Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 4.2

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THE LORD’S ANGUISH

“Protests, you say?”

“That’s correct.”

Merazophis frowns uncertainly, and I heave a tired sigh.

Unable to bring myself to speak any further on the matter, I instead hand him the papers.

As Merazophis reads them, his eyebrows draw closer and closer together.

“These accusations seem very…excessive.”

“Indeed.”

For once, Merazophis’s emotions are plain on his face.

For someone who normally seems so cool and composed, at the moment he almost looks heated.

But I suppose that’s not important at the moment.

The real problem is the contents of the letter Merazophis is now holding.

To summarize its lengthy demands: “Give us the spider demon your people are worshipping.”

The letter is from Ohts.

According to them, since the monster lived in the dungeon contained in the land of Ohts, it belongs to them.

If we continue to unjustly keep it to ourselves, the letter says, they are willing to resort to military force.

This is a new level of foolishness.

How can anyone claim ownership over a wild monster?

We have no such illusions of possessing it.

It has chosen to be here of its own accord, and we are by no means the creature’s keepers.

If they think that man can control such a thing, then the people of Ohts have knotholes for eyes.

“So how are we to reply?”

“Do not ask the obvious. I will simply explain that we do not claim ownership of the creature, in polite tones that even a complete idiot will understand.”

You must forgive me if my tone is a tad sardonic.

No matter how I respond, Ohts is sure to find fault with it anyway.

They are our neighbors, but I cannot say that we have a friendly relationship.

After all, their religion, the Word of God, blatantly claims that we followers of the Goddess are heretics.

Thus, it is inevitable that we would have a poor relationship with any land that worships the Word of God, including Ohts.

And since they live right on our borders, they meddle in our affairs all too often.

This is another such incident.

However, all that aside, there is another reason that Ohts has decided to approach in the form of a protest letter.

You see, the spider monster in question, also known as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth, has caused no small amount of damage to their land.

The Nightmare is a monster that emerged from the Great Elroe Labyrinth.

At the exit of that labyrinth was a fortress erected by Ohts to prevent monsters from escaping.

And the Nightmare of the Labyrinth destroyed that fortress.

Ohts seems to have attempted to keep this under wraps, but there was no hiding such a major incident.

The rumors have spread so far that even our commoners know all about it.

With this in mind, Ohts has chosen to take a defiant stance.

In the letter, they claim they “must punish the monster that has caused harm to our noble land.”

Which is why they demand we hand the creature over to them.

Though one doubts whether that is the whole truth of the matter.

No doubt the people of Ohts have heard rumors that the Nightmare of the Labyrinth has been healing people.

In fact, it’s been causing such miracles as healing those who were on the verge of death by incurable illness and even restoring lost limbs.

The Nightmare has done all this while receiving only the paltriest offerings in return.

A miraculous creature that can cure any illness or wound.

If they hear of such a thing, of course people are bound to come clamoring for healing.

And there will be those who seek to profit from it, too.

No doubt Ohts wishes to take the Nightmare back to their land and use that healing power for their own benefit.

That is why they have sent such ridiculous accusations.

No matter how we reply, I am certain they will refuse to back down.

I am inclined to doubt they seriously intend to use force, but continuing to harass us through “diplomatic” means does seem quite likely.

Even if we tell them that “handing it over” is simply impossible.

They must understand that already, making this even more ridiculous.

I have a bad feeling about the whole situation.

Something tells me it’s only going to go from bad to worse.

My bad premonitions are, unfortunately, always correct.

Right now, in this very mansion, I have all manner of visitors of varying degrees of office.

Most of them are nobles from other countries.

And all of them are here for the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

It seems they are all scheming to lure it to their own homeland if possible.

However, that doesn’t seem to be going well for them.

The Nightmare can easily be lured out with food.

However, it emerges only enough to show itself. If any further contact is attempted, it quickly retreats into the forest.

A few people attempted to communicate using Telepathy, but the Nightmare quickly withdrew as if running away.

Only when there were people who needed to be healed would the Nightmare make an appearance. Besides that, it stayed in the forest.

I have ordered everyone not to enter the forest in an effort to avoid angering the creature.

The townspeople have accepted this, not wishing to disturb the Divine Beast.

However, our greedy visitors make no attempt to abide by these rules.

