“Monster armor beasts…?”
Yuugo frowned as he repeated the words that came out of Mina’s scared mouth, that he did not recognize.
He was about to ask what they were, when Melt, who was watching quietly, spoke instead.
“Yuugo, it’s too dangerous to stay here and talk. Mina isn’t safe in a dark place like this either, and we should share this information with that Marcos guy too. Let’s go back to the train and sort our information.”
“…Yes, that would be better, Mina, sorry, but we’re going to have to move. Hang on tight, okay?”
“Yes…”
Said Yuugo to Mina, after agreeing with Melt, and she clung to him.
Yuugo felt sad, about how scared she was after remembering that terrifying event that just happened. He went back to the train, where Marcos and the others were still investigating, sat Mina down, and as he took a deep breath, Melt spoke to him.
“Yuugo, look at this.”
“Yes…? It’s pretty thick and sticky, but what is it?”
“It was stuck to Mina’s body. I think it’s spider thread.”
“Spider thread!? Are there spiders that can spew out a huge thread like this!?”
Yuugo took the sticky and elastic thing that looked like white cotton, and simply said what he thought of it. And Melt responded with something hard for him to believe.
This object was less like a thread, and more like something big enough to be a scarf worn by an adult. Yuugo was surprised to hear it be called spider thread, but Melt had a serious expression on her face.
“Not a spider, a monster armor beast. A monster born when a dead monster’s soul possesses another monster… They are vile beasts that wear monsters as armor, therefore, monster armor beasts. Simple, right?”
“So basically… A monster born from two monsters combining their powers?”
Asked Yuugo, and Melt nodded.
It was a world where magic existed, so Yuugo figured there were also monsters, but to think there were bad guys straight out of tokusatsu…
As Yuugo stood still, surprised and amazed, Marcos came back with his minions.
“What, you actually found a survivor? Well, whatever. I see you were talking about this too, but there are monster armor beasts here. From the traces my subordinates found, I assume this is the doing of goblins with the power of giant spiders.”
“How can you tell that?”
“Well, they used spider thread, but a single monster armor beast wouldn’t be able to carry away all the passengers. That means this train was attacked by a group, and the only monsters around here that attack in groups are goblins.
They lurk in the dark, so they set up a trap to ambush their prey in this tunnel, and took away the passengers. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Yuugo was genuinely impressed by Marcos’ investigation, and his expression showed he thought it made sense.
Marcos snorted, feeling very pleased with Yuggo’s reaction, and continued speaking with a proud tone.
“Monster armored beasts are after food and seedbed. Right now, they’re taking the people they took back to their dwelling. And once they get back to their nest, the fun begins…”
“Hey, stop right there. That’s not what you say in front of a kid whose mother was taken.”
Yuugo stopped Marcos with a sharp voice, as he was getting carried away and saying too much.
Marcos then turned to Mina, who looked their way with a worried expression, and silenced himself, probably feeling awkward.
“If what you say is right, we need to go after those monster armor beasts right away, or the passengers will be in danger. We need to do something…!”
“You say that, but what can we do? My subordinates investigated the train, but the only clues they found were the threads. We can’t chase the monster armor beasts. We just have to give up on the passengers.”
“No…!”
Melt was speaking quietly out of consideration for Mina, but she was at a loss for words at Marcos’ lack of compassion.
The girl despaired, as she thought that if they could not do anything, there was no way to stop the passengers from becoming food and seedbed to the monster armor beasts. But then, Yuugo’s question to Melt echoed inside the train.
“Hey, Melt. You tripped over here, right?”
“Eh…? Y-yes, but so what…?”
Melt responded, while being taken aback by seeing Yuugo crawling on the floor of the train after she turned around.
He looked around while illuminating the floor with the magic energy blade he got from her, and Marcos spoke to him with a contemptuous tone.
“Pff, what are you doing? I mean, crawling on the floor suits you, but is there a point to what you’re doing?”
