The Wizard’s Gray Bear - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

1. When You Meet a Bear in the Forest

It was an unpleasant day when the air clung damply like wet fabric.

A forest path on the outskirts, far from human habitation.

Cedric crossed through the forest while soothing his weary horse. The path was unsuitable for riding, so he had been walking on foot since earlier, making him all the more exhausted.

If only he had known it would come to this, he would have practiced his horsemanship a bit more. His riding skills, honed only on level ground, proved rather useless in the deep forest with its uneven tree roots.

“Damn fools. Blinded by the greed before their eyes, they’ve lost all sense.”

What flowed from the lips of the deeply frowning Cedric was a mature manner of speech that ill-suited his youthful face, which appeared to be at most twenty years of age.

“They’ll need to be struck on the back of the head once to come to their senses. When they realize just how precious this body is, their eyes will snap wide open. Just you wait and see.”

Though his manner of speech was entirely unsuited to his appearance, there was not the slightest awkwardness in Cedric’s attitude as he spoke these words. He gazed upon the tranquil forest path with two eyes—one blue, one black—as if day and night had risen simultaneously in the sky. An unfathomable depth of years flickered briefly in his gaze before dispersing.

“But what’s wrong with this accursed forest that there isn’t a single place to rest one’s bottom? At this rate, I’ll end up sleeping atop the trees.”

Cedric looked around with a burst of irritation. Before he knew it, the sun had begun to set, and the sunlight that had been filtering through the branches had withdrawn. Unlike the day, an ominous and suspicious atmosphere began to ripple through the air.

‘You’d best not enter that forest if you can help it. There are persistent rumors of a bear so large that even hunters cannot handle it.’

The words of a merchant who had passed by on the road before entering the forest echoed in his ears.

The merchant had deliberately stopped his cart right beside Cedric for a moment and whispered in a secretive voice.

‘More than one or two people have seen burly men flee from the forest covered in blood.’

He glanced around with fearful eyes once, then hurriedly drove his cart away. It seemed as though he feared something terrifying might leap out of the forest and seize his cart.

These days, people are nothing but cowards.

At that moment, Cedric had clicked his tongue and thought little of the merchant’s words, but now that he faced the prospect of spending the night in the forest without any preparation, he felt somewhat anxious.

It was a small forest not even properly named on maps. There were no major cities nearby, and it was a region neglected even by the kingdom’s administration. Thus, he had thought it the perfect place for someone in his position who needed to hide immediately…

“Places where people don’t gather always have their reasons.”

He had been holed up in the capital for far too long. Unlike those foolish ones who had grown corrupt with the years, he had believed himself still sharp and wise. Yet while he had been complacent that his youth would never fade, perhaps his mind had aged just as theirs had.

What had made a mere mage so confident as to choose such a path? Even in the days when he had traveled throughout the continent devoted to his research, guards had always accompanied him. Excessive faith in himself that sometimes distorted his memories was one of Cedric’s bad habits.

“Surely there isn’t an actual bear in this, is there?”

It seemed that beyond the eastern seas there were bears as charming as dolls, but the situation on the central continent was not so lenient. The beasts that emerged from deep mountains or forests were no different from monsters, save that they did not drip venom. Anyone would think the same when faced with a massive beast rearing its sharp claws and roaring.

Cedric had once encountered a grey bear face-to-face—just once. It had been over ten years ago, when he had wandered the mountains for a week investigating the flow of magical power in the Rufl Mountain Range.

The moment the ranger had briefly left his post to examine beast tracks he had discovered, a massive shadow fell over Cedric’s head.

Just like now.

“……”

The surroundings darkened instantly, as if the sun had been covered by an enormous cloud. A shadow vast enough to suggest the creature’s massive frame spread widely around Cedric.

Cedric’s mind, which had been lost in thought upon thought, froze completely.

For an instant, time seemed to stop. The nape of his neck grew cold, and his entire body stiffened like a corpse.

I’m going to die here.

Only an ominous premonition filled his mind. Just when the oppressive presence of a massive and ferocious life form made even drawing breath feel precarious.

A low voice came from above his head.

“What brings you this far?”

It was a damp and clammy voice that made it seem as though moist vines were tangling around his ankles just from hearing it. It made him feel as desolate and unpleasant as when facing a shadowy place darkened with moss where sunlight never reached.

“……”

Cedric was completely frozen.

He could not even part his lips, nor could he lift his head to identify his opponent. The other was certainly speaking human words, yet the spine-chilling sensation did not withdraw in the least. The strangely clumsy pronunciation of the common tongue and the way growling beast-like sounds mixed with the speech was peculiar.

Was that thing truly human? Might it not be a monster that bewitched people?

While Cedric hesitated with such thoughts, the voice came again.

