Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Competent Wastrel - 8
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The forest where the Arachne dwelled.
Into that place, thick with trees and underbrush teeming with the mystery of life, intruded unwelcome guests who didn't belong.
Adventurers and mercenaries blinded by the outrageous bounty trampled the forest's silence with their ragged breaths and curses.
"Damn it! Where the hell is my 50 gold coins!"
"Why are they yours? They're mine!"
"More importantly, are we sure Arachne even live in this forest? We haven't seen hide nor hair of them since we got here!"
"Maybe they spread false info from the start to trick us."
After hours of wandering the woods without spotting their target, the adventurers' patience began to wear thin.
If word had spread that someone had found an Arachne and claimed the bounty, jealousy alone would have spurred them to search harder.
But the forest remained eerily quiet.
In the bizarre silence where not even birdsong could be heard, they gradually began to suspect the whole request was one massive scam.
"Hey, everyone! Big trouble!"
It was then. An elderly adventurer burst through the underbrush, shouting desperately.
Thinking he'd spotted an Arachne, they rushed toward him eagerly.
But the news gasped out by the panting old man was far from what they'd hoped.
"A monster wave?!"
"No way! There hasn't been any sign of that up till now!"
"Damn it, we can't just stand here! We need to head back and stop the wave!"
"M-me too! My family's back there!"
The adventurers who'd swarmed in hoping for a quick score now stirred in chaos.
Some bolted back without a glance over their shoulders to protect their loved ones.
Others gripped their weapons tighter to uphold their duty and raced toward the forest entrance.
Not a few simply decided the Arachne hunt was a waste of time and money and left.
"Idiots, throwing themselves into danger like that. Catch one Arachne, and you could live off it for life."
"Let 'em go. Fewer rivals means it's good for us, right?"
Sneering jeers from those resolved to stay stabbed into the backs of the departing comrades.
Ignoring the territory's crisis, they mocked the leavers as fools, drunk on dreams of 50 gold coins.
As their greed-soaked laughter vilely spread through the forest...
The old man who'd urgently spread word of the wave just moments ago had wiped all expression from his face.
"Huh?"
"What the hell is this?"
Thin, transparent threads settled over the necks of the greedy adventurers.
The threads snapped taut one after another, jerking dozens of heads back as the agony of strangulation began.
"Gack... guh..."
"I will hold you accountable for your unauthorized intrusion into Altesia Territory."
"Wh-what? Guh!"
"Young Master Heinz Altesia will pass judgment and sentence personally, so refrain from pointless resistance."
"Guh-gack...!"
A few adventurers grasped the situation and instinctively drew their daggers.
They wildly swung their blades to sever the slender threads digging into their necks.
But the transparent silk remained unscratched, slicing even deeper into their flesh instead.
The faces of the struggling adventurers turned purple, and eventually, they went limp, overcome by lack of air.
'Who the hell is that old guy?'
From the underbrush beyond, a man hiding in the shadows watched the scene, chills running down his spine.
Even the guild's top-tier experts had fallen without a fight.
Instinct screamed at him to flee now.
He absolutely couldn't get involved. The moment he turned to run...
Rustle-!
A small shadow darted swiftly between the trees.
"Who's there!"
The man reflexively looked up and shouted.
An Arachne thread wrapped around his exposed neck.
The shadow atop the tree dropped silently behind him, twisting his wrist to pull the thread tight.
"Guh...... gack!"
It was the exact same method the old man had used.
The shadow was petite, but the slender arms held monstrous strength.
Overwhelmed by the crushing force on his throat, the man collapsed without even a dying scream.
A clear thread mark remained on the unconscious man's neck.
One more ounce of force, and the silk would have sliced through flesh and bone, severing his head in an instant.
"You're still inexperienced."
"Master!"
"Hiding your bloodlust was good, but the angle of the pull was slightly off. You have a long way to go, so keep at it."
"Yes! I'll keep it in mind!"
The old man and wolf girl set off for their next prey.
Where they passed lay only the limp bodies of greed-ridden adventurers.
Hidden Arachne emerged, wrapping the bodies in silk and hanging them from the trees.
Dozens, hundreds of grotesque cocoons soon adorned the forest, forming a grisly spectacle.
