, forest nursery rhymes, large mountain mammals, or the myth of playing dead. While countless images exist, if you were to ask a member of the Knight Order to describe their defining characteristics, I’d put it bluntly:

A bear is an extremely dangerous animal with combat capabilities on par with a “Semi-Magic Beast.”

Depending on its size, these monsters can easily gouge out the flesh of an adult Orc—the very foes we train to fight. In fact, they are one of the few wild creatures in the Kingdom capable of going toe-to-toe with an Orc in a fair fight. Of course, that’s strictly in terms of individual strength; they’d have a rough time against an Orc hunting party.

Still, Orcs almost never build nests in bear habitats, which aren’t particularly common in the Kingdom. In short, barring invasive species, the bear sits at the very top of the natural hierarchy.

A bear, huh… Bear. Oh boy. This is bad—rarely have I ever actually fought one.

I couldn’t stop the cold sweat from trickling down my back.

I’ve fought wolves and boars during hunts and missions, so I generally understand their movements. But a bear can walk on two legs, and I have absolutely no idea what its reach or combat patterns are like. Honestly, looking at it rationally, trying to fight a bear with your bare body is a folly that makes one question their own sanity.

To make matters worse, the white thing in front of me is a “Maximum Danger” bear that likely crushes iron cages with its bare paws. Those red stains all over its body might be scars from wounds it sustained from traps.

“Hey, Pickelt, didn’t you say no bears had shown up in winter for years?”

“It’s not my fault! It’s here now, so we just have to deal with it! Whatever you do, don’t look away. With wild animals, intimidation is key. As long as you look it in the eye and don’t show your back, it shouldn’t just suddenly attack—”

“Grrrrr… rrrrrrrrr…!”

“It’s getting closer. It’s staying low; isn’t it totally planning to pounce?”

“No, no, it’s definitely an optical illusion… No, it’s not. It’s clearly approaching. Sorry, I don’t want to face reality. Can I go home now?”

“Didn’t you say it’ll chase us if we show our backs?”

“…O, Ward of Protection, grant me strength!!”

A pale-faced Pickelt rang his anti-bear bell with a pathetic jingle-jingle, but considering the bear was already this close despite the bell making noise during our earlier work, it was the height of futility. Naturally, the bear ignored it.

Now, since outrunning a fast bear that’s used to the snowy mountains is a guaranteed loss, we both tried to follow the “Bear Manual” by slowly backing out of its line of sight. However, the white bear wasn’t interested in the manual; it closed the distance at a pace far faster than ours.

The intense stench of raw fighting instinct radiated from its four-meter-tall, white-coated frame.

More than the sheer intimidation of a body that was nearly two meters tall even before standing up, a strangely fierce hostility pricked at my skin. I have no idea what pushed that white bear to commit to attacking us, but it seemed the option of “running away” was off the table.

In that case, as a knight, there was only one thing to do.

“Pickelt. I’ll draw its attention. When I give the signal, head back to the village.”

“Wh-What? You—”

“I don’t lose to anyone, but if I can’t protect you, it’ll stain the name of the Kingdom’s strongest. Just let a knight fulfill his duty.”

It’s only been a short time, but I know Pickelt is a decent guy. I figured if I said I’d be the decoy, he’d give me some lip or say he’d fight too.

So, I’d fight without even giving him the chance to speak.

A knight’s duty: to be the sword that protects the powerless citizens.

If I hesitated here, I shouldn’t have aimed to be a knight in the first place.

If we can’t run, I’ll just have to put it down. If it keeps coming, I’ll show it why my moniker is “Beheader.”

“…I’ll be back with reinforcements immediately, so please, for the love of god, don’t die. If you die here, it’ll feel like I killed you and I won’t be able to sleep.”

Already half-cowering and preparing to retreat, Pickelt muttered bitterly. Deep down, he probably wanted to run away as fast as possible, but saying that was likely his pride as a man talking. While making that casual prediction, I remembered something I needed to convey.

“If you get back to the Order, tell the Retrieval Squad that Varna took down a massive bear and we need hands to haul it back.”

“Tch… you used such cheap tricks in the snowball fight, yet you’re acting all cool now…”

Hearing his parting words—somewhere between an insult and a compliment—I hid a secretly made snowball behind my back. I signaled Pickelt with my eyes, flicked my wrist, and hurled it at the white bear with all my might.

The snowball struck the bear’s head before it could react. The power of the small stone I’d hidden inside—a classic trick from my Knight Order buddies—caused the bear to flinch.

“Gwah!?”

“Now! Go!!”

Pickelt scrambled through the snow, making his escape along the line behind my back where the bear couldn’t see him. Conversely, the bear was now entirely focused on me thanks to the stone-loaded snowball, paying no mind to Pickelt’s retreat.

