- Neri -

 

The following days were rather hard on me.
The lessons of getting used to my familiars got a bit more intense but stayed within my limits.
I can now endure their presence a bit better, but staying close for too long is still tough.
One time, I even had to touch one of them.
I nearly lost it, yet I had physical contact with them before and they feel a bit like cold metal, which is preferable to warm and hairy, in my opinion.
As it was just for the shortest moment, I could directly scramble away after I performed the act.

I also had to give them basic orders sometimes, like "go there" or "eat", to get used to it.
By the way, I had to fill a feeder with that liquid and present it to them.
Eritu said this is important for the bonding.
I don't really know about this, but as I could do it without coming close to them, it was a possible action of mine.
As I said, Eritu's lessons weren't pleasant but stayed within the limits, I suppose.

In this manner, I spent almost a week, in which my familiars grew quite a lot in size.
Truly frightening!

I wouldn't say I've overcome my fear, but without having to touch them I can now at least stand their presence and manage to stay rational.
Since this “sense" of my familiars grew stronger, it now helps a bit as I know what they are thinking so that I can evaluate them.
Other spiders are a bit harder; however, I don't come into contact with them much.

Not all my time was spent near my familiars though.
That is to say, there were more pleasant things.
For example, I had a barbecue with Masiabi.

The kitchen really got filled out and there are now some possibilities of things to make.
Yet, as an Arachne is more carnivorous, I was limited to meat.
I think she liked it.
I even used some seasoning with herbs.
However, she had an awful strong emphasis on ripping the meat into small pieces instead of eating normally.
Digging in had a very literal meaning in her case.
That creeped me out.
But overall it was rather nice.

Other things progressed as well.
I still had to go to some reading lessons with Talisa.
She is extremely strict, but I think I made good progress.

I was also able to look at a map.
To my surprise, we have a map room next to the library.
I learned that this forest is far bigger than I ever thought.
I only knew the realm I lived in and that the forest extended on the eastern border.
But now I see that it extends hundreds of kilometers.
The spiders' realm inside the forest is even nearly the size of our kingdom and I can see that at least three other countries are bordering the woods.
That might be a good thing, as we don't directly belong to any of them, preventing too much attention on us, whereas if we were in the middle of one, they could send the whole army without a diplomatic incident.

And my skills with the silk improved.
I am now allowed to use four fingers at once and even make it sticky.
I don't like sticky so much, as it feels as if I would want to catch something, but it is great to fix something in place.
I bound a shining stone so that it clings to the ceiling, giving a nice atmosphere to the room.

For now, my newest project is to convince the others to make a heated bath.
Akasia won't pose to be a problem I think, but I feel anxious about asking the others.
Talisa would say it is a waste since we don't get dirty, Eritu might fear for the familiars drowning under the surface, Kyroki is just too creepy, and Masiabi...
Oh, shivers!

Just thinking about being naked with her alone.
Maybe I'll put the idea on hold.
Yet I think Akasia is already etching another room next to the kitchen.
The others cannot really tell her what she's to do with her time, right?

All in all, I think I’ve managed to settle into the nest, in the most generous view of this concept.
So it comes that I can now sometimes go out alone.
I like to gather herbs with a basket and mushrooms and berries are nice too.
I’ve realized that my stomach grumbles about me eating them, but with all this poison already slushing around inside me I doubt they're truly harmful.
So sometimes it's nice to cook my meals out of them.
Nothing against that liquid dinner, but I like cooking more.

The problem is I am not really allowed to go out alone.
Some of my spiders are now big enough to leave their room and get assignments.
And now it seems like they are following me.

Their main assignment: "Protect the combat-retarded Arachne!"
I know where they are, and because I asked them to, they stay at a distance, so it is not that much of a problem.
The others said it was this or they would send their own with me, and to be honest, that might be more frightening.
Just remembering Eritu’s black wall causes me to get nightmares of that day.

