Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 6 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Entangled by Spider Threads

“It seems this isn’t my imagination at all.”

Gerbera raised her head. Her long white hair parted, revealing a face so beautiful it could put a goddess to shame. My heart thumped. There was an aggressive air to Gerbera’s expression. I nearly averted my eyes, an awkward sensation running through me, but once I realized this, I faced her directly.

“What is it?” I asked.

My throat hurt slightly. It was scratchy and dry. I tried swallowing some saliva, but it got caught in my throat through my ragged breaths. I coughed lightly before continuing.

“Actually, if we’re going to talk, let’s do it while—”

“Earlier, when I found you, did you not notice I was approaching?” Gerbera said, cutting me off. Her strong gaze remained fixed on me.

“Huh?”

I hadn’t noticed her approach? What did she mean?

“It looked like Rose noticed,” Gerbera added, ignoring my confusion.

“What’s this about?” I asked, my voice a little sharp at the sudden nonsensical topic when we were in a hurry. Anybody else would have done the same. “Is this something we have to stop to talk about?”

“I have judged it to be so, yes.”

Gerbera didn’t stand down, reproaching me with a strong tone. Her red eyes didn’t waver at all; they reflected my image perfectly.

“Do you—?!”

The awkwardness of the situation escalated, and irritation began to rear its head. The urge to scream, “Do you really understand the situation?!” welled up from the depths of my soul. Lily was getting farther and farther away while we stood idle here. Now wasn’t the time for this.

“Don’t you get it, Gerbera? This is an emergency,” I said instead, barely managing to suppress my emotions. Regardless, I couldn’t stop my voice from trembling. “I can’t save Lily on my own. Just as I’ve been saying, I need your strength. I need you to work with me here.”

Without combining our strengths, it would be impossible to get Lily back. I couldn’t do it alone. Lily had taught me that I should live as a master. It was my way of joining hands with my servants and helping each other out, especially in a crisis like this. It would be absurd to erupt at Gerbera and cause discord between us. I had to calm down. I restrained myself, repeating these words in my head over and over.

“So it really must be Lily...?” Gerbera said sadly, biting her lip.

“What?” I knit my brows. “What are you saying? Don’t you want to get her back too?”

As far as I knew, the two of them got along well. Their actual ages were extremely far apart, but Gerbera adored Lily as her older sister. There was no way any of that was for show.

“Are you maybe implying...I’m only this desperate because it’s Lily?” I asked, raising the first possibility that came to mind. “If so, you’ve got it wrong. I’d act the same way if it were you.”

This didn’t only apply to Gerbera either. I would do this for any of my servants.

Gerbera, however, shook her head. “I wonder about that.”

Her expression was unlike her. Her smile looked almost cynical. Her attitude brought back my irritation, but seeing her face blew away all of my impulsive urges.

“I don’t believe that to be the case.”

“Gerbera...?”

“If any of us but Lily were abducted...then she would be the one here by your side.”

The only thing I could feel from her voice was a sense of helplessness. She stepped up to me unsteadily on her five remaining legs. Her swaying and unreliable gait made her look like a flower beaten down by heavy rain.

“You said that you require my strength... Indeed, that makes sense. We cannot take Lily back without working together,” she continued, staggering, but with her eyes fixed on mine. “But is strength all you require?”

I was at a loss for words.

“That’s not what working together means, is it now?”

She grabbed my shoulders. Gerbera’s beautiful face was now close enough for me to feel her breath. She frowned, bitterly biting down on her lip.

“What’s with that face?” I asked.

“I should be saying the same to you.”

She was right. I could see the image of a worn-out and impatient boy in her blood-red eyes. That was me... I looked horrible.

“Don’t carry all of your worries on your own. Don’t keep your unease to yourself,” Gerbera said, shaking my shoulders. “You may not have realized it, but you have lost all your composure. You overlooked many things even I could notice. That is proof above all else.”

I had thought of somehow meeting up with Gerbera, yet I hadn’t noticed her approach. I had completely overlooked that Takaya knew Lily’s identity beforehand because he was traveling with Iino. These points were so easy to see, yet I hadn’t seen them. There were likely other things I still failed to notice. And given the current situation, I couldn’t even tell what mistakes I was making. There was no way of describing myself other than pathetic.

“I thought I was being calm...” I mumbled.

