Chapter 48. Tempted.

“I have nothing to discuss with you!”

Come to think of it, it was truly an unfair situation.

Until now, the Arachne Queen had aimed for my back whenever she had the chance.

In the cave, as soon as she found out there was a superior individual in the cavern, didn't she immediately order an attack, and when I asked for directions, didn't she lead me to a dead end.

Even just a moment ago, she attacked me as soon as she broke out of the crystal.

In a situation like this, wouldn't it be natural for me to be the one refusing to talk?

‘She’s so persistent.’

Nevertheless, I had continuously tried to talk.

Because I was a civilized person.

Because I believed that many things could be resolved through peaceful conversation rather than violence.

It was absolutely not because I had no way to damage the Queen that I was just taking it.

And it was even less because I was some spineless pushover.

‘This one always has the information.’

Annoyingly, it was because situations where I had to get information from the Queen kept occurring one after another.

The fact that I carried her around because I couldn't kill her came back to me as information.

Though I didn't like it, let's just chalk it up to a blessing in disguise.

Now that she was out of the crystal, I'll kill her after I get this one last piece of information.

For real.

Anyway, for her to say she had no intention of talking ‘right now.’

Then there was no other choice.

“Alright. Wait in the pouch until tomorrow.”

“Huh? Didn’t you have something to talk about? Why are you so meekly….”

The Queen frowned as if she was flustered.

There were certainly things I wanted to check regarding the guard headquarters, but it wasn't an urgent situation like inside the cave.

I had also already completed the experiment to check for the presence of poison.

And above all, the one who would be at a disadvantage if we postponed until tomorrow was the Queen.

“Because I’m going to see Sir Liatro tomorrow.”

Although I had arrived in the Imperial Capital, the Sword Saint was still stuck in prison.

Therefore, I had to report to Simon.

“Simon?”

“The person who cleanly cut off your neck. Don’t you remember?”

The encounter between the Queen and Simon was extremely brief, but it was so intense that it was impossible for her not to remember it.

Of course.

She wouldn't be able to say she didn't remember.

“……”

At my words, the Queen shut her mouth for a moment.

“I'll be watching to see if you can be that confident in front of Sir Liatro too.”

* * *

The reason the Queen ignored me was, in the end, because I didn't have the power to kill her.

The reason I couldn't lay a hand on her now, even after she had come out of the crystal, was because I didn't know the current strength of the Queen's body.

It would be a problem if my attacks didn't work, but it would also be troublesome if I failed to control my strength and she really ended up dying.

But Simon, with the technique that had lightly sliced through even the Arachne Queen's main body, would probably be able to cook her to the point just before a beautiful death.

If she couldn't come to her senses after dying once, wouldn't she come to her senses if she died twice?

The Queen, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened her mouth.

“U-Ugh!! You coward! Wielding someone else's power to act so wickedly! Aren't you ashamed!”

“You, who tries to attack me at every opportunity, should feel some shame first.”

Even if she was a monster, shouldn't there be a minimum level of trust.

“You attacked me too!”

“I was only punishing you for your wrongdoing.”

There was always a reason when I tormented the Arachne Queen.

Either she refused to talk, or tried to deceive me, or showed hostility in this way or that.

To be precise, it was closer to etiquette training.

“Gyaaaagak!!”

Watching the Arachne Queen having a fit, my mood, which had been quite bad for a while, improved a little.

When she was just a lump of mineral and I could only hear her voice, her reactions were amusing, but now she was showing expressions with a human-like face.

The difference in delivery was as great as that between a phone call and a face-to-face meeting.

“Anyway, if you really want to be interrogated by Sir Liatro, I will respect that wish.”

“No—it's not that! I will cooperate!”

The Queen immediately tucked her tail.

It was unpleasant to be told that I was leeching off someone else's power, but seeing her attitude change like this, I had no choice but to use it as a means to control the Queen.

“Good. You’ve thought it through. I’m not going to ask anything grand, so don't be too nervous.”

“What are you so curious about?”

The Queen asked with a drained face, as if she had given up.

“Tell me what the situation was like before you came out of the crystal.”

“Huh? Why are you curious about that?”

“Just answer.”

“There are various situations. Your question is not precise.”

The Queen pouted and turned her head away.

Such a timid resistance.

But it was also a somewhat reasonable point.

It became an opportunity to organize the things that hadn't been properly organized in my own head.

‘The time and place are the key.’

There were 4 possibilities.

1. She couldn't get out of the crystal, but was able to come out when the time was right.

2. She couldn't get out of the crystal, but was able to come out due to the influence of the location.

3. She could get out of the crystal from the beginning, and decided it was a good time to come out.

4. She could get out of the crystal from the beginning, and decided to come out due to the influence of the location.

Among these, if it was number 1, it was just my overreaction, so there was no need to dig further.

Number 3 had a low probability because there had been better timings, like when she was far away from me.

I had to check the possibility of it being case 2 or 4.

In that case, the first thing I had to ask was—

“You, since when were you able to get out of the crystal?”

“……”

The Queen immediately shut her mouth, looking uncomfortable.

“It's been a while, you say? I see.”

“How?! I didn’t answer!?”

What was she surprised about.

If she had come out the moment she was able to, she wouldn't have understood my question at all.

The fact that she made a ‘I’m caught!’ expression could only mean that she had been able to come out but was biding her time inside the crystal.

