Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 25

The demon army is on the move.

I received this information just this morning.

The report came from a spy who’d infiltrated demon territory.

“So the time’s finally come.”

“Seems that way. Though personally, I hoped it never would.”

“Come on, Julius. I know you don’t like fighting ’n’ all, but humans and demons are bitter enemies. You must’ve known this would happen sooner or later.”

“S’true. The demons have been active since the previous hero died, so if anything, it’s been a long time comin’.”

Just as my comrades say, there’s been a great deal of demon activity since the death of the hero before me.

Maybe we were just lucky it hadn’t developed past little skirmishes into a full-blown war until now.

“So how long until the demon army arrives?”

“Hyrince went to find out. He should be back any… Ah, there he is.”

At Yaana’s remark, I turn to see Hyrince, the second son of Duke Quarto and my close childhood friend, walking toward us.

“Hyrince. What’s the news?”

“Well…judging by the speed of their advance, it seems they’re likely to arrive at this fortress tomorrow.”

“I see. So it’s really happening.”

War.

Ever since I became the hero, I’ve spent day after day in the heat of battle.

This will be my first time experiencing combat of this magnitude, though.

And I’m not alone in that.

Large-scale warfare was unknown in the era of the previous hero, as well.

The only ones with experience facing such strife knew the hero from several generations back, and most of them have long since passed on.

Aside from those belonging to long-lived races, the handful remaining from that generation are far too old to fight.

In other words, none of the humans who’ll participate in this conflict have ever experienced such a large-scale war.

Demons, on the other hand, live much longer than humans.

It’s possible that some of them lived in the days of that hero—or may be even older.

How will that difference in firsthand knowledge play out?

On top of that, demons also have the advantage in terms of basic combat ability.

Both their physical and magical talents far exceed those of humans.

And their intelligence is equal to ours.

Humans can fight monsters with superior stats because of the power of their skills and their intellect.

However, we have no such advantage against demons.

Because, like humans, demons are able to make use of skills and intellect.

To be honest, I’m scared.

But as a hero, I can’t let that fear show.

The hero is humanity’s best hope. If I’m afraid, everyone else will be, too.

To hide my fear, I tug lightly at my scarf, a memento from my mother.

I lost her around the very same time the demons became active and I became the hero.

My father was grief-stricken at the loss of my mother, but as the king, he had no choice but to commit himself to his work while shouldering that grief.

Because of that, he became estranged from Shun and Sue.

I truly believe their familial bonds will surely heal with time, but right now, both my siblings are attending the academy.

My father will just have to bear it until they graduate.

Once those two graduate from the academy, I have no doubt they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

I wonder if I’ll survive this war and get to see them again?

No, of course I will.

I can’t just die here.

“If we survive this war, betcha the rewards’ll be huge.”

As if trying to prevent the mood from getting too dark, Hawkin speaks up in the most cheerful voice he can muster.

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“I would hope so. Our compensation for that battle with the Nightmare of the Labyrinth wasn’t nearly enough for the trouble we went through,” Jeskan chimes in.

“Yeah, probably ’cause Julius went and crushed the damn thing into dust. If the corpse had been even slightly salvageable, we could’ve probably sold it as materials.”

Hyrince glowers at me exaggeratedly.

Come on, what choice did I have?

“Really! I’m sure Julius did his best. Besides, I wouldn’t have wanted to carry a dead spider back home anyway.”

I can’t help but smile at Yaana’s offhand remark.

“You’re probably right that the remains of a monster like that could’ve earned a good price, though. Bet the silk and such could make some clothes with pretty high defense properties, don’t you think?”

Jeskan shakes his head in response to my banter.

“Not likely. Taratect thread is apparently generated by a skill. Even if you dissected a corpse, you wouldn’t find any.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

I instinctively reach for the scarf I always wear.

“Oh yeah, taratect thread. Y’know, I heard there was one time some adventurers brought back some taratect thread that weren’t sticky, ’bout ten years back.”

