A Spider's Concern
"Miss Arachne, your hand..! You're hurt."
"Ah..."
The thread she'd been gripping had tightened so fiercely that angry red marks stood out across both thumbs, and even bluish bruises had bloomed around her wrists. I couldn't help but stare in shock. A chef's hands are her life.
"W-wait.. your hand, it's... touching.."
The injury must have come from restraining the violently struggling Field Team Leader. Feeling guilty that she'd hurt such an important part of herself, I quickly took both of her hands in mine.
"Ah... ah.."
The Counselor's hands... feel like this. Softer than I expected, yet larger than my own..
"I'll heal it right away."
"Ah?"
After thanking the miniature Undine for instantly mending Arachne's wounds despite my own life being in danger, I carefully inspected her now-smooth palms and the backs of her hands.
"U-uwah.."
She flinched and tried to pull away when I began running my fingers between hers, but the wounds had closed properly.
"I-I didn't know you possessed such an ability."
"Strictly speaking, it's not my own ability, but let's leave it at that. If anywhere else still hurts, please tell me."
"Anywhere else that hurts..?"
If I say it... will he gently stroke that place the same way he just did? N-no.. I shouldn't be thinking like that. If I'm going to be touched, it should be proper, not some cheap trick...
I could practically hear the frantic gears turning inside her head, so I changed the subject to hide my own embarrassment.
"By the way, Miss Arachne, to hold your own against the Field Team Leader like that... you're incredibly strong. I was surprised."
"Yeah.. you think so? The indoor space worked in my favor, and she was drunk and off-guard... Besides, I figured she'd already told you about me."
"She? The President?"
I wondered what the President might have said, but Arachne answered without hesitation, as though it wasn't a difficult topic.
"She's the one who brought me to the facility when I was hiding in the sewers."
"The President caught you..?"
"Well, she didn't exactly catch me. I followed her of my own accord. If anything, she was the one who got caught instead."
Though the noisy staff kept shooting at me for some reason, and the fight happened in my old nest after work had already finished there, so I suppose I had the advantage.
"The bullet marks from when I deflected her shots should still be on the carapace along my back."
Despite its deep navy color, I'd assumed it was tough, but apparently it could even deflect bullets. As for why the President had called off her staff... perhaps because they'd confirmed Arachne was female? "Don't shoot! Stop! What if her pretty face gets scratched?!" "I'm going in myself..! Kiyahou!" Something along those lines, probably.
"It was impressive how she kept trying to negotiate even after being caught, and moving my hideout again would've been a hassle, so I figured I'd play along and see what happened."
"So that's how it went."
"She was probably too embarrassed to admit she'd lost to me."
Even accounting for environmental advantages, the fact that she'd stopped point-blank gunfire with her bare hands and then casually bound and beat the Field Team Leader right in front of me left no doubt about her combat prowess. Those sturdy webs would have countless uses in battle, and the way she handled them so precisely while cooking dozens of dishes simultaneously only reinforced that impression.
"..Enough about that. I'm just glad you're safe."
"Thank you for saving me. I didn't expect you to come. How did you get outside?"
"Ah..! Well..."
All the eyes on her forehead squeezed shut, and even her two main eyes avoided mine. What was this reaction? Discomfort..? Embarrassment? It felt like she'd been asked a question she didn't want to answer.
"Rather than that, shouldn't you heal her over there with that ability of yours?"
"..Miss Arachne?"
She didn't just escape on her own, did she? ...No, right?
"E-eiit..."
Pushing me away with such a cute sound wouldn't work. If this were real, there would have been an uproar already.. The way she had obediently set me down after carrying me in her arms, then turned her head away.. It seemed wiser to wait until the Team Leader or the President arrived.
"..Then, Field Team Leader?"
"I'm.. fine. I got what I deserved."
Almost getting eaten in my sleep.. even as a joke, that's not funny. Especially after getting drunk, acting all clingy and disgusting, and then..
So I approached the Field Team Leader to fulfill my duty, only to find her showing an unusually repentant attitude. Well, after getting completely drunk, pretending to be sober just to lure me to her bedroom, revealing her true colors the moment we reached the bed, and then confessing something like a love confession before passing out and unconsciously draining my vitality while asleep, it made sense. If even a shred of conscience remained somewhere in that ample chest, now was the time to reflect. If no one had come to rescue me, by the time morning came.. I would have already become a withered mummy and met my end.
