## Chapter 763 – Arachne Subjugation

Since then, the Bellatude family hadn’t contacted me. They probably will eventually, but it seems they have no intention of doing so immediately. It wouldn’t be a big problem even if they did.

It would be a little annoying, but I could handle it somehow.

The best thing I did this time was getting angry at Xenia on behalf of Winia. That alone made it worthwhile.

Winia liked it so much, which made me happy too.

And above all, the spoils of war: Xenia’s bra.

Winia somehow got permission to bring it along. It’s safely stored in a corner of the armory. It’s not like anyone could use a used item like that.

I brought it, but it doesn’t have any special meaning.

I won, so I took it.
That’s all.

Anyway.

I visited the Saintess again today.

I’ve been off work for a while, so I should get back to it soon.

I had been telling everyone that I was focusing on training due to the failed dungeon exploration mission, which was essentially a self-imposed unpaid vacation. Of course, it wasn’t a failure, and I killed Archduke Berial, so I deserved a good rest.

But the Saintess doesn’t know that, so if I take too long of a break, it’ll look bad.

“Was the training fruitful?”

Saintess Kadia asked, scanning me up and down.

Originally, I was supposed to visit every other day, but after deciding on my self-imposed vacation, I got permission to come less frequently.

“I’ve been working hard for the past few weeks and regained my confidence.”

Except for the Bellatude family matter and taking my women out, I spent my time going through a normal training cycle.

“I’m glad to hear that. It wasn’t really a failure, though.”
“I just felt the limits of my own power.”
“Hmm, this Saintess thinks you’re strong enough.”
“The stronger, the better. Muscles and mana. And swordsmanship is my strength. Actually, when I’m working, I don’t have much time to train, so it’s good to take a break like this once in a while.”
“Muscles, huh… well.”

The Saintess nodded.

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Muscles are important.”

ㅡRustle.

“Anyway. Additional information about the last dungeon has come in.”

She took out a document.

“Did you send the Holy Knights again?”
“No. The Paladin confirmed that the dungeon was stopped and returned. The kingdom just provided the information.”

It’s not like the royal family and the church don’t cooperate. The Knights were there too, so they probably wanted to share what they found with the church.

“They said they’ve confirmed up to the eighth floor underground. For such a large structure to extend to the eighth floor… it’s quite amazing.”
“Eighth floor? That deep? No, more than that, isn’t the exploration too fast?”

I pretended not to know and responded.

“They said they were able to explore quickly because the dungeon was completely stopped. It seems they’ve deployed more manpower.”

If they’ve deployed manpower in earnest, it’s only natural.

They said they couldn’t send the army because it’s a border area, but there’s no need to send that many troops to a completely silent dungeon.

They can just pick and choose and send them.

If so, the thugs who were causing trouble in the dungeon must have been cleaned up. That place was literally hell. It must be cleaner now.

“But the eighth floor isn’t the end. The key is that a passage leading to a deeper place has been discovered. Of course, it’s still being explored, so there’s no information about it.”
“A deeper place… that’s quite a strange story. Did it need to be that big? I went there myself, but I couldn’t figure it out properly.”
“This Saintess doesn’t know the reason either. The important thing is that the dungeon has stopped, and something that might be a clue has been discovered.”

There’s no evidence left anyway.

“We won’t be involved in this matter any further, but if we receive information, I’ll let the Paladin know again.”
“Hehehe, thank you.”

The story about the dungeon ended there.

I don’t know what the dungeon was for, or what it was doing with Berial’s energy for so long, but it will now be buried forever.

I looked through the various documents that the Saintess had taken out.

“Saintess. What’s the atmosphere like around Isvant these days?”
“Are you interested?”
“I lived there for a long time.”

What’s going on over there these days?

“Hmm… how should I put it, there are intermittent damages caused by demons in various cities and towns. I’m always getting reports. But the Holy Knights are eventually solving them somehow.”

The Saintess continued calmly.

“But solving the problem after it happens is unavoidable.”
“You can’t prevent the damage.”

There are things I solved early near Isvant, but the demons that infiltrated the city won’t be just those guys. If I were there, I would have solved everything with Hilde, but now I’m in the capital.

I remember how the demon who infiltrated the city ruled by the mayor deceived the labor revolutionary.

There must be many demons hiding in the city like those guys.

They caused some trouble, and when the problem surfaced, the Holy Knights took care of the demons. They might kill them, or they might not.

The demons that didn’t die would run away.

And those escaped demons would move their base to another place and do similar things again. The Holy Knights kill or miss them after such incidents happen again.

Even if they kill them, the damage that has already occurred cannot be undone.

But if they miss them, it means that the demon who has grown stronger has escaped to another place. It seems that such things are happening intermittently in the outskirts.

“Prevention is difficult. But reports of demons being subjugated are coming in, so it’s not like there are no results.”

That’s why there are Holy Knights.

Prevention is difficult, but the Holy Knights somehow manage to achieve results. We should be thankful that demons are dying.

