_ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was a clear cloudless night and Sylvia the Arachne was currently having her dinner. A campfire burned and crackled while Add was busy servicing his TSAR-77E rifle. Sylvia looked at the human, who was cleaning his weapon, something she had now seen him doing regularly and returned her attention to her meal. It consisted of cooked magical beast meat which was her favourite. It was rich in mana and nutrients and to her it was very delicious. She enjoyed her food, and savoured every bit of it.

For a magical beast, her feeding method was quite normal and refined. Unlike regular spiders that use their poison to liquefy the bodies of their prey an Arachne ate more like a human, using her small mouth. Initially when she was still in her original form, her fellow spiders would tear pieces of raw meat or sometimes bring fruits and serve her which she then graciously accepted. When Add cooked his food (which was nothing more than roasting meat and adding salt and spices) and shared with her, she acquired a taste for cooked meat and gave up on eating raw meat altogether. She ate a lot though, which was reasonable considering her original body size. Currently she was strong enough to easily win one on one against the Laika Stone serpent which had once almost killed her.

Although their relationship had started at the worst way possible, Add and Sylvia had gotten closer over the past months. Unlike what she had expected, he treated her quite well, considering she had tried killing him with fervor. He did not give her any excessive orders, and took care of her basic needs. Although he had used her as bait sometimes, but other than that she had really little to complain about. Still, the explosive collar around her neck irritated her, but with how things were, she could only hope that one day she would be freed of this restraint. The urge to kill or hurt Add had completely disappeared from her mind by now.

“Even if this queen was freed and tried to take revenge, she would probably die before she took the second step…”

She shook her head and returned to her meal. After some time, Add finished cleaning the rifle and looked at Sylvia. He had also no remaining hostility towards her. In his life as a soldier, he had dealt with countless people who wanted to kill him. Some were just doing their job, some were desperate, others just trying to kill for sport, and many times, enemies that were trying to kill you the previous day, became allies the next day. Such was life, and he was accustomed to it. After some consideration he spoke.

“Sylvia.”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow, I am going to leave this place, and return home.”

The spider queen was silent. This came as no surprise to her, humans usually did not stay in this deadly jungle for long. Add too would return sooner or later, and the day had finally come.

“Honestly speaking, I initially thought that I would bring you back as a servant. Back to my home and have you work for me. But… but now I don’t plan on doing so anymore…”

He tapped the bracelet on his hand and with a clink the collar around Sylvia’s neck opened and fell off. She was completely stunned for a while, her hand touched her neck, and did not find the usual cold metal there, she looked down and the ring of death which had terrorized her for months, was now lying there, looking completely harmless. After a few moments, she looked back at Add, in her eyes many emotions were swirling.

“Why?”

“Why what? Why did I free you?”

She nodded.

“Don’t you think I will try to kill you again human?”

Add’s face showed no emotion as he replied calmly,

“No, you won’t.”

The very next instant, Sylvia vanished from her spot, returning to her original Arachne form, she was before Add in a flash, her eyes gleaming with ruthlessness as her sharp legs rushed towards his head seemingly about to reap his life. But Add stayed completely still, his eyes calm and no trace of panic in them. The spear like legs approached at break neck speeds and just as it appeared that he would be killed they stopped mid air, just an arm’s width away from him. There was complete silence between them, as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“Why? Why don’t you fight back?”

Finally, Sylvia asked. She lowered her legs and retreated.

“Because I knew, that you were not serious.” He replied

“How? How did you know? Don’t tell me you can read minds?”

“Heh. No I cannot read minds per se. What I can do however is judge a person. And you for one, are a very bad actor. That ruthlessness in your eyes, I knew from the start that it was fake. I have seen many people really wanting to kill me before, and some of them almost succeeded. I know what the eyes of a person who is out for my blood look like, and yours, they weren’t even close.”

He was not completely honest however, let’s say he was around 90% certain that Sylvia was bluffing. As for the 10% chance that she was not, he had absolute certainty that he could evade her attacks and shoot her head off with the rifle lying beside him. He had loaded a full magazine and turned off the safety for that reason after all. The Arachne, unaware of this, looked at the human in shock. She had never expected him to say such words. Indeed she had not been serious when she tried to attack him, she was just testing him, if he was really letting her go or it was all a trap. Conflicting emotions filled her mind while Add was still clam, as usual. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself.