Arachne's arrival had been unexpected, but I felt an unfounded certainty that the Team Leader or Founder would have appeared at the critical moment anyway. Who knows? The Team Leader might already be lurking somewhere nearby, gloomily watching us..
"Please don't say that.."
That's why I wasn't particularly angry. When she brushed the dust off the bear plush like a stuffed toy and placed it on the bed, I could see the torn fabric around her stomach revealing slowly forming dark bruises. Her smooth abdomen was exposed, and the glimpse of underwear.. was black. Nice.
"..If that woman hadn't stepped in, your life would've been in danger. I didn't even realize it and.. charged in like a fool."
But even in this situation, I don't want to apologize. I don't want to say thank you either. I know I was wrong, I know I made a mistake, so why..
"Ah.."
The woman who saved the Counselor... is annoying? I got hit, but it feels like there's more to it than that..
"It was definitely dizzying when my strength drained away, but I don't want to blame you for something you didn't do on purpose."
"R-right. I didn't do it on purpose either.."
"..."
No, this was the moment where she should have offered a proper apology instead of just agreeing. Sensing my pointed gaze, the Field Team Leader squirmed uncharacteristically while stubbornly refusing to apologize in front of Arachne. Yet she also seemed conflicted about needing to say something resembling an apology..
"Ch.."
"Ch?"
Was she about to say "thank you" instead of apologizing?
"..Want to touch my chest?"
"!"
How naive I'd been. Of course. She'd been stubborn enough to strip completely in front of me just to win a single game, leaving only her tails barely covering her chest and groin like some kind of pervert. But to actually ask if I wanted to touch her chest in this situation.. Of course I liked breasts, and the Field Team Leader's especially—those selfishly large mounds on such a slim waist, protruding with unexpected elasticity—made me want to touch them at least once..! But Arachne was watching, and being allowed to touch them like this felt wrong.
"Yes, I want to."
Huh? Did I just say that out loud? The exact opposite of the conclusion my brain had painfully reached had come out of my mouth.
"W-what the hell are you saying, you pervert..!"
"No! You're the one who said it, Field Team Leader!"
The Field Team Leader hugged her own full chest and glared at me, her face slightly flushed. Why was I getting this look? Who asked first?
"That was..! But.. who in their right mind would actually say yes there?!"
"Me, right here."
Those breasts that had tormented me countless times on the way here from the bar—if she was never going to let me touch them, she should at least button up that openly exposed front and hide that deep cleavage. Now that I knew I couldn't touch them, a stubborn impulse made me say it shamelessly, earning me an incredulous reaction. But she quickly realized her position and backed down.
"...Not my chest.. but somewhere else is fine."
Then that incredibly elastic butt that looked like it would bounce my palm right back if I slapped it hard. I almost answered immediately, but this time I managed to stop myself properly.
"Then.. my tail... or something."
Instead, my answer became her nine lush, swaying white tails. Those perky fox ears and the mysterious white hair were also candidates, but Nero's ears were a decent substitute even if a bit small, and the Founder was the undisputed champion when it came to hair. So really, those abundant tails were the only option. They looked incredibly soft, and apparently she could move them to some degree at will, which was rather fascinating.
"What are you saying! You per— T-tail? Yeah, if it's that, then it's fine..?"
She'd already had the word "pervert" on the tip of her tongue, ready to hurl at me. Maybe my gaze roaming over her body looking for a place to touch had been a bit creepy.
"Then let's call it even with that."
Since I hadn't expected a proper apology anyway, and this was an unexpected opportunity, I didn't mind. So I get to touch that tail. What would it feel like? Lav had made a similar tail before, but when the real thing belonged to an actual nine-tailed fox.. it would feel different, right?
"W-wait. It's covered in dust right now, and I haven't groomed it, so later.. how about that?"
"Oh.."
She groomed it regularly even though she always kept it hidden. I could almost picture her holding a comb, carefully tending to each tail one by one. In that case, I'd have to wait.
"Um, you..!"
"..? Miss Arachne?"
Arachne, who had been quietly listening to our conversation while I anticipated what a nine-tailed fox's tail would feel like, suddenly approached and spoke up. When I looked down at her, she stood with her arms crossed, still unable to meet my eyes, and hesitantly said:
"I.. don't have a tail, but if it's my chest.. you can touch it, if you want..."
"?"
Wait, why was Miss Arachne saying that? Huh?