Finally, the centipede was cornered, but Pauline stood in the way.
Garuda, taking her longsword as if to say “It can’t be helped,” approached ignoring Pauline. It was Lauren who cut in between them.
“Hey, you guys, don’t you have something to say? You kidnapped my friend, acted so casually!”
“What are you talking about?”
Lauren trembled, her anger surfacing at the person tilting their head.
“Don’t you recognize her? My friend you sacrificed a few days ago!!”
“I see. To us, she was just one Worker Ant. It’s remarkable you survived.”
“What?! Even a single word of apology would be nice!”
So, to us, she was a precious companion, but to them, she was just one among many. Lauren probably understood that, but she still couldn’t accept it. No, she couldn’t possibly accept it. After all, she had been trying her best alone to save Pauline.
“Is the story finished? If so, please move aside.”
“…N-no, I won’t move. If she’s Pauline’s friend, then she’s my friend too. I won’t let you pass.”
Lauren’s actions made my heart swell. To protect an enemy they had been fighting… If that’s the case, she’s my companion too.
“I don’t think this centipede should be killed either. Besides, if you hadn’t interfered in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened, right?”
“That’s right, you killed its mate, didn’t you?”
“We acted on the prediction that it would become a threat. Its mate was pregnant. If children were born, it would become even more dangerous.”
So they killed the children too. It might have been dangerous, but it was understandable that the Giant Centipede would be furious.
“Please, won’t you allow the centipede to live here? I promise it won’t attack you.”
Pauline bowed her head deeply. The Bandit Group boss nodded, agreeing that he too should do the same.
“Leave it be. It’s fine if they live nearby. They kept their promise and fought the centipede; they did this much with their numbers.”
Garuda and the others narrowed their eyes and left without another word. Phew. Everything’s settled… As I began to relax, all my strength drained from my body, and I collapsed.
“Arisugawa, hold on!”
“Ahaha… I might have bled too much from my nose. Well, either way, this is for the best.”
Supported by Lyra, I somehow managed to stand. Lauren looked displeased, but she still smiled upon seeing Pauline.
“Oh, it’s… it’s good, really, that you’re alive. I… I didn’t know what to do…”
“Fufufu, I knew you’d definitely come. Thank you, Lauren.”
Lauren wiped her tears with her sleeve.
“You’re ugly when you cry. But it’s good this way. You can return to your swarm, and we can return to the hotel.”
While everyone was smiling, Tomoe looked dejected.
“I can’t. I betrayed my swarm. Even if I prove my strength, I can’t go back. I knew this would happen.”
True, but with her strength, she could probably live alone. For the time being, we returned the injured Giant Centipede to its nest. Inside, there was a gaping hole. It must have burrowed into the ground from here. Further in, there was a cage made of animal bones and tree branches. That’s where they had confined Pauline.
“Tomoe, thank you for your help. Without your cooperation, we would have been annihilated.”
“Hah, it’s nothing. I have nowhere to return to anymore. Even if they told me I could go back, I wouldn’t want to.”
It’s a shame about her. She must have acted with her swarm in mind. Though, as an outsider, it’s not my place to say.
“I’ve always wondered since I was a child. Why they revered a single male. When I asked others, they just said it was natural. Well, as I got older, I understood the role of the male.”
She sat next to the centipede and continued her story.
“That made me angry. Was I not even allowed to question things? I had a younger brother, born from the same parents. I felt a strange connection, and we were incredibly close within the swarm. But when we grew up, my brother left the swarm.”
It seems she continued to meet her brother outside the swarm. Secretly, so as not to be found by the swarm’s boss. But soon, she started getting dirty looks from the other females in the swarm.
“My mother told me to stop. I found it strange, why weren’t we allowed to hunt together? And then this happened. I was at my limit. I wanted to become the boss and change the order. It was just my selfishness, though.”
The injured Giant Centipede listened silently to Tomoe’s story.
