'Doesn't this totally count as domestic abuse? I've worked so hard for him! And this guy... actually hit me for the sake of a woman he just met? This is absolutely intolerable!'
Spider's resentment grew deeper and deeper. Her "Chii! Chii! Chii!" noises were filled with anger and grievance.
Even though that was only a baby, at this moment... in Spider's eyes, Sophia had become her enemy, and a cunning, scheming woman at that. As for Ash, he had been completely labeled as a heartless jerk who was lazy, loved good food, and liked chasing women.
Of course... putting aside how Spider came to that conclusion, when Ash heard those resentment-filled sounds from her, he only felt confused.
He had no idea why Spider was suddenly so angry. In his view, he had only been teasing a baby... although there was a bit of bullying mixed in. Still, he didn't think Spider was the kind-hearted type who would stand up for a baby.
More importantly, he had only wanted to learn about Sophia's reincarnation.
Ash looked at Spider, who was sulking in the corner, full of confusion. However, he quickly stopped paying attention to it. After all, how could he understand the emotions of a monster? He only thought that when they got to the city later, he'd buy her something to eat.
Then he turned his attention back to Sophia.
Sophia had no idea what was going on either. She could only pretend to be an innocent baby and hold onto Ash's hand while acting spoiled in his arms.
The carriage continued moving forward, but the atmosphere inside was somewhat strange.
The lord and his wife noticed the unpleasant mood between Spider and Ash, but they didn't dare ask. They simply sat quietly, occasionally sneaking glances at Spider, who was throwing a tantrum in the corner and drawing circles on the floor... which actually looked pretty amusing.
But after a while, Spider, who had been constantly lamenting the unfairness of the world, saw that Ash had no intention of coaxing her.
The resentment in her heart became even stronger than usual.
So she decided to take more drastic action to get Ash's attention, but...
Before she could do anything, a commotion suddenly came from outside the carriage.
The guards, who had already recovered their senses and had been ordered not to interfere with Ash and Spider, shouted nervously from outside, "Bandits! Prepare for battle!"
As soon as the shout rang out, the carriage came to an abrupt stop. The lord and his wife were completely unprepared and were thrown around by the sudden jolt.
Their faces turned pale, and panic filled their eyes.
Through Appraisal earlier, Ash had already discovered that both of them were ordinary people with no combat ability whatsoever.
So he merely shook his head, stood up without a word, ignored the terrified looks from the lord and his wife, opened the carriage door, and walked outside.
There, six bandits who had been lying in ambush were attacking from both sides and surrounding the carriage.
They moved swiftly, held sharp blades in their hands, and continuously shouted battle cries. Their fierce faces looked especially frightening under the sunlight.
As for the four cavalrymen and one butler responsible for protection, despite fighting with everything they had, they were already on the verge of collapse under the bandits' fierce assault.
The sword in the butler's hand was trembling. Sweat covered his forehead, and despair could be seen in his eyes. Even so, he kept shouting for the lord and lady not to come out.
"The guards of nobles really aren't much...", Ash sighed helplessly, but he didn't take action right away.
He simply stood there quietly, as though the chaos before him had nothing to do with him.
It even looked like he was thinking about something.
However, just as the bandits began to think the boy had been scared stupid, several invisible blades suddenly shot out from around Ash.
The blades were unbelievably fast. There was no way to defend against them.
In the blink of an eye, they sliced through the bandits' bodies.
"Ugh?"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"Waaahhh!"
Along with miserable screams and blood spraying everywhere, the six bandits were instantly cut in half without any resistance.
Blood splashed onto the ground like fountains.
Even after being split into two pieces, the bandits did not die immediately. They continued shouting, crying, and wailing.
The horrifying sight seemed to freeze the air itself.
The guards were completely stunned.
They stared at the bloody scene before them in terror, and the weapons in their hands nearly slipped from their shaking fingers.
Meanwhile, Sophia was still in Ash's arms.
The sudden bloodshed made her whole body tremble uncontrollably.
Her previously rosy face instantly turned pale. Her small mouth hung open as though she wanted to cry, but she was so frightened that no sound came out.
Ash felt the baby trembling in his arms.
He lowered his head and glanced at the frightened little one.
Before he could comfort her, he suddenly felt warmth in his arms.
The strange sensation made him pause.
Before he could figure out what had happened, he heard the lord behind him say, "Th-thank you. If it weren't for you, we would've been in real danger."
The lord had gotten to his feet. Despite still being shaken, he looked at Ash with gratitude written all over his face. There was still relief from surviving the disaster in his eyes.
"It's nothing. Just consider it part of the fare. I don't want to drive a carriage myself anyway."
Ash casually responded to the lord's thanks, but his gaze remained fixed on what he was holding.
Only then did he notice...
A large area around Sophia's crotch was completely soaked.
The warm, damp feeling had even passed through the clothing.
"Huh?"
The expression on Ash's face instantly became extremely colorful.
It looked as though he had swallowed a fly.
