I guessed we were at it for about an hour. Velariah and I hadn’t spoken much. I was far too relaxed near the end of it. Velariah’s tapping on my behind brought me back to reality.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

I had to take a moment to register how exactly I was feeling.

“I’m still fine. How many spools did I make now without eating a full buffet?”

“Many. Makes you wonder if you’re able to use more threads in combat now without exhausting yourself.”

“It does, huh? I’m going to assume the answer is that I am able to.”

“Anyway,” Velariah continued. “We’re done here. Let’s get some steak. I’m starting to get hungry myself.”

I opened my human eyes and turned around to face Velariah, who had just stood up.

“Alright, let’s get something to eat first. We’ll update my sheet after. I’m kinda curious how it will register things...”

“We’ll see,” Velariah said before putting her hands on my cheeks and giving me a quick kiss.

I then followed her into the dining area, where the others were already seated. Elly was among them, and stood up to walk to the kitchen when we entered.

“You guys had fun?” Seralyn asked with a grin.

 

“Be careful,” I said. “I’ve found out about a new weapon I possess.”

“Oh,” Draco spoke. “Do tell.”

“It would appear I can make thread that can spontaneously combust when something impacts it.”

 

“The fuck?” Seralyn let out.

“And Elania created threads that resembled something that she called ‘rubber’.”

Velariah reached into her pack and took out the spool in question.

“Here,” She said as she handed it to the other elf.

Meanwhile, I looked around to see where Gray had gone off to. It didn’t take long for me to spot him in front of the hearth, sleeping.

I wondered if Nira made him run while she was flying. There were people back on Earth who walked their dogs while cycling, too.

Would he be able to keep up?

“What is this stuff?” Seralyn looked slightly disgusted, but she couldn’t keep her fingers off the rubber silk.

“Elania said it resembles something that is used for many purposes back in her old world. It appears that people put stuff like this under their shoes for extra grip. I’m not quite sure about all the uses myself yet, but that alone is already quite interesting.”

“What did you call it again?” Seralyn asked. “Rubber?”

I nodded as I positioned myself at the table. “A valuable resource with unlimited uses. What I know about rubber is that it comes from a certain tree, but how and what, I do not know. Being able to create something with similar properties is, quite honestly, nothing short of insane.”

 

“You mentioned putting it under your shoes. What other uses would be easy?” Draco asked.

“Well, the most prominent other use I can think of is putting it around wheels. Pretty much all vehicles on Earth have tires made of rubber with air compressed inside them. I could possibly create something similar when we return, but just putting this around wheels alone should make carts and such much more shock-resistant and able to travel faster due to better traction.”

“Very interesting...” Draco mused.

I grinned at his reaction. At this rate, I might even see him trying to ride a bike someday. I was curious what that would look like… and how often he’d fall.

Scrap that. I was more interested in seeing Seralyn fall.

Elly returned with the dishes and placed them in the middle of the table. Plates and cutlery had already been arranged prior. She then returned to the kitchen to bring in drinks.

“It’s interesting indeed. I’d do all that, and more, except that I’m trying to stay under the radar.”

“What’s a radar?” Velariah asked.

“Uh, oops. I meant, stay low.”

“But what is it?” She asked again.

“It’s… complicated… very, very complicated. I’ll explain it someday. Actually, I don’t even know if I can, but I’ll try.”

We started our extensive dinner of steak, potatoes, and vegetables and talked some more about the plans for the next day.

“Do you have everything we need for tomorrow?” I asked Draco.

“I do, but it’s a bit too much for me to carry alone.”

I smiled. “No worries. I have those saddlebags for a reason. We can stuff many things in those.”

“Thank you, Miss Elania,” He said with a nod.

“I have my potions stocked up. I assume yours are fixed as well, Velariah?” Seralyn asked.

The white-haired elf nodded. “How about you, Nira. Do you need anything?”

The harpy shook her head. “I got everything I need in order to heal. I may ask for an energy potion if things get out of hand, but other than that, I don’t need anything.”

“Heh,” Velariah chuckled. “The idea is to not let things get out of hand.”

“Except we don’t always control it,” I added.

“We’ll have to get better at making sure we do then.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. Controlling the battlefield out in the open was probably one of the strong suits of this body. I already learned about that when we had the battle with the trolls earlier. My silk had done so much work. I imagined, with my improved stamina and eating habits, I could last much longer, too.

 

We continued eating in silence for a while. The others soon finished as I kept going. I knew now that my reserves could be bigger than I had anticipated, and that when full, I could create loads of thread without physically draining myself.

“What was the reward for this quest, by the way?” Velariah asked, after observing me eat for a while.

“It’s a gold-tier group quest. The reward is set to twenty gold. Do keep in mind, however, that there are active bounties on goblins right now. If we manage to kill many of them, our reward will be increased accordingly.”

Not the worst quest reward. Not comparable to my ability to make money, but it was decent nonetheless, especially if one considered that the reward would only have to be split between three people.

