“What is it, Oleg?”
“I have something to tell you. A person from this neighborhood has come to seek the help of the Knights. A monocular bear has been sitting in the sugar beet fields and has been vandalizing them.”
“Oh my, so close to a human settlement like this, in the middle of the day?”
…Speak of the devil.
So, the sugar beets were making a fuss because their friends were being attacked by a bear?
However, even though the knights were adored by the people in the Yurinova territory, they must have been either very conceited or very cornered to call out to the knights who were guarding the duke’s coated carriage.
Ekaterina looked outside the carriage and saw the villagers lying flat on their knees, which immediately gave her an answer. They seemed to be in a desperate situation. A poor old man slowly approached us.
“Young Lady, please wait a moment.”
Forli quickly stepped out of the carriage and spoke with the man for a moment.
Then he returned with a slightly stern look on his face.
“Young Lady I’ve heard that this man has come here from another land and decided to grow sugar beets in a rented field on the outskirts of the village to make a living with his grandson. However, taking advantage of the fact that the field is far from the village, a monocular bear ended up occupying the field and trying to eat up all the sugar beets.”
Forli continued.
“I heard that the man used to live in a more remote village. He must be lying, judging from his accent. However, six years ago, when the village was swallowed by a landslide, his son and daughter-in-law lost their lives, and they could no longer live there. They are in debt and have put their hopes on the sugar beets, but if they fail, they and their grandchildren will not survive, they say.”
Ekaterina gasped.
What came to mind was the list of embezzlement shown to her by Treasurer Kimberly. Many disaster relief and reconstruction funds that were supposed to be given to villagers who suffered from landslides and other disasters had been embezzled.
Was this old man a victim of this?
“We may not be able to proceed the planned distance if we sweep up the monocular bear, but…”
“No problem. I would be happy to help.”
Ekaterina said firmly, and Forli’s expression turned into a smile.
The monocular bear was not a powerful magical beast, but the knights had not come equipped for a sweep. A strategy meeting would be necessary.
So, they all moved to a place where they could see the bear. Ekaterina was carried by knight Oleg’s horse.
Regina and the other hounds of Yurinova were left with the wagon so as not to alarm it.
Monocular bears looked like normal bears, but their heads were strangely long and slender. It was a magical beast with a single, huge eye.
The bear, probably thinking that no one would dare to challenge it, was sitting on the field, munching on a sugar beet. The sugar beet was making a small resistance, flailing about and hitting the monocular bear with a leaf. It was strangely endearing.
By the way, I heard that when the beet is pulled out, it squeals “Beep”. Strangely cute.
“It has a scar on his nose. It looks like it was defeated in a territorial dispute with its own tribe and fled to a human village like this. That’s probably why it’s starving.”
Forli said. He was indeed a wild-life, on-the-spot observer, and at sixty-five years old, had a keen eye for detail.
“The vantage point is good, so I’m sure it will notice us as soon as we approach.”
One of the knights said, crossing his arms, and Oleg nodded.
“Hmm. The surrounding fields would be destroyed, but we could rush in at once with our horses.”
“Yes, if we let the hounds hold it back and go from multiple directions at the same time.”
This sense of sharing images in a simple meeting was very professional. That’s cool.
