The Galleon Whale glided over the lush forest, the trees dense and towering. Spider stood at the helm, a spyglass clutched in its claws. Its eyes scanned the verdant canopy, searching for a monstrous serpent.

"That must be it," the spider chirped, pointing a claw.

The spider indicated a patch within the forest where the trees had been uprooted and bent to form a massive nest. Nestled in its heart was a colossal monster. Its long, snake-like body was shielded by formidable, forest-green scales. Its snake head was immense, its jaws capable of swallowing a harpy in a single bite. It napped carelessly in the open, likely believing itself the undisputed King of the Forest, or worse.

The Forest Harpy shuddered at the sight of the monster. "It's bigger than I remember."

The Spider King shrugged. "It's not that impressive."

"Hey, how come? It even has a scary title, King of Monsters."

"Wait, what? Isn't that awfully close to Monster King?"

"Unforgivable!" the spider chirped angrily. "Ready the cannons! We'll blow it up!"

"No, wait!" the Spider King stopped the running spider with a hand. "I'm not so petty to be angry about its title. It's just a monster."

"Cancel the cannons!" the spider chirped.

"However, what it did to the harpies, I can't let it go. We'll be slaying it."

"Ready the cannons!" the spider chirped.

"But this revenge is for the Forest Harpies to claim. I don't want to take it away from them."

"Cancel the cannons!"

"The harpy here will slay it. It is her right, no, her duty!" he patted the feathered shoulder.

"Me? Hey, it can't be me!"

"Don't worry, I'll equip you well. It will be a piece of cake."

"Hey? A piece of what?"

"It's a figure of speech. Don't worry about it."

...

The ship hovered high above the nest. The Forest Harpy practiced laps around it, while the other harpies cheered her on.

"Hey, you can do it!"

"Hey, it will be okay!"

"Hey, we believe in you!"

"Hey, I'm just shouting!"

The flight testing was complete. Her gear was as good as it would ever be. Her equipment was light: aviator goggles and a sash. The goggles were specially made, a magical device to enhance her vision. The sash was made of light but durable leather, designed for item storage. She hovered in the air, her wings flapping, gathering courage for what lay ahead.

The Spider King pointed down. "Stop worrying. Just take a good aim and drop it."

"Hey, Spider King, I'll do my best! Here I go!"

She darted down towards the nest. In her foot, nested in her clawed fingers, she held a round item: the Thorn Grenade. The grenade left her grasp, and she flapped her wings to soar back up into the sky.

The grenade flew true, hitting the monster's long tail. It exploded upon contact, showering it with nasty thorns. The thorns ricocheted off the thick scales, doing no damage. But it was enough to wake the monster. The King of Monsters stirred from its slumber, searching for the creature that dared to offend it. Its emerald serpentine eyes scanned the treeline, its detection skills activated, but it failed to find the brazen offender.

Back at the side of the ship, the harpy flapped her wings in panic. "Hey, it didn't work!"

"Don't worry, we're just Item testing. Try the next one."

"But I'm scared! It's awake and angry!"

"Just keep your distance and it will be okay."

"Hey? Okay!"

The harpy darted down, Explosion Grenade in the claw of her foot. She got close, but not too close. It was time to drop the grenade. Suddenly, the King of Monsters looked up, its eyes locking onto the flying harpy. There was rage within its merciless gaze.

"Eek!" she panicked, her wings flapping to carry her back towards the ship. She fled but not before dropping a special charge.

The charge flew down like a stone, hitting the monster right between the eyes. Alas, there was no explosion.

The harpy reached the ship again, her wings flapping frantically. The grenade was still in the claw of her foot.

"Hey! I'm sorry! I got scared."

The Spider King looked down. The monster's head was slick with egg goo, its expression enraged from the indignation the harpy had caused it.

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"Haha, good thinking. Now it's Blinded. Quickly drop the grenade."

"Oh, right! Hey, here I go," she descended for a second attempt.

This time, there was an explosion that reverberated through the forest. The harpy flew back to the ship, her feathers ruffled.

"Hey, it's still alive. And very, very angry!"

"Yes, you've Enraged it. Well done! Now test the rest of the grenades."

"Oh, okay!"

The Frost Grenade was dropped, freezing a good chunk of its scales.

"Keep going!" the Spider King encouraged.

The Fire Grenade soon followed, cracking the frozen scales.

"Hey, it's trying to flee."

"Why are you so surprised? Of course, it is. It has no ranged attacks and no way to get you."

"Hey, you're right!"

"Don't let it escape. Use Sticky Grenade!"

The grenade was super effective, binding the monster to the trees and arresting its movements.

"Hey, my grenade sash is empty. What do I do now?"

"Here, [Inventory], take it, but be careful when dropping it."

The harpy took a crystalline orb. She tilted her head, inspecting a vortex of darkness swirling inside the crystal. She flinched back when a web of purple lightning flashed inside all of a sudden.

"Hey, it looks different. What is it?"

"A prototype the Darkness Spider had developed, the Void Grenade."

"Alright! Hey, here I go!"

She darted to drop the charge. The grenade smashed on the head of the serpent shamelessly titled as the King of Monsters. The crystal cracked, unleashing the darkness and thunder within. Like a ravenous beast, the void vortex ravaged the monster, its darkness dislodging the scales and ripping off chunks of monster flesh.