“So it can be said that there is no big problem. This kind of thing… used to be rare, but now it’s common. The local lords and churches are cooperating to try to ferret out demons and heretics.”
“That’s a relief. But what about the heretics?”
“I don’t know if it’s a relief or a pity, but it’s judged that they don’t seem to be active. There are no reports of heretics being executed.”

Are they lying low… I don’t know here.

Come to think of it, how many of their plots have I broken?

“I understand, Saintess. Then now.”
“Hehe, are you starting to want to work?”
“I have to.”
“Knowing that, I’ve picked out a few things.”

ㅡRustle.

She opened the drawer and took out various documents. I naturally read through them one by one, checking the quests.

I wonder if there’s anything I can do.

If possible, I want to do something that I can solve, not something without information like the last dungeon. It would be a bit much to fail to achieve results twice in a row.

As I was checking, something caught my eye.

ㅡSupport Request.

“Support request? Who requested support?”
“Ah, that one.”

Looking at it, it was a document requesting support from some local church. Does that mean it’s difficult to solve with the power of that church alone?

“The local church has requested support from the main temple. It seems that the other churches nearby can’t spare any troops because of other matters, so they made the request. It’s currently under review.”
“Under review… I’ll read it first.”

Reading it in detail, it’s a bit far from the capital.

Well, it’s a local church, so it’s only natural.

Anyway, to summarize the contents, something strange has happened within the church’s jurisdiction. Continuous disappearances have occurred on the road connected to the mountain range, and while investigating it, the situation suddenly spiraled out of control, so they’re screwed.

ㅡRustle.

I turned to the next page.

ㅡArachne.

“Arachne?”

It says that the appearance of a monster called Arachne is suspected.

The mountain is covered in spiderwebs, and very ferocious and violent spider-like monsters are being discovered. Monsters that are qualitatively different from the trash mob Giant Spider are appearing, so they can’t investigate or subjugate anything.

ㅡSevere damage.

The army and the church are cooperating to do something, but it doesn’t seem to be working well. So they gave up and requested support.

They say they’re screwed.

“It is currently suspected that a monster called Arachne has appeared.”

I know that it’s a spider woman monster.

“It’s a special monster, but it’s not a monster that can’t be defeated by human power.”
“A mere monster, and the church is requesting support? No, more than that, it says that even the lord’s army and the church cooperated and it didn’t work.”
“That’s why it’s a problem. Read the next page.”

I immediately turned the page.

「It is speculated that it is not a normal monster, but a demonic monster. All spider monsters are taking on bizarre forms and showing a weak reaction to divine power and holy water. It is judged that there is a high probability that some kind of powerful demon is involved. Contamination by demons is not uncommon…」

“Demon?”
“It seems they’re talking about the possibility of a strong demon and Arachne cooperating. So they’re discussing how to organize the subjugation force.”

Not only are monsters seducing people to increase their power, but now they’re cooperating with monsters?

No.

If it’s an intelligent monster, it’s definitely possible. Why weren’t the Lizardmen acting with demons?

As a result of the Demon Gate opening, many demons came here, and many demons were subjugated, but there are still many demons that survived.

And all the demons that have survived so far are in a `strengthened` state. They were able to survive and escape because they increased their power, and then they increased their power even more.

A `powerful` monster Arachne that has joined forces with such a demon?

This might be difficult.

Looking at it, they’ve established a base deep in the mountains and are causing a ruckus, so geographically, these guys are extremely advantageous. No matter how many soldiers and Holy Knights try to subjugate them, it’s very difficult if they fail in the terrain.

That’s why the damage continues to occur.

ㅡDifficult opponent.

“Hehehe, wouldn’t it be cost-effective if I went alone?”

I couldn’t help but laugh because my blood was boiling.

Does that mean it might be stronger than Garos?

It’s worth killing.

“Rather than sending a support force with a force including many Holy Knights, it would be better in terms of cost for the Paladin to go alone.”

She lit a cigarette and continued.

“But this is a very difficult task. If you’re confident, I’m thinking of sending the Paladin first, but in that case, there’s something you need to do.”
“What should I do?”
“It’s to grasp the scale of the enemies. Even if it’s not to solve the situation, grasping the scale as accurately as possible is very important. That way, we can send support troops efficiently.”

In other words, this quest has two completion conditions.

1. Just go and beat them all up.

2. If you can’t do that, grasp the scale and information of the enemies, the truth and the whole story, and return.

These are the two.

The Saintess would ideally like the former, but even the latter would be quite good.

“I can’t stand the sight of the world becoming chaotic because of those demon bastards. I’ll do this.”

Let’s go as a support force.

“You’re as confident as ever. This Saintess trusts the Paladin very much. But I think I should tell you to make a wise decision about this matter. Understand? You must judge and act accurately.”
“Hehehe, that’s what I always do. Anyway, I understand. If you have any materials about this, please give them all to me.”

The Saintess nodded at my words.

Arachne and a demon.

It seems like a rather unexpected combination, but it’s not a big deal. What can a spider bastard do? As always, I just have to cut them down with all my might.