Swoosh.
The mana Scythe Blade silently cut the spider silk.
Once freed, Xiaomi fluttered her wings frantically, sending shredded silk flying everywhere.
Hovering in midair with red-rimmed eyes, she plunged headfirst into Qimeng's embrace.
“Master... Waaah! You really came to save me yourself! It’s so dangerous here, I thought I was a goner!”
“And if I didn't? Was I supposed to just watch you turn into fertilizer? I haven't prepared that many spare fertilizer pits.”
Qimeng huffed, turning her face away in typical tsundere fashion.
Hearing this, Xiaomi wasn't scared at all. Instead, she looked at Qimeng with eyes full of worship, as if looking at a grand hero, and nodded repeatedly.
“Mhm! From now on, Xiaomi's life belongs to Master! I promise to work twice as hard every day gathering pollen and brewing honey. I'll even handle heating Master's bathwater all by myself! Master is the absolute best!”
“Hmph. If you can fly, keep up. If you can't, I'll carry you out.”
“I can fly, I can fly! As long as I'm by Master's side, I'm not afraid of anything!”
Xiaomi hurriedly followed her, sticking to her like glue.
Qimeng retreated at a steady pace along the shadows of the rock wall, casually tossing back a remark.
“Remember, you owe me a massive favor today.”
“Yes, yes! From now on, if Master tells me to go east, Xiaomi will never go west!”
Just as the two were about to pass a giant silk cocoon at the edge of the passage,
Qimeng slowed her pace. She heard a faint sound of struggling coming from inside.
“...Help... me...”
Once she heard the voice clearly, Qimeng frowned.
“Master, Master! Someone is speaking inside that cocoon! It's the Common Tongue—she's calling for help!”
Xiaomi whispered, her wings fluttering nervously.
“You heard it too?”
“Mhm, mhm! That mana signature feels a bit similar to my own nature. It's a rare humanoid monster!”
“If she's a high-tier humanoid monster who can speak the Common Tongue, there's no way she should be trapped to death here by a few earth spiders guarding the entrance, right?”
“But her cry for help sounds so pitiful and soft...”
Xiaomi's sympathy, typical of a female bee girl, began to overflow.
“What if it's a trap? If I slice it open and something jumps out to swallow a plump honeybee like you whole, what then?”
“I don't think so... Her voice clearly sounds like a super harmless girl...”
A girl? Plus a humanoid monster?
Wouldn't that make her a genuine monster girl?!
If she could pick up a bargain and get a new vassal for free, this costly, high-risk rescue and massive excavation would definitely be a highly profitable deal no matter how she looked at it!
Qimeng turned her head and glanced toward the center of the cavern.
The giant spider remained crouched and still, showing no reaction to the activity in this corner.
Meanwhile, the silk cocoon in front of her was still wriggling, the creature inside struggling to break free.
Any creature that could be captured by earth spiders as reserve food probably wasn't that strong even at their peak.
At best, she was probably around Xiaomi's weak level, right?
Given her current excellent state, even if some bizarre anomaly jumped out of the cocoon, there was absolutely no way she would suffer an unexpected defeat.
Having reasoned this out, Qimeng didn't bother hesitating any longer.
“Tsk, I really can't do anything with you two.”
With a swift movement of her hand, Qimeng sliced open the outer layer of the silk cocoon with her Scythe Blade.
A figure slid out from within, collapsing onto her hands and knees on the ground, covered in fragments of spider silk.
Qimeng took half a step back. To be safe, she simultaneously unleashed Water Thread and Shadow Entangle to bind the figure.
“Ngh...?!”
The mysterious girl struggled to lift her head.
In that instant, Qimeng's mouth unconsciously formed a small 'O' shape.
Long, pure silver hair cascaded down, its ends shimmering with a faint emerald-green light.
She had an exquisite face, fair skin, and faint lavender eyes where fine, leaf-like vein patterns were subtly visible. Combined with her signature elegant pointed ears and petite, slender frame, she exuded an ethereal aura.
She wore battle-damaged silver cloth garments that exposed her slender arms and waist. Although her face was smudged with dust, it did nothing to hide her stunning beauty.
From her appearance, she was undoubtedly a Wood Elf.
Qimeng gave this face a solid nine out of ten.