Pebbles truly are god-tier items. Unlike pinecones, you can find them anywhere year-round and they’re reusable; the utility is so good it almost feels like a scam. When I told two of my friends this, they said things like, “Varna-kun… your brain…” or “You’ve caught a disease that modern medicine can’t cure.” How rude.

A knight and a white bear, facing off on the snowy mountain slope.

A brief silence; a collision of quiet killing intent.

And then—I tightened my grip on the hilt and drew my blade.

Clunk.

“…? …?”

Not understanding what happened for a second, I tried to draw it again. Clunk. The blade wouldn’t budge, as if something was snagged. I repeated the motion two, three times, until finally, I had to look away from the bear to see why my sword wouldn’t come out.

…There didn’t seem to be anything caught in it.

“…Uh-oh?”

I applied more strength, but the sword wouldn’t leave the scabbard. At this point, I started to panic. That’s impossible; I just had the blacksmith look at it recently and it was fine. What on earth was going to happen?

I struggled, rattling the hilt in a frantic attempt to draw.

The bear, perhaps mistaking my pathetic fumbling for some kind of intimidation tactic, narrowed its stance and grew wary.

I appreciate the misunderstanding, but the sword really won’t come out.

“Wait, come to think of it, the metal fittings on the carriage door were frozen shut this morning, too. Does that mean… it’s frozen?”

It seemed my beloved sword had fused with its scabbard due to the exposure to the blizzard.

“……”

“……”

After a moment of awkward silence, I ripped the sword—scabbard and all—from my belt, took a quick-draw stance, and shouted.

“Knight Varna, of the Royal Invasive Danger Species Countermeasure Knight Order!! Never mind the scabbard, have at thee!!”

“Gr… grrrr…”

Radiating enough heat to set my body on fire from pure, blistering embarrassment, I gave my formal introduction in a fit of desperation and decided to fight with the scabbard still on. Seeing the bear give a reaction that looked a bit like, “Oh… okay then,” made me want to bury myself in the snow and die.

I’m so glad I let Pickelt escape first.

Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I am glad.

Mainly for the sole reason that my pride was spared from total annihilation.

Regardless of how embarrassed I was, the threat to my life wasn’t going to vanish that easily.

Approaching with a growl in a low stance, the bear crouched deep.

The classic posture of a predator right before it pounces on its prey.

In an instant, the massive body leaped, closing in on me.

“GAAAAAH!!”

It clearly intended to pin me down and crush me with its fangs, but I lowered my center of gravity until I was ‘on the verge of falling’ and exploded with sudden footwork to accelerate. Just a split second before the bear’s attack connected, I dodged past it as if we were passing each other and immediately turned to face it again.

Hidden Style Eight: “Dancing Phoenix”. It’s a rare move within the Kingdom’s Offensive Sword Styles, used purely for movement. Because it doesn’t require transitioning into an attack, its speed is superior to any other form, and even in this deep snow, my boasted agility proved effective.

The bear’s momentum carried it straight into a coniferous tree behind me. THOOM! With a heavy impact, the tree snapped like a twig. I shuddered at the power—if I’d taken that head-on, my body would have been torn to pieces.

As expected, the snow prevented me from launching an immediate counterattack after landing, but if I couldn’t attack, I just had to switch to defensive tactics. Realizing its attack had been evaded, the bear swung a massive arm in a counter. A limb as thick as a small tree trunk came swiping down, its sharp claws carving a lethal arc through the air.

“GUOOOOOH!!”

“Not on my watch!!”

If there were no snow, I could have dodged it, but since that wasn’t an option, I swung my scabbard-clad sword with the speed of a quick-draw. Moving with the grace of a teal, I timed it perfectly to slam the flat of the scabbard against the bear’s powerful arm to deflect the force. Through a forced parry—a combination of the “Water Sweep” deflection and “Teal” quick-draw—the claws were knocked off-course, whistling past my face with a terrifying WHOOSH!

I managed to deflect it, but the weight of the blow made my hands go numb. It was likely thanks to the extra weight of the scabbard that I succeeded; a half-hearted block would have seen me crushed along with my guard.

Just what has this giant bear been eating to get this massive? Its physical strength, size, and muscle mass are abnormal for a bear. As I’d suspected since hearing Pickelt’s story, this bear likely failed to hibernate.

“The Master of the Isberg Mountains, I presume…! You could probably scatter a handful of Orcs with ease! You’d be a great asset if I could tame you, but you don’t exactly have the face of a willing servant!!”

“GAAAAARRRRRR!!”

