As we stepped out of the academy’s North Forest, Uncle Gratz was there to greet us.
"Are you hurt?"
"We managed somehow. But anyway, what’s with the crowd?"
Roughly a thousand soldiers stood by in full gear. They were divided into units of about a hundred and organized into neat ranks, looking as if they were ready to storm the forest at a moment's notice.
"It’s not that I doubted you, but preparing for every eventuality is part of my job. The five students have been safely recovered, along with the hired adventurers."
I was relieved to hear that.
"The students are already back at the academy. The adventurers are over there."
Uncle Gratz pointed toward a group with mismatched equipment. It looked like the various parties had congregated together. I spotted Cokes among them, looking none the worse for wear. He noticed me and waved, so I waved back.
"So, what happened to the War Bears and the Lovers Beasts? Did you finish them off?"
"Ah, about that... we saw five War Bears and three Lovers Beasts die."
"…That is a strange way to put it."
Uncle Gratz seemed to sense that there was more to the story.
"Can you find us somewhere private to talk?"
"Will that tent do?"
Uncle Gratz headed toward a nearby command tent, and we followed. It was built with sturdy enough cloth and pillars, but the interior was sparse, consisting only of a cheap table and chairs set directly on the bare earth.
"Disappointed by the lack of luxury?"
"No, this was an emergency. I’d actually be more surprised if it were fancy."
This was a forward position they might have to abandon if a Magic Beast charged out of the forest, so there was no point in decorating it.
"Well, there’s a certain prestige in luxury, but it can wait. This tent is protected by interference Magic. We don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping. Now, tell me what happened."
"Well, you see..."
Gol, Bron, and I had already discussed how much to reveal before we left the forest. We would definitely report the monster that looked like black mist. The real question was whether or not to mention Zabuton’s Child.
In the end, we decided that lying was a bad idea. We would be honest. We knew that Zabuton’s offspring were generally feared outside our village—one couldn't even enter Village Five because the Demon Kingdom’s government was so wary of them. Our plan was to tell Uncle Gratz the truth and let him decide how to handle the information. It seemed like a solid approach.
We recounted the events as accurately as we could, following the chronological order. By the time we finished, Uncle Gratz was clutching his head in his hands.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah... thanks. Just... give me a moment."
Uncle Gratz stepped out of the tent for a minute and returned with an armful of books.
"Was the black mist monster something like this?"
He opened one of the books and showed us an illustration. It certainly matched the vibe of what we had seen. However, the book was peculiar; while the surrounding pages were dense with text, this one contained nothing but the drawing.
"The shape is a bit different, but the feeling is the same," I said. Gol and Bron nodded in agreement.
"I see. You are strictly forbidden from mentioning this monster to anyone else."
"What? Why?"
"You don’t need to know the reason. Just keep your mouths shut and obey. ...Or at least, that's what I’d like to say, but I know it'll only cause trouble if you go poking around because I was vague. I’ll explain it to you, but this stays in this tent."
Uncle Gratz looked genuinely distressed as he began his explanation.
"That thing is a monster known as a 'Hybrid.' Before today, only four had ever been confirmed in history. Yours makes the fifth. The first was recorded two thousand years ago; the fourth was four hundred years ago."
"Whoa."
"A Hybrid absorbs living creatures and assimilates their power. If it consumes a fire mage, it uses Fire Magic. If it eats something strong enough to crush iron, it gains the strength to crush iron. If it absorbs ten people, it has the combined strength of all ten. In short, the longer it lives, the more dangerous it becomes."
It certainly had been busy devouring the War Bears and Lovers Beasts.
"The reason for the secrecy is that the Demon Kingdom has no way to fight it."
"No way at all?"
"None. There is no strategy. Your only option is to run."
"That’s horrible."
"When the fourth one appeared four hundred years ago, the Demon Kingdom was forced to abandon twenty-three towns and villages. We lost vast tracts of farmland."
"Then how did it stop?"
"A Dragon burned it to ash."
"..."
"It was the same for the other three. In other words, if a Hybrid appears, our survival depends entirely on whether or not a Dragon feels like helping us. We can't let the public know that we are that helpless. The Human Kingdom is the same; we share information about these things through secret channels, but we all enforce strict gag orders to prevent a panic. Do you understand?"
"Y-yeah."
"Well, we’ve never had a very strong connection with Dragons before. Nowadays, I suppose we could go crying to your village and someone might come handle it, but..."
"I think the Village Head would help if we asked," I suggested.
"I certainly hope so. But even so, the gag order remains. Is that clear?"
"We understand."
"Now, for the next problem."