The King of Monsters screamed in rage and defiance, but even those were swallowed by the swirling void.

"Hey, it's dead. I've killed it!" she plunged towards the Spider King, her wings enveloping him in a tight embrace. "Thank you! Hey, tankyou! Hey!" she planted a kiss after a kiss.

"Hehe... No need to thank me. You did it yourself."

“But I want to thank you! *Smooch*, I think... *Smooch*, I think the nightmares I was having. *Smooch* They will stop.”

“Hey, hey, hehehe... Hey, I have a wife stop it.” He spoke with all the harpy heys.

"But hey, I want to thank you! All Forest Harpies owe you."

"Just lay me some good eggs, alright?"

"Oh!? Alright!"

With a final smooch, the harpy let him go, but not before giving a cryptic wink.

...

Inside the royal cabin, the Spider King was enjoying a royal bath.

"Who would have thought that a bath inside the cabin would be such a splendid addition?"

"Your wife, apparently. You can thank her."

"Gee, this truly feels amazing, so refreshing. Thank you, wife. You're the best."

"I know I told you to thank her, I do, but now I feel like resting my hands for some reason. Massage is over!"

"No, please don't. My shoulders are still tense."

"Then praise me too! This is my tank, my water, and my service. Maids deserve their thanks just as much as wives do!"

"Well, if I must. Ahem... My dearest maid, I thank you with all my heart for your unwavering diligence in cleansing the water, preparing my bath, and especially your soothing massages which have brought me great comfort and relaxation. You are indeed a treasure to me."

"Oh my! But why so formal all of a sudden?"

"Just keep those fingers working. I have more if you're interested."

"Oh? Go on then... my dearest King."

"Yes, that's the spot! Where was I? Oh right. My dearest maid, your cleaning is impeccable, your bedmaking is a work of art, and your... ahem... special service is most... refreshing. You have my deepest gratitude."

"Special service you say? How about here?"

"Hey, not there..."

A loud knock interrupted the playful scene unfolding in the bath.

"Who is it?"

The only reply was the sound of someone falling down and quickly running away.

"That was odd. I should check it."

"Don't forget the towel. You don't want to... Well, I guess the spiders wouldn't mind either way."

"Oh, you couldn't be more wrong. They absolutely would." He opened the doors. "Huh? A gift basket? Where did they even get the basket?"

"Why are you so fixated on the basket? It's the contents that matter. Bring it to the tank. I want to see what's inside. Let your maid check it for you. It's my duty."

"I fear you might get it wet. I'll check it myself. Oh, I see. It's all filled with feathers. Here, look, brown feathers."

"Must be from the harpies then. But is it all just feathers? It seems odd to gift someone a basket full of feathers. And the basket is rather large. Are you sure there's nothing else inside?"

"Positive. Hundred percent positive. Yup just all feathers. You know, the harpies are a bit bird-brained, so let's not look down on their gift too much."

"I'm not looking down on them. King, careful, don't slip! The floor is..."

The Spider King slipped, his hand losing its grip on the basket. The basket tumbled, its lid opening, spilling the feathers inside. However, there was more than just the feathers.

"..."

"Eggs?! Fresh, steaming HarpyEggs!"

"..."

"You scoundrel of a King! What were you planning on doing with these eggs?"

"Ouch, my butt hurts."

"Wrap your towel back on!!! And then answer my question."

"My intention was to eat them, of course."

"But they're harpy babies! You can't! I won't allow you!"

"Huh? But the eggs aren't Fertilized. The harpies just lay them every two or three days. They're just like chickens, or well, close to."

"Chickens? I don't know what that means, but it sounds derogatory. Wait! Don't distract me with strange words. Fertilized or not, how can you even think of eating them?"

"But it's normal, isn't it? I've eaten stranger things... hmm, like that raw fish you've insisted I'd eat."

"Raw fish is just normal food."

"For Mer maybe. Eggs are normal for me."

"Oh... Oh! I understand now. Too often, I forget about our racial differences. I'm sorry for my previous outburst. That was unbecoming of a maid. I promise to do better."

"Ah, it's fine. Misunderstandings happen."

"With you... Those happen way too often." She paused, her finger making a swirl in the water. "Yet I feel I owe you an apology. Want to continue where we finished?"

"..." He looked at the blushing maid, then at the scattered eggs, then at his empty wrist. "Oh, look at the time. It's time for my dinner. I'll be taking these and whipping something up for myself," he gathered the eggs quickly, eleven of them.

"Hey, don't leave me floating here. I'm your maid. Let me cook for you. Hey, are you listening? Take me with you! Hey, why are you leaving only with a towel on? That's inappropriate! Hey?!"

"Hey-hey-hey, you sound like a harpy! The harpies are scared of the bubble monster, it's bad for their egg productivity, that's why I'm leaving you here. And it's not like you can cook. Mind you, eating food raw isn't cooking, and I know you would ruin my precious eggs."

"You worried about that? If you want me to crawl after you, I will. Look!"

"..."

"I'm crawling. Look at my tail scraping the floor. The beautiful sapphire scales getting damaged and chipped. Is that what you want? Your dearest maid, your treasure, to crawl after you? Is this the kind of King you are?"

"Fine, I'll take you with me. But don't harass my harpies, and hands off my eggs."

"Oh... Is that why you got so jumpy in the bath?"

"No comment, [Hydrokynesis]."

"Thank you for the lift!"