Chapter 108: Boobie Spiders Go Brrr

- Dwarven Settlement, Calidus Upper Reaches - ???'s POV -

It had been several years since such a large group came anywhere our cities entrance and, in the span of a few days, we'd had not just one, but two, come almost within throwing distance of the path to our hidden village.

When the first group had come by it had seemed like they were just doing some minor reconnaissance, checking out the area similar to what had happened nearly a decade ago when the dwarves had come through on the hunt for mineral veins and general material procurement. As such we'd basically ignored them since our village was quite well hidden even if they'd been searching for it specifically. We'd then all breathed a sigh of relief when the initial group had quickly moved along, seemingly proving our theory that it was just another group of greedy dwarves correct. That was of course, until we spotted a new group headed our way.

This group, seemingly composed of amateurs and newbies, was watched over by an individual that even our most skilled at stealth weren't confident that they could approach unnoticed. Their target? The same cave that the previous group had prospected nearly a week prior. Unfortunately for those entering our territory that specific cave had recently been occupied by a Feronid Matriarch that was currently going through her brooding period so it was determined that a small group would keep an eye on the interlopers and pick through any of the pieces left for anything useful after the Matriarch and her brood were finished with them.

At first the battle had gone as expected, maybe a bit less one-sided thanks to the unexpected abilities of what was assumed to be some sort of student group as well as the assistance of the one that even chilled ME to the exoskeleton. However, it had seemed like they would be unable to really overcome such a disadvantageous situation and would be forced to flee. Surprising all of us watching though was the unexpected ability displayed by the large snake female of... young? age. None of us were certain of her true age and the ability that she displayed was one we'd never heard of except in our most ancient of tales, the ones that were old enough to have been nearly lost to time. Only our connection with the Guardian allowed for such ancient myth to survive to the modern era.

[Ara Ara? I came to see who was making so much noise so close by to my home and what do I see but a few surface dwellers where they don't belong. What say you surface dweller, why are you down here? And why can you use magic without chanting?] - ???

[Remove your blade from the Young Miss's throat or lose your head.] - Annabelle

So, I made the split-second decision to save the young? group and their protector. Our group, moving upon my orders, immediately eliminating the brooding Feronids as the rest of us took up positions around the surface dwellers. Smirking as I felt the thrill of a successful ambush fill me I filled my voice with as much seductive charm as I could muster. I'd heard tales that snake women were like Arachne women in that they enjoyed the company of women just as much as they did men and a horny prey was a prey that made mistakes.

Unfortunately, that confidence instantly turned to ash as I felt a blade press against my own throat, the voice behind me shocking me even more. The protector? How?!?

[H-How?!?] - ???

[Blade. Drop it.] - Annabelle

Slightly turning my head to the last known position of the one currently holding me at knifepoint I saw a ring of confused Arachne soldiers only now realizing that they'd lost sight of their charge. This was far worse than I'd been informed!

- Dwarven Settlement, Calidus Upper Reaches - Rose's POV -

Scared. I was scared. Am I gonna die? Again? After all this?

All these thoughts flitted through my head as I did my best to control any trembling from being confronted with my possible imminent death. This feeling, far different from the one I'd experienced both at my actual previous death as well as the many times I'd confronted others in a life-or-death struggle, spoke of the futility of struggling. No matter what I did I'd never be able to escape from the looming threat at my back. And then it was over. With the sound of a familiar voice close-by I realized that the situation was no longer hopeless. That, despite the suddenness of the current events I'd still been saved by Annabelle once more.

[R-Right, we didn't mean any harm. Right gals? We saved you after all.] - ???

[I won't warn you another time, drop the knife or I'll make you.] - Annabelle

My captors voice, once dripping with venomous seduction, was now cowed by inexplicable fear. Her trembling as she attempted to hold her knife steady at my neck, would have elicited sympathy from me in any other situation. As it was though I was mostly scared that she'd accidently nicked me in her shivering so I was filled once more with a different kind of fear.

Doing my best to hold my own head steady as the spider-woman's knife began to leave my neck I noticed the woman's companions all vigorously nodding their heads in agreement with her statement of non-harm, despite the obviously counterargument that could be had based on the current location of her knife.

At least until her knife left enough distance from my neck for me to drop under it and escape.

[Wait Annabelle! Don't kill her! I want to ask her some questions!] - Rose

[As the Young Miss wishes. Speak, bug.] - Annabelle

[Ugh, how dare you treat a Prieste- Hiii! U-Umm I mean yes! W-What does the surface dwe- Y-Young Miss wish to know?] - ???

