Chapter 233: 218

「Rutsuko-san! Lend me a Gunmerry!」

I burst into the store and said that to her, who was in the middle of serving customers.

「Umm, which one would you like?」

The little ones, who were also waiting tables, turned towards me in unison.

They were about 100 cm tall, one size smaller than goblins, and had rounded arms and legs.

Their helmets were pointed, resembling a bird's beak, and they wore red pointy hats on top. They wore chainmail with an apron over it. They were moving about busily, holding trays laden with bread in both hands.

Gunmerrys.

They're immortal little beings who are said to have defeated the large spider a long, long time ago………I think?

I counted them one by one, and there were thirteen of them.

At the moment, the【A Respite From Adventuring】store was holding a spring festival of bread. They were offering curry bread, a new item on the menu, for free to their regulars and the people in the neighborhood.

The store was extremely crowded.

「Then lend me this one」

When I reached for a nearby Gunmerry―――――

「Don't touch me~!」

My hand was swatted away.

「This one then」

「Shah!」

I got glowered at.

「Alright, you then」

「No touching!」

He ran away.

「I don't care which, one of you is coming with me! Look, I've got a something-or-another decree from the king」

I unrolled the scroll and showed it to Gunmerrys like it was an inro[1].

Don't make me waste time in strange ways at this hectic time.

『What's that~?』

All together, the Gunmerrys tilted their heads at me.

「It says that my orders are the king's orders」

「Yay, debauchery time」

「Drowning in alcohol and women~」

「It's a man's romance, isn't it~?」

After answering randomly, the Gunmerrys went back to their work.

A few customers were giving me strange looks, but when the curry bread was brought to their tables, their attention shifted to it.

The hustle and bustle of the store and the sounds of eating and people working filled the air.

「………………」

I had been completely ignored.

「Rutsuko-san, help!」

「Just a minute please!」

The busy Rutsuko-san went into the kitchen and returned dragging something behind her.

「Ahhhh~. What is it~?」

It was a Gunmerry with a languid voice.

Unlike the other Gunmerrys, he wasn't wearing a pointy hat. He didn't seem to even have the will to walk on his own, so Rutsuko-san had dragged him over by his foot.

「This is the thirteenth Gunmerry, but he’s always like this and doesn't work at all. He's a good-for-nothing who does nothing but eat and sleep all day long, but is that okay with you?」

「When myself gets serious, myself is amazing~」

I'm worried.

Very worried.

「At this point, I'll take any Gunmerry I can get. Please lend this one to me」

I have no other choice. There's no time.

I’d have preferred the best Gunmerry, but it can't be helped.

「Feel free. You don't even have to return him」

「No, I'll definitely return him」

I don't need a good-for-nothing either.

「By the way, why do you need a Gunmerry―――――」

「Rutsuko! The fried food is done-nya! Nya needs your help-nya!」

A cry for help from Tyutyu came from the back. The kitchen seemed to be even busier than ever, and she didn't even have time to notice me. Feeling a little lonely, I left the store with the Gunmerry under my arm.

「Souya(proper pronunciation), where are we going?」

「Huh? Oh, the dungeon. We’re going on an adventure」

I gave the languid Gunmerry a perfunctory answer.

It's a dangerous adventure we may never return from if things go badly. But well, that's nothing new.

I applied for a solo exploration at the Adventurers' Guild and went to the 45th floor.

Evetta-chan was not there because she was nursing the Guild President.

That was a stroke of luck.

If she had been there, she would probably have stopped me right away.

Also, Gunmerry was given permission to accompany me as a piece of my equipment. In addition, he was able to use the portal without any problems.

It's a bit late to say this, but he's quite the mysterious creature(?).

Could it be that this guy had reached this floor in the past?

I should put my romantic notions of antiquity aside and focus on the spiders for now.

The floor was still shrouded in fog. Though the light from the portal illuminated the surroundings, I could see nothing but whiteness around me.

「Hey, Gunmerry. You fought the spiders a long time ago, didn't you? Is there some kind of strategy for defeating them?」

「Spiders~?」

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After a fashion, I had prepared a countermeasure of my own

Taking out a green, spiral-shaped object, I lit the end of it with a lighter, put it in a special case, then hung it from my belt.

The smoke that rose from it was swallowed up by the mist and disappeared, but I could smell the scent that reminded me of Japanese summers.

「………………I hope this works」

Of all the modern tools I've used since coming to the alternate world, this is the one I'm most apprehensive about.

In the bonfires that the Guild had lit was an incense that slowed the spiders down. Analysis of its smell and composition had revealed that it was a pyrethroid. The flowers used to make it are probably similar to Chrysanthemum Cinerariifolium(painted daisies). They're also known as pyrethrum flowers.

The object that I had lit was a mosquito coil.

The only way to find out if it works is to test it on the spot.

I think this is probably the most reckless bet I've ever made in all my adventures.

It's the kind of recklessness that I only tolerate when I'm on my own. If I had more time, or if no one's life was at stake, I wouldn't have done it. And even if it doesn't work, the spider-people can still be defeated using iai techniques.

It shouldn't be impossible for me to get Yukikaze back and escape.

