New chapter of May Our Village be Happy is out (2/2 chapters)

Horned Bear (1)

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When December arrived, the air began to take on the chill of winter. As the second winter since Mika had come to this village approached, he continued his days of steady land cultivation without change.

As usual, he was felling trees and digging up stumps when it happened…

“Mika-sama! Mika-sama!” (Jeremy)

From the east of where Mika was working, near the area where the villagers were herding pigs, Jeremy came running. He looked terribly flustered.

“It is a Horned Bear! A Horned Bear has appeared!” (Jeremy)

“What!? I-I am coming immediately!” (Mika)

Hearing Jeremy’s cry, Mika’s expression changed, and he began to run. The large axe that he had been wielding with magic floated and followed him as he hurried toward the others. Beside him ran his guard, Dimitri.

“Dimitri, prepare my crossbow!” (Mika)

“Understood!” (Dimitri)

Whenever Dimitri accompanied Mika into the forest as his guard, he carried, in addition to his own battle axe, a repeating crossbow made specifically for Mika. Receiving his master’s command, he took the crossbow from his back and drew a magazine from his belt. Holding the axe in one hand, he skillfully attached the magazine to the crossbow.

“Jeremy, is anyone injured? How large is the Horned Bear?” (Mika)

“When I left to call you, only the pigs had been attacked. Everyone else was unharmed! The Horned Bear looked to be around three meters tall! Probably an adult male!” (Jeremy)

Running ahead to guide Mika, Jeremy answered quickly.

“I see… It must have come close because it could not find enough food before hibernation.” (Mika)

The Horned Bear, as its name suggested, looked like a bear with a horn on its forehead. It was one or two sizes larger than an ordinary bear, with thick and hard fur. Its strength matched its massive frame, and a single strike of its foreleg could kill even a heavily armored knight. To fight it directly, one needed many bows or crossbows, or more than ten soldiers armed with long spears and great courage to surround and bring it down. It was said to be one of the most dangerous creatures in the Dariander region.

Normally, however, Horned Bears dwelled deep within the forest and rarely appeared near human settlements. Only on rare occasions, when one failed to prepare for hibernation, would it emerge to seek food before winter. This appeared to be one such case, yet Mika could not help but think his luck unfortunate that it had appeared in his own territory.

Before long, Mika and his companions reached the site of the Horned Bear’s appearance. Most of the villagers had already fled from the forest back toward the village, while a few men remained at a distance, brandishing wooden spears and slings, watching the beast warily.

In their line of sight, several pigs were tied by ropes to trees as bait. Squealing and running in circles, the poor pigs were being chased one by one and struck down by the Horned Bear.

As Jeremy had reported, the Horned Bear was quite large. The sharp tip of the horn on its forehead was the mark of a male, known to be more ferocious than a female.

“Is everyone all right!?” (Mika)

“Mika-sama! We are safe. There are no dead or injured.” (Marcel)

When Mika ran up to the men, Marcel, who seemed to be directing them, replied.

“We tied the more aggressive pigs to the trees so they would not escape. While they acted as bait, we evacuated the others. It was Luis’s idea.” (Marcel)

“I see. I am glad there were no casualties. Well done, Luis.” (Mika)

Turning his gaze to Luis as he spoke, Mika saw the quiet man nod silently, still holding his sling.

“Mika-sama, shall we drive the Horned Bear away?” (Villager)

“No, if possible, we should kill it. That Horned Bear has now learned it can easily find food here. It may come again. It would be better to kill it.” (Mika)

In answer to one of the villagers, Mika lowered his axe to the ground and used magic to lift the repeating crossbow that Dimitri had placed beside him.

“I will take it down with this crossbow. Everyone, form a semicircle and keep it in check–…” (Mika)

“Mika-sama! The Horned Bear is facing this way! It seems to have killed all the pigs!” (Dimitri)

At Dimitri’s report, Mika turned to face the Horned Bear, meeting its gaze.

The Horned Bear was intelligent. Rather than being satisfied with one prey, it would kill everything in sight and then carry it back to its den to eat slowly. Now that all the pigs had been slain, it would not be strange if the beast decided to hunt the remaining prey, the humans as well.