“I’ve heard that as well, when I was still just a young adventurer. They say a party burned down a taratect nest and found some intact thread inside. Apparently, it had ridiculously high magical conductivity and durability, so it fetched quite a bounty. And this part is only a rumor, but I’ve also heard they collected a dragon egg there. Dragon eggs are so rare, word is selling just one would be enough to allow you to live in luxury the rest of your days. As a fellow adventurer, I was rather envious at the time.”

“Yeah, and then there was a craze of capturing taratects to get more o’ that thread, weren’t there? But nobody managed to turn up one that could produce it.”

I froze during this conversation, still clutching my scarf.

Hyrince raises his eyebrows at me.

“Julius, you really didn’t know how valuable that thing is? You’re always wearing it…”

“I had no idea.”

I answer awkwardly.

“? What’s this, then?”

Overhearing our exchange, Yaana tilts her head inquisitively.

“The scarf this idiot’s always wearing is made from the same thread they’re talking about.”

Hyrince’s words turn all eyes toward the scarf around my neck.

Guess I’d better not tell them that Shun hatched the dragon egg Jeskan mentioned and is currently raising the product as a pet.

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“Ho-ho! Is it, now?”

“I’ve never actually seen the material before. I did hear that some of it was even sold to a royal family, but I never guessed that family was yours, Julius.”

“So it’s that valuable? I always wondered about it, since you never take it off.”

“Oh, no, I only wear it all the time because it’s a memento of my mother…”

“Really? Ah, I’m sorry…”

“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.”

Shortly after she gave birth to Shun, my mother’s health declined, and she passed away.

She knitted this scarf for me not long before Shun was born.

I knew it was made from taratect thread, but I had no idea it was such a rare material.

“Don’t worry about it, Yaana. Julius just has an Oedipus complex.”

“Come on, Hyrince, isn’t that a bit much?”

I grin in response to Hyrince’s light teasing.

Seeing this, Yaana feels relieved of her anxiety about upsetting me and giggles.

This is how it should be. A hero shouldn’t be enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere.

I’m grateful to Hyrince for having my back. It’s so important to have a close friend who really understands you.

Although I do think he could’ve picked a better phrase than “Oedipus complex.”

True, I may have more intense feelings about mothers than most people, having lost mine when I was young.

That’s evident from the fact that I see traces of my mother every time I look at Shun, who never even knew her.

I still remember the first time I met Shun.

It was the day before my mother died.

I was surprised by his steadfast gaze, the intensity in his eyes so unsuited to a baby.

His expression looked just like my mother’s.

Mother was a strong-willed person, too.

She gave birth to Shun knowing full well that it could destroy her weak body.

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“If anything happens to me, please raise your little brother right.”

As she spoke, the radiance in my mother’s eyes was just like the one I saw in Shun’s.

Intelligent, gentle, yet somehow dangerous.

Those eyes…

When I think about it, the moment when I became strongly aware that I was an older brother was also when I accepted my position as hero.

When I first took on the role, I was terrified.

The realization that I would have to fight shook me to my core.

But when I lost Mother and met Shun, I felt the powerful desire to protect him.

I am his older brother, after all.

Even if I can’t replace our mother, I can at least protect him as a brother.

That was the beginning of my story.

The origin of Julius the hero.

My thoughts are interrupted by telepathic communication from Hyrince.

Julius, there’s something strange about the way these demons are moving.

What’s strange about it?

It’s like they’re dispersing all their troops to invade human territory all at once, but we don’t know why they’re breaking up their forces like that.

You think there’s something behind it?

Yeah. It’d surely be better to concentrate on one front, so why divide their troops like that? It’s best to assume they have a reason.

Any idea what that might be?

Not sure. It’s beyond me right now. But we’d better not let our guards down.

Got it. Thanks.

I have a terrible feeling about this.

As if we’ve somehow walked into some enormous trap.

Like being caught in a spiderweb.

It reminds me of the fight against the Nightmare’s Vestige. I feel the same vague anxiety now as I did then.

But as a hero, I can’t run away.

Once again, I tightly grasp the scarf made of spider thread.