“So… I am free to leave?”

“I am not stopping you am I? Although I do have another proposition for you, if you are interested that is.”

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“Proposition?”

“Indeed. It’s just an offer, I am not forcing you, but I would like if you woul come work for me.”

“Work for you? Like what I have been doing previously?” Sylvia asked raising a brow.

“Not exactly. I cannot give you any details yet, but it will be the sort of work which you can do. Well you will have to follow me back into human territory though.”

Sylvia silently contemplated, she had just obtained her freedom and a part for her wanted to return to her lair and resume her lie like it had been before while another part of her measured the human’s words.

“I cannot promise you any great treasures or power, but what I can promise you is that this is a chance for you to be part of something great. You may be able to see things no Arachne has seen before. And you will be paid for your efforts so there is that. Well it’s all up to you, so take your time, I will be leaving tomorrow, so you still have the night to think it over.”

Add stood up and walked towards his tent. He left Sylvia alone to think for herself. He could have forced her to work for him using the collar but that was not what he wanted. He needed subordinates he could trust, and people who were essentially enslaved to your will, usually held grudges and as is quite often, what starts as a simple grudge can soon balloon to be a severe threat. While he was confident enough to deal with any dangers, having people whom you could trust your back to was always a good thing.

“You are a strange human… Asking this queen, a monster, to be your ally with just a verbal agreement.”

She muttered looking at his departing back. The boy paused,

“Am I? Maybe so. But I think I can trust you more than I can trust a random human…”

“….”

Add looked at the waning moon and sighed.

“…You see, we humans are a kind which is much more difficult to trust than you would think. Humans are filled with greed and treachery. They won’t hesitate to betray their own apart for benefits. Monsters on the other hand are more simple creatures, they are either trying to kill you or trying to eat you. There is no complex schemes and hidden agendas in them. And above all, I trust my own judgement and it tells me that I can trust you. To a workable degree at least…”

After saying his piece, he retreated into his tent, leaving Sylvia alone by the campfire. As she looked at the dancing flames, one could only guess what thoughts were plaguing her mind.

_ _ _ _ _

The night passed uneventfully. The next day, it was finally time to head back to Rigel. He had been away for almost three months now, any more delays were unacceptable. Getting out of his tent he did not see Sylvia around. The tent which he had provided her to sleep in was left also undisturbed. He shook his head lightly. It seemed she had left, which was what he had expected. Packing up everything quickly, he suited up in his mobile armour, but  a familiar silhouette appeared from within the trees.

“I thought you had left… Did you change your mind?”

“This Queen does not need to answer to you about what she does…” Sylvia retorted.

“Indeed you don’t. Anyway since you did not leave, does that mean you are willing to follow me?”

“I feel it might not be a bad idea to see what great things you speak of.”

Sylvia did not really know why she had chosen to follow him rather than returning to her normal life. Maybe she had been impressed by what he had said to her the previous night, or she was curious about the strange weapons and items Add used or maybe she wanted to explore the world outside this forest. Whatever the reason maybe, she did not have second opinions about her choice. Add looked at her for a while and then shrugged lightly.

“Well anyway, since you have decided, then let’s move on.”

Add nodded and told her to follow him. they were already on the outskirts, and it took them little a few hours to completely exit Waldestein. The dense forest gradually grew sparser until it finally gave way to a vast grassland stretching as far as the eye could see. This grassland which also had many smaller patches of forests within it, covered a huge area and stretched almost all the way to Rigel. There were many tribes living in this area, both human and also of other races and Add had crossed paths with a few of them on his way here, and those encounters had not been very pleasant. The land was relatively plain and flat, making travelling easier. There were many monsters as well, from large sluggish herbivores to smaller but much deadlier predators, which stalked the grasslands for prey. Some small rivers and streams also flowed across these lands, providing water in plenty.

As he gazed at the expanse before him, Sylvia who was in her Elf form also looked around, a hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes. As usual, she was wearing her usual one piece dress, made by her own hands using her silk. Arachne had a unique ability to produce silk from their hands, microscopic glands in their palms could secrete silk at will which they used to weave their clothes and trap their prey too. The skirt, however was a little longer and now came down to just below her knees. Much to Add's annoyance, Sylvia did not like to wear undergarments, which made even this very expressionless man frown. But since the lady, or Arachne, in question had no qualms about her own image, he could only ignore this to the best of his ability.