He even nearly threw her away on reflex.
'Oh, this girl wet herself? Hahaha! Well, in a life-and-death situation like that, it's understandable to get scared enough to wet your pants, right? But! A high school student wetting herself on someone else! How do you feel now? How do you feel? You're definitely so embarrassed you want to die, right? If it were me, I'd want to die for sure! But! This is karma! Karma!'
Spider had originally been angry because Ash was ignoring her.
When she saw this scene, it was as though she had finally found a way to vent her feelings.
Slapping the floor of the carriage, she laughed so hard she nearly rolled around.
Her strange chittering laughter echoed through the carriage, full of delight at someone else's misfortune.
'Serves you right! Totally deserved! I don't feel sorry for you at all~! And Ash, who keeps abandoning the old for the new! Serves you right for getting peed on! Karma! This is the karma you people deserve! Hahahaha!'
"Oh dear, this child has never peed on anyone since she was born. Why today? Could it be that she likes this big brother that much?"
After glancing in surprise at Spider, who was laughing too hard, the lord's wife hurriedly took Sophia with an awkward smile and tried to find a reasonable explanation for her daughter's actions.
As she spoke, she frantically took out a clean cloth and tried to wipe Sophia off.
As for Ash, he had completely frozen.
His hands hung in the air, unsure what to do.
His face was full of helplessness and frustration, and he couldn't stop complaining inwardly.
'This girl is high-school age, isn't she? How can she have so little self-control?'
Though a normal high school girl would probably be scared after suddenly seeing a group of people cut in half at the waist.
Still, this girl definitely belonged among the most cowardly of them.
The absurd situation made him regret carrying this baby out here in the first place.
———
Although he had the misfortune of being peed on, the lord and his wife remained very welcoming.
They directly invited Ash to wash up at their home.
To repay him for saving their lives, they insisted on letting him stay for dinner and spend the night, even after he declined several times.
They also provided Spider with a luxurious human meal according to his request.
But after Ash finished bathing and changed into clean clothes, he found that although Spider was still eating, an unhappy aura was coming off her.
He completely failed to understand it.
Still, he walked over and patted Spider on the head.
"You, what exactly are you upset about? Didn't I already get you good food? Why are you still throwing a tantrum? Is the food not good enough? They're only border nobles. You can't expect food on the level of a royal palace."
'Hmph! I don't want to talk to you. Someone who keeps abandoning the old for the new. Aren't you fond of that baby? Then go find your baby.'
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I feel like I've been seriously insulted. Is it just my imagination?"
Although he had teased Sophia earlier, it had only been because he felt like it.
Normally, he wouldn't randomly carry children around.
Even though he could hardly deny liking Linie and Sense at this point, he still had standards.
While he was thinking this and shaking the weird thoughts from his head, the lord's wife nearby caught his attention, the lady seemed to be trying very hard to communicate with Spider.
A strange enthusiasm could be seen in her eyes.
Looking at Spider, who had turned her head away and was deliberately ignoring Ash, the lady's eyes shone with affection as she couldn't help saying, "Lady Spider... no, Divine Beast. You're truly adorable. Not only do you not hurt people, but your actions are especially interesting. You even healed the injured guards earlier. As expected of your magical pet."
"Divine beast? Adorable?"
This was already the second time Ash had heard her say something strange like that about Spider.
He couldn't help wondering if there was something wrong with her sense of beauty.
In his eyes, Spider's frightening appearance and troublemaking husky-like personality had very little connection to the word "adorable."
Still, there wasn't much he could say.
He could only nod vaguely.
After all, he didn't know how to respond, and this lady was definitely stranger than he was.
But at that moment, she took the initiative to ask him to hold Sophia again.
Sophia seemed to like him very much, and she herself wanted another chance to communicate with Spider.
Since Ash had wanted to ask about reincarnation from the start, only to be interrupted by the bandits and then distracted by being peed on, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
So the two silently reached an understanding.
Ash walked toward Sophia, who was lying in a baby cradle beside the lord's wife.
Meanwhile, the lord's wife sat by the dining table with a smile, preparing to get closer to Spider.
Though... in reality, Sophia was quite afraid of Ash.
She didn't want any more contact with this mysterious, powerful, cruel person who had somehow seen through her secret.
She struggled desperately on the bed.
Fear filled her tiny eyes.
Unfortunately, no one noticed these little actions.
Her mother's attention was completely focused on Spider.
As a result, Ash smoothly picked her up with a smile, placed her on his lap, and even carried her out of the room.
———
"So, let's have a proper talk about your being a reincarnator."
Ash looked at Sophia in his arms and spoke softly.
"I'm a little curious about it. But you don't need to worry too much. I'm not interested in you, so naturally I don't have any strange ill intentions."
He truly had no other motives.
He only wanted to know the secret behind this reincarnated baby.
"..."
Sophia pursed her lips and remained silent.
She tried pretending not to understand what Ash was saying.
