Meeting Kuma-san in the forest.

Or, to put it another way, encountering a bear in the forest.

And right now, I was a little girl.

Logically speaking, this wasn’t going to turn into one of those peaceful scenes from that famous song.

You could even call it a life-threatening situation.

“Kyaaa! A beeeear!!”

Without hesitation, I summoned the gigantic Earth Sword and raised it overhead.

But the moment I got a good look at the bear…

I hesitated.

The creature before me completely defied common sense.

That bear…

Was actually shorter than I was.

It was barely a meter tall and walked on two legs.

The easiest way to describe it…

It looked like a slightly rough-looking teddy bear.

Then, as the bear curled its lips into a grin like a human…

It did something even more unbelievable.

It spoke.

“Put that dangerous thing down, little miss.”

“I’m not your enemy.”

The harmless-looking bear…

No, Kuma-san would be a more fitting name…

Completely erased my sense of danger.

Boom!

I tossed the Earth Sword to the side of the road, where it landed with a thunderous crash.

Flinching slightly at the noise, I looked back at Kuma-san.

“That’s an Earth Sword made with earth magic, isn’t it?”

“Aren’t you going to dismiss it?”

“I… don’t know how…”

“I-I see.”

“So you don’t know how to make it disappear…”

With an exasperated look, Kuma-san stared at the enormous Earth Sword lying by the roadside.

He wasn’t wrong.

Leaving such a gigantic sword in the middle of the road would only get in the way.

If I could make it disappear, I certainly would.

Unfortunately, I’d never managed to dismiss it before.

All I could do was hope it would eventually run out of magic and return to ordinary earth.

“More importantly, this forest is dangerous.”

“Monsters roam these woods.”

“Even if you can use earth magic, a little girl like you has no business being here.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“The green creatures attacked my village.”

“I ran away.”

I explained everything that had happened, using gestures whenever words weren’t enough.

“The green creatures?”

“Goblins!?”

“The goblins attacked your village!?”

“The nearest village ahead should be Westwood Village.”

“What happened to your parents?”

“Were there any other survivors?”

‘So that village was called Westwood Village…’

“As far as I could tell…”

“There weren’t any survivors…”

“I see…”

“If we leave them alone, those goblins will attack another village or town.”

“There should be another village nearby called Westlake Village.”

“That’s probably their next target.”

“We need to warn the village immediately and send a rider to the city so they can dispatch knights or adventurers.”

“We’re leaving now.”

“I can’t just abandon you here.”

“Hop on my back.”

With that, Kuma-san turned around and presented his back to me.

“Are you sure I won’t crush you?”

“That’s rude.”

“I’m stronger than I look.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of the wild!”

“Then… I’ll take you up on that.”

Kuma-san effortlessly lifted me onto his back and started running at an impressive speed.

“Whoa!”

“You’re amazing!”

“You really are incredibly strong!”

“Of course I am!”

“Though, to be honest, it’s just Body Enhancement magic.”

“Body Enhancement?”

“Magic?”

“Well, you’re still so young.”

“It’s no surprise you haven’t heard of it.”

“You can already use earth magic.”

“You might have the talent to learn it too.”

‘Body Enhancement…’

If I could use something like that, I’d probably be able to move with superhuman strength.

I definitely wanted to learn it.

“By the way…”

“I never asked your name.”

“I’m Rinne.”

“Hm?”

“Rinne?”

“Is something wrong with my name?”

“No…”

“It’s nothing.”

“I guess I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

“My name’s Kumajirou.”

“Everyone just calls me Kuma-san.”

He proudly introduced himself while giving a thumbs-up.

‘I’m pretty sure people call you that because you’re literally a bear… not just because of your name.’

After running for a while, the entrance to another village came into view.

Carried on Kuma-san’s back, I arrived at the entrance to Westlake Village.

We needed to warn them that the goblins might attack next and have them summon adventurers to hunt them down.

“Stop right there!”

“You little bear…?”

“…And the little girl riding on it!”

The moment we approached, the village gatekeepers became extremely wary.

There were two of them standing before a simple wooden gate.

One was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a beard.

The other was a quiet-looking young man with messy brown hair.

Seeing a tiny bipedal bear carrying a little girl on its back had clearly left them completely bewildered.

“I-Is that bear your familiar!?”

The older gatekeeper apparently assumed Kuma-san belonged to me.

“I’m not a suspicious bear.”

“I’ve got urgent news this village needs to hear.”

“T-The bear talked!?”

“Y-You suspicious bear!”

Kuma-san tried to convince them he wasn’t suspicious.

It only made them more suspicious.

Realizing this wasn’t getting us anywhere, I climbed off Kuma-san’s back and stepped in.

“More importantly…”

“The goblins may attack this village.”

“My own village has already been wiped out.”

“W-What!?”

“Goblins!?”

“Is that true?”

“It’s true.”

“The village that was attacked was Westwood Village.”

“If that’s true…”

“Then this village will be next.”

“Wait here.”

“I’ll report this to the village chief.”

“Pozul.”