There was an estimated distance of five hundred kilometres between Waldestein and Rigel and no matter how strong or durable Add had grown, he was not masochistic enough to walk all the distance by foot. Driving the mech all the way back would be too slow and flamboyant and completely unnecessary. So he opened his inventory and took out a certain vehicle. It was a 4 x 4 light utility vehicle, the UAZ-52(model 2025). Based on the age old but proven design of the UAZ 469 (known by many as the soviet jeep'). This was a vehicle that combined a robust design with modern features and technology. The chassis was made stronger using advanced alloys and techniques, which made the vehicle more durable than its predecessor.

Sylvia looked curiously at the strange item. After following Add for 4 months, she had now been accustomed to the strange items and weapons Add used. What was more surprising was that he seemingly took them out of nowhere and also made them disappear into nowhere. But in Iseria where magic could make the impossible, possible, this was not something impossible. There were certain objects called storage items, such as storage bags, storage rings, and storage bracelets.

These objects were made using precious metals and space magic which came under Neutral attribute, and acted as doorways to large isolated spaces inside them, which could be used to store things. These items were very expensive and only nobles and very rich people could afford them. The amount of space inside varied, and the more the space, more was the price. Add's inventory worked on a similar principle, just that it did not have any physical form. Time inside the storage space stopped, so if you kept fruit in such a space, and take it out after a thousand years, it would still be fresh as ever.

“What is this strange thing Human?”

Sylvia asked in her beautiful but detached voice. Although Add had told her to call him by his name, she only referred to him as 'human' but he did not really care much about that. As long as she followed his words and did not do something that really angered him, he would not mind whatever she called him, unless it was an unacceptable term.

“This is a jeep.” He explained.

“Ji-ip?” The beautiful Elf (Arachne) stuttered while trying to say the word she had never heard before.

“Yes, it’s a machine... Anyway I cannot really explain any more to you right now.”

“Machine...?” Sylvia was unable to make sense of his words.

He did not really know how to explain to this lady about the wonders of technology. ‘I should have her use the learning chamber when we return’ he thought. As expected Sylvia looked at the Jeep sceptically and sized it up. She had never actually seen a carriage, since not many people went into Waldestein with carriages, but she knew that humans had a knack for making strange things. Ignoring her confusion, Add took some petrol from the inventory and filled the tank of the Jeep. He then sat down on the vehicle and turned on the ignition key.

*VROOM*

With the turn of the key, the engine roared and the exhaust spewed out smoke a distinct smell of fuel and smoke could be smelled. The rhythmic sound of the engine and exhaust, felt strangely attractive, making the Arachne quite intrigued. She had stayed all her life in the forest, not seeing more than monsters and trees. But after she met Add, she had seen many strange and new things thanks to him.

“Alright then, come here and sit down.” Add said pointing to the passenger’s seat beside him.

Sylvia who was gazing up and down at the jeep, trying to figure out exactly what it was, quickly came inside and sat down. Her posture was still graceful like a queen, but her eyes betrayed her curiosity as they continuously gazed at the interior of the jeep.

“Sit there quietly and don’t touch anything.” Add reminded as he pulled the seat belt over her.

“This is ?”

“Ah it’s called a seat belt. It stops you from jerking around when the jeep is moving...”

As King Class beast, Sylvia probably did not need the seat belt, but Add strapped it on regardless, more of a formality than a necessity. He then changed the gear and with a jolt the Jeep began moving. Initially, Sylvia was a bit cautious, but gradually as time passed she began enjoying the feeling of travelling in this strange thing. The windows were open, so she stuck her head out and felt the cool air hitting her face, and her lips broke into a smile. Add who was watching this from the side was a bit surprised. He shook his head and continued driving.

(I guess, everyone has a child in them...)

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Optional)

1. The UAZ-52(model 2025) had a 200 horsepower diesel engine with better fuel efficiency and an excellent ground clearance of 500 millimetres. It used specially made tubeless tires which had stiff rubber spokes inside them instead of air. These supported the weight of the vehicle. The rubber composite used to make the tires was also very tough and durable. As there was no usage of air, the tires were puncture proof. The jeep was a 4 wheel drive with 4 doors, and seating space for 7 passengers. The full load capacity was over 800 kilograms. The system sold it for just, 50,000 CP which was very cheap.