 

After about an hour or so of eating in total, I had finished dinner at last. I wasn’t anywhere near as full as when I’d eaten the Borer, but I didn’t have the heart to tell Elly that. I simply said I was full and thanked her for a wonderful meal.

That did make me wonder, though. How much of that Borer was actually eaten? I found it hard to determine exactly how much of it entered my body.

I should probably be on the lookout for a Unibelea or something out in the forest, just to make sure I was going to be as full as I could be.

I hoped I knew how to replicate my earlier ‘eating’.

I was confident I’d be able to figure it out.

“Well, that’s it for me. I’m going off to bed so we can leave early tomorrow morning. I’d hate to miss the festivities, after all.”

 

Festivities? Was this what Velariah talked about earlier?

Seralyn looked at me and must have noticed my confused expression.

“She hasn’t told you yet?”

“Some, but I—”

“I want it to be a surprise,” Velariah quickly interjected. “It’s her first time. Let her see for herself.”

“Fair enough,” Seralyn said. “I won’t spoil anything. Good night, guys.”

“Good night.” Nira was the first to answer.

The rest of us bade her goodnight as she walked up the stairs.

“I think I’ll follow her example...” Nira said softly and hesitantly.

She stood up to pet the sleeping Gray before wishing us goodnight. We wished her the same before Velariah stood up.

“I guess we should call it a day as well. Let me just ask Elly to make some coffee tomorrow when we get up. That stuff is truly miraculous.”

I simply grinned at her comment and noticed Draco smile at me. The elf then disappeared into the kitchen where Elly was doing the dishes.

She returned seconds later and wished the lizardman goodnight.

“Good night, Miss Elania, Lady Velariah.”

“Good night, Draco,” I said to him.

I did what Nira did earlier and gave Gray a few strokes of affection before joining Velariah, who had already entered the bathroom.

After entering the room, closing and locking the doors, a pillow flew at my face.

I managed to block it with my arms, thanks to my four-eye vision.

“Damnit, El. You know using all your eyes isn’t fair.”

I grinned. “Unfortunately for you.”

I placed the pillow back in the hammock where she’d grabbed it from. I then stepped over the hammock to the elf, who already had my inherity sheet in her hands.

“One thing that we haven’t thought about yet,” I said as I approached. “What do we do with Minia?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, with regards to feeding her, etcetera.”

“Elly can do that just fine,” Velariah reassured me.

“I guess that’s true. I hope she won’t miss me, though.”

Velariah shook her head and smiled. “You’ve completely turned around, haven’t you?”

I nodded before speaking softly. “I guess I have. It does help to know that whatever is in front of me isn’t actively trying to kill me, or giving me the impression that it might try to. Then there are also the emotions that she conveys to me… it’s just… it would feel wrong to hate her...”

“Don’t start doubting yourself now,” Velariah said before pulling me down to plant a kiss on my lips. “I’m actually jealous that you’re able to communicate with her. It’s so cute when you do.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m curious how far I’ll be able to take this. Her emotions are already far easier for me to pick up now. She seems to hold us both in high regards.”

“Heh,” Velariah chuckled. “It was quite obvious to see from the moment she jumped on you that she was infatuated with you.”

I nodded. “I feel bad for acting the way I did early on.”

Velariah hugged me. “That’s understandable. There’s no need to feel bad. I doubt Minia minds.”

“I’ll have to ask her someday.”

“Someday maybe. For now, let’s see what this paper tells you, shall we?”

I nodded, kissed her once more, and took the paper from her as I broke the hug. I brought up a pedipalp and created a small puncture wound in my index finger once more before letting a drop of my blood fall onto the paper.

Words appeared and disappeared, the letters arranging themselves like puzzle pieces. Eventually, they had settled once more and I started reading.

 

 

“Hum, okay...” I let out.

“What’s the matter?” Velariah asked, a hint of worry on her face.

“It seems that only the Rubber and Combustion thread were added. There’s nothing new regarding being able to infuse silk with venom. I’m assuming that means that the potency is equal to the venom that is used.”

“That would make sense, in a way.”

I nodded. “So, my Rubber thread does not have Strong or Weak or anything before it, I’m assuming that means it’s at ‘normal’ strength, if you could call it that. The Combustion thread, interestingly enough, is classified as ‘Very Weak’. That makes me wonder how far that will go.”

“I would say that’s not a bad thing, not at all,” Velariah said.

“Agreed. It means it’s going to be far stronger. The room for improvement is something I’m excited about.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it as well,” Velariah said as she gently took the paper and rolled it up. “For now though, we should go to sleep.”

“Oh?” I said with a frown. “I was half-expecting you to have other plans.”

Velariah grinned. “I’d love to, but we do need to get some proper rest. We’ll likely walk a fair bit tomorrow.”

“You’re right,” I admitted.

The elf then walked to the crate in the corner, ducking under the hammock as she went.

“I’ll put it back in the safe tomorrow morning,” She said as she returned.

I quickly washed my hands to get rid of the blood, while Velariah undressed. All I had to do after washing my hands was take off my shirt before joining her. Before I did join her, however, I took one last look at Minia. Nothing had changed about her situation.

