The girl with only half a body growing from the spider had snow-white hair. The strands were smooth and soft, falling down her back like a waterfall.
Her skin was as pale as snow, pale enough to seem unhealthy, yet it gave her a different kind of beauty.
Her delicate face was stunningly beautiful, like a carefully crafted work of art, every feature perfectly placed. But across her chest was a crude wrap made from dense spider silk, which really didn't match her appearance.
Yet at this moment, she was pressing her forehead against Ash's while gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands and shaking him wildly. The strange behavior contrasted sharply with her elegant appearance, making her seem both funny and cute.
"Twenty years old? I'm already about twenty! At least look at me! Why did you ignore me just now? Aren't we companions who depend on each other? Or are you a pervert? You're actually interested in a her?"
Kumoko shouted excitedly. Her voice was full of disbelief. Grievance and dissatisfaction showed in her eyes, like a child who had something stolen from her. She waved her arms around as she protested to Ash, carrying both childish anger and a bit of lovable innocence.
But the moment she finished speaking, she froze as if struck by a paralysis spell. She finally remembered that she could speak normally now, and this was the first time in her life she had rattled off so many words at once.
Worse still, every word had been her honest thoughts, completely exposed in front of everyone.
The blush that had only just faded from her face quickly returned. Her hands stopped shaking Ash's shoulders. She pursed her lips, and her expression changed at an alarming speed.
She looked like... no, she really was about to shut down again.
"There~ There~"
Seeing how quickly Kumoko's mood changed, Ash couldn't help sighing. A helpless but fond smile appeared on his face. He skillfully freed one hand and gently patted her snow-white hair, like soothing a frightened animal.
When the girl carefully looked at him again, he simply smiled helplessly and said softly,
"Anyway, calm down first. Whatever it is, we can take it slowly, okay?"
"N-No... that's not...", Kumoko, having just remembered she could talk, sank into brief frustration before noticing something else. She immediately made a look she couldn't endure.
"Then what's wrong?", Ash looked at her in confusion. His voice still carried the tone he used to comfort children, gentle as always.
"You...", After getting closer and noticing the strange smell, Kumoko frowned and squeezed the words out, "...smell bad!"
"Don't just tell people they stink! That's rude, isn't it?", The gentle expression he used for children immediately cracked, and he almost wanted to smack her on the head.
"Urine...", Kumoko frowned and forced out the word.
"Ah, urine? Don't worry about it. I'm used to it."
"Your hand... d-don't tell me?"
Kumoko suddenly seemed to think of something terrible. Her body began trembling uncontrollably, and her beautiful eyes filled with horror.
Ash quickly waved both hands.
"No, no, not this hand."
Only after hearing that explanation did Kumoko let out a huge sigh of relief. But she still immediately pushed his hand away as if it were some terrifying monster, then silently backed up two steps, putting as much distance between herself and the guy who smelled like urine as possible.
Ash felt deeply hurt and couldn't help stepping closer instead.
"What do you mean by backing away? Is our friendship really weaker than urine?"
"..."
Kumoko didn't answer.
Both her human head and spider head silently turned away at almost exactly the same time.
It looked pretty amusing.
But as the person involved, Ash didn't find it amusing at all. He looked betrayed. One hand grabbed her shoulder, while the other held the baby out toward her.
While saying things with complete righteousness, he kept trying to push the baby toward Kumoko.
But...
'No no no no! I don't want to! I don't want a her! I wouldn't eat it even if you fed it to me!'
Kumoko's face was full of disgust. The spider head beneath her suddenly lifted and exaggeratedly opened its huge mouth. The fangs inside gleamed under the light, scaring Sophia so badly that she nearly wet herself again.
Or rather...
If she hadn't already been frightened earlier and emptied most of her reserves, she probably would have soaked Ash too after already soaking her mother.
Even so, Sophia still shuddered in fear. Her little hands clutched Ash's clothes tightly as if grabbing her last lifeline. She kept shaking her head at him, panic all over her face, while using telepathy to express her dissatisfaction.
["Mr. Ash likes this spider more than me? Why are you giving me to this spider?"]
The childish voice echoed inside Ash's head, carrying grievance and jealousy.
Ash responded with an awkward but polite smile and quietly pulled Sophia back.
"Nothing like that. I was just..."
["W-Who would... like you!"]
Kumoko had intercepted the telepathy through a skill and immediately glared back at Sophia.
The look was practically a declaration of war.
Sophia's competitive spirit flared up instantly. She gripped Ash's hand even tighter. Her teary eyes became surprisingly aggressive, as if declaring her ownership of him.
'Good grief. Why couldn't I pick a normal girl? Why am I suddenly choosing between a baby and a half-human half-spider monster? Did I do something wrong?'
Caught between them, Ash looked at the bizarre choice before him and felt a headache coming on. He almost wanted to run away.
The fight between a baby and a monster was genuinely amusing.