Of course, the standard was based on herself, with ten reserved for her own face.
“Th-thank... you... for saving me...”
Her voice was weak but her pronunciation was clear, carrying an archaic accent.
The Wood Elf girl's pointed ears twitched nervously.
She looked at Qimeng, the vein patterns in her pupils lighting up.
With just one glance, she was instantly dazed.
Wow! The black-haired girl in front of her was simply too cute!
Although there was a sense of aloofness in the other girl's expression, in her perception, the girl exuded the fragrance of life, the flow of tree sap, and the wonderful pulse of root systems.
It was so familiar.
This sense of security was as warm as curling up in the embrace of the Mother Tree when she was a child.
Her gaze lingered on Qimeng's face before dropping to her ears. They were pointed—petite, but definitely pointed!
Thump-thump!
The girl's heart skipped a beat. Could she be a lost spiritual seed of the Wood Elves?
But looking closer, she was a bit different. Her ears were rounder, making her seem more like a closely related race.
Even though they had only just met and she was bound to the ground by the other's strange technique, she couldn't bring herself to feel any wariness.
“Who are you...”
Qimeng was just about to ask.
Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance of the passage.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three figures with pointed ears rushed in almost simultaneously.
They had different hair colors—silver-white, silver-gray, and silver-blue—but shared the same slender, petite frames.
They held wooden staffs in their hands.
Bearing injuries and breathing heavily, they had clearly tracked the spider silk all the way here.
The leading Wood Elf spotted Qimeng and Xiaomi standing next to the silk cocoon.
Her gaze then fell upon their bound companion, and a cold gleam flashed through the vein patterns in her pupils.
“Audacious scoundrel! Release her at once...”
Just as she was about to shout, her peripheral vision caught sight of the giant spider in the center of the cavern.
Driven by her survival instinct, she quickly lowered her voice, speaking in a harsh whisper.
“...Release Lady Spirit Maiden~”
Her originally domineering momentum melted into a soft, airy whisper.
However, her two companions behind her had already raised their staffs, channeling magic light aimed at Qimeng.
Qimeng still held her Scythe Blades, which were covered in spider silk and dark green fluid.
Xiaomi hid behind her, not daring to breathe.
In the center of the cavern, the giant spider's compound eyes twitched slightly.
The three Wood Elves' gazes drifted in that direction simultaneously, then quickly snapped back, locking onto Qimeng once more.
Qimeng glanced down at the Wood Elf girl still kneeling on the ground.
Spirit Maiden?
Qimeng recalled hearing about this back when she was with the Knight Order.
The Spirit Maiden of the Wood Elves was equivalent to the spiritual leader of the tribe, the one closest to the spirits of nature.
But so what? She was still her prisoner now.
Qimeng also glanced at the giant spider and, mimicking them, lowered her voice.
She replied in a barely audible whisper.
“I was the one who pulled this beautiful monster girl out of the cocoon~ According to the law of the jungle~ she belongs to me now~”
“How can you say that~ you rude person~ do you even know who she is~”
Thus, an absurd scene unfolded.
Two groups, clearly at each other's throats, stood a short distance apart in the passage entrance, whispering and arguing right under the nose of a giant spider with sixteen compound eyes.
“I~ don't~ know~ and even if I did~ what can you do to me~”
“She... She is our tribe's noble Spirit Maiden~!!”
“Oh~ really~~? Well, if she's so noble~ why didn't you guards come rescue her earlier~?”
Qimeng dragged out her words, then blinked innocently.
“You~~~!”
The leading silver-haired elf girl was hit right where it hurt, her pretty face flushing bright red.
The two sides continued their hushed bickering...
Hearing their comical squabble, the Spirit Maiden couldn't help but giggle softly.
In a gentle, airy whisper, she chimed in.
“Mhm~ this beautiful black-haired older sister really did just save me~”
“So~ everyone must absolutely not~ do anything to hurt my savior~”
The three Wood Elves froze on the spot.
They never in their wildest dreams expected their own Spirit Maiden to speak on behalf of the opponent.
But since the Spirit Maiden had spoken, they could only lower their staffs in frustration.
Still bound, the understanding Spirit Maiden spoke softly once more.
“Let's stop arguing for now~ why don't we leave this dangerous place first~ and then talk~?”
Rate on N.U.