“Do make sure that Elly gives her some water too,” I said as I approached the elf, who was waiting for me in the hammock.

“I’ll tell her that,” She said with a smile as I entered the hammock, extending her arms upward to take me into a hug the moment I stepped in.

I eagerly accepted her hug as I wrapped my front two sets of legs around her torso and my back two sets of legs around her legs. My pedipalps were placed behind her shoulders.

She used her hands to pull my face to hers and started giving me soft kisses.

“I thought you wanted to sleep?” I asked after answering several of them.

“I do,” Velariah said with a smile. “And this is the best way to fall asleep.”

“Hm, you may be right,” I answered before I took her in for a deep, passionate kiss.

 

I closed my eyes and turned off the lights before simply enjoying Velariah’s affection. I felt my senses dull fairly quickly as she forced me to relax.

‘“You’re right,“ I spoke softly. “This is the best way to fall asleep.”

“Told ya,” Velariah whispered back. “Good night, my little spider.”

“Heh,” I chuckled. “Little.”

I kissed her one last time. “Good night, my little elf.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Sleep wasn’t easy for me tonight. I drifted in and out of consciousness constantly. Not even Velariah’s soft body and peaceful, slow breathing helped to put me under. By the time I’d finally fallen asleep, the elf was already gently shaking me awake.

“Urgh,” I said groggily, without opening my eyes.

“Bad night?” I could hear her ask.

I nodded slowly. “Terrible.”

“Will you be okay?” She asked with a shaky voice. “You’re not going to molt again, or anything are you?”

“Wasn’t planning on it, no.”

Velariah stroked my hair lovingly and hugged me. “Let’s get up. If you need anything at all, please let me know, okay?”

She clapped on the lights after speaking.

Velariah’s worry for me was evident. I didn’t want her to feel that way, so I simply nodded, hoping that would make her cheer up. Having two people feel terrible wasn’t exactly what I wished for.

I nodded again and stepped out of the hammock. I blindly made my way over to the mirror above the sink. I could find the way with my eyes closed easily at this point.

I opened my eyes, almost expecting there to be something wrong with my face, but fortunately, there was no issue with it.

I started washing my face. Hopefully, that would help.

Velariah grabbed the brush from my hands before I got the chance to work on my hair at the same time and started doing it for me.

“Thanks...” I said softly.

I sighed while I continued. “Do you never have problems sleeping?”

“Rarely,” The elf answered.

“Unfair,” I let out.

“Any idea why you have those nights?” The elf asked.

I shook my head, causing her to yelp as she was still brushing my long hair. “No idea. It’s been a lot better since I came to this world. I used to have it way worse...”

“Maybe your mind is just too busy. If that’s anticipation for the upcoming festival, then I’m sorry.”

I shook my head again. “I don’t know. I don’t think that’s the case, but I’m no expert on the mind.”

“Hopefully, it’s nothing serious.”

“I’ll be fine,” I replied. “Even if my sleep was bad, this body’s natural stamina will more than make up for it. I can last like two days without sleep, without issues. I just need to wake up properly. If only I could drink coffee...”

 

“Yeah, that’s quite unfortunate. I got your hair fixed, by the way, can I have the mirror?”

“Go for it.”

I stepped aside and walked over to Velariah’s clothes chest. I opened it and fished out the black shirt and bra. I imagined these would provide the best camouflage out in the forest.

Not that my rear was easy to hide, but hey.

I put them on and glanced at Minia, who was still in the same position as before, ever unmoving.

How much time would she actually need? My molting seemed to range anywhere from two to four days. Though, I guess three times perhaps wouldn’t give the most accurate idea.

I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the last sleep crust. I opened my side eyes and saw Velariah appear next to me to grab her own set of clothes for the coming day.

I had Velariah strap the saddlebags to my rear, seeing as we were going to need them to carry supplies.

 

A few minutes later, we walked into the main room. Unsurprisingly, the others were already there, in equipment and all. Elly had coffee, tea and breakfast served.

Good morning wishes came from all of them, which I returned out of politeness.

I was not having a good morning... yet. I hoped it would get better, given a bit of time.

The white-haired elf took my inherity sheet upstairs first, before joining us for breakfast. She then asked the maid to take care of Minia while we were gone.

She said it would be no problem at all.

“So,” I started as we finished breakfast. “We have everything we need, yes? Draco, could you put whatever you can’t carry in these bags behind me?”

“Will do. I already have everything prepared.”

He loaded the saddlebags with what looked like tent materials. Canvas, pins, and several poles were loaded up, the poles stuck out the top due to their length. I watched Draco package them and saw he was careful enough to make sure they would stay in place, even when I ran.

He also packed some extra food, which was wrapped in leaves, and some apples.

“Alright,” I said as he finished. “We’re going to stop by the tailor, Dworag, and Coldanus quickly to pick up a few commissioned items. I assume you guys are tagging along? We’ll be done pretty quickly.”

I could see nodding throughout.

It was time to start getting rid of Dawnleaf’s enemies.

One goblin at a time.