“You really are nice, Yuugo. You even cheered up Mina.”
“Eh? Isn’t that just normal? You were doing the same thing.”
“I guess… But I was just thinking, you’re also so kind to Phi.”
Yuugo and the others advanced through the tunnel while following the tracks of the monster armor beasts, until they found a cleverly hidden cave and went inside.
Yuugo walked in front, and as she followed him and paid attention to her surroundings, Melt said how she felt about him based on what he said and did, but felt confused.
(Why is he called the lowest of scum when he’s so nice? There’s that whole thing about him changing because of memory loss, but can people really change that much…)
He did not get mad when others made fun of him, was kind to his brother and other children, and was willing to dive in head first for other people. That was the impression Melt got from Yuugo, based on the time they spent together.
He really did not seem like the lowest of scum. In fact, she would classify him as a person with good character.
So why did others think he was scum?
From the point of view of someone like Melt, who did not know him before, it was a real mystery why he was the most hated person in the Luminous Academy.
Sure, the memory loss would have played a part, but Melt found it hard to believe it would make him change that much. And so, she reached a more positive, and trusting conclusion.
(Rumors really do tend to exaggerate the truth. Yuugo came from an important family, so I guess that made it easy for people to resent him.)
She figured that Yuugo probably did not have the best character prior to having memory loss, but it probably wasn’t that bad either.
And since he was the eldest son of a prominent family, he attracted a lot of enemies, and people probably exaggerated his bad behavior and said he did things he never did.
If his little brother loved him that much, it was safe to assume he was a good big brother too.
And so, as Melt thought that Yuugo really was not the scum he was made out to be, he stopped, and raised his hand.
“Melt, I think we’re here. The monster armor beasts’ nest…!”
Said Yuugo, as he looked at a wide open space.
There was a faint smell of beast in the air, which Yuugo took to mean the monster armor beasts had been there for a long time. He looked around with caution, and found people wrapped in thread a little far away.
“There they are! Those are the passengers, right!?”
“Yes. It looks like no one’s been eaten yet.”
People were wrapped up in what looked like spider thread, and while some were injured, no one seemed badly hurt.
They also reached the conclusion that the monster armor beasts had not touched them yet because of the lack of smell of blood in the air. They were relieved about that, but told themselves that all they did was confirm that they were still all right, and focused.
“Where are the monster armor beasts?”
“…There’s one over there. Is it standing watch?”
Yuugo watched the nest closely as his eyes got used to the darkness, and saw an unusual shape.
That monster he saw was hideous in a way that could not be described simply.
It resembled a person, but at the same time had an ugly face with a distinctively crooked nose.
Its red eyes were packed close together on its wide forehead, and sharp insect fangs shined in its mouth.
Its lower body was that of a goblin, but bigger. Goblins typically had bodies that could be compared to a human child’s.
The upper body on the other hand was more spider-like, with sharp claws attached to both arms and the four legs growing out of its back, that really made it look like a monster.
“So rather than the mysterious spider man, it’s a spider goblin… Creepy.”
It was yellow and black, with a striped pattern like a tiger, but without any sense of gallantry and majesty.
The monster… Monster armor beast, simply looked eerie, frightful, and creepy.
Melt was also surprised to see it, but not afraid at all.
Being shocked upon seeing a monster suddenly would leave someone wide open to attacks, so being able to face an enemy like this was good.
The problem, was knowing where the other monster armor beasts were.
Judging by the footprints going inside the nest, there were most likely more than five, but less than ten.
Yuugo continued observing carefully, looking out for the at least four that remained.
“Yuugo, do you see the other arachlaws?”
“No, just one… Hn? Arachlaw? What’s that?”
“It’s what those monsters are called. It comes from the name of the typical spider monster, arachne, and their best weapon, the claws.”
Yuugo was surprised to hear the name of the monster armor beast all of a sudden, but figured it would be strange to lump all the monster names together.
It made more sense than to call them mysterious spiders, and even more so than calling them men, since they were goblins and not humans.
As he laughed awkwardly to himself, Yuugo memorized the name of the monster armor beast that combined spiders and goblins, and something unbelievable happened right before his eyes.
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