Rain of magic. It falls on one spider.
The giant spider that has a venomous looking color is hit by my magic barrage and looks quite pitiful.
…Are spiders the monsters plaguing the village? That’s not really what I heard. I really don’t like spiders based on appearance alone.
“…A-ahh.”
As I think that and look at the dead spider, elderly people start filing out of the village with desperate expressions and farm tools.
Ah… People are used to me in the royal castle, and accept me even after my growth, but I’m a monster.
For normal villagers, I’m nothing more than a threat.
“Kyuu.”
I realize I completely forgot about the proper precautions, and shake my body to drop a tube with a document inside.
“Kyuu.”
Then I kick it towards them with my tail.
“…”
The document is a message from Kanna. It says I was sent to this village as backup.
“You were sent as reinforcements?”
Says the old person who read it, with a trembling voice. Looks like Kanna really wrote it properly in a way that explains my position.
“Kyuu.”
The elderly person nods, accepting that answer.
I can’t talk, but I can communicate by gesticulating.
…Are you intelligent?”
“Kyuu.”
“S-such a monster exists…”
They’re surprised, as I communicate with clear intelligence.
“Ah!? Then… Are you here to save us from those spiders!?”
“…Kyuu.”
Well, that one was just me brushing off the sparks that flew my way… But I guess it does look that way from a distance.
“W-we can’t thank you enough!”
I respond with mixed feelings in mind, and the elderly person looks grateful.
“Well then, come to the village… We don’t have much, but we can treat you to something….!”
Looks like a monster such as myself is being welcomed.
“Kyuu.”
But I reject the invitation. I’m sorry to say, but I don’t need food. I’m not the kind of snake to take food from people who don’t have enough for themselves.
The elderly people in front of me are all bony… It’s very clear that they’re sacrificing themselves to make sure the younger people can have even just a little more.
Yes. Sorry? My inattentiveness led to the food I brought to be spread all over…
“Kyuu!”
I need to fix this quickly and repair my honor.
I fire myself up, and head towards the forest. I’m already slithering like a snake. Slithering in a straight line.
“L-later.”
“Kyuu.”
I wave with my tail, and head to the forest that stretches near the village.
■■■■■
After just a bit, it’s clear something isn’t right.
It’s quiet.
There are no sounds made by monsters, or even small animals and birds. It’s too quiet. This isn’t normal.
“…Kyu.”
It would be dangerous to go further.
With that in mind, I slowly retreat.
“Gih!”
“Gih!”
“Gih!”
At that moment, dust is raised around me, and many… I knew it!
“Kyuu!”
What I have to do is very clear.
I swing my tail and kick around the spiders in front of me.
“Gih!?”
The spiders are blown away by my tail, transforming into corpses.
A lot appear and try to charge at me, but I dispatch them without a problem.
My one worry was their appearance, but I can easily fight these frightening spiders.
Unlike in my previous life, I don’t really feel much resistance to the thought of fighting spiders.
“Kyuu.”
With that barrier passed, I think I can fight pretty much as I imagined.
I already cast Appraisal and checked what the spider I took down before really was.
《Army spider》
《F rank monster. Weak individually, but caution is needed because they move in swarms and attack with bigger numbers than expected. The level of danger jumps up if a superior species is included.》
Thanks to this, I already knew there were a lot.
And so, I keep kicking around the many spiders attacking me. This is pretty much what I expected.
But…
“(…This might be a little bad.)”
There are so many of them.
I think… No, I’m pretty sure there’s a superior species somewhere. That’s how many there are.