At least, the Keren family found it entertaining. The corners of their mouths lifted unconsciously. Their eyes were full of amusement. They had even forgotten that their home had just suffered a disaster.
But Ash, the person directly involved, felt nothing of the sort. He even wondered if he had fallen into some strange and absurd nightmare.
Those two little ones, Sophia and Kumoko.
After becoming enemies, they both stared directly at him. Their gazes were so intense and determined that he found himself trapped in an awkward situation.
He could only let out a deep sigh and try to ease the tense and strange atmosphere.
"You two..."
Before he could finish speaking, a deafening crash suddenly came from above, like the impact of an aerial bomb hitting the ground.
BOOM!
The entire mansion seemed to shake.
The ceiling broke apart like a fragile eggshell, leaving a huge hole.
Moonlight poured down through the opening like a silver waterfall. Dust scattered through the beam of light.
Within the drifting dust and on the cracked floor tiles below, a black-haired girl suddenly appeared.
Ariel.
The moonlight fell across her body, outlining her with a faint glow. Combined with her pointed ears that clearly weren't human, she looked like a fairy from a dream.
"Ta-da~ Demon Lady Ariel! Making a grand entrance!"
Ariel's clear voice echoed through the dust.
Like Kumoko earlier, she closed one eye, made a peace sign, and struck a cool pose.
Whether it looked cool or not was another matter.
At the very least, it was playful and cute.
And yes...
Calling her cute was absolutely correct.
Her delicate face, lively eyes, and energetic expression made that impossible to deny.
It's just...
Well, looking at the disaster area around them and everyone's various expressions, her entrance felt a little odd too.
Like suddenly inserting a cheerful tune into a sad song.
"Oh? I sensed Potimas activating something strange, so I rushed over immediately, but... is it already over?"
Amid the heavy and strange atmosphere, Ariel blinked her large eyes and realized she seemed to have arrived a bit late.
She looked around and quickly spotted Ash, Sophia, and Kumoko all tangled up together.
Confusion appeared on her face.
Meanwhile, Ash seemed to have finally found a reasonable target to escape his current predicament.
He silently raised a finger and pointed at Ariel.
Then he declared solemnly, "Actually, the one I like most is Ariel."
"Hm?"
Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Ariel's smile hadn't even faded yet when she blinked in confusion.
But Ash didn't have time to explain.
Like someone grabbing a lifeline, he walked straight over, reached toward Ariel's head, and continued talking to himself.
"Look how cute this child is. She probably isn't growing any taller, but that's okay. At least she's pretty. These fang-like canine teeth look dangerous too, but aside from that there's no problem."
His tone carried a forced-explanation feeling.
At least... Ariel wasn't very pleased.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but could you, the guy who smells awful, stop getting so close to me? I happen to be a little germophobic."
The faint blush on Ariel's cheeks instantly vanished.
Without making it obvious, she stepped aside and easily avoided the hand reaching toward her.
A cold smile without any warmth appeared on her face.
"Also, I don't like you. Could you stay farther away from me?"
"It's okay. Feelings can be developed."
".Are you some persistent stalker? I'm calling the police, you know?"
"I don't think I'm that kind of person. I just urgently need a normal target... though you're not exactly normal either."
"Isn't that even worse? Amazing that you can say that with a straight face."
Although there was clearly a plea for help hidden in his words, Ariel simply pretended not to understand.
Still smiling, she quietly moved farther away, not wanting too much contact with someone carrying a strange smell.
The cold rejection left Ash depressed.
But thanks to this interruption, the atmosphere became strange in a different way.
Though... not only Sophia and Kumoko, even everyone else was looking at him oddly.
Still, he didn't really have any choice.
Right now there wasn't a normal option anywhere...
A baby, a monster, a demon king...
Were there any other choices?
It couldn't be someone else's wife, right?
He had standards.
As the atmosphere remained strange but relaxed slightly, Sophia finally let go of Ash.
That allowed him to return the child to her mother.
Only then did everyone's thoughts finally return to reality.
The once-prosperous mansion had become a battlefield covered in corpses.
Maids, servants, guards, and elves lay everywhere.
"What happens now?", the lord murmured.
Looking at the moonlight shining through the broken roof, sadness remained in his heart, but gratitude outweighed it.
If Ash hadn't happened to ride in their carriage that day, their entire family would likely have been destroyed by now.
Even the people of the territory would have been slaughtered.
"It's lucky we met Mr. Ash and the Divine Beast. That's really wonderful... This must have been the Goddess's guidance."
Leaning against her husband while holding her daughter, the lady felt only gratitude and relief.
She bowed respectfully toward Ash together with her husband.
As for Ash, he immediately used the excuse of dealing with the special forces unit and vanished without a trace.
———
Although he had been delayed at the Keren residence for a while, when he returned near the city walls, the allied special forces still hadn't broken through the gates.
Lacking any desire to fight and only wanting to put on a show before retreating, they were still entangled with the defenders.