“A big shot noble wouldn’t understand, but you need to get frantic when you look for clues, especially when people’s lives are on the line. Do that, and actions and things will show meaning you didn’t see the first time.”
Yuugo said as he raised his head, and pointed to the entrance to the train they were in.
Everyone turned to the spot Yuugo was illuminating, and gulped when they saw something slimy on part of the floor.
“What… Is this…? It’s not water or blood, right?”
“It’s oil. Some spiders excrete oil so their limbs don’t stick to their threads. You said the floor was slimy when you tripped, right? I remembered that, so I thought maybe…”
“Yes…! You were inspired by my clumsiness! That’s impressive!”
‘So monsters in this world share the ecology of beings from mine’, and ‘this is also stuff I learned from tokusatsu’, were two things Yuugo thought, but did not say out loud.
Yuugo turned to Marcos, who watched that thing that was illuminated drip, with a frustrated expression, because Yuugo found a clue that he missed.
“The carriages in front and the area around the train are probably stained with this oil too. People’s lives are in danger, so you should’ve been doing your best to look for clues too, instead of leaving that to your subordinates.”
“Gu, guh…! Getting carried away just because you found a little clue…!!”
“Anyway, let’s follow this oil. We need to take Mina to a safe place and report the situation too. Someone needs to leave the tunnel with Mina and contact the guard station.”
“Wait! Why are you in charge!? I’m not taking orders from you! You take that girl and go report! My team will follow the monster armor beasts’ trail!”
“You know we’re going where those things are? It doesn’t hurt to have more people with us. Have one of your subordinates take Mina and report. That leaves you and the other, and me and Melt. That’s the best solution.”
“Quit joking! You can’t order me around! I’m not going to let you keep stealing credit from me!”
“Who cares about credit here!? We need to think about saving the people that were taken!”
Marcos was still thinking more about taking credit and his pride, and Yuugo rebuked him loudly with a harsh expression on his face.
That angry look put pressure on Marcos, whose fist trembled with frustration, but said nothing. He then turned to one of his minions, and ordered him with his eyes to take Mina.
“Listen to me. It was the eldest son of the Bolg family who saved you, Marcos Bolg. Make sure to tell that to the grown ups. Got it?”
“…”
Marcos stopped Mina as she left the tunnel, as if he was ordering her.
Mina’s expression turned sullen as she heard the words of someone who cared about nothing but raising his renown. But then, Yuugo took a knee and also spoke to her.
“Mina, don’t worry. I will bring back your mother. Can you please just wait outside for a while?”
“…Yes. Be careful.”
“Thank you. You’re a kind girl, to be concerned about me when you’re feeling so helpless. It’s all right. I’m strong, so I’ll beat those monsters to a pulp!”
Said Yuugo strongly with a smile, to reassure Mina.
His bright smile seemed to lessen her worries, because she smiled as though her fear had softened.
Yuugo tapped the shoulder of Marcos’ minion, and looked at him as if saying he was counting on him, before turning back.
He whispered to himself with determination that they needed to save the people taken by the monster armor beasts, as if to rouse himself.
“…Let’s hurry. We’ll save everyone, without a single casualty!”
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Reading Hidamarisou Translations is always the most important and cherished part of my day! I really can’t thank you enough for translating these wonderful web novels. And I would also like to thank the author who writes them.
Wow, thank you.
Reference Time:
In Kamen Rider especially the OG, the first enemy that they fight is the Spider, Cobra and Bat.
In fact the first Kaijin that Ichigou fought is the Spider Kaijin. The only time that the monster trio are seen in the side of good is Revice.
Marcos is just playing the role of a contrast team for now. To elevate our guy farther. But now i am seriously waiting for his redemption arc
I really like this mc. While I love calculating/cautious mcs who are able to fully assess situations and make a choice that’d benefit them in unforgiving worlds it’s great to see a mc who is as bright as the sun doing whatever in his power to help others.