The problem was the existence of Zabuton’s Child, who had effortlessly annihilated a Hybrid—a creature supposedly invincible to anyone but a Dragon.
"Is that spider truly one of Master Zabuton’s children?"
"There’s no doubt. It’s one of the ones who left the village... maybe five years ago? It’s gotten a lot bigger, though."
"An entity capable of instant-killing a Hybrid is living right next to the Royal Capital... Good grief, what am I supposed to do with that information?"
"Don't look at us. We don't know."
"Fair point."
Uncle Gratz clutched his head again, asking for a moment to think. While we waited, we flipped through the book he had brought. It was full of monsters we had never seen before. It was very educational; I wondered if the academy library had a copy.
"Oh, look at this," Bron said, pointing to a page.
There, on the page after the Hybrid, was an illustration that looked exactly like the spider that had saved us.
"Species: Forest Guardian. Individual Name: Foo?"
As we whispered the name, Uncle Gratz snapped out of his daze.
"Is that the spider you saw?"
"Yeah. These markings are identical."
Even the size description matched up fairly well. However, the text on the page didn't make sense.
"It says here that it has lived in the Miagard Region—that's this area, right?—for a thousand years..."
Like I had said, that spider only left our village five years ago. A thousand years? It didn't add up. We didn't get a chance to ask, though, because Uncle Gratz was currently muttering to himself with a terrifyingly serious expression.
"What is going on? Foo is the Guardian of the North, a protector that has existed since the founding of the Royal Capital. Is it a title passed down through generations? No, wait. More importantly, if the Forest Guardian is a child of Master Zabuton, then the Forest Guardian is a Demon Spider? Eeeeeeeh?"
After frozen in place for about five minutes, Uncle Gratz seemingly decided to shove the mystery into a corner of his mind for later.
"Right. The army will leave a small detachment for security and then disband. Make sure the cooperating adventurers are paid their rewards!" he barked, stepping out of the tent to issue orders.
The sun was beginning to set.
"Sorry for keeping you so long."
As we were preparing to head back, Uncle Gratz returned with his staff. The Company Commander we knew was among them.
"I want to thank you for your cooperation," Uncle Gratz said, his face solemn as he offered a handshake. We matched his tone and shook hands with him.
"You entered that forest as academy teachers, but you did so under the direct orders of myself, Gratz, Commander of the Western Army. Please remember that."
"?"
I mean, that was technically true, but why was he emphasizing it? Was there a hidden meaning?
Seeing our confusion, Uncle Gratz leaned in and whispered.
"It means that if you had been hurt or killed, the responsibility would have been entirely mine. Claiming the academy or the Kingdom had nothing to do with it is a bit selfish of me, but please, bear with it."
"Oh, are you just worried the Village Head will be mad at you?"
"Of course I am! When you report back to him, please keep that context in mind."
"I get it. Is that why you've been acting so much more formal than usual?"
"I am always formal and serious!"
"You usually refer to yourself as 'ore,' though."
"I use 'watashi' when I'm on the clock. I am a noble, you know."
That made me chuckle.
"Once again, thank you. Since the root of this mess lies with the students, I can't justify a formal military reward, but I’ll provide something from my personal stores."
"You really don't have to."
"Nonsense, don't worry about it. The reward is food."
"...You're just going to come over and eat it with us, aren't you?"
"Hahaha! I'll bring it by tomorrow. For tonight, you should go see the adventurers."
"The adventurers?"
"They want to treat you to a meal. They left a message saying they'll be waiting at a tavern on the north side of the capital."
"We didn't really do anything to earn a free meal. If anything, the army did the heavy lifting."
"You three were the offense; the army was the defense. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that. You should learn to accept these kinds of invitations."
"If you say so... but we don't know where the tavern is."
"I'll have a guide take you."
It turned out the guide was the Company Commander.
"We'll be in your care, then. Oh, but we have to report to the Academy Director before we head to the tavern."
"Naturally. If you skip that, I'm the one who'll get an earful from him. Make sure you're thorough. He’ll probably say the same thing I did about responsibility, but remember—I claimed it first!"
The way adults worried about who was "responsible" seemed like such a hassle.
A few days later.
We were exploring deep within the North Forest again. We found a suitable clearing and laid out a pile of Potatoes grown in the Village of the Great Tree.
Zabuton’s Child appeared with a soft thud. It was indeed the one who had saved us; it must have been watching our movements the whole time.
Dozens of other spiders—some the size of a fist, others even smaller—emerged from the trees around it. They all lined up and raised a single leg in greeting.
I didn't recognize any of the smaller ones. Ah, it must be a mate and children. I see.
It looked like they were all doing very well.