So Ash summoned countless ice pillars and casually launched a barrage at the ground.
The heavily damaged special forces immediately collapsed and fled.
The life-and-death crisis facing Keren Territory was resolved in an instant.
———
Without anyone noticing, a week had already passed since the allied army suffered that near-catastrophic defeat.
Although only part of the three nations' total military strength had been lost in that battle, the scale of the attack became a nightmare engraved into the hearts of every participant.
The allies' morale suffered a severe blow and remained low.
Under those circumstances, they no longer had the confidence to continue the war.
Their only choice was to reconcile with the Kingdom of Sariella.
The Kingdom of Sariella also understood its own limits.
Even though it had gained some advantage due to the enemy's losses, if the fighting continued and neighboring nations seized the chance to attack, the consequences would be disastrous.
So Sariella did not make things difficult for the allies.
They simply demanded some compensation and completed the peace agreement.
Although the Keren family suffered considerable losses during the conflict, they had a good relationship with the Divine Beast and had made great contributions in defending their territory.
In addition, the upper ranks more or less knew that the monster known as Ash was close to the Keren family.
As a result, after the war, the family received many rewards.
Their title rose by one rank, and their territory expanded as well.
It could truly be called turning misfortune into fortune.
However... on what seemed like a peaceful day, inside the large guest room specially remodeled for Ash, a room even bigger than the master bedroom, things were not exactly peaceful.
The uninvited Ariel had completely taken over the place.
She lay openly on Ash's bed, rolling around with a bright smile on her face while casually asking, "I'm going back to Demon Territory. Are you two planning to stay here?"
"At least for now. Everything here is pretty nice. There's food, drinks, maids, and it's close to the labyrinth."
Without even lifting his head, Ash continued reading his book and answered casually.
"But you know teleportation magic, right? If you can teleport, what difference does it make whether you're close to the labyrinth or not?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Come with me~"
As she spoke, Ariel sat up and scooted beside him.
A pleasant scent drifted over as she pressed herself against him.
Half-jokingly, she said, "I'll take good care of you too. And the food over there is definitely much better than here."
"Do I look like someone who can be bought with food?"
"And you'll get all the spending money you want!"
Ariel continued tempting him without giving up.
She looked exactly like a suspicious older sister luring a child with candy.
Though by appearance alone, Ash actually looked older.
"What you're describing is basically being henpecked, isn't it?"
Ash's face darkened. He immediately pushed Ariel away and refused with complete righteousness.
"I still have some pride."
"Heh~ You actually have pride? Wasn't Wakaba Hiiro the one supporting you before?"
Ariel teased him with a mischievous grin.
"That's different. I was helping Shiro grow. If I solved every problem myself, she'd never get the chance to become an outstanding girl... Well, I think she's outstanding?"
As he spoke, confidence slipped slightly from his voice.
His gaze happened to drift toward a corner of the room.
Kumoko was lying there in a daze.
The moment their eyes met, he immediately looked away.
Unfortunately, after looking away, he ended up meeting Ariel's smiling gaze instead.
Ash silently lowered his head, wanting to end the topic.
But Ariel simply lay down across his lap.
Her head rested directly on the book he was reading.
Without the slightest bit of courtesy, she looked at him seriously and continued persuading him.
"Anyway! I need combat power, and you're a terrifying enemy. But if I can turn you into an ally, there'd be nothing more reliable. So~ I have a pretty good suggestion."
"Forget the whole keeping-me thing. I'm not interested."
Ash's mouth twitched slightly. He was helpless against her persistence.
But Ariel's smile didn't fade.
Still lying across his lap, she reached a hand toward him.
"Let's work together. I'll support you, and we'll become heroes who save the world! What do you think?"
"I can't find a reason to save the world. I'm not that noble. If you want me to save it, what reward can you offer?"
"This conversation suddenly went from friendship to business."
Ash's direct question made Ariel sit up with a cheerful, "Hup!"
She sat at the edge of the bed, rubbing her chin.
Her upper body swayed back and forth while she wore a troubled expression, trying hard to think of something.
But no matter how much she swayed or racked her brain, she couldn't come up with a suitable answer.
Finally, she simply asked, "Then what do you think would be good?"
"According to normal story logic, if you're the Demon Lord, shouldn't you split the world in half and give me a share?"
"That's right! I'm the Demon Lord."
Ariel lightly slapped her palm as if suddenly remembering.
Then she grinned, "If we're talking about a Demon Lord, the normal thing would be direct threats."
"Come on... at least try tempting me first."
"I'm the Demon Lord. What I say goes! Otherwise..."
Ariel opened her mouth and revealed those sharp "canine teeth."
With a wicked grin, she bared them at Ash threateningly, looking like a little devil ready to bite him if he refused.
But...
Ash actually indulged her.
He directly held out his hand.
"Go ahead."
"Mmph~ Isn't that a little disrespectful?"
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