“You aren’t that strong, My Lord.”

Gerbera was right again. I felt guilty for feeding Mizushima Miho to Lily. Takaya had committed the abduction, but I blamed myself, wondering if it was my fault that he had lost his way. I wasn’t so strong a person that I could remain calm while carrying such a burden on my own.

The moment I acknowledged this, the fatigue I had been feeling this entire time grew even greater. To be more precise, I finally felt the fatigue that had been plaguing me throughout this whole ordeal.

Before I knew it, I had gotten too obsessed with the chase. I was pushing myself far beyond my limits. Just as Gerbera had said, the odds of Lily being harmed were rather low. It would be ridiculous to panic and put my all into tracking him, only to fully exhaust myself before we even caught up to them. That was why Gerbera had stopped.

I reflected on my pathetic behavior. I had failed miserably at applying what Lily had taught me. I spoke of working together but didn’t actually do it, despite having done so before. How could I make such a mistake after all this time?

“If Lily were here, I’m sure there wouldn’t be a problem,” Gerbera said, answering the doubts in my mind. “You would’ve been able to express your worries to her. But Lily was abducted. Unfortunately, I am the only one here.”

“It’s not unfortunate or anything...”

“There’s no need to console me. I know that Lily is beyond special to you.” I tried to say something, but Gerbera shook her head and cut me off. “Your first servant. The one closest to your heart. Conversely...it means the rest of us are slightly more distant.”

I couldn’t say anything to that.

“That’s why...” Gerbera continued, “I haven’t thought of anything as arrogant as being Lily’s substitute. Sharing an embrace, understanding each other, having your hearts melt as one... That is the privilege of your lover, Lily. I’m insufficient to serve in this role. Thus, I won’t ask you to cling to me. I won’t ask you to return my embrace. I can’t ask these things after my feelings have been left unanswered all this time. Of course, I won’t use that as an excuse to ask for an answer now either.”

Gerbera’s hands slipped down my shoulders and wrapped around my back. Her embrace was as light as a feather, yet it was like she was binding me wholly.

“But could you please at least lean on me? Remember? You did so once before, right?”

She was referring to that moment we had spent exploring the forest together. After succumbing to my trauma over the events at the Colony, I had simply leaned against her. Now she was asking me to do this once more.

“If I can get even the smallest portion of your heart to feel at ease, then that is more than enough for me.”

The warmth of her body, the emotions coming through our mental path—all of it melted away my anxieties. It felt like Gerbera’s heart was wrapped around mine... Why was I reminded of the time I first met her, when she was but a white arachne without a name?

It had been a meeting full of sorrow. Or perhaps “encounter” was a better word for it. She had abducted me and brought me back to the arachne nest. Exposed to the white torrent of her emotions, her color had entirely painted me over. It felt like my heart would break. I had been like a bug, bound and captured within spider threads.

“I want to ravish you, My Lord.”

Her gentle embrace now was totally different from those violent shackles. Gerbera was trying to support my weakened heart. The affection I felt from her was pure, wholehearted, and very warm.

Nevertheless, Gerbera was still a spider by nature. This situation reminded me of that fact. After all, it felt like she had “captured” me. I felt it much more strongly than when she had taken me to the arachne nest. I was helpless, bound hand and foot.

“You really are inattentive sometimes, Gerbera...”

“My Lord?”

“You’re in no way insufficient,” I said, giving her a slight smile. She stood there blinking in a daze as I wrapped my arms around her back. “I merely thought that if I held you too close, I could no longer hold back my feelings.”

Until now, I had been strongly influenced by my sense of fidelity, brought from my own world. I didn’t really have any particularly strong beliefs or fixations on it, though. The relationship I had with my servants didn’t exist in that world, so I was starting to feel like I couldn’t remain as I was. I had to face these girls accordingly. They were more precious to me than anything else.

And yet those ideals had continued to influence me. Maybe I feared too excessive a change. I had lost many things. I had been forced to change regardless of my own intent. That was possibly why I had tried to retain one unchanging piece of me from that world.

