Episode 297.1

(EP-297.1) Master #1

297 – Master of the Forest #1

The spiders, weaving webs at the cave entrance, were whispering among themselves.

Even though I wasn’t drunk, nor was I hallucinating, hearing their conversations made my head spin.

Was listening to beasts more mentally exhausting than I had imagined?

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

So it’s like that.

In any case, this was good news.

I wasn’t sure why or how, but their conversation was definitely worth listening to.

So, I decided to approach the gossiping spiders and try to engage in a proper conversation.

“Was what you just said true?”

My voice echoed in the narrow, dark cave, and the spiders fell silent. For a moment, I thought I could no longer hear them.

But it seemed like they had just stopped talking.

A few seconds passed. Just as doubt started to creep in, that I was simply hearing things or I deluded myself into thinking I could talk to animals like some child—.

━...Did that guy just talk to us?

━I don’t know! He’s weird!

I could hear them again.

I decided I needed to make myself clear.

“Yes, I’m talking to you. I can hear you.”

It was then.

━Krreung...!

The spiders, who had been leisurely spinning webs at the entrance just moments ago, suddenly let out cries like angry lions and began digging into the ground.

Rustle, rustle.

Soon, they were trembling, with only their bottoms exposed above the ground.

The spiders continued to gossip the centipedes, talking about how they had polluted the forest and poisoned streams and creeks with their venom.

「Talking to animals is a very fairy-like...!

Job: Half-Fairy 1+ Level

Half-Fairy Lv. 8 → Lv. 9

You can now do more fairy-like things...!」

* * *

I had always been a little scared of spiders.

It wasn’t so much because of their appearance, but more because I couldn’t understand what they were thinking.

In that sense, Aira and the spiders had something in common.

Both stares at you with unblinking, dark eyes.

There’s the tension of suddenly getting jumped and bit in the face.

However, contrary to what I expected, the spiders were actually quite chatty.

━I spoke to a fairy! I need to tell everyone!

━They won’t believe it! It’s been years since we’ve talked to anyone with two legs... 20 years. No one has listened to us since her.

It seemed they were genuinely happy just to have someone listen to them. If I had been alone for a long time, I’d probably chatter away like this if I found someone to talk to.

But something they mentioned piqued my curiosity.

“Is there anyone else who has talked to you besides me?”

━Yes! She was a fairy too, a short-eared fairy. She was the master of the forest. Back then, the centipedes didn’t dare come near our territory. We didn’t have to hide in caves like this....

━Now that I think about it, you look a bit like her, half-fairy!

“You say I look like her?”

━Don’t mind them. They think anyone with the same number of eyes, nose, and mouth looks the same.

━Hehe! Actually, I can’t tell the difference between two-legged’s faces! I don’t know!

Rustle.

At that moment, I heard something behind me. When I turned my head, Stella, with a very red face, was looking at me with a frown. Did I wake her up?

“Theo-kun..., I don’t know if I’m hearing things... Are you talking to the spiders all by yourself right now...?

“.......”