On the way back home with Mark, I saw several large silhouettes entering through the gate.
Their shapes were quite bulky, so it probably wasn't Monaka and the others.
Just to be safe, I jumped down from Mark's shoulder.
"Wait here for a bit. I'll check what's going on," I told Mark, then quietly approached the house.
Peeking from behind the gate, I saw four men loitering in front of the house.
"Hey, garbage! Come out already!"
"You really got us good last time!"
"Today we're gonna make you pay properly!"
Three of them had colorful mohawk hairstyles, so I immediately knew who they were.
"Oh, it's the Delinquent Triplet Brothers."
When I called out, all three turned around at once with """Huh!?"""
They seemed to still be suffering aftereffects from falling out of the tree last time, as they were wearing neck braces.
Despite their pitiful appearance, their spirit was as loud as ever. They swaggered out of the gate and started acting obnoxiously.
"Gyaha! You won't be able to act so cocky for much longer!"
"After all, today we brought our big brother with us!"
"Big Bro Boodle, take care of him!"
" Did you say Poodle?"
The large man with a dog-like face who had been standing behind them stepped forward.
He was easily twice my height and could probably match my former classmate Monsoon in size.
He was dressed in a bandit style, but unlike the Boar Triplets with their boar pelts, he wore a bear pelt over his head.
In his hand was a bear-claw weapon modeled after a bear's paw.
The Delinquent Triplet Brothers cheered wildly.
"Gyaha! Look at him, he's totally scared of Big Bro!"
"Of course he is! After all, Big Bro Boodle is feared as 'Bear-Slaying Boodle'!"
"Big Bro has torn apart countless bears with that bear claw!"
"Even the Lord of this forest would run away the moment it sees Big Bro!"
At that point, Boodle finally opened his mouth with great pomp.
"I've been wanting a new pelt, you see… I was planning to lightly take care of the Lord, but…That bastard runs away the second it hears my name…"
With a low, threatening voice, Boodle clacked his bear claw with a "Jakin!"
"So, mind if I peel your skin instead…?"
I asked casually,
"But that bear claw isn't standard equipment, right?
That means you bought it at the school store.
For someone trying to act like an outlaw, buying weapons at the school store is…"
Just imagining the scene made me chuckle without thinking.
Veins immediately bulged on their foreheads.
"You're messing with us, just dieeeee!" they charged in their usual pattern.
But even though I hadn't done anything, they screamed and flipped backward, collapsing behind them.
"Ugyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?!?"
Then, with panicked faces, they tried to flee and quickly climbed up a tree.
Wondering what was going on, I turned around and saw that Mark had somehow appeared right behind me.
The delinquents screamed with strange, half-crying expressions.
"Hyaaah!? L-l-look at that garbage's face!"
"He's completely terrified of the Lord of the forest—the bear!"
"B-Big Bro, you can take care of a bear like that easily, right!?"
"O-of course! But it'd be boring if you finish it too quickly!
S-so, let's watch from here while that garbage gets wrecked!"
I kept my hands in my coat pockets and said to Mark,
"Hey Mark, those guys say they want to take you down. Since they're here, why don't you play with them?"
Mark let out a mighty roar, "WOOOOOOOOOON!!" and stomped heavily toward the Delinquent Triplet Brothers plus one.
Since Mark was over three meters tall, he could easily reach the top of the tree.
With just light swipes of his claws, the delinquents fell into complete panic.
"Hii…!? Higyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
"D-don't come near! Don't come near! Don't come neaaaar!!"
"H-help! Help! Help meeeeeee!!"
"I-I don't wanna die! I don't wanna diiiiieeeeeee!!"
They finally broke down and started crying shamelessly.
I figured that was enough to scare them, so I ordered, "Drop them, Mark."
Mark shook the tree vigorously, sending the delinquents tumbling down like chestnuts.
Gusha! Dosha! Zusha! Mekyoo!
They hit the ground with sounds like breaking bones.
Even then they tried to run, but their legs and hips wouldn't work properly.
"W-what…!? What is that thing!?"
"He's tamed the bear that's called the Lord of this forest…!?"
"This is bad!? He really is a monster after all!?"
"A-amazing…! My idol, the bear…!
B-but right now…!"
"""R-run! Ruuuuuuuun!!?!?"""
With their legs bent at weird angles, the delinquents crawled away on all fours like injured worms.
I let out a sigh. "Yare yare…"
"At this rate, more people are going to come attack this house…
Mark, can you guard the place while I'm away?"
Mark answered energetically with a "Kuoon!"
"All right, then let's make a house for you. Your body is too big to fit in the current house. Bears usually dig holes in the ground for dens, right?"
I took out the "Forest Stone Shovel" from my coat pocket.
I aimed at the open space in front of the gate and thrust the shovel in with a "Zaku!"
However, since I didn't have any digging-related skills yet, it wasn't going well.
Instead, Mark used his claws to dig vigorously with "Zaku zaku."
"Oh, bears are good at digging holes. All right, now it's my turn."
Once the hole was dug, I used Gisu timber to build a roof in front of it.
"This way the hole won't collapse easily."
Mark let out a "Kuoon!" as if saying "I see!"
"Then I'll cover the roof with dirt…
Since we're at it, I'll add a nameplate on the roof too."
I carved a piece of leftover wood and made a nameplate that read "Mark's House."
--------------------------------------------------
Gisu Den (Inscribed "Mark's House")
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 28 (Material Level 12 + Dexterity Bonus 3 + Job Bonus 13)
A bear den reinforced with Gisu timber.
Thanks to the various bonuses, it has excellent insulation and ventilation, and is very sturdy.
--------------------------------------------------
Mark raised both paws in delight with "Kuoon kuoon! Kuoon kuooon!"
He immediately went inside to test how comfortable it was, rolling around and marking his scent.
When I peeked in, he looked very happy.
Suddenly, a voice called from behind me.
"Hello, Le-kun."
"Ah, Monaka."
The moment I turned around…
…Dokyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun———————n!!
For some reason, Monaka froze with an expression as if her heart had been pierced.
When I asked "What's wrong?", she said,
"I-I'm sorry…! P-please excuse me for a moment…!"
Monaka took a few steps back, left behind only the scent of flowers, and dashed "Babyun!" into the shade of a nearby tree.
Her bottom, visible through her robe, was trembling.
…What on earth is going on?
This was a completely new reaction from Monaka, and I felt a slight unease.
She was muttering something, so—even though I knew it was wrong—I activated the Skilled Body skill.
I raised my Five Senses parameter to enhance my hearing and listened carefully.
"…W-why!? Le-kun looks even more handsome than before…!
Le-kun is always incredibly handsome, but today he looks even more so…!
The girls in class said that handsome boys are called 'ikemen'…!
He's an ikemen…! He's too much of an ikemen, Leo-kun…!
I can't even look at Leo-kun's face properly anymore…!
Aah, what should I do, what should I do…!?
If this keeps up, I feel like I'm going to lose my mind…!"
It was the first time in my life someone had called me an ikemen.
I suddenly thought,
"…Could it be because my Charm parameter got higher?"