IBDFSML 47

‘I wonder what this is?’

I stared at the man.

‘My instincts are telling me something.’

Then suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

“Ah.”

I spoke, just in case.

“Hey, is your name Hans?”

Hans was the son of the village chief, Paula, who had recently gone missing.

At my question, the man suddenly turned toward me. Then he slowly walked closer.

“…W-what the…?”

The stranded man, presumably Hans, looked at me curiously and brought his dirty finger toward me.

“…small person.”

“…?”

“Shiny. Pretty.”

“…??”

Before his finger could touch me, Sone stopped him with his hand.

Only then did I belatedly panic.

“Hey! How dare you try to touch me with those filthy hands!”

At my sharp reaction, the man flinched in surprise, then looked dejected and stepped back.

Garen, watching this, spoke awkwardly.

“…It seems proper communication will be difficult. Even if we send him back to the village, in this condition he might get lost again.”

“…I see.”

Everyone’s attention turned to the troublesome survivor.

The man, who had been sulking just moments ago after my scolding, was now crouched down, drawing in the snow with his finger.

“…What should we do, young lord?”

“……”

Sone silently stared at the man as well.

Then Sone’s eyes narrowed.

“…What is that?”

I followed his gaze to the drawing in the snow.

There were dozens of circles drawn on the white surface.

“…This… monster.”

“…!”

“…!!”

“…!?”

At the man’s words, Sone, Garen, and Diene quickly gathered around him.

“It seems he encountered a monster. But from this drawing alone, we can’t tell what kind…”

“Considering there are over twenty circles, it’s likely a swarm-type monster rather than a single entity.”

“Diene. Do you have any idea what it might be?”

At Sone’s question, Diene shook her head.

“No. Not with these clues.”

“I see.”

Then the man muttered again.

“Monsters… scary. They took people away.”

“…Then it wasn’t just random killing. It was hunting for prey.”

“…That means there may be other survivors.”

“Yes, possibly.”

For some reason, I felt a chill and moved closer to Sone.

“What is this? Did the genre just suddenly shift into a creature story?”

After a moment, Sone gave an order.

“I, Garen, and Diene will track the monster. Divine Priest Genebia, you stay here with the survivor.”

“Ah, understood.”

Genebia answered, unable to hide her relief.

I said nervously,

“Wouldn’t it be better to take Genebia with you? If someone gets injured during the fight…”

“No. If we don’t know what kind of monster we’re facing, bringing a non-combatant would only slow us down.”

“…Hmph, I guess so.”

He looked worried I might run off and leave them, then glanced down at me.

“Rin, if you want, you can stay here. It might be a dangerous battle.”

“Ehh? No way. I’m going with you, Sone. I’m fighting too.”

“You seem afraid of monsters.”

“Me? Not at all.”

I puffed out my chest and flapped my wings.

“Trust me, Sone! I’ll protect you!”

“…I appreciate that.”

Sone said flatly.

But for a brief moment, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly before returning to normal.

We followed the monster’s traces to a valley between snow-covered cliffs.

The trees at the entrance were twisted unnaturally, and the surroundings were eerily silent.

The cold, ominous atmosphere made me break into a cold sweat.

“…This feels bad.”

As chills ran down my neck, I shivered.

“You’re trembling.”

“No? Not at all. It’s just cold.”

I pressed myself close to Sone.

Soon, we entered the dim interior of the valley.

Beyond the snow and frost-covered entrance lay a dark, deep passage.

Then Garen pointed ahead.

“Look there.”

Where he pointed was something like a white curtain stretched between the cliffs on both sides.

Sone stepped closer.

“…This is…”

It was a wall made of dozens of thin white threads tangled together.

“It’s… a spider web?”

Calling it a web didn’t do it justice. Each strand was thicker than my finger, shimmering sharply with frost.

“…No way.”

Diene examined it carefully, her expression dark.

“But in a place like this…?”

Then I noticed something hanging from the web like a cocoon.

“Hey, what’s that?”

I cautiously approached and poked it.

A weak groan came from inside as it wriggled.

“…!”

I flapped my wings.

“There’s someone inside!”

As expected, a faint voice came from within.

“P-please… help…”

Sone immediately threw a dagger, cutting the cocoon down.

Inside was a man barely clinging to consciousness.

“Are you a resident of Litten Village?”

The man nodded weakly.

“Any other survivors?”

He shook his head.

“…I see. Garen.”

“Yes, young lord.”

Garen lifted the man onto his shoulder and headed toward the entrance.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Soon, only Sone, Diene, and I remained.

“Diene. Any idea what this is?”

At Sone’s question, Diene said seriously,

“…Yes. I suspected it, but it seems it really is that one.”

“That one?”

Before she could answer, something fell onto my head.

Plop.

“…Huh?”

I reflexively looked up.

And then—

“….”

Dozens of circles met my gaze.

More precisely, dozens of round eyes.

I froze and called out to Sone.

“Hey… Sone?”

Sone and Diene looked up where I was staring.

A moment of silence passed.

“…It’s that one.”

Diene said quietly.

“Spider-type mid-tier monster, Tagas.”

“……”

Dozens of eyes stared down at us and blinked in unison.

A chill ran down my spine.

Then Sone slowly drew his sword.

Srrrng.

He whispered to me,

“Rin. Come here.”

Instead of flapping my wings, I silently landed on his shoulder.

Diene spoke sharply,

“…I don’t know why Tagas is here, but this might be more troublesome than expected. Retreat if necessary.”

“No. I will kill it here.”

“…Is that possible? Spider-type monsters are notoriously troublesome.”

“It has to be. If we don’t kill it, neither we nor the villagers will survive.”

At that moment, Garen returned.

“I’m back. Unfortunately, the survivor from earlier has died…”

Tagas’s eyes all turned toward him at once.

Garen’s face went pale.

“…So it is a spider-type monster.”

“Good timing, Garen. Help us.”

At Diene’s words, Garen drew his sword and stood on Sone’s right side.

And then—

Kikik. Kik.

The moment of hesitation ended.

“Here it comes.”

Thud. Thud.

Tagas began moving its eight legs, crawling down the wall toward us.

Then it charged.

‘Fast!’

“Dodge!”

Sone, Garen, and Diene scattered in different directions and immediately counterattacked from multiple sides.

Crack.

Kikigigik!

One of its legs was severed, and its armor cracked, but the monster let out a grotesque screech and thrashed wildly.

Boom. Crash.

As it slammed into the cliffs, debris rained down from above.

Sone’s expression hardened.

“The terrain is bad.”

Diene shouted,

“Its neck area has no armor! That’s its weak point—finish it in one strike!”

She leapt toward it.

“Wait, Diene!”

Garen shouted, trying to stop her.

But Diene slid beneath the monster with skilled agility and thrust her sword upward toward its neck.

At that moment—

Papapap!

“What?!”

Baby spiders hidden under its body fired webs at her.

Diene was caught and bound to the ground.

“Damn it…!”

Her face turned pale as Tagas raised its front leg toward her.

Garen shouted desperately,

“NO!!”