Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 - Curiosity
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While mother and daughter reunited, I stared at [his] bound form, suspended in the web.
A man unable to even scream in pain.
He simply bled, silently enduring his suffering, calmly awaiting death.
“Let me talk to Father.”
The emotional turmoil swirled around the three of us.
The Spider Queen narrowed her blood-red eyes, even in the presence of her beloved daughter.
“Why?”
“I want to ask him why he did this to me and my sisters.”
The Spider Queen slowly,
And warmly, stroked Arachne’s upraised hand, then helped her to her feet.
Their faces were closer now,
But a strange tension hung between them.
“Your father can’t speak. He can’t make any sounds. You won’t get any answers from him. I’ll ask him for you. Your father and I understand each other…”
She was right. [He] had never uttered a single sound.
I had never seen his face beneath the mask, but I suspected the spiders had removed his vocal cords.
I remembered seeing numerous scars around his neck.
“No! I want to see him myself!”
But Arachne, unaware of her father’s condition, stubbornly insisted.
“Arachne.”
The Spider Queen smiled, stroking her daughter’s head.
“I said no, didn’t I?”
A gentle, yet chilling smile.
Arachne fell silent, unable to argue.
But,
Her curiosity, her thirst for the truth, remained.
“…”
Just like me.
Like Arachne, I observed every detail, my eyes scanning the two spiders.
Beneath their silken tops,
Just below their toned abdomens, were navels.
Had the other spiders had them?
I hadn't noticed.
***
“Mother is hiding something. I know it.”
Back in the nest, Arachne lay alone, lost in thought.
I listened to her mumbling, then swallowed and spoke.
“…You told me not to speak out of turn, but I think I should share my thoughts.”
Based on what I had observed during our trip, she was clearly isolated within the spiders’ society.
Her appearance was slightly different,
She didn’t fit in with the other spiders,
And she was both favored and resented by her mother.
Now, I was the only one she could talk to. With her sisters gone, I was her only confidant.
“Your mother seems to care deeply for your father. I don’t know how long they were together, but he clearly escaped years ago. And I think I know why he escaped.”
So I spoke with a newfound confidence.
I had to maintain this assertive demeanor, to be of use to her.
For now, I was just a slave, a breeding male,
But if I could help her process her emotions and understand the situation…
“…Go on.”
Perhaps,
She would treat me as an equal?
It was a risky gamble. But based on the information I had, it was my best bet.
“Your father still has all his limbs. He’s treated differently from that green male we saw in the cave. Even though he killed three of her daughters, she only melted two of his legs.”
“Do you really think that’s significant? You still have all your limbs.”
I carefully laid out my hypothesis. All I had was my mind and my body. I had to use them to gain Arachne’s favor.
“…I’m different. They kept me intact so they could torture me slowly.”
A human’s greatest strengths were adaptability and reasoning. I believed these were the weapons that had made us the dominant species on Earth.
So I had to use them.
In the wild,
You had to use every weapon at your disposal to survive.
“But your mother’s behavior towards your father was unusual. The way she prevented even her own daughter from seeing him… that kind of possessiveness… I suspect they’ve been separated for years. And she must have been thinking about him constantly.”
Simple observations.
But woven together, they formed a compelling narrative.
“And you didn’t even know your father’s face. That means he escaped before you were born, or when you were very young.”
Anyone could have deduced this much.
Arachne nodded, still not fully convinced,
But she was listening intently,
Observing me, arms crossed,
Waiting for me to reveal the full extent of my intellectual capabilities.
“So?”
“There are a few inconsistencies. Escaping makes sense. But your father returned and killed his own daughters.”
“If he had lived here for a long time, he would have known how dangerous that was. Yet, he escaped, then returned, destroyed the eggs, and killed his daughters.”
It required an extraordinary amount of courage. [He] was strong enough to defend himself, but he was still vulnerable to Arachne’s venom.
“And based on my observations, there’s a clear hierarchy among you.”
“But it’s not determined by size or appearance. You all share the same mother, so the only thing that differentiates you is your father’s seed…”
Arachne stared at me, a flicker of amusement in her beautiful eyes. She looked me up and down, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
It seemed,
I had piqued her interest.
“…And the method of birth.”
But my next words seemed to confuse her.
She frowned, tilting her head, struggling to understand.
“I noticed something while we were traveling. The other spider sisters… they don’t have… that opening on their bellies.”
“Opening?”
Arachne’s sisters had navels.
I remembered clearly.
“…You and your deceased sisters were born from your mother’s womb.”
And so,
I revealed a small, hidden truth, a secret shared only between Arachne and her sisters.
Perhaps this was the source of their bond.
The same father,
The same method of birth,
A superior lineage?
“And among those born from the womb, you resemble [him] the most. That’s why he couldn't kill you. You looked too much like him…”
Arachne’s interest intensified, transforming into genuine curiosity, a thirst for knowledge.
“You weren’t born from an egg. You were born from your mother’s belly.”
Arachne touched her navel, but she couldn't connect it to the concept of live birth.
“And judging by your mother’s reaction, she can’t mate with other males. Those males are probably used by her daughters to collect sperm and fertilize the eggs.”
I continued, boldly revealing Arachne’s secrets.
“I don’t understand what you mean about the belly opening, but…”
Arachne leaned closer, her face inches from mine.
Close enough to feel her breath against my skin…
“Everything else makes sense. Juho, you’re quite clever.”
I hoped this was a good thing.
Arachne traced her finger along my navel, a smile playing on her lips, a smile I had never seen before.
“I like that…”
But her gaze was intense.
She no longer looked at me like an insect.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with a focused interest.
“…So, is that all? Or is there more?”
Her lips were almost touching mine. I wasn't so ignorant of females that I didn't recognize this as a form of seduction.
“…That’s all.”
But,
I held back one crucial piece of information.
Based on everything I had observed,
[He] wouldn't have returned to the spiders’ lair without a plan.
He had a reason, a motive, perhaps another act of revenge.
His return, after years of hiding, wasn't accidental.
Perhaps,
The reason he had shown me his scars that day…
Wasn't because he was being hunted by the spiders,
But because he was saying goodbye, preparing for his final act of revenge.
…I would keep that secret between us.
“I suddenly feel like doing it.”
“…”
Arachne’s hands began to roam across my body. Her flushed face and smoldering gaze left no doubt about her intentions.
“You’re a surprisingly good male, Juho. Not just a pretty face.”
Her hand slipped inside my underwear, and I felt a jolt of surprise. While courtship and physical intimacy were common among the females here,
Arachne’s flushed cheeks,
Her playful expression,
And the touch of her fingers…
“…Once Mother falls asleep, I’ll sneak out and ask Father about this. I’ll see if you’re right. But… she won’t be sleeping for a while, will she?”
It was strangely arousing.
Before, I had only felt fear in the presence of this beautiful yet cruel creature,
But now, I felt a stirring of desire.
The encounter with the mermaids,
This current situation,
Inter-species mating…
It was intensely stimulating.
Almost too much for a human to handle.
“Wait, just-”
“What?”
I spoke, interrupting her advances.
I had to make one thing clear.
“Ah, about the eggs… please don’t… I really…”
But perhaps I had exhausted my mental reserves, spent from all the careful strategizing and calculated words.
I hadn't considered how my words would sound to Arachne.
“…”
Asking her not to make eggs,
Meant asking her to carry the child within her womb, like her mother and herself.
Idiot.