Chapter 33. I Met the Lord.

The Arachne Queen was a monster that was difficult to handle with the territory's strength alone.

It was a situation where the damage could have grown exponentially if Simon hadn't arrived at the right time.

Therefore, Grainy had quickly requested help from the lord.

Up to this point, there were no problems.

“The news must have reached the lord. The only fortunate thing is that there wasn't enough time to finalize a contract. We can still fix this.”

However, that Arachne Queen had died.

The difficulty of the subjugation changes drastically with the presence or absence of the Arachne Queen.

Naturally, the cost is also worlds apart.

The forces gathered to kill the Arachne Queen would become a grand waste.

Would the lord, who spent money that didn't need to be spent, argue with the Knight Order or the mercenaries?

When his opponents were holding swords?

Naturally, that anger would be directed towards the easier target.

Especially towards Grainy, who had reported the existence of the Arachne Queen.

“I have to report the situation as quickly as possible-”

Grainy, who was hastily preparing to leave, staggered.

She barely managed to support herself by leaning against the wall, but her movements were not free.

Well, a patient with a head injury even drank alcohol…….

“Don't you have things like potions here?”

“What do you expect from a ranch? If I had one, I would have used it yesterday.”

Don't most homes have at least a first-aid kit?

Of course, a potion is a hundred times more expensive.

“The Guild Master carried a high-grade potion. I thought since you were also a former mercenary, Ms. Grainy, you would have at least one emergency potion.”

“That bastard Wade, it seems he still had the potion I gave him when I retired. I gifted it to him since it's more necessary for mercenaries than for a ranch owner-”

Grainy smiled weakly.

So it was a more important item than I thought.

It would be best to keep it a secret that I used that potion because of Pol.

“Are you smiling right now? At this rate, you won't even make it to the city, let alone to the lord.”

“It can't be helped.”

Grainy said as she firmly grabbed my hand.

“You go.”

“……Yes?”

* * *

I was still confused.

In any case, the message had to be delivered to the lord, and since I couldn't send the clueless Pol, it was right for me to go.

‘A wanted man willingly going before a lord, how ironic.’

The possibility of someone recognizing me was low, but not non-existent.

As Simon said, it might be better to dye my hair first.

Of course, for now, no one would pay any attention to my face.

The reason was simple.

“I know it's necessary, but it still feels unpleasant.”

I looked down at the Arachne Queen's head in my hand.

It was proof that the Arachne Queen was there, and that it had been subjugated.

It was a means of conversation far more persuasive than a hundred words from me.

“Hoo-”

The city where the lord resided drew near.

It was slightly larger compared to Dejong.

There were quite a few guards protecting the outer castle walls.

As I approached the castle gate, the guards aimed their spears at me.

“Freeze!”

Unlike in Dejong where they conducted inspections lackadaisically, this was a very well-trained response.

I wondered if it reflected the lord's disposition.

“Ah. I'm-”

“Shut up!”

The moment I tried to open my mouth, the tip of a spear drew closer.

“Restrain him for now!”

This was beyond just tight security.

‘Did they perhaps recognize me?’

If so, it was better to run now.

Evading a few soldiers wasn't that difficult a task.

The moment I was mapping out an escape route in my head.

“P-put that head down! You murderer!”

“……Ah?”

At the guard's words, I understood the situation.

I was holding the head of the Arachne Queen.

Although it was a bit large, at a glance, it didn't look much different from the head of a human female.

So, in their eyes, I might have looked like a psychopathic murderer casually carrying a person's head.

I had been so concerned about my identity being discovered that I hadn't thought of it in this way.

It was a relief that I hadn't rashly tried to escape.

If I had, ‘Ben the Mercenary’ would have also been added to the wanted list.

“It's a misunderstanding. This is-”

“Hiiiek!”

The guards freaked out when I lifted the Arachne Queen's head to explain.

I could understand them not recognizing it as a monster's head, but even so, for guards of a city, making such a fuss over a single human head was not a good look.

……Was ‘single’ the right word?

Anyway.

“It's a monster's head. Look.”

I turned the Arachne Queen's head over and showed them the severed section.

A human would have cervical vertebrae and cut flesh, but since the Queen was also an Arachne, she basically had an exoskeleton structure, so her neck was just a cylindrical shell.

Moreover, it was stained with the unique green body fluid of a monster, so if you looked closely, you could clearly tell it was a monster.

“Get that thing away from me!”

“Here, the jaw structure is different from a human's too.”

To help them understand, I pried open the Arachne Queen's jaw.

As the mouth gaped open, it revealed that while the outward appearance was similar, the structure was completely different.

However, contrary to my intentions, the guards' wariness did not easily subside.

“Keuk.”

To faint just from seeing a monster's corpse.

What a weakling of a guard.

“……It really looks like a monster.”

“Have you ever seen a monster like that?”

“No. But, if that's not a monster, what is it?”

“My goodness, to think there's such a gruesome monster in the world.”

The guards who hadn't lost their minds were busy whispering amongst themselves.

Still, the tips of their spears were now pointed more towards the Arachne Queen's head than at me.

“I have something to tell the Lord regarding this monster. Could you please guide me to him?”

I don't have time for this.

