You people are really confused about bear metaphor in this manga?
How do you know it's a metaphor? They could all just be bears, and we're bringing all this "metaphor" nonsense to the text! :D
Mostly not about what it "means", just about whether the manga's reality involves it being real or some sort of delusion (and if the latter, whose). It functions pretty well the same whichever way, but it's still a valid question, and I'd say anyone who is certain sure at this point which is the case, has no real basis for their certainty.