Chapter 56

"Roar"

"Huh?"

"Ah... well, bears have this image of being into honey, right? Are you good at breaking beehives?"

The path suddenly opened up, and we were taken aback.

If there was a path, we didn't need to teleport.

"Everyone! Let's go quickly!"

"Roar!"

We passed through the path the Punching Bear had created and took a shortcut to the nest.

We soon discovered Moshin and the others.

It seems that Itsuki is with them too.

They were in the middle of a battle with the boss.

Two of our classmates were trapped inside a large container like a bottle, pleading for help.

Was that bottle also made of the mysterious honey?

"Kosei!?"

"Are you okay, Moshin! We've been looking for you."

"Yeah, sorry! It was an emergency, so I thought you'd think I left you behind."

"We chased after the monster's tracks right away."

Just as Moshin and I were exchanging insults, a huge flapping sound and a large number of monsters attacked us.

It seems that Itsuki and the combat group, who were already with Moshin, had already taken down a considerable number of the controlled monsters.

"How did they gather so quickly?"

"It's that guy."

Looking further back, behind the captured classmates, a giant bee-like creature was watching us from the upper part of the nest.

The Sepia Parasite Queen.

Is this the boss here?

"That guy is controlling the monsters around here and sending them after us."

"We've defeated him before..."

"We only had the advantage because of the flames from the Valley Spring."

The combat group grumbled.

Indeed, fire is effective against insects.

"Hagizawa, do you have any good tools?"

"Shouldn't we just get some gasoline from Hashihashi and set it on fire?"

Hagizawa, don't give up so easily!

It would take at least ten minutes, and how many more minutes to buy gasoline?

"Let's use the usual bombs!"

"No, I've already thrown them."

Hagizawa threw bombs, knocking down the approaching monsters.

The combat group is fighting well, and we are definitely pushing them back, but the problem is that we can't reach the boss, who is far away.

The archers shoot arrows, but they are deflected by the flapping wings.

It seems that even when a powerful attack hits, the Sepia Little Parasites bring some honey and immediately heal the damage.

"If it doesn't move... but it's flying around and escaping!"

I tried to teleport to a vital spot to kill it instantly, but it's moving too much to hit.

We can defeat it, but we need to wear it down gradually. It's a troublesome situation.

"We don't have time to keep fighting! We need to prioritize rescuing the captured classmates!"

"But this wall of honey, no matter how much we break it, it immediately closes, and it's a double-layered structure."

"We couldn't leave until we defeated the boss the last time we came here."

How secure is this place!

Even if we teleport inside, it won't solve anything, and if we use Hagizawa's bombs, we might hit our classmates.

What should we do?

In the end, we have to defeat the boss.

No, maybe we can process some boards or something into a tube to help them escape.

"Kosei and the others are here, and our fighting strength has increased. Let's push them back!"

"Right!"

At that moment, the Punching Bear stepped forward.

"What? This thing!"

"Wait, this is an ally! It's the one that opened the path for us."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

The combat group looked at each other and discussed.

"Roar"

The Punching Bear swung its arms in circles, took quick steps, and leaped at the Sepia Parasite Queen, kicking off the wall.

Is this for real?

Did it read the movements of the Sepia Parasite Queen, which even the combat group was struggling with?

"---!?"

The Sepia Parasite Queen, making a huge flapping sound, was caught off guard and collided with the Punching Bear.

"Roar Roar Roar!"

The Sepia Parasite Queen tried to shake it off, but the Punching Bear's attack didn't stop.

It punched the face multiple times, bit and tore off the wings, and fell to the ground. Then, it drew back its fist, wrapped in a wind punch, and delivered a final blow.

"Roar Roar!"

Then, it twisted... The Punching Bear used the same attack I used on the boss.

The Sepia Parasite Queen's head cracked and shattered, turning into light and disappearing.

I remember this Punching Bear... It has a special ability called Insect Killer.

"Wow... amazing"

"Roar"

The Punching Bear raised its fist in victory and ran to me.

"Roar"

It tilted its head, looking for praise, so I petted it, and it made a happy sound.

Thanks to the boss's disappearance, the bottle-like cage holding the classmates collapsed.

"Th-thank you!"

"The MVP is this bear."

"Hashihashi, the owner, too."

"By the way, how did you make it an ally?"

Everyone asked me.

"Let's evacuate to a safe place first. I need to give Hashihashi the item he asked for... We can talk about it over a meal."

"Right... Standing here won't do any good."

"We were moving to get out of the forest anyway."

Everyone agreed with my words and left the beehive, returning to the resting point.

We ate the Japanese food we had prepared, which had cooled down, and took a break.

"Phew... I was worried about the sudden attack... The boss suddenly took two of our classmates."

"Then came the attack by the large monster. It was a bit dangerous."

"I guess I should... not return to Japan..."

I muttered, and Moshin tapped my forehead.

"Don't worry about it."

"Roar!"

Moshin petted the Punching Bear, which looked content.

"Thank you. We owe you."

"I agree. We owe you."

When I praised it further, the Punching Bear blushed and covered its cheeks with its hands, looking embarrassed.

What kind of reaction is this?

"Roar Roar"

"I think we should give it some kind of reward... What does a bear like?"

"Probably food, right?"

"Maybe a fancy steak?"

"Roar?"

The Punching Bear was already licking honey from a small beehive it had found in the nest.

Is that its reward?

"Is the food on us too?"

"Maybe we should feed it some monster meat."

"Is a bear carnivorous? Honey seems to suit it."

I think bears are omnivores... but the rules of this world's monsters are unknown.

I'll experiment later to see what it can eat.

Japanese food is probably better than what's here.

"By the way, Itsuki, did you get enough materials?"

"Yep."

Itsuki, who had been tending to everyone, came over and started playing with the Punching Bear.

When Itsuki roared, the Punching Bear roared back, playing with her.

What are they doing?

"What are you doing?"

"It looked fun."

"Ah, yeah... but"

"From what you said earlier, yeah. We have the materials. The large bee turned into light and disappeared, but there were large needles and feathers left at the spot."

Itsuki showed us the needles and feathers she had collected from the storage.

"We can probably make weapons with these."

"Will they make good weapons?"

"The enemies here were also defeated by the Valley Spring group... I think they had similar weapons for the boss class."

Maybe they already have them?

"Does the boss respawn? How often does it appear?"

I asked the combat group.

"We haven't measured it specifically, and we haven't encountered it many times, but it should be safe for about a week."

That's good... At that moment, I suddenly felt very tired.

I tried to steady myself as I swayed.

"Roar"

The Punching Bear stood behind me, supporting me.

"I'm fine. Thanks for everything."

"Roar"

Whoa. Don't lick my face.

It's covered in honey and smells sweet.