Some have ventured into the forest, and a few even attempted to forcibly approach it.

“Dammit! That stupid bug! Horrible insect!”

The man currently shouting and stomping about in the mansion is one such individual.

I must say, it is most unseemly to witness a grown man throwing a childish tantrum.

Quite honestly, I would rather not have him in my mansion at all, but certain circumstances forced my hand.

This man is an official emissary from the land of Ohts.

I have no choice but to provide any such emissary with a warm reception, even if he comes from a country with whom our relationship is fraught.

And no matter how damnable a creature he might be, at that.

I can tell by the way he displays his idiocy with reckless abandon in my home that this is not a man of merit.

Indeed, he constantly causes trouble, and we, his hosts, are the ones who must pay the price.

Since he first started staying here, not a day has gone by that he has not complained to my staff.

If these were legitimate complaints, then surely we would amend them to make his stay more pleasant, but all of them are unbearably foolish beyond repair.

“The food is terrible.” Of course the vegetarian diet of Goddess worshippers would not appeal to a man who dislikes most vegetables.

“The maid keeps nagging me.” Yes, because you were smoking tobacco near my infant child, Sophia.

“This room smells awful.” Again, you are the one who was smoking in it.

And so on and so forth.

On some occasions, his demands are so absurd that I cannot help thinking he must be doing it on purpose.

Yet if his demands are not met, he immediately throws a tantrum.

All in all, every one of us wants him to leave the mansion as soon as possible.

In fact, I would like to chase him out right now if I could.

However, if I do such a thing without good reason, Ohts is sure to rail against me.

In fact, perhaps that is their aim.

Why else would they send such a ridiculous man as their official emissary?

They must be aiming to provoke us Sariellans into harming one of their own.

Then they can hold that above our heads in whatever they plan to negotiate next.

However, I do not know what their intended next move might be.

Between the two countries, Sariella is far stronger than Ohts.

Ohts is in an alliance with the Renxandt Empire and has connections to the Holy Kingdom of Alleius because of its belief in the Word of God, but even with their backing, I cannot understand why they would set out to provoke us so.

Even though it’s entirely possible that this emissary will cause such problems here that we will gain a bargaining chip instead.

In fact, given the supreme stupidity of the man, that seems the likelier possibility.

I cannot guess what Ohts is thinking.

One must assume it is related to the Nightmare of the Labyrinth, but I did not think them this foolish.

Surely they realize this is not a matter that can be decided through negotiating with us.

Yet the emissary sets out to bother the Nightmare every day without fail.

“That awful insect! How dare it make a fool of me!”

Amazingly, the man is still shouting.

He has been going to see the Nightmare of the Labyrinth each day, claiming it his duty as an emissary.

There, he trespasses into the forest and approaches the creature, demanding that it go over to Ohts.

In a way, perhaps the man deserves some respect for being so bold as to give orders to the mighty Nightmare.

Not that I will be offering him any.

The Nightmare of the Labyrinth has no regard for his orders, of course, and dismisses him in one way or another each day.

Which is why he’s shrieking and stomping about now.

Whenever the man shows up in the forest, he says that the Nightmare goes up into a tree.

Then it stares down at him, unmoving.

No matter what the man says to it, that’s all it does.

However, the emissary seems to take this as being looked down upon, and he gets angrier each time he sees the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

Even though he is the one who keeps entering the forest, which is closed to trespassers, and haughtily shouting orders at the Nightmare that we can hear from town.

That alone is enough to incur the anger of the common people who worship the Nightmare of the Labyrinth as the Divine Beast.

This man seems to have a gift for making himself disagreeable to anyone and everyone.

We are managing for now, but if this situation continues, someone on one side or the other is bound to reach their limit.

Thankfully, the emissary’s stay is temporary.

I can only hope that no problems occur before he finally leaves.

My hopes fell on deaf ears.

The emissary has died.

In this very mansion, no less.

His cause of death is unknown.

There is not a single scratch on his body; according to his servant who witnessed the death, he simply fell to the floor as suddenly as if he were a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Which was why I was woken up quite rudely in the middle of the night.

Now the man’s servants sit in front of me, their faces pale.

“Well? Do you have any ideas as to what might have caused his death?”

The servants nod silently to my question.

However, I can see from the shifting of their eyes that they have no idea.