The bear swung its heavy arm again. A downward diagonal strike followed by a feint into a charge—I evaded it again using “Dancing Phoenix,” leaping through the snow to maintain distance. Its strength was too great to risk a counter, yet the snow hampered my footing too much to go on the offensive.

This might be the biggest crisis I’ve faced since joining the Knight Order, but if I can take it down, this whole “white unidentified creature” mess will be over. Plus, we’d get to eat bear hot pot… Not that I’m specifically looking for that last part. It’s just a general observation.

“It’s keeping its distance, so a quick-draw won’t work. And with this footing, the only way to manage this is…”

I briefly considered climbing a tree, but rejected the idea knowing bears are expert climbers. However, as I thought about using the environment, something caught my eye. It was a bit far away, but if I could use that, I might just have a chance.

The problem was how to lure the white bear to that spot.

‘I’m worried that being this flashy will give away my plan. No, wait—I think Nonoka-san once said most animals can’t distinguish colors… I’ll take that bet.’

The stage wasn’t quite set yet. I needed to leap around more, to brandish my presence before its eyes even more vividly, or a certain victory wouldn’t come. To borrow the strength of “my only ally” lurking beneath the snow, I raised my voice.

“I’m fighting on your home turf and you can’t even land a single hit on me, you fake polar bear!?”

“…Grrrrrrrr!!”

Taking my shouting as a threat or a provocation, the white bear’s bloodshot eyes pierced through me. I beckoned it with a hand and flashed a provocative smirk. I didn’t expect a bear to read human facial expressions, but I just needed to keep its focus.

“GAUUUUU!!”

“Whoops!! Missed me!!”

“GUAAAAA!!”

“Hup! Have a ‘missed-me’ snowball! Boom!!”

“GOAH!? …GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

“C’mon, bear-y! Over here, follow the sound of my hands!!”

I hopped and skipped to evade the bear’s strikes, pelting it with snowballs whenever I saw an opening. When it charged in a straight line blinded by rage, I dodged again, running circles around it with reckless abandon. The snow, once a pristine white canvas, was now churned into a chaotic, muddy mess by the bear’s lumbering weight and my constant jumping.

Mind you, it might have looked like I was just playing around, but if I had failed to defend against even one swipe, it would have been an instant-death catastrophe. Every nerve in my body was firing.

Alright, the timing was about right.

‘With the snow scattered this much, there’s no way it can remember where it was.’

Just as I leapt across the snow once more toward my target location, it happened.

Rationally speaking, it was an accident bound to occur. When a knight unaccustomed to snow leaps around in “good-enough” mountain gear, something eventually gives. Facing the abnormal pressure of fighting a bear, it was actually harder not to lose one’s footing at least once.

“Whoa!? Crap… Oof!!”

Failing to land properly, I couldn’t kill my momentum and dived face-first into the snow. I immediately pushed off the ground beneath the powder to force myself up, but that opening—the moment I showed my back—was a fatal mistake to make in front of a bear.

“Damn—!!”

“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

The white monster’s mad claws closed in. Swinging down to rend the air, it was a definitive death sentence.

“—And that’s how I play the ‘fake trip’ card, which is one of my classic moves, y’know?”

Being a beast, its wild instincts forced it to chase the opening. It had no way of knowing that the “fatal” opening had been prepared intentionally.

If my opponent had been a fellow member of the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights, they would never have been so careless as to approach me in this situation.

There were two reasons for that.

First—the sturdy legs of us knights, trained to fight in unrefined natural environments, did not simply fail us during critical moments. I had already braced both feet firmly against the bear’s position while only appearing to fall.

It had been a while since I’d put my full strength into a swing, fatigue be damned. If my sword had been out of its scabbard, I might have had other options—but results were everything. That being the case, I was going to make sure this blow landed perfectly.

Drawing a breath from the pit of my stomach and circulating the stored oxygen through my limbs, I channeled all my might into the sword art, unleashing a supreme strike upon the prey that had been successfully lured into my trap.

“This is gonna hurt like hell, so try not to let your paw pop off, okay? —Fifth Form: ‘Cormorant Peck’!! CHEYAAAAAHHHH!!!”

THUD!! I stomped down with enough force to crack the earth, and the sword raised in both hands was slammed down vertically with lightning speed. The tip of the sheathed sword aligned perfectly with the trajectory of the bear’s paw, and with a thunderous CRACK!! of shattering bone and flesh, it pinned the mad claws to the ground.

A bit late, but here was the second reason a Knight would never have charged in.

Namely—right next to me and the bear stood a tree tied with a ribbon, the mark of a set trap. This spot was where a snare trap for beasts had been laid, and the exact point where I slammed the bear’s paw down was… well, you get it.