Or rather, she hoped she could get through this by acting as though she couldn't respond.
However, Ash easily saw through the trick and had no intention of letting her off.
"Don't pretend you don't understand, or that you can't speak. You have plenty of skill points. Just pick Telepathy. If you don't behave, my hand might slip and you'll fall to the ground."
'Y-Yes! I'm sorry! Please don't throw me on the ground...'
After only a little intimidation, Sophia made a miserable face and was forced to choose the skill.
A bitter yet childish voice immediately entered his mind.
"Very good. You're such a good child~"
Ash nodded in satisfaction and praised her.
But in Sophia's eyes, his smile looked somewhat like a devil's smile.
She couldn't stop herself from shivering.
'Please... don't hurt my family... Whatever you want, come after me. They're innocent...'
Sophia raised her head and looked at Ash.
Her face was full of pleading.
The words left Ash speechless.
He lightly flicked Sophia on the forehead as though scolding a disobedient child.
"I'm not some devil. Don't make me sound like a bad guy. Didn't I protect you earlier? If it weren't for me, you'd already be meeting the Goddess."
'Um... thank you?'
Sophia replied unwillingly.
She knew what Ash said was true.
But his attitude... really didn't seem like that of a good person.
She couldn't help remaining cautious.
Ash didn't care about that.
Instead, he suddenly changed the subject.
"Also, you need to apologize to me."
'What?'
"You peed on me and already forgot?"
'Uh... s-sorry... B-but! Please just forget about that!'
Sophia's little face instantly turned red.
She wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.
This was the most embarrassing thing that had happened in her entire life.
Instinctively, she wanted to erase the incident from her memory.
Yet Ash had actually brought it up again.
She only felt ashamed now and wanted to escape the awkward situation immediately.
Unfortunately... there was nowhere for her to run.
She could only look at Ash pitifully.
Seeing her like this, Ash revealed a satisfied smile.
"Let's leave that aside for now. When you grow up, I'll help you remember it properly. For now, let's talk about your reincarnation."
'Are you a devil?'
Sophia couldn't help blurting it out as she looked at Ash's half-smiling expression.
"Not really. I'm just a passerby who isn't particularly kind-hearted."
'I-Is that so?'
His overly honest answer left Sophia completely at a loss.
She could only helplessly talk with him about reincarnation.
But in reality, she knew nothing.
The last thing she remembered before reincarnating was being in a classical language class.
Then she suddenly became a baby again.
'Ah, no.'
'Maybe before that I was still a fetus?'
Anyway, she died for no apparent reason, became the daughter of a noble family, and ended up like this.
In summary, a standard case of not knowing anything no matter what you asked.
Although the conversation with the reincarnator produced little progress, or rather, no useful information at all, Ash was only somewhat disappointed and didn't pay much attention to it.
He quietly appeared on time every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The rest of the time, he spent in the underground labyrinth.
Spider occasionally joined him, though she deliberately avoided spider-type monsters.
In any case, they hunted monsters and gained levels.
Spider, who had already become a Ede Saine when she left, advanced once again and became an Zana Horowa.
Her entire body turned pure white.
However, compared to Ash's enthusiasm for the dungeon, Spider actually preferred sunbathing, taking walks, and eating good food within the territory.
Thanks to Ash's help, the lord's wife had gained the courage to approach her.
Whenever Spider went out, two guards accompanied her to explain things and ensure that nobody panicked.
Many people even offered food to her.
The country where this territory was located, the Kingdom of Sariella, followed the Goddess Religion.
It possessed values different from the world's largest religion, the Word of God Religion, and the two had been enemies for many years.
Since the Goddess's messengers were spider-type monsters, Spider suddenly became a divine beast.
That was also why, for some reason, she liked doing unnecessary things.
Whenever someone prayed to her for something, she would habitually use Appraisal.
If she discovered someone was sick, she would directly heal them.
As a result, her fame spread throughout the town and even nearby cities.
She became the officially recognized divine beast of the Goddess Religion and received offerings from many believers.
Ash, however, didn't really want to bother with her.
He quietly farmed levels alone in the dungeon while researching magic.
He wanted to completely master the magic of this world and cast it himself.
Otherwise, once he left this world... without the system's assistance, he would certainly be unable to use it.
And while both of them were busy, elsewhere...
"I see. A strange person killed your children, and they all died without any ability to resist... You're also suffering from strange mental attacks..."
In the upper layers of the underground labyrinth, beside the Queen Taratect, a small figure, the Demon Lord, looked at the giant spider crying in pain before her.
Her heart was filled with sympathy.
Because all spider-type monsters were her kin.
Especially these Queen Taratects, who were her daughters.
Although they weren't daughters in the normal sense.
Rather than children she had given birth to, the offspring created through the Egg-Laying skill were more like copies of herself.
Simply put, it was a skill that created weakened replicas possessing their own will.
However, because they were connected through their souls as kin, their relationship was, in some ways, even closer than that of actual mother and daughter.