Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own! - Chapter 16.2: Greetings (Margarita's POV)

So, I employed Delilah-chan, who tends to listen to others due to her low self-esteem, and Hazel, a soldier-type who might seem lazy but efficiently manages most tasks without displaying unnecessary emotions.

Clarymond-chan is also suitable for the role of a soldier… but with Delilah-chan and Hazel, this strategy should be sufficient.

“Now then, I’ll initiate the negotiations… Let’s begin with greetings, shall we?”

XXX

“You’re that guy I occasionally see around here. The one who scavenges the dead, huh?”

In this forest’s power dynamics, the dominant position doesn’t belong to the D-ranked Onibird, which has aerial supremacy, nor the powerful Chaser Bull, which my master calls “Demon Bull.”

It belongs to the D-ranked monster, Halk Spider, about ten times a human’s size. A green spider… or so it seems, with a long head resembling a human. Its forelimbs have separated fingertips, similar to a human hand, and it displays signs of high intelligence, unusual for an insect.

“Corpse scavenger!” “Corpse scavenger!”

The forest, shaded in a dark hue, rustles in response to the voice of the massive leading specimen. Whispers like those from a hermit, ominous voices could be heard.

The stupidity of those who fail to grasp the profound considerations of my master made me feel as if a blood vessel in my head might burst. If my master weren’t kind, such trashy creatures would probably die without a trace.

Yet, the fools’ voices are incessant from all directions. This overwhelming voice is the very reason the Halk Spider rules these parts.

The Halk Spider, belonging to the rather pathetic insect tribe, covers the forest with its diminutive offspring and behaves to its advantage. Possibly due to its insect lineage, it seems to be able to use various languages.

Despite the adults having such massive bodies, their young are even smaller than the average insect. They cleverly utilize this, scattering the tiny-sized young throughout the forest to gather information. The giant adults then hunt.

I decided I couldn’t waste my time on these tiny insects and continued negotiating, focusing only on the leader.

“Yes, we can efficiently use the corpses in the dungeon.”

After all, these creatures are satisfied as long as they have meat. They don’t wear clothes or accessories. Therefore, the monster fangs and pelts that we usually hunt for should be unnecessary for them.

Perhaps their intelligence is just that since they haven’t learned the value of sharing, as we did from our master.

“So, what do you want, thief?”

The Harcus Spider remained high and mighty without budging. It seems like it considers itself some clan leader. Thus, it wouldn’t waver.

However, it’s all wrong. In reality, everything in this world is for our master. The real thieves who audaciously consume it all are these creatures.

“We’ve come to form a friendly treaty. While we scavenge the dead, we’d like you to refrain from attacking us.”

It wasn’t easy to put on that expression, but everything was going as expected. The biggest challenge in our plan was to keep my temper in check.

“What will you offer in return?” The spider’s face cracked into a grotesque grin. Its predictability was so spot on that it hardly felt like practice.

“Nothing.”

Why would we have the capacity to offer anything when we’re merely scavenging, which already isn’t the most lucrative venture?

“This conversation is pointless then.”

I grew tired of reading its expressions and decided to respond instinctively. I just realized I don’t want to stare at any male face other than my master’s. And I certainly don’t want my face or body, reserved for my master, to be seen by other men. Maybe being a negotiator, which requires reading faces, is not for me.

“No, no. A treaty of friendship benefits both sides. We’ll be there for you when you’re in trouble.”

Ah, this thing… it’s like talking air… just talking air… I have to convince myself that it doesn’t even exist to continue this conversation.

No, it is pretty repulsive.

“I don’t need your help. We can manage on our own.”

The Halk Spider firmly asserted. It might be wrong, but I was relieved that, by some chance, we couldn’t form a friendship treaty. With that, this place is now completely unnecessary.

“Is that so? Well then, farewell.”

I quickly turned on my heel, immediately wanting to leave this web-covered, tainted space.

“Wait. Do you intend to leave without offering anything?” “Are you a fool?” “Don’t you scavengers have any morals?”

Voices sprung up from every direction, seizing the opportunity.

“I apologize, but I have nothing to give.”

One move.

“Wait, you must have something to offer! Offer yourself!”

The Halk Spider shouted angrily. I doubt I’d be much of a meal for him.

“Do you intend to kill someone who came wishing to be friends?”

And then, the next move.

That’s when it happened. The Halk Spider sneered with a vile smile, launching a verbal attack.

“Why resist? I know! Dungeon monsters can change their forms, right? You’re one of those winged bugs we’ve killed countless times before! The weakling we easily killed when unresisting, now showing off in a larger form?”

“I’ve killed it too.” “It was crying, you know.” “Stop acting so high and mighty!”

And then, an unexpected move. Even with this creature’s limited intelligence, it seems to know about the dungeon.

Remembering how they recognized me is unbearably nauseating. The days when I was still a G-rank, following my master’s orders not to retaliate, enduring the humiliation by these creatures, holding back tears of frustration.

… Yes, I cried every night from my feebleness and the regret of being killed.

Remembering those days, for the first time, I felt genuine murderous intent rather than mere anger.

“Now, let’s kill you again!”

The Halk Spider, brandishing its claws, lunged at me. I pretended to flee in fear.

“I know, too! You were the one who orchestrated the feud between the Warhound and Onibird! And I can speak both the Beast and Bird languages! Do you understand what that means?”

I told them so, using the Beast language.

Their strategy for ruling the forest was simple: they falsified traces of Warhounds to kill Onibirds and vice versa, igniting a feud between them to weaken both. Due to the difference in language between the two species, they couldn’t understand each other and could only trust the Halk Spider’s translations, thus unable to cease their conflicts.

That’s how it is. However, a feeble scheme can be easily broken if my master grants me language skills. Their plan is doomed if anyone who can speak multiple languages shows up beside the Halk Spider.

… That being said, I don’t intend to beat around the bush this time. The three species just mentioned are all unnecessary for this forest. I only said all this to get them serious.

“Why… Why do you know this? Kill her!”

Oh, what a clichéd line that was.

“Killing me is pointless. I’ll resurrect. You know about the dungeon, don’t you?”

And finally, a check.

“Ca…Capture her!”

There it is.

I dodge the web the Halk Spider spews out with a roll. I’ve been dealing with this level of attack for a decade.

“It’s sad. We’ve known each other for so long, and now you’ll go extinct here. How tragic.”

“…What are you talking about?”

For the first time, the Halk Spider looked at me with an expression of seeing something unusual.

… Originally, as soon as I was entrusted with the safety of the forest by my master, their deaths were inevitable. As long as these creatures specializing in information warfare exist, I can’t control the forest.

If it’s my master’s order, killing them wouldn’t break any of my master’s rules, as far as I can judge.

However, I wanted to be a trustworthy confidant of my master. Not just follow orders but grasp his intentions and serve him with autonomy. Even if I, a mere swallow, might not understand the feelings of my master, the great eagle that rules the vast skies.

I’ve always longed for this.

Indeed, my master wouldn’t wish for the destruction of the Halk Spider. That’s why I showed them the path of friendship.

But they rejected it. They did. And pitifully, they tried to capture us, fulfilling the criteria for combat.

“… After all, my negotiation skills… no, my mentality is still immature.”

A little self-reflection.

Thinking I let my guard down, the Halk Spider becomes furious.

“Do you think you can escape?”

Before I realized it, using the spider’s web network, it seemed all the spiders in the forest had gathered here.

“Now that my reflection is over, let me show you my strategy. For instance, how about this? De・Li・Lah・Chan~”

At that moment, a gust of wind blew from behind, causing several pages of a book to flutter into the forest.