The next instant, SNAP!! With the sound of something springing, the white bear’s front paw was cinched tight by a steel wire.

“GUOH!? GUOOOOOOOOOO!?”

Panicked by the unexpected trap, the bear thrashed its front leg to tear free, but the composite wire of braided steel and cord wouldn’t snap easily, even against muscle that could snap trees.

—If the opponent had been a human, a knight who knew me, they would have sensed the trap and never come close. That was the other reason.

“You forgot, didn’t you? That this spot looked suspicious. Even if you remembered, you couldn’t quite place it… that a trap was right here.”

When the bear first appeared, the spot where the trap was buried looked slightly off because the snow had been dug up and replaced. Knowing the bear might sense it if I tried to lead it straight to a fresh trap, I had gouged out the snow all over the area to camouflage the irregularity.

Then, for the finishing touch, I used myself as live bait to guide it, and since I had no guarantee it would step on the trigger, I used my sword to force its paw into the mechanism. If this bear had shown up before Pickelt set the trap here, I wouldn’t have been able to restrain it so cleanly.

However, since no restraint was absolute, I needed to deliver the finishing blow immediately. When I gave the sword a light flick, it slid out with a smooth shiiing of metal on metal, the blade finally revealed. It seemed the impact from the last strike had broken the ice. I made a mental note to look into anti-freezing measures when I got back as I approached the bear, sword leveled.

“Well, sorry, but that’s how it goes. Between the trouble you’ve caused in the Isberg mountains and the fact that you attacked a human on sight, I can’t let you be. Are you ready?”

“…Grrrr.”

Usually, an animal will thrash with every ounce of survival instinct until its strength fails. But this white bear became oddly calm, as if it had realized something, simply growling quietly and looking up at me. It was almost as if it were telling me to get it over with.

I approached with caution and thrust.

To preserve the hide in its most perfect form and to ensure the bear didn’t suffer more than necessary, I pierced its heart in a single stroke. The bear groaned for a while, then went still.

It was a quiet end for the mountain warrior that had raged like a storm.

“Most of the traps we set ended up being a waste—Hm? Is that…”

“…Heeeey! OOOOOOOOOH!!”

Hearing something from the distance, I turned to see familiar faces approaching. It was Pickelt, whom I’d let escape, along with the usual faces of the Retrieval Squad. They must have sprinted back, but it seemed I had taken enough time for reinforcements to actually make it. Feeling the heat of battle drain from my body, I waited quietly for the noisy reinforcements to arrive.

“Varna-kun, are you okay!! I tried to bring backup, but these guys seriously only brought sleds and stretchers for the bear and I was so panicked… Whoa, that’s terrifying!? A man with a blood-stained sword standing in the middle of blood-stained snow!? What is this, a murderer at a crime scene!?”

“Hey, watch it! Is that any way to talk to a man who just survived a death struggle!?”

“Forget that, the bear!? Did you take it down!? Uooooh, I can’t wait, butchery time!! Let’s carve it up and haul it back!! Bear, bear… bear hot pot, bear steak, bear fur!!”

“My colleagues were way more ghoulish than the bear!?”

“I mean, Senior, Nonoka-san has to do the dissection first, so you can’t carve it up here! …I said no! Put that knife away!!”

It was a swifter end than I expected. At this rate, we might return to the capital the day after tomorrow and go back to being bored. Well, an easy mission is a good thing. From what I could see, the bear wasn’t an invasive species but rather a mutation, so this should have been case closed.

…Or so I thought.

“Varna-kun, this isn’t it.”

“Eh?”

“This is just a normal, large bear that happens to have white fur. The characteristics don’t match the fur we collected from the cage.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. It’s an interesting specimen since the corpse is clean, but…”

Bathed in Nonoka-san’s extremely sympathetic gaze, I felt the strength leave my body and collapsed to my knees.

I had suffered through embarrassment and a tough fight to finally take it down, only for it to be a case of mistaken identity—or rather, mistaken beast. To think I’d hit such a pointless miracle where the wrong beast looked just like the culprit. This kind of coincidence didn’t even benefit the bear.

“Was it… a meaningless battle? The Goddess of Fate should just go die. Seriously, just die…”

“Varna-kun, pull yourself together!? Your face looks like you’re about to fall to the dark side!?”

“Ahaha, I’m fine. God does not punish man. Therefore, the root of all misfortune in this world is the Orcs. Kill the Orcs. Kill them all!”

“You’re not fine at allllll!?”

Isberg Mountain Investigation: Continuation Confirmed.

—Fortunately, Varna, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown, managed to avoid falling to the dark side thanks to the power of the Three Great Mother Goddesses of the Knight Order. Mothers truly are great.