“You stay here and keep an eye on them.”

“Got it…”

Leaving the quiet young man behind, the older gatekeeper hurried into the village.

A short while later, he returned with an elderly man who had white hair and a long white beard.

The old man looked every bit the village elder.

“I am Gods, the chief of this village.”

“So you two are the suspicious bear and little girl who brought us news of the goblins?”

‘That makes it sound like I’m suspicious too…’

I was just an ordinary little girl wearing shabby clothes.

The obviously suspicious one was the unusual bear standing beside me.

Still, saying that wouldn’t help matters, so I kept quiet.

“That’s right.”

“I’m Kumajirou.”

“This little miss is Rinne.”

“She’s the only survivor of her village.”

“I found her wandering around alone and brought her here.”

“So a bear really can talk…”

“Dakan.”

“Go fetch the hunter, Jonas.”

“Tell him to investigate Westwood Village.”

Before long, the village hunter sprinted out through the gate.

That must have been Jonas.

It looked like we’d be waiting here for a while.

Grrr…

My stomach growled loudly.

Come to think of it…

When was the last time I’d eaten?

“That won’t do.”

“You must be starving, little miss.”

“Come to the village.”

“We can’t offer much, but we’ll prepare a meal for you.”

“Chief.”

“What about the bear?”

“That bear may be a Sacred Beast.”

“Allow him into the village.”

“W-What!?”

“A Sacred Beast!?”

“Oh?”

“So the old man’s heard of me?”

“You’re pretty knowledgeable.”

“Ho ho ho.”

“I’ve only heard a little.”

“A talking beast must surely be a Sacred Beast, no?”

“Well…”

“There was a time when people called me the Sacred Beast Fenrir.”

“Huh!?”

An odd sound escaped my mouth.

‘Fenrir…?’

‘You’re not even a wolf!’

Kuma-san and I were invited to have dinner at the village chief’s house.

Dinner consisted of black bread and a bland soup.

“This is hard…”

“What is this?”

“It’s like chewing on a rock.”

As I gnawed away at the hard black bread, I asked Kuma-san.

“Little miss.”

“You’re supposed to soak the bread in the soup to soften it first.”

“Is this kind of bread normal around here?”

“In poor villages like this, some families survive on nothing but black bread and water.”

“This meal is actually one of the better ones.”

According to Kuma-san, black bread was dried to extend its shelf life.

You soaked it in soup to soften it before eating.

It didn’t taste very good.

If even the village chief’s household ate meals like this, the village truly must have been poor.

“You’ve had a long walk from Westwood Village.”

“You should stay here tonight.”

“We’ll prepare a room for the Sacred Beast as well.”

“That’s fine.”

“The little miss and I can share a room.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

Still chewing my softened bread, I nodded.

After dinner, we were shown to the same room.

“Little miss.”

“There’s something we need to talk about.”

‘What’s this?’

Kuma-san had suddenly become serious.

‘Did he somehow figure out I’m a reincarnated person?’

It wouldn’t really be a problem if he did…

Though he might think I was creepy.

“The knights and adventurers probably won’t make it here in time.”

‘Oh.’

So that wasn’t it.

“Even on horseback, the nearest city with adventurers is three days away.”

“That’s six days for a round trip.”

“It’ll take at least another day for the hunter to confirm the attack and report back.”

“So even under the best circumstances, the adventurers won’t arrive for seven days.”

“I think the goblins will attack again within a few days.”

I had no way of knowing whether Kuma-san’s prediction was correct.

It was probably based on years of experience.

Considering he was intelligent enough to use magic, I had every reason to trust his judgment.

If he was right…

This village could suffer the same fate as mine in just two or three days.

“But your magical power is extraordinary.”

“With magic like yours…”

“You might actually be able to save this village.”

“So tell me.”

“What do you want to do?”

“If you decide to abandon this village and run away…”

“I won’t blame you.”

“That choice is yours.”

Honestly…

I was terrified of fighting.

Part of me wanted to run.

But I couldn’t stand the thought of those goblins coming here and slaughtering everyone they pleased.

Even now, just remembering those green monsters made anger well up inside me.

Perhaps it was the rage of the little girl whose family had been murdered.

At the same time, my rational mind from my previous life remained.

Yet…

Both of us had already reached the same conclusion.

“I can’t forgive them for killing the people of this village however they please.”

“I want to stop them.”

“I figured as much.”

“But right now, all you can do is summon that Earth Sword and swing it around.”

“You’ve managed to catch the goblins off guard so far.”

“But if someone as fragile as you takes even one hit…”

“It’ll be over.”

He was right.

Every battle I’d fought so far had been surprise attacks against careless goblins.

If they’d simply thrown stones at me…

I might already be dead.

“Then I’ll teach you how to use magic.”

“I honestly don’t know how much you’ll learn in just a few days.”

“But after seeing that Earth Sword…”

“I think you might actually be able to pull it off.”

That night, I went to bed early on a straw mattress.

Whether it was because of everything that had happened or simply because this was the body of a little girl, my eyelids quickly grew heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.