My fear had locked my heart. However, it was about time for that to end. I embraced Gerbera. Her body, which hid a terrifying amount of strength, was daintier than mine. Her white skin was so smooth and soft I felt like I could sink into it.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

◆ ◆ ◆

And just like that, I found myself entangled in white spider threads. I couldn’t get away anymore. I had no intention to. At the same time, one of the fetters that had been restraining me had come undone. I was sure to change, living in this foreign world with the girls I found so precious. And for better or worse, I could no longer stop this change.

“Fwaaaah?!”

Gerbera suddenly shrieked. It surprised me, but I didn’t release my hold and instead stared up at her face. The arms she had wrapped around my back were now up in the air. Her legs skittered about restlessly. She was still missing some legs, though, so this caused her balance to crumble.

“Wh-Wha—?!”

I fell to my knees with Gerbera still in my arms. Her bright red face was right before my eyes. She was so endlessly cute. Her mouth flapped open and shut several times, unable to express any words, before she finally managed to squeeze something out.

“Th-That surprised me.”

“That’s my line. What’s wrong?”

I thought she’d be happy. Her reaction was somewhat unexpected.

“N-Nothing. I-I mean, I’m certainly happy, but...”

So she was happy...but what? I probed her curiously with my gaze.

“I’m far too happy,” Gerbera answered, her arms still high up in the air, “so I felt like I’d carelessly squash you in my embrace.”

“That’s kind of frightening.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard the sound splat applied to an embrace. Maybe my response was a little too effective. Her red eyes, which had been transfixed on me and had kept me from escaping until now, were now swimming about erratically.

“What do I do? What should I do? I’m too stimulated. I don’t think I can control my strength.”

That was a bad joke. Or at least I hoped it was. Judging by how her legs were plowing through the ground, maybe it wasn’t. I let go of Gerbera with a sigh.

“I suppose we’ll wait until you can suppress your strength before hugging...”

“A-Aaaargh...”

Gerbera let out a cute groan, and her shoulders slumped. She seemed as if she wanted to protest, but she knew it was her own fault. I felt a smile coming to me. Before this, I would’ve backed off here, deciding nothing could be done about it, however...

“Uhyah?!”

Gerbera let out a strange yelp as I hugged her properly this time.

“U-Ummm, My Lord?!”

“You’re too flustered.”

I smiled wryly and kept my arms around her. I was already a captive of her threads. It was impossible to escape now. But now that this had happened, I had no intention of letting her get away either.

“When we get Lily back and things have calmed down, let’s find some time to be alone.”

“D-Does that mean...a tryst?!” Gerbera yelled, her red eyes shooting open.

“Aah...well, something like that.”

You don’t really have to pounce at the thought... She had been enduring it all this time, so maybe I was partially to blame. In any case, she was really frank about it. Depending on the person, they were likely to draw back from such behavior. The fact that I found it cute probably meant I was beyond hope.

“Th-Then, at that time, s-smooch! I’d like to try that!” Gerbera shouted.

“A kiss?” I asked to be sure. Gerbera nodded vigorously. I gave it some thought and said... “Sure.”

Thinking of the difficulties to come, a small reward was appropriate.

“R-Really?! You promise?!”

“Yeah, it’s a promise. So, for that to happen...”

“Mm! We must get Lily back!”

I let go of Gerbera and backed off. I tried clenching my fist. I could feel my nerves right to my fingertips. I had recovered about eighty percent of my stamina. Thanks to Gerbera, my mental state was back to normal. I wouldn’t make any stupid mistakes now.

With our determination renewed, I stretched my hand out to Gerbera. She took it with a smile. How strange it was. Something felt totally different now. The physical distance between us was the same as always, but it felt like we were far closer. Just that thought made it feel like strength was surging through my body.

“Okay, let’s get going.”

And just as we were about to continue our chase...

“How beautiful it is to see you getting along.”

Another voice resounded through the desolate forest in the middle of the remote Kitrus Mountains.

“My Lord!”

Gerbera immediately moved to protect me, standing between me and the voice.

“Still, I do believe that one spider still leaves you short on hands, don’t you think?”

Gerbera glared at the slender shadow as it came out from behind a tree.

“If you’d like, shall I lend you a hand?”

I could hear a panting beast next to the voice. An army of shadows oozed out from the shade of the trees. My eyes widened as I watched the boy reveal himself.

“Kudou Riku...”

“It’s good to see you again, Senpai.”

The other monster tamer, leading a two-headed wolf and an army of shadows, flashed me a smile.