So I had to make this deal or there would be no going out, as they feared I could get hunted down by anything that comes here in this forest.
However, I don't worry too much about this, since they almost cleared their realm of any other monsters aside from them.
They say that this is for the animals they prey on so that this part of the forest can contain them despite their presence.
They hunt what they need and carefully watch that the realm is big enough to sustain them and doesn't becomes a land of death.
Masiabi's big and strong spiders hunt a majority of our supply on the faraway borders and the rest of the animals are allowed to spread around the land.

A nice concept, as it leads to a good atmosphere around me.
A horror forest with hanging corpses of cocooned prey would be less pleasant and like this you cannot guess that Arachnae are living here, making it safer.
In contrast to Masiabi's explanation that it is marked and you can clearly see who this land belongs to.

 

So my strolls are quite nice and are calming my mind since there aren't as many spiders as you might think.
Also, my spiders leave me my privacy.
Are they catching on to my wishes?
That's distressingly thoughtful of them.
I think on the occasion that something like a wolf comes close, they would jump in without hesitation.
And as they are very strong, based on Eritu’s opinion who has some expertise in this, they would mutilate any threat towards me.
They aren't even small in numbers, just well-hidden in the trees and rather distant.
Though I'm still under continuous surveillance.
Like you might guess with those overprotective entities.

Good that only a small part does this security job.
Yet, 22 of 93 is still considerable.

Yes, I've counted them.
That happens if you are always aware of their existence.
Nonetheless, it is very peaceful here and thus good for my strained mind.

 

"Hey, who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

 

Huh!

What was that!?!

 

"You there, I'm talking to you!"

 

Wait a moment!
That's a human voice!

 

"Show yourself!"

 

Humans!!!
Real humans!
It wasn't even three weeks but it feels like an eternity.

No, no!
Stay focused!
First, you need to figure out what is going on here.
You know perfectly well that there are also evil humans out there.

 

"We’re coming to you!"

 

The voices weren't close, but it seems I was discovered and my contemplating extended over the time I could have ran away.

 

"A girl?"

 

It's a man!
He's holding a bow in his hand and wears a sword at his belt.
I-is he going to do something to me?
N-no, I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Armed men might make me nervous, but it's no surprise that someone would have the means to protect themselves this deep in the forest.
That one wolf back then was certainly dangerous.
And well, you know.
Speaking of which, I think they felt my nervousness.

 

• "Wait! I’m okay! Don't come!"

 

At least, I think I will be fine for now.
Yet if anything, I am the odd one here, without anything but my basket.
He seems a bit surprised by my looks, coming from his gaze and probably the fact of me being here at all.
The only good part is that I’m wearing utility clothes and not my gown.
This would look far too strange.
Yet the light blue shirt might still strain the limits of believability a bit.

 

"What is someone as small as you doing here, little one?"

 

He treats me like a child, but with no obvious evil intent.
It is a bit dejecting, yet twelve years isn't that old and I believe I became a bit slimmer and tender with my new looks.
There is nothing rough about me, so it might emphasize the idea that I'm only a little girl.

 

"G-good day, sir!" (N)

"John! Found something?"

"Yes, you could say so!" (J)

 

So his name is John.
And there are others.
For now, I really would like to know more, before making a mistake.
Especially, one thing is important now.

 

• "Please don't come any closer! Don't attack them, please!"

 

I really don't want my spiders to rip them apart just like this.

 

"Say, what is a girl like you doing in such a dangerous place?" (J)

 

He sounds interested and looks well off. I don't think he is someone who makes a living by doing evil things.
Rather, I think he's doing something more official.
He might be an adventurer!
I show my basket with its contents.

 

"I, I was looking for some ingredients for cooking!" (N)

 

He looks surprised.

 

"And this at such a place? It's dangerous here!" (J)

 

In hindsight, John might be right.
Me dwelling here is certainly weird.
If not for the spiders, there would be monsters around, and so they need to judge this place as dangerous.

 

"John. What have you found there? Is..."

 

Out of the greenery, a second someone comes.
It's a young woman!
She wears a cotton robe, a staff, and has blue eyes and long, even hair.
However, there's one thing that strikes me as odd.
And this is coming from someone living with giant spider monsters.
Why is her hair pink?!