I heave a pointedly audible sigh.

The servants all tremble in response.

I have a very good idea of the cause of the man’s death.

It is the work of the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

In fact, this is not the first sudden, mysterious death to occur in this town.

It has happened before in this same mansion, in fact.

A group of suspicious-looking men were found dead here, with no visible wounds whatsoever.

We still do not know who these men were or why they were invading our mansion.

Based on recent events, I suspect they may have been agents of Ohts, but I have no proof of this.

Did they come to assassinate me? To steal confidential documents?

Because the cause of their deaths was so unusual, it seems likely that the culprit was some aberrant outside force.

And when one considers the timing, it seems quite likely that the Nightmare of the Labyrinth is responsible.

However, I do not know why the Nightmare of the Labyrinth would take such an interest in protecting this town.

Surely the creature is not actually the Divine Beast from the legends of the Goddess?

Since it seems to have intelligence to easily match that of a human, there must be some reason behind its actions.

Although it’s possible I think that only because I’m a human myself.

Even if it has the same level of intelligence as a human, that doesn’t mean that a monster like the Nightmare of the Labyrinth would follow the same patterns of thought.

It might have motivations completely different from that of a human.

Which would make it all the stranger that it has chosen to support our town.

But I suppose it doesn’t matter much either way.

Whether it thinks the same way as a human or not, I can’t come up with a single reason for a monster to protect our human town.

Not knowing that is quite frightening indeed.

Especially since the creature in question is an immensely powerful monster.

However, this time I think I understand what the Nightmare of the Labyrinth was after.

Revenge.

“So? Why were all of you awake at such an hour?”

The time is well past midnight.

It is still pitch-dark outside, with some time before the sky begins to turn blue.

Unless the man was on night watch, he ought to have been sleeping.

It is highly suspicious that he was awake.

All the more so since he normally drank enough to fill a small tub before going to bed.

“W-well, you see…”

One servant is obviously very flustered.

His reaction is so over-the-top that I’m tempted to wonder if he’s acting, but judging by his pallor, it’s clearly the truth.

If he can invoke such a pale face by acting, the man deserves to be in leading roles onstage.

The servants look at one another uncertainly, clearly wondering whether to admit the truth or make some excuse. Unfortunately for them, however, I’m already in the know.

A watchman informed me that a group of people had attacked the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

I have little doubt they were assassins sent by these servants’ now-dead master.

The circumstantial evidence alone is more than sufficient.

He must have been planning to make the Nightmare of the Labyrinth obey him by force.

Or was he hoping to get rid of it in revenge for ignoring his demands?

Either way, there’s no denying it was an extremely foolish act.

The offenders, incidentally, were quickly dispatched by their would-be victim, the Nightmare.

It is difficult to pity them when they could not perceive the clear difference between their strength and their opponent’s.

Or did they have some reason for not being able to refuse their superior?

If their superior was the emissary, then it would make some sense.

I do feel sorry for those under the employ of an incompetent superior.

Now, how to deal with these remaining servants of the deceased incompetent in question?

One must hope that the subordinates are equally incompetent.

I must attempt to guide them such that Ohts will not raise objections against Sariella for this matter, or at least to keep their anger to a minimum.

When an emissary dies in another country, it is inevitable that the host will receive some degree of blame.

If I cannot create a convincing reason, we will end up owing them a needless debt.

And so, I must have the late man’s servants confess that he attempted to lay a hand on the Nightmare of the Labyrinth and was killed by said monster in retribution.

We cannot change the fact that the emissary died in Sariella, but if he brought it upon himself by making an attempt on a dangerous monster, it will at least lighten the blame placed on us.

And in light of the man’s general behavior, I imagine those who knew him will be quite willing to accept our side of the story.

…At least, I certainly hope so.

I am well aware that all of this is rather wishful thinking.

If Ohts sent that emissary fully knowing this would come to pass, then the situation is dire.

And I am quite disturbed that I do not know what Ohts is attempting to do.

The attack on my wife and child.

The sudden increase in the robber population, clearly influenced by some other country.

The mysterious intruders.

All these signs point to something very bad indeed on the horizon.

And as if to confirm these fears, my spies have informed me that Ohts has been making movements in secret.

There are signs that they are preparing for war.

I did not want to believe this.