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Chapter 3

Zerpheon fell silent for a moment.

From head to toe, every feature marked Miel as a child of the Berneir clan.

Even if her coloring was a little lighter overall and a pebble sat on her forehead in place of a jewel, that did not make a Berneir child into a panda-clan child.

“Why did you think that, little bear cub?”

“The other kids said Miel was a stray bear picked up from outside!”

“……Ah.”

So she had been bullied.

From the child’s words he easily pieced together the entire situation.

“So Miel is going to find her real mommy and daddy!”

If she went to the panda clan, she was certain she would meet her mother and father.

Zerpheon remained silent.

Beside him, Lisar rolled his eyes thoughtfully.

“So that means you don’t want to go back to the Berneir clan?”

“Mm. That place isn’t Miel’s home.”

“Do you even know where the panda clan is?”

Halt.

Miel stopped moving and slowly shook her head.

Come to think of it, Miel knew nothing at all!

‘Where is the panda clan?!’

Lisar waved a hand in front of the frozen Miel.

‘The book!’

Perhaps [The Ugly Bear Cub] would show where the panda clan was.

Miel looked around.

And found it.

“……!”

The bucket, thoroughly soaked and sticky with mud, and the belongings spilled beside it.

“Nooo!!”

Thud.

Collapsing like a tragic heroine, Miel pressed her tiny palms to the ground.

“My book!”

“A book?”

“Ung. It has the road to the panda clan in it……”

It was gone.

Miel recalled the little path drawn inside the picture book.

Even though she could not read, she at least knew that the picture was the road leading to the panda clan!

“Shall I clean this for you?”

At Lisar’s words Miel’s eyes widened.

“Yes!”

“Good. Then how about coming to our house with me?”

“House? Why?”

“Because……”

Naturally he planned to take the sweet-smelling bear home and monopolize all the good fortune!

‘But I can’t say that honestly.’

After all, the boy belonged to the cunning and valiant fox race.

Thinking he should gently coax the dull little bear cub, Lisar rolled his amber eyes.

“The panda clan is incredibly hard to find! You’ll get terribly hungry on the way, you know?”

Tilt.

“Miel can hunt.”

“E-even so, th-there won’t be any honey cakes!”

Rummaging through his pockets for something persuasive, Lisar pulled out the honey cakes a certain girl had given him when they left Berneir territory and held them up.

‘Even a stupid bear wouldn’t fall for something like this…….’

Just as Lisar squeezed his eyes shut in belated regret at his own foolishness—

“Honey cakes!”

Huh?

She fell for it?

“If you come to our house there are lots of honey cakes. Real honey too, and I can even help you find the road to the panda clan.”

At Lisar’s words Miel’s mouth rounded open, then snapped shut.

“See? She’s so stupid that even after being fooled ten times she falls for the exact same thing again.”

“They said she’d do anything she’s told—turns out it’s true.”

“You actually believed that?”

“That’s mean, you big liar.”

“It’s because of kids like you that bear beastfolk are branded dull and stupid! How can your head be so empty? Please study a little~”

Miel clenched her fists, opened her eyes wide, and planted her hands firmly on her hips.

This time she would not be fooled.

“Miel is not a dummy.”

“What?”

“You say you’ll give it but you don’t really, right? Miel’s not a dummy~”

Miel shrugged her shoulders and declared proudly. After all, Miel was a full five-year-old adult.

“Huh?”

Twitch.

Lisar’s ears shot straight up in disbelief as he tore off a piece of honey cake and popped it into Miel’s mouth.

Crunch.

“……!”

The sweet taste of the honey cake she had only ever smelled before spread through her entire mouth.

“Why would I lie about something like this?!”

Chew-chew.

Miel’s honey-colored eyes instantly filled with tears.

The honey cake she was tasting for the first time in her life was far, far, extremely, tremendously more delicious than she had ever imagined!

‘Kind person…!’

In that instant Lisar’s standing inside Miel’s heart soared dramatically.

“Here, lots of honey cakes.”

Lisar pulled the remaining cakes from his pocket and held them out piled high in both hands.

“So won’t you come to our house, little bear cub?”

“……”

Sway-sway.

Lisar’s glossy, fluffy tail swayed.

Zerpheon sighed as he watched his son lure the baby bear with honey cakes.

True to his fox-beastfolk blood, even at a mere seven years old the child was cunning to a fault.

It felt somehow familiar.

“Will you help me find Mommy and Daddy?”

“Sure, I’ll help! Right, Father?”

“……”

It sounded troublesome…….

Zerpheon slowly rolled his eyes from left to right as he thought.

He hated troublesome things more than anything in the world.

And why a bear, of all things?

To foxes, bears were…… well, simple, ignorant creatures that were almost too easy to deceive.

They seemed to think being called dull and stubborn was an insult, so they tried to act clever by using underhanded, shady tricks—yet those tricks were completely transparent.

They were dense, lacked awareness, and were stupid.

In short…… for Zerpheon, who disliked stupidity, they were not a preferred race.

‘When Lisar gets tired of her I can just send her back appropriately.’

Whether to the panda clan, the Berneir clan, or by arranging separate lodging out of pity.

Having finished his thoughts, Zerpheon curved his lips into a gentle smile and knelt on one knee.

He met the round, innocent, pure eyes—and paused.

She was rather cute.

“Little bear cub, do you perhaps not want to return to the Berneir clan?”

“……”

Nod.

Miel gave a small affirmative.

She had always believed the Berneir clan was her home.

But they said she was not a child of the Berneir clan.

In that case…….

‘Maybe Miel’s mommy and daddy are still alive.’

The claim that her mother was dead, and that her father was dead, might be a lie or a misunderstanding.

Therefore Miel would go to the panda clan herself and find her family.

“…Miel wants to see Mommy and Daddy too.”

Yet no matter how Zerpheon looked at it, the panda clan seemed like the wrong choice.

“Then will you come to my house?”

“Where is your house?”

Miel asked clearly and firmly.

The maid and the caretaker uncle had told her never to follow just anyone.

“Noctis. The territory of the foxes, much farther south than this place.”

“In the south there’s lots of sweet honey too! And tons of honey cakes!”

Lisar whispered as he placed the entire pile of honey cakes he had received from the girl before leaving Berneir right into Miel’s arms.

“Of course, th-these days there aren’t quite as many…… but there’s still some for a little bear cub!”

Lisar’s voice grew a little quieter behind her.

It sounded both lacking in confidence and a touch worried.

“You’ll come, right?”

Miel considered.

1. They had saved her when she was in danger.

2. They said they would help her go to the panda clan.

3. They said they would help her find Mommy and Daddy.

★★They really gave her a whole lot of honey cakes.★★

★★★Then the claim that there was lots of sweet honey must also be true!★★★

All right!

‘I didn’t get fooled! Miel is not a dummy.’

Miel’s eyes sparkled.

“I’ll go…!”

The clever panda(?) Miel had been magnificently hooked.

“This way.”

Watching Lisar lead the baby bear toward the carriage, Zerpheon looked at the scattered belongings.

One book, a single set of clothes soaked sticky with mud, an old bear doll, a fish that looked as if it had died after falling into the mud.

And…… a locket pendant.

‘Is that everything.’

He ordered the servants to gather everything except the fish.

‘The pendant…….’

Zerpheon’s eyes narrowed.

A design that looked somehow familiar had been engraved on it.

“Father, hurry up!”

“Yes.”

After rinsing the locket pendant once with water and tucking it into his own pocket, Zerpheon climbed into the carriage.

And so the carriage carrying the baby bear swiftly left Berneir territory behind.