Anyway, the possibilities were narrowed down with a single question.

The answer was number 4.

She could get out of the crystal from the beginning, and decided to come out due to the influence of the location.

I wasn't very happy even though I had found the answer.

“So, what was the reason you popped out after lying low?”

“...I heard a voice.”

“A voice?”

I, who was there, didn't hear it.

If the Arachne species originally had excellent hearing, I would have thought she heard a sound beyond the human audible range, but the Arachne, while sensitive to the vibrations of the ground, did not seem to react much to the vibrations of the air.

If it wasn't a sound…….

For instance, the voice of the Arachne Queen that shot straight into my head when I was holding the crystal.

‘Like telepathy.’

But I couldn't say it was exactly telepathy, because it was only effective when I was in contact with the crystal.

It was different from transmitting thoughts over a distance.

‘There might be a guy who can really use telepathy.’

Was I overthinking it to feel that the intention was sinister, given that they used telepathy on a monster out of all the many people around?

“What did it say?”

“It didn't say much.”

“Do you lie every time you open your mouth?”

She was able to get out of the crystal, yet she waited quietly and then just decided to pop out?

She had to say something that made sense.

“Kuh. How do you know?”

Was this one actually an idiot?

Well, no matter how much she evolved, a monster was a monster.

I shouldn't expect too much from a beast.

“Let’s not make each other tired. Was it something you’d be in trouble for if you said it?”

“……”

“Then let’s hear what was said in front of Sir Liatro.”

“It said to kill all the humans together!”

The Queen said urgently.

“Who did?”

“A devil! It said it was a devil!”

My head tilted on its own at the Arachne Queen's words.

A devil…?

* * *

Let's organize this.

In a world with both magic and monsters, it wouldn't be strange for devils to exist.

But devils were unfamiliar.

Since I came to my senses, not only had I never met a devil, I had never even heard of them.

It meant they were beings that couldn't be easily encountered even in this world.

Such a devil, suddenly appeared?

“It said it was trapped by humans, and that if I just freed it, it would annihilate the humans….”

“And you believed that right away? Logically, doesn't being captured by humans mean it has already been defeated once?”

How could it suddenly overturn everything just by being released.

“You don't know devils well! A devil can do it!”

The Queen continued her explanation as if showing off.

“A devil! Is a being that eats human souls! The more humans there are, the stronger it becomes! It's disadvantageous to fight in a place with few humans! That's why it was captured!”

“Heeh….”

It sounded like an excuse to me.

“But this place is overflowing with humans! If it is just released, the humans will be annihilated! We will be victorious!”

“The story you're reciting now must be what that so-called devil said, right? Be honest. You didn't know much about devils either, did you?”

“……”

The Queen rolled her eyes as if I had hit a nerve.

This was the Arachne Queen who had lived her entire life stuck in a cave.

Her knowledge couldn't have been extensive.

Soon, the Queen began to insist obstinately.

“Ki, kishaaat-!! Know the terror of a devil!! In a place with many humans, it is invincible!!”

“What a story you're spinning. If there were guys with such characteristics, they would have destroyed the empire long ago.”

If they were numerous enough to be grouped as a race called ‘devils,’ there must have been more than one or two.

‘It can destroy the Imperial Capital by itself?’

If such beings were also numerous, humans would have no chance of victory.

If they were beings that could really eat human souls and blow away an entire city on their own, there was no reason for them to have lived quietly until now.

Therefore, I had to assume that they couldn't.

“Ugh! That can't be! The devil promised me! That after annihilating the humans, it would take me as its trusted subordinate!”

“It seems to me that you were deceived. And for someone who was a queen in name, what's this about being a subordinate? A subordinate.”

I didn't know if it was a real devil or not, but tempting the Arachne Queen was, at least, a devil-like act.

“Eeeek! You will regret it! The devil's liberation is not far off!”

“Sure. Keep believing that.”

I had heard everything I needed to hear.

I opened the mouth of the pouch as it was and shoved the Queen inside.

“Ugya! At least untie the rope-”

The Queen expressed some complaint, but that was none of my business.

‘A devil, huh.’

It wasn't certain if it was really a devil.

It was just that the Queen had heard that one's one-sided claim and believed it.

Cross-verification was needed.

“Pol. Do you know about devils?”

“Hmm, let's see?”

At my question, Pol shrugged his shoulders.

It seemed Pol didn't know much about devils either.

Judgment reserved.

There was still not enough information.

What was almost certain was that there was something capable of telepathy near the guard headquarters, and that it was hostile to humans.

‘This is strange.’

The guard was a concept that moderately mixed police and military.

If someone was aiming for the Imperial Capital, it was the group that would be the most bothersome.

The fact that there was a variable that could explode at any time near them smelled of a conspiracy.

And, if it was a group of people who would likely aim for the Imperial Capital—

‘Luke Ivers…. Could it be them again?’

It wasn't just once or twice; it was to the point where I wondered if I was being drawn to the schemes these guys had set up like a magnet.

But it wasn't all bad.

Wasn't it more hopeful than the idea that I was just bound to run into them a lot by chance because these bastards had laid out so many schemes?

However, I couldn't even begin to guess what they were trying to achieve by going this far.

‘Anyway, this isn't certain either.’

The number of things to talk about with Simon had increased.

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