Chapter 122

Silence fell over the cave at Gulmag’s words.

The quietness was such that even the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling could be heard, but only for a moment.

Gulmag nodded, his fangs twitching as if he had expected this.

“I, know human common sense. This, uncivilized way of finding mate.”

“N-no! I actually thought it was a method that suited Master!”

“Je-Jermy? That’s not really… a comforting thing to say, I think.”

Jermy hastily made excuses, seemingly quite sorry for revealing his true thoughts, but it wasn’t a particularly good answer.

Depending on how one heard it, it was no different from saying Gulmag was looking for a mate in an uncivilized way befitting an ogre.

“No. This method, is indeed strange method.”

However, Gulmag didn’t mind. Even he thought it wasn’t a particularly good method.

Could it be considered normal to subdue someone you should love and fight for love?

Even he seemed to find it absurd, as Gulmag chuckled while wiping off the dust on his club with leather.

“From what you’re saying, it seems you have a special reason for choosing this method?”

Dario asked, puzzled. He thought there must be a reason for choosing such a method despite knowing it was strange.

As if Dario’s guess was correct, Gulmag nodded.

“Wendigo, did you check traces?”

“I did. It’s clear there was a battle between quite large creatures.”

It was traces left by a giant insect walking on legs like huge skewers and a hunter big enough to hunt such a creature.

They were estimated to be creatures with builds no less than the two of them.

“I, wandered world looking for mate. Giant races, naturally learned ecology.”

“Well, certainly… there are humans who marry beastkin too.”

“And there are humans trying to marry elves too.”

“Ahem!”

As Wendigo continued speaking slyly, Dario cleared his throat and pretended not to know.

Gulmag also immediately understood who Wendigo’s analogy was referring to and chuckled as he opened his mouth.

“World, amazing. Life, even more amazing. Even different races give birth to new life.”

“Oh my…”

“?”

At the blatant expression, Anna blushed and covered Jermy’s ears. Jermy, who knew everything already, looked at Anna questioningly, but she didn’t remove her hands.

Gulmag continued his story, paying no attention.

There were various couples in the world. There were humans married to orcs, cases of trolls and ogres having children, and cases of ogres pairing with giants.

The cases Gulmag focused on were the latter two. And Gulmag had realized something while investigating them.

“Big creatures, usually two types. Violent ones, and patient and violent ones.”

“Aren’t there any gentle ones?”

“No. Big creatures, fittingly have nasty personalities.”

When Gulmag spoke decisively, Dario glanced at Wendigo and nodded.

It wasn’t that he was disrespecting the king’s character, but from a subject’s standpoint, there was no monarch as vicious as Wendigo.

Where in the world was there a king who ground down his subjects for the sake of farmers?

“Indeed…”

“… Let’s move past that. So what you’re saying is that the woman who will be your partner is likely to be violent?”

“That’s right. And usually mates are divided by strength. Conversation, high possibility of needing to subdue first.”

Not only ogres and trolls, but giants too often chose mates instinctively.

What worked best for them wasn’t sweet words, but proving strong muscles and tireless stamina.

Gulmag stood up and shouldered his club. He looked at his cherished disciple and advised:

“Jermy, you run away if lover approaches like this. This, not normal method.”

“Uh… I wonder if there really are people like that?”

“Jermy. Master Gulmag wouldn’t say such things for no reason.”

When Jermy looked disgruntled, Anna made him look at her and said with a kind smile.

Jermy nodded unconsciously. As Anna was being uncharacteristically proactive, he thought it might be quite important advice.

“Now, let’s repeat. I will not be interested in women who chase after me.”

“Uh… I will not be interested in women who chase after me?”

“Mm-hmm, well done. As expected, Jermy is kind.”

Anna hugged Jermy and stroked his head.

Wendigo and Gulmag looked at Jermy, who was staring at them as if he didn’t understand what was happening, with pitying gazes.

“Jermy, you’re going to live under her thumb.”

“I agree.”

“?!”

Jermy felt wronged without knowing why at the words of the king and his master.

---

Having finished preparations, Gulmag continued north, tracking the traces. At first, it was a series of similar scenes, but after a day passed, the surroundings changed noticeably.

The forest covered in vegetation decreased, and snow began to fill the area.

Shivering in the bone-chilling cold, Dario trembled and pleaded with Wendigo:

“Your Majesty. Can’t I go back now? Honestly, what help could I be in Master Gulmag finding a partner?”

“You never know. Your eloquence might be helpful in Gulmag finding his mate.”

“What use is a tongue for someone who needs to be won over by force… Whoa!?”

“Puhihihihing?!”

Dario, who had been grumbling, was startled and pulled on the reins when his horse suddenly convulsed.

Wendigo, while looking around, noticed something strange stuck in the ground and pulled it out.

It was a piece of a giant insect’s leg. It seemed to be the end part, resembling a sharp stake.

“It seems there’s definitely a giant insect around here. Judging by the leg… a spider?”

“Huh? At this size, it’s much bigger than a giant spider, isn’t it?”

Dario, who had barely calmed his horse, was shocked as he gauged the insect leg in Wendigo’s hand.

If Wendigo’s words were correct, it meant a spider with a build so massive that a giant spider could be treated as its offspring.

Imagining that sight, Anna trembled with a pale face.

Gulmag calmly cleared away snow and checked if there were more traces around. He found more legs with similar appearances to the one Wendigo had discovered.

“Why are spider legs here?”

“Didn’t something eat the spider out of hunger and leave only the remnants before leaving?”