Stop being a nuisance.

“Ahem. I will report to the Lord first, so wait here!”

A man who seemed to have a relatively high rank among the guards shouted at me and went inside the castle.

Would it be slander to say that it felt like he was making an excuse to get away from this spot?

* * *

A short time after the guard went to report.

I was guided before the lord.

‘A lord of his stature would normally speak to a commoner indirectly through an aide.’

The fact that he wanted to see and speak to me directly made me think he was someone who didn't stand on ceremony.

If so, I might be able to have a comfortable conversation.

That hopeful thought was shattered the moment I stood before the lord.

“Even for a monster, it has a passable face. It would have been nice to have seen it alive.”

The stout lord clicked his tongue as he looked at the Arachne Queen's head.

I could read quite a lot from that single remark.

He had no understanding of how threatening a monster the Arachne Queen was, or how fortunate it was that the problem was resolved before it got bigger.

‘So he was the type who doesn't think at all.’

If the conversation proceeded through an aide, it would take a long time for the words to reach the lord.

It was obvious he had summoned me not for formality's sake, but because he wanted to see the Arachne Queen's head quickly.

An extremely impulsive person.

It would be difficult to call him a good leader.

“Everyone, look. Did I not say there was no need to hastily contact the Knight Order.”

Listening to the words he spoke to his vassals was a spectacle.

It seemed he had taken no action at all even after hearing the news of the Arachne Queen's appearance.

‘Is he sane?’

The damage hadn't escalated because Simon happened to be there, but it was a situation where numerous casualties could have occurred.

What's more, it wasn't even completely resolved yet.

Only the Arachne Queen had been dealt with; numerous normal Arachne and the superior individual were still there.

The area around Grainy's ranch might be safe since the Arachne that approached it were killed by our hands, but the other regions were exposed to danger.

“That is correct! That is correct!”

“I am in awe of the Baron's foresight!”

The vassals who should have been advising the lord were busy flattering him.

“Yes, I heard the Arachne Queen is quite a powerful monster. Did you defeat it?”

The lord finally spoke to me after enjoying his vassals' flattery for a long while.

‘He has no common sense either.’

How could just anyone beat a monster that the territory's own forces couldn't handle?

A reaction like, ‘There's no way the likes of you could defeat such a powerful monster, right?’ would have been better.

‘So this is why he dragged his feet without commissioning the Knight Order.’

He had heard it was threatening, but he had judged it to be just a moderately strong monster.

His intention was likely to watch the situation and only then find a solution if damage occurred.

The territory was somehow functioning with a lord like this.

I didn't know whether to call this lucky, or unlucky.

“No, Your Lordship. The one who killed the Arachne Queen was Sir Simon Liatro of the Imperial Central Knight Order.”

It was as clear as day that if I spoke my honest thoughts, I would suffer a harsh fate for the crime of insulting the lord.

I answered the lord's question with my head bowed to hide my disrespectful expression.

“Haha. To think he helped our territory without even being commissioned. I shall have to thank him later.”

Was this something that could be finished with a thank you?

His emphasis on the fact that he hadn't commissioned him made it clear that he was happy about the money he saved.

“Isn't this all because of the grace the Baron has bestowed returning to him.”

“Even the gods are helping you, my Lord Baron.”

Everything's fine, no, actually it's not fine at all—but the conversation was slow because of the vassals next to him.

Can't they just keep their mouths shut?

“Yes. Now that the Arachne Queen is dead, the remaining monsters can be handled by some mercenaries……”

“M-my Lord Baron! It's an emergency……!”

Suddenly, the door opened, cutting off the lord's words.

The lord did not hide his displeasure as he glared at the soldier who entered the room.

“What is it?”

The soldier flinched at the lord's chilly voice.

“The monsters are swarming in! The Red Arachne are……!”

“What did you say?”

The Baron hastily got down from his chair.

The Baron, who was hardly any taller than when he was sitting, grabbed the soldier by the scruff of his neck.

Because the Baron was much shorter than the soldier, it looked as if he was hanging from the soldier's neck.

It was a rather ridiculous sight, but no one laughed.

If one got on the Baron's bad side now, they might not see the sun rise tomorrow.

“What is the meaning of this! Why are those bastards here?! I was told the Queen was dead!”

“Th-that is…… I don't know…….”

The soldier could not answer properly.

It was indeed strange.

This place was quite far from the cave where the Arachne had settled.

If they were randomly attacking their surroundings, it should have taken much longer for them to reach this place.

I thought that maybe they were rampaging because their controlling head was gone, and I happened to glance at the Arachne Queen's head.

For some reason, I felt as if it were smirking.

‘No. Surely not.’

Could those things, who can't even properly detect a human standing right next to them because they perceive their surroundings through vibrations, have found the Queen's head from this far away?

But this was a world where magic existed.

It wouldn't be strange even if they could sense the Queen's head through some special method unknown to me.

If those bastards were really looking for the Queen's head—

‘Does this mean I'm the one who led them here?’

Even if it wasn't the truth, if the lord judged it to be so, it was clear that I would not see a good end.

I could vividly picture my head hanging on a pike.

…….

I discreetly hid the Arachne Queen's head.

Yeah.

Just in case.

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