「Oh~, that smell brings back memories~」

「Huh? Are you taking about the smell from the mosquito coil? Have you lived in Japan before?」

「I'm not talking about that right now. Look, over there」

「Where?」

With a sputter, the portal vanished.

「What?!」

Our way back has suddenly disappeared!

Looking around, all I could see was a mixture of dim and white darkness. The tension made my body stiffen and sweat formed on the hand I was gripping the katana's scabbard with.

I was poised to unleash a slash at any moment.

The problem is their sheer numbers.

If they come at me in crushing numbers, there'll be nothing I can do.

And I don't even know where the hostage Yukikaze is. The thing that’s the hardest to grasp is the "intention" of the spiders that had summoned me and Gunmerry.

『Don't worry, team member Souya. They say that they had merely wanted to eliminate all potential distractions that might interfere with the dialogue』

「Huh?」

Yukikaze's voice descended from above.

I felt a gust of wind, and the fog around us dissipated then cleared.

Before me was Yukikaze's mini-pod. It was carefully pinched between two huge legs. It was a relief to see that the pod seemed undamaged, but the problem was the thing holding Yukikaze in its grasp.

It was a spider.

A large spider had lowered itself to the ground on its thread.

It was three times as tall as me. But because of its large head, short and rounded legs, and round, cutesy eyes, it had the look of a chibi character.

But that didn't change the fact that it was definitely a monster.

『This appearance is modeled after the【Jumping Spider】, which is the least likely to draw hostility. The human-type seemed to have generated a lot of hostility, so this appearance is the result of learning from that mistake. What do you think? Does it look cute in your eyes, team member Souya? Yukikaze personally thinks that Peacock Spiders during courtship are more adorable though』

「Hold on a second」

Time out.

I can't wrap my head around what's going on.

「Yukikaze, you're Yukikaze, right? You're not a fake, are you?」

『Yes, this is Yukikaze, indeed. Using Yukikaze's quantum compiler, Yukikaze is providing a Japanese translation for the spiders who have no vocal functions. By the way, Yukikaze has not been brainwashed, hacked, or NTR'd, so don't worry』

That last one isn’t funny!

However, though it's hard to believe, this means that they wish to have a【dialogue】, right? Even though they're arachnids that give off the impression that it's impossible to communicate with them?

「Don't, umm, these spiders have any intention of fighting?」

『They do not, indeed. In the last battle, they had only fought back after they were attacked when trying to give hugs of affection. In reality, there were no direct casualties, were there?』

「Now that you mention it………」

The only casualties were Rana and the Guild President, who had collapsed due to running out of magic power.

「But you see, blood has already been spilled. Now that there's a grudge, we can't have a dialogue on equal footing」

We need to pay for the harm done to the spiders.

And our side will surely say, "Settling grievances with monsters is ridiculous." There will be a dispute. Fighting is inevitable. Dialogue is impossible. That's just the way humans are.

『That won't be a problem, indeed. To a swarm life form, the value of a single individual is very low. In human terms, it's like having hair ends burned off. To them, it's "a small sacrifice for a great cause"』

「That much is only hair ends to them, huh?」

By my estimation, nearly a hundred of them had been killed. And they equated that to having hair ends burned off.

We'll never be able to defeat them in a war of attrition. If we're going to eliminate them, we're going to need weapons of mass destruction.

『That's how it is, so are you okay with having a dialogue with them?』

「Well, it won't cost me anything to listen」

They say that nothing is more expensive than things given for free, but there's no knowing what I'm going to get from the spiders.

There's a need to ask them what they're after.

『Now, let's begin the dialogue. First, you must know the history of the spiders. Then, the history of their battles with Guns-Memory』

[1] An inro is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the obi(sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. In the middle of the Edo period (1603–1868), inro became popular as men's accessories, and wealthy merchants of the chōnin and samurai classes collected inro, which were often beautifully decorated with lacquer.

Only retainers are allowed to carry an inro with the house crest engraved on them though, so showing one was akin to proving your identity, and in the case of one with the hollyhock crest of the Tokugawa clan(see below), most commoners and people of lower status would have to dogeza in front of one. (pic courtesy of detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.com.jp)

In case you forgot, below is what a chibi(known as super-deformed in Japan) character looks like. (illus courtesy of wikipedia.org)

Yeah, the spider had purposely tried to look cute. And the jumping spider that it chose is admittedly on the cuter side overall. (pic courtesy of xn—u8jjpg6fxb7n4a2800f0rzbf3za6e8g.net)

And here’s a peacock spider doing its mating dance I found on giphy.

Woah, seems like the spiders actually have a long history with the Gunmerrys! What’s more, they know his actual name! Yeah, I’m sure you’ve guessed it, but lore dump incoming. Stay tuned!

Oh, fyi, if you go back to vol 4 and check a certain song about the Gunmerrys, there’s something really interesting there that’s very strongly related to something in this chapter~

One more note, as I noted above, the languid Gunmerry uses the correct pronunciation of Souya’s name, just like the one in the side story, and he continues to do so from now on as well. However, I’m not going to keep adding (proper pronunciation) every time, so just keep in mind that this one Gunmerry does that.

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