As expected, the Horned Bear, perhaps seeing them as its next meal, began to approach. Though it moved with some caution toward the unfamiliar group of small, weak-looking creatures, it steadily closed the distance.

“F-Form ranks!” (Mika)

Mika shouted, raising his crossbow and drawing the string.

The skilled physical magic user he had fought in spring had been a terrifying opponent, yet facing a savage monster like this brought a different kind of fear. Meeting the Horned Bear’s gaze sent a primal terror rising from deep within him. It was fortunate that the trembling of his body did not carry into the crossbow.

The villagers, though frightened, did not flee since their lord Mika stood his ground. They hurried to stand beside him, weapons ready.

Dimitri drew the sheath from his battle axe and stood at Mika’s side, ready to shield his master with his body if necessary.

Since autumn, after the padded armor had arrived, Dimitri had worn it regularly as the retainer in charge of combat. The armor, sometimes called cloth mail, offered some protection, but against a Horned Bear, known to have killed even knights in chainmail, it was still inadequate. Mika knew they must defeat the beast from a distance before Dimitri was forced to act as a shield.

The Horned Bear, having closed the distance, rose on its hind legs, perhaps intending to intimidate the standing humans with its superior height.

“Gwooooooooh!” (Horned Bear)

It roared, a sound that was less a voice and more a vibration that shook the air.

“Ohhh…” (Mika)

Mika let out an awed and fearful sound, overcome by the sheer force of the roar.

Jeremy’s report had been accurate. Standing upright, the Horned Bear exceeded three meters from head to foot. It was like a monster from legend.

Now that the target had made itself larger, he should strike while he could. Thinking this, Mika used the “magical hand” to pull the crossbow’s trigger. The string snapped forward, and the bolt shot out.

“Gwoh!” (Horned Bear)

The first shot struck true, burying itself deeply in the creature’s neck. With a pained groan, the Horned Bear dropped to all fours.

Mika fired again, three times in total, about once per second. The first bolt hit the right foreleg, the second struck inside the mouth, and the third pierced the eye. Each impact made the great body tremble until, finally, it collapsed.

“A-amazing! As expected of Mika-sama!” (Jeremy)

“To think such a massive Horned Bear would fall so quickly… truly splendid.” (Marcel)

Beside the excited Jeremy, Marcel spoke in admiration. The other villagers too voiced their astonishment and praise for Mika.

“Haha, thank you, everyone. The large crossbow truly shows its worth.” (Mika)

“Yes. With this power and rate of fire, no creature could stand against it.” (Dimitri)

Smiling at their praise, Mika spoke with Dimitri.

Ordinarily, a large crossbow required a pedal to draw the string, but when fired, its bolts were extremely powerful, far beyond what living creatures could endure. Even the Horned Bear, the mightiest being in the Dariander region, with its thick and sturdy fur, could not withstand bolts that could pierce armor within effective range.

“Still, it is enormous.” (Dimitri)

“Indeed. This is my first time seeing a Horned Bear up close, and I am astonished that such a creature exists.” (Mika)

Walking together toward the fallen Horned Bear, Mika spoke while firing another bolt into its head at close range to be sure.

“Whoa, incredible! It is huge!” (Villager)

“This is a real monster.” (Villager)

“I am glad we did not have to fight it up close with spears…” (Villager)

“Haha, to think there is a creature larger than Dimitri.” (Villager)

“Shut up, I will knock you flat.” (Dimitri)

The villagers surrounded the Horned Bear’s corpse, exchanging words of amazement. Someone made a joke, and Dimitri replied gruffly but without real anger.

It seemed that the last time a Horned Bear had appeared near the village was decades ago, and most of those present had not yet been born. For nearly all of them, this was their first time seeing one so near.

“Mika-sama, how shall we bring this back to the village?” (Villager)

“Hmm, that is a good question.” (Mika)

Asked by one of the villagers, Mika looked down at the massive body of the Horned Bear, murmuring with a troubled expression.

 

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