Realizing that now that I was free of danger Annabelle was about to eliminate the potential threat permanently, I immediately stopped her, after which she backed off slightly while keeping her weapon out and at the ready. Breifly seeming to sweep her eyes over the gathered spider-women behind our group to see if they'd made any movement, she then nudged the woman that, now that I got a look at her, was one of the most beautiful women that I'd ever seen in either of my lives. With teardrop breasts so massive they'd break the back of a normal woman and a face that screamed seductress her looks were only offset by her light grey skintone that led into a lower body of the largest spider I'd ever seen if I hadn't just fought a spider the size of a building. Even so these inhuman elements only served to inhance her beauty even more as I found myself staring.

Rubbing the back of her neck as if to remove the lingering feeling of the blade that had been pressed there only moments before this drop-dead beauty then spoke in a way completely opposed to her previous seductive tone. Oozing a spoiled princess vibe as she immediately began a tirade of what was most likely to be insults, she immediately paled at the glare that Annabelle sent her way when she didn't immediately start answering questions. Realizing that her continued existence relied on her appeasing the scary maid's mistress she immediately turned to address the still staring me as I finally broke myself out of the dumbfounded trance her unexpected appearance had put me in.

[A-Ahem! Okay first of all I think we started off on the wrong foot, you did save us after all.] - Rose

[Yes that's right! We're the one's that saved you lowe- U-Umm yes.] - ???

[With that out of the way what's your name?] - Rose

Clearing my throat to try to gloss over the awkwardness of the current situation I tried to lighten the mood by bringing up the fact that they HAD in fact saved us. Now what had happened afterwards was less ideal but the fact that she and her ilk hadn't immediately killed them when they had the chance, however small with Annabelle present, made me want to at least give them a chance to not be skewered by that same maid who immediately sent the entire group another heavy glare when a few of them attempted to move in the peripherals.

[How do you not recogni- oh right surface dwellers... Ahem, we are the Priestess in Training of Our Lady Gaurdian, we are named Zhizhu.] - Zhizhu 1I'm using the royal we here as the way she's ATTEMPTING to speak is quite dignified.

[It is an honor to meet such an illustrious personage such as yourself, we are named Rose de la Amchier of the Dutchy Amchier in the Anguis Nation. My mother is one of three Dutchess' directly related to the current Queen Laura de la Anguis. Since you are of such a high station can I take your previous conduct as that of a delegate of the... Arachne nation?] - Rose

Calling upon all my badly remembered lessons on etiquette in such situations where you and the other party were in a previously antagonistic relationship. I even guessed that these... spider people? were the illusive Arachne that I'd heard about breifly at some point in the past. They certainly looked similar to the descriptions of them from the various myths and, to be frank considering I was a child of the internet with only a bit more of a passing interest in old mythology that wasn't nearly rigorous enough to accurately tell what stories certain creatures appeared in, anime with Arachne in them.

Regardless by turning our encounter into a diplomatic issue rather than a conflict I figured I might be able to gloss over the fact that we'd started out in a threatening way rather than peacefully.

[U-Uh? N-No! Of course not! It was an honest mistake that cou- I-I mean Ahem! We are sure that s-such unpleasantness can be put behind us while work towards a more open relationship between our two peoples? <Yeah, that's how you do that right?>] - Zhizhu

[Wonderful! I shall take that statement as meaning that you'd be willing to open up an official dialogue between our two nations. Is that correct?] - Rose

[Yes?] - Zhizhu

[Excelent, in that case our party is quite tired and would appreciate some place to rest while we discuss the future of our two peoples.] - Rose

Shelter get.

Our confident seductress was apparently anything but. While she put on an air of being in control she seemed woefully unprepared for the kind of political manuevering of even the most unskilled. And I was certainly that, my approach akin to a bull pushing it's way through the china shop to get to the bathroom at the back. Technically it makes it there but the wreckage behind it is anything but smooth. Luckily for our exhausted group Zhizhu was honest to a fault and, after watching her expressions over the last few minutes, seemed much younger than her appearance would suggest. Maybe she was an early bloomer?

Regardless I immediately transitioned into making my appearance that of a delegate rather than someone who just happened to stumble into the area around what was most likely some sort of established settlement, or even nation, considering how Zhizhu spoke.

[R-Right follow u- Wait what?!?] - Zhizhu