“What brings you this far?”

It was the same slightly halting common tongue with a lifeless voice as before. The only difference was that the speaker had raised the ending slightly. The other seemed to think that Cedric had not heard his words.

“I was passing through the forest……”

Cedric barely squeezed out his voice and slowly raised his head. Blue moonlight entered his vision, which had been shrouded in shadow. His left eye, which had been deprived of light for so long, felt sharp, causing him to frown slightly.

He narrowed his gaze and looked straight ahead, but only a chest as broad as a grey bear’s entered his sight. Cedric raised his gaze a bit higher and stared upward. His blurred vision gradually cleared, revealing the form of his opponent.

“……I seem to have lost my way.”

Cedric barely managed to continue his words. The moment he confirmed the opponent before his eyes, he was completely overwhelmed.

“That was close to disaster. This place is dangerous.”

Like oil applied to old machinery, the other’s voice became somewhat smoother than before. Even so, the clammy feeling that clung to his skin did not disappear, causing Cedric to unconsciously rub his forearms.

“You are fortunate to have met me.”

The one who had cast the enormous shadow over Cedric spoke in an awkward manner, as if reciting some incomprehensible foreign language.

The opponent before his eyes was indeed a man as large as a bear. His height surely exceeded 190 centimeters, and his weight seemed likely twice that of Cedric’s. Shaggy hair covering his nape, a beard grown as if to hide his expression, and animal hide draped over his broad shoulders.

Is that bear hide?

Cedric swallowed his dry saliva. It was no wonder one might mistake the man for a bear. Had the moonlight been just a bit dimmer, he would have looked exactly like a bear.

While Cedric remained silent, observing the man’s peculiar appearance, the beard around the man’s mouth twitched slightly. Cedric, who had nearly flinched and stepped back without realizing it, belatedly realized that the man had smiled.

“The night is late. Must go home.”

The man’s voice had become somewhat clearer, but his manner of speech had grown even stranger. His eyes, half-hidden by his hair, wavered uneasily. The man hunched his large frame and rubbed his rough, chapped hands together. It was a gesture that revealed his anxiety.

Cedric asked in a careful voice so as not to provoke the man.

“How much farther must I go to exit the forest?”

The man appeared to be completely out of his right mind. This was no time to feel relieved that what he had encountered was not a bear.

“Come home. Dangerous.”

“I’m fine. I want to leave this forest as quickly as possible. Just tell me the direction and I’ll find my own way out.”

“H-home. Have dinner. Fire warm.”

The man’s speech was becoming increasingly muddled. He was as clumsy as a child just learning to speak. He waved his arms as if anxious that Cedric might leave, then suddenly grasped Cedric’s wrist.

“Dangerous. Here, dangerous.”

Though the man had grasped him gently, it felt threatening to Cedric. The man’s hand was large enough to encircle Cedric’s wrist with room to spare, and his skin was as rough as tree bark. If he applied even a little force, Cedric’s wrist—accustomed only to scribbling letters his entire life—would surely snap like a dry branch.

“W-wait a moment. Calm down, calm down.”

“Must go. Big trouble.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine on my own. First, please release this……”

“Home. Go home.”

The man began stamping his feet, unable to overcome his anxiety. The sight was as threatening as facing an excited beast, naturally.

This was clearly someone with whom words would not work. Cedric tried several times to persuade the man, only to fail and groan while attempting to pry off his hand. He tried putting his weight into it and using his other hand to tear it away, but it was utterly useless. The man didn’t even notice Cedric’s struggles and whimpered like a beast that had lost its mother.

“I say! Release this! Argh! At this rate, my wrist will break!”

“C-come. Have home. Not alone.”

“Do you know how precious this hand is? You seem not to know who I am, but don’t regret it later—while I’m speaking kindly, even now……”

Unable to continue his struggles any longer, Cedric thrashed about until dust practically rose, when suddenly the man pulled him into his embrace.

“Ruben kept waiting. Don’t want to be alone anymore.”

A sound like the rumbling of a beast’s throat echoed softly in his ear. However, Cedric had no leisure to ponder the man’s words.

The arms of the man embracing Cedric were growing stronger and stronger. His ribs were compressed with creaking sounds, and soon his breath was cut off.

“Khh, c-can’t… breathe…!”

It was not something that could be called by the tender word “embrace.” Cedric’s oxygen-starved lungs filled with the man’s thick scent, and his head grew dizzy from being crushed against that overwhelming chest.

“Please release……”

Cedric’s struggles, already drained of strength, were pitifully weak. With small movements that would have been no more than a butterfly’s wingbeat to the man, Cedric lost consciousness.

On that moonlit night, Cedric was thus abducted by the bear of the forest.