Late-arriving adventurers who stumbled upon the sight fled in horror.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The atmosphere in Baines Village, on the outskirts of Altesia Territory, hung heavy with despair.
Villagers were in full panic, trembling in terror.
Beyond the crude log walls, a vast plain swarmed with black monsters.
The monster horde steadily closed in on the village.
The moment they hit, the flimsy walls would crumple like paper, and everyone would be massacred—it was plain as day.
They needed to abandon the village and flee, but monsters lurked in every direction.
"Oh, gods...!"
Perfectly surrounded and isolated.
Elders sank to the ground in prayer, children huddled in their parents' arms, shaking with fear.
The armed militia was there, but the monsters outnumbered them badly.
As despair settled over the village facing certain death, one woman cried out with a spark of hope.
"It's too early to give up! The lord might come save us!"
"Yeah, Count Altesia would find a way to rescue us. If it's Count Altesia..."
"Count Altesia left for trade in a distant foreign land. Young Master Heinz rules this land now."
"Ah..."
The woman who'd rallied them fell silent.
She'd never met him personally, but she knew the rumors: Heinz was an irredeemable wastrel.
No spoiled brat who cared nothing for commoners' lives would come to their aid.
As her last flicker of hope faded, she slumped in place.
Was praying to the gods all that was left?
Lips bitten in the grim situation, a watchman on the watchtower shouted.
"Look there! A flag! It's Altesia!"
"What? For real?"
The desperate cry from the wall roused the despairing villagers to their feet.
All eyes turned to the steep northern hill.
Backlit by the setting sun flew the golden eagle banner of the Altesia Count House.
Armored knights and soldiers in silver plate followed in formation.
A pitiful number against the horizon-filling horde, but their aura alone shifted the plain's air.
"They didn't abandon us!"
"We're saved! The count came for us!"
Overjoyed at not being forsaken, villagers cheered at the top of their lungs.
True, the wastrel young master led them—a source of unease—but now wasn't the time to be picky.
In this death trap, they'd extended the only helping hand.
That alone began to fade the years-old image of Heinz as an incompetent wastrel in their hearts.
"We're gonna live!"
"Who just badmouthed Young Master Heinz as a wastrel?!"
"Nobody said that."
"You wouldn't happen to be...?"
"A-hem!"
Baines Village's mood had lightened enough for jokes.
Meanwhile, Heinz issued orders from horseback to knights and soldiers.
The knights fiercely objected, but he shook his head and pressed on.
As he peeled off from the formation, the villagers sighed in unison.
"Figures. He'll leave it to the knights and head somewhere safe."
"With the commander bailing, the poor knights and soldiers will just die."
"At least they came this far. Let's be grateful."
As disappointment toward Heinz spread...
The woman who'd clung to hope till the end saw it differently.
'No, the safest spot is by the knights' side or the rear!'
Heinz had veered to the formation's flank, descending the hill.
Straight toward monsters.
Spotting him, they charged; he wheeled his horse, slipping sideways smoothly.
Monsters chased his tail, opening a path—the knights pointed and advanced.
'Young Master Heinz was luring the monsters! That explains the knights' initial objections...!'
The woman who saw through it gasped in shock.
What ruler volunteered as bait, diving into danger?
Not even empty words could call it wise.
Without their commander, the force could collapse.
Yet Heinz trusted his men, playing savior to keep everyone else safe.
"Evacuate the elderly and weak first, per our orders!"
"Those who can fight, grab weapons and join the ranks!"
"Outside forces, clean up the remnants so monsters can't reach the civilians!"
"This is the time Young Master bought us! Move fast!!"
Knights and soldiers felled unchasing monsters while directing the evacuation.
Their precise coordination screamed premeditation.
Seeing it as Heinz's strategy too, the woman's eyes sparkled.
She bolted the opposite way, shrugging off a friend's plea, and climbed the wall.
She fixed her gaze on Heinz racing across the plain.
Maintaining a razor-thin distance to keep monsters from turning back—a high-wire act for the stout-hearted only.
After toying with them thoroughly, he suddenly galloped toward somewhere.
On the horizon's edge rose the Adenberg banner—a perfect timely arrival that sent shivers through her.
The scene etched into her eyes like a painting.
Far in the future, as a world-renowned bard, she would pass down that day's tale thus:
There was a hero there, not a wastrel.