At Dario’s suggestion, Gulmag checked the spider’s leg and then put it in his mouth and chewed.

Dario was horrified at the sound of the shell being crushed and the muscles and flesh inside being mashed, and shouted at him:

“What if it’s poisonous? Why are you putting that in your mouth!?”

“It’s okay. Poison doesn’t work on Master.”

“I, was fine even when bitten by basilisk. Poison, doesn’t affect me much.”

Gulmag waved his hand as if there was no need to worry much and continued chewing the leg.

After chewing the leg until it was completely mashed, Gulmag swallowed it in one gulp.

“This, part too good to throw away. Definitely a delicious part.”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, it does look like crab legs. Where…”

“……”

Dario was dumbfounded as Wendigo evaluated the ultra-giant spider’s leg as crab legs and showed interest.

There are so many normal and delicious foods, yet he wants to try something that looks so dangerous!

Wendigo followed Gulmag and put the leg in his mouth to chew. Indeed, as Gulmag had evaluated, the spider’s leg was a delicacy like plump crab meat.

The more he chewed, the more umami burst from the flesh and muscles.

“Hmm. Even considering it’s a low-temperature area, the flesh and muscles are too intact. It doesn’t seem poisonous either, but it’s strange that animals haven’t scavenged it.”

“Ah… Did you eat it to check such things?”

“… Then why do you think I ate this raw?”

When Wendigo glared and asked, Dario looked around and avoided his gaze.

Considering Wendigo’s considerable appetite usually, he had thought he might have eaten it simply because he wanted to.

… As Wendigo wasn’t entirely without such intentions, he moved past the situation with just a glare.

“Gulmag. It seems there was a fight around here.”

“Traces, hard to confirm because of snow. Anna, can you use the lantern?”

“Yes. Just a moment.”

Anna took out the lantern she had been saving in case they ran out of strength before finding the target and lit it.

The lantern blazed brightly, illuminating traces around and showing them the direction they should go.

“Jermy, Dario. We need to find the target before the lantern goes out, so move quickly.”

“I’m fine with that since we can return to the warm palace sooner if we find them quickly.”

“I’m okay too!”

Seeing their enthusiastic attitudes, Wendigo kicked off the ground and ran. Gulmag followed quickly behind him, and the two on horseback followed at quite a distance.

Snow mist scattered where they passed, and the lantern swayed, resonating with loud metallic sounds.

At this speed, they should soon meet Gulmag’s woman…

“Wait! Everyone stop!”

Wendigo stopped his legs at an inexplicable sense of déjà vu and warned. Gulmag managed to stop by striking the ground with impact, but the other two couldn’t.

“What!?”

“It would be nice if you said such things a bit earlier!”

Jermy and Dario were startled and pulled on the reins. However, the horses running at full speed on the slippery snow couldn’t stop easily.

As the horses neighed and headed forward, Wendigo clicked his tongue and snatched the two.

The riderless horses continued galloping down the snowy path.

Crash!!!

“Hihihihing!?”

A huge form rose from the snow and pounced on the horses. Sharp legs pierced through one horse, and ghastly teeth chewed off the head of the other.

The huge form indulged in its prey, making terrible sounds in the snow mist.

Wendigo waved away the cumbersome snow mist, and naturally, the culprit who had attacked the horses was revealed.

“For a spider, it’s disgustingly large.”

Were the spider legs they had found the offspring of this creature?

Indeed, befitting a creature that could chew and swallow a horse’s head in one bite, the spider was disgustingly huge.

A spider covered in a shell that looked rough and hard like a rock.

Its legs were as big as trees, and dozens of pairs of teeth writhed constantly as if asking for the next prey.

“Kieeeeek!!!!!!!”

The spider let out a horrible scream when Wendigo interrupted its meal. How angry must it be to have an uninvited guest appear when it wanted to savor horse meat for the first time in its life.

At the momentum that looked like it would pounce at any moment, Wendigo drew his ice sword and looked back.

“Dario. It could be dangerous, so step back—”

“Don’t worry! I’ve already retreated far away, so Your Majesty can fight with peace of mind!”

“……”

Dario shouted with just his head peeking out from among the trees, far away.

Certainly, it was more convenient for Dario to step back and wait rather than participate in the fight, and Wendigo had wanted him to retreat, but…

‘It’s strangely infuriating.’

No matter what, shouldn’t he at least pretend to worry about the king’s safety as a subject?

Vowing to give Dario more work when they returned, Wendigo pointed his ice sword at the spider.

Just as he was about to rush out to cut down the spider at any moment.

Clank!

Thwack!

“Kieeeeek!?!”

Along with the sound of iron chains, a huge blade flew and hit the spider’s back. Then the chain attached to the blade tightened, and the sound of something flying was heard.

Bang!!!

That which came flying, smashing the forest trees, landed on the spider’s back. It was called landing, but it was more like a bombardment.

Wendigo noticed that it was a woman and asked Gulmag in a disgruntled voice:

“… Is that giant woman perhaps the partner you were looking for?”

“That’s right! Smell, smell is the same!”

The woman was incomparably larger than an ordinary human.

The blue-skinned giant wearing clothes made of beast hide struck the spider’s back with her fist and shouted fiercely:

“It’s hard to catch alone. If you can understand me, help me catch this thing, and if you’re useless bastards who can’t understand, get lost!”

“She certainly has a fiery personality.”

“Mm. Good female!”

Wendigo and Gulmag briefly evaluated their first impression and charged towards the spider with their weapons.