Chapter 10

Hopeless Departure

“I will leave the house for awhile Robertson, so please take care of everything while I am away.”

I inform Robertson of my departure while he is dancing along the ceiling within sight. It is as if he was saying, “Leave it to me!” is it not? Sigh, such friendship will only increase the sorrow of parting, but relief also springs in my heart once I think about how he will protect my castle. Above all, it is encouraging to have a spider who will wait for my return.

“I think that someone who will get lost in the forest will most likely wander in, but I wrote a note that says, ‘Do not kill the spider.’ Just in case, do not appear too much in front of other people.”

I promise you, Robertson.

He may be a spider, but Monette still cherishes his friendship. Eight long legs, short hair that covers his whole body and a richly growing plump stomach. He makes quite the impact. Most people scream and feel a sense of crisis without him even doing anything.

Especially Robertson’s fashionable friend who is apparently poisonous, so there are a lot of people who would try and exterminate him before he could bite them. It is fine if you just try to scare him away, but trying to kill him is just taking things too far.

I wrote a note, but I’m still anxious. That’s probably why, to appeal to me, Robertson who was drooping down the ceiling, quickly rose to the top.

It is the meaning of acknowledgment. He will be careful, and he wishes for me to do the same. This intention to return really makes me feel the sense of friendship, but the parting still saddens me.

But I must go.

Determined, Monette grabbed hold of the doorknob. She pushed open the door, took one final look behind her and said,

“Well then Robertson, be careful not to mate with a female spider….”

She called out, to finish her journey and return to find Robertson eaten…..to avoid tragedy.

The world of spiders is truly a terrible thing.

“What if Robertson’s friend is female?”

To Alexis’s question, Monette shook her head as if there was absolutely no possibility.

Inside the quiet woods, every step Monette takes in her armor creates a kashan kashan sound, and when Monette shakes her head, the sound of the armor scraping against itself overlaps.

“Robertson promised he wouldn’t bring in any spiders of the opposite sex.”

“Is that healthy?”

“It is too much if him being predated occurs right in front of me.”

“… …Ah, it’s a spider.”

To Alexis who nods to her point, Monette nods back.

Robertson is a friend. It could be said that he is my only friend.

However, it is a possibility that if he mates with a female, that female will become a predator. I know that it is a rule in a spider’s ecology, but if that sight is shown right in front of me, it will become a lifelong trauma. When I am already so weighed down by complexes that I have become an armor girl, what will I become after adding on such a trauma?

He should not be deceived by a bad female spider, but as I look back at the castle, I can’t help but feel anxious. Alexis, who is the cause of this journey, has begun to speak apologetic words and tries to comfort me. Percival has not said a word since we departed while carrying with him some wine and the trunk.

Those who get dragged by the collar more than once, will most likely become divisive, thinking such a thing, I took out a piece of parchment from my pouch and wrote on it with my pen.

Of course it is to repel any beasts. I try to make this little kitty-cat’s face look wild. Un. With this, other wild animals will stay away.

“Beasts should avoid us until we leave the woods.”

The parchment is gone, so I took a small peep into my pouch.

I brought along all the parchment I could find from the castle, but there is still a limit. The magic that I can cast isn’t permanent in the first place. If the effect of the spell fades out, I would just draw another cute kitty-cat and reapply the spell.

For me, who was living in an old castle and usually never left, there was no need for something like a permanent spell of beast removal. I would be safe inside my stone walls. Even if the beast removal effect on that castle did wear off, it could be easily reapplied, and speaking of strong sustainable magic, my armor is lighter.

Even so it occasionally expires, and there is a case that someone might fall from the sudden heaviness of the armor in an old castle. – – In such a case, that person would just have to lie down in the armor, call for help, and Robertson would coming rushing over with the reincantation. Ah, what a wonderful friendship –

Anyway, there is a limit in the number and the power of  my spells.

Hearing that, Alexis nodded back with a serious look.

“If you have been suffering from this curse from a long time, then you should be able to survive somewhat even without the help of my spells, so please forget a little bad luck and do not ask for my help. For example, Alexis, isn’t there a serpent currently biting your arm?”

“…I understand. It hurts, but I will endure it.”

“Prince, please shake it off like normal.”

“It’s okay Percival because this snake is not poisonous. It just hurts when it bites.”

“This isn’t a matter of whether it is poisonous or not.”

Sweeping away the snake from the Prince’s arm, Percival sighs.

Watching Alexis get bitten by another serpent while he rubs the area where the previous snake had bitten him, Monette suddenly remembered something.

“Beast removal only works on beasts, so please be careful as it doesn’t affect poisonous insects.”

“Do poisonous insects come out around here?”

“A traveler who stayed with me once before told me that there were poisonous moths, but well, I think we will be okay as this isn’t the right season for them.”

“… I see. Monette, are those moths large and pink?”

“Well, yes that’s right.”

“Thick, tactile yellow wings …”

“Why yes, Percival. Have you seen them before?”

“Right now actually. There are some on the Prince’s shoulders …”

While Percival can only mutter this out, fatigued as he is, I thoughtfully looked at Alexis.

Before I knew it, there were some puffy moths floating on Alexis’s shoulders.

In spite of this situation…..

“What fashionable shoulder pads!”

I shouted.

Needless to say that Alexis collapsed at that very moment, and the serpent who was biting his arm let go and ran away.

“Alexis has brown hair, so the colorful pink shines well.”

“What are you saying!? Prince, are you alright?”

Percival rushed to Alexis’s side. Apparently Alexis has gone numb. He answers Percival with an, “It’s all right,” but his voice is trembling quite a bit, so I don’t think he’s all right at all. In reality, even though he could return words, he couldn’t move at all, even a twitch.

While watching the two play around and demonstrate what they meant when they said this journey would have, “many hurdles,” I sighed and chased away a new serpent which was about to come up and chew on Alexis’s hand.

It was not to help Alexis, of course.

“You will destroy your stomach if you chew on such a thing.”

It is a kindness to the serpent.

“Because insect poison lasts awhile, I hate it. On that point, it hurts when they bite, but reptiles are still better. The most annoying ones are fish. I cannot say anything positive about being poisoned from the inside.

“Sommelier?”

We are talking about poison while walking in the woods. Although Alexis is still numb from the poisonous moth and cannot walk, he is being carried by Percival.

“Sorry Percival. I must be heavy.”

“No, I do not mind. Even though the numbness remains, it seems that you are still fine. Nothing is more important.”

“It isn’t important. Mr. Snake, how about taking one more bite to see how it is.”

Here! As if it had heard and responded to Monette’s call, a serpent snapped up with a *pyon* and bit into Alexis’s arm.

A miserable scream escaped Alexis’s lips, and Percival quickly swings Alexis away to try and get him away from the snake. Alexis screams even louder as this only worsens the numbness ….. And Monette laughs inside her helmet at the unimaginable sight that is playing out before her eyes.