Both sides fell silent for a moment, making the atmosphere grow a little strange.
"Hey, Seina, why aren't you saying anything?"
I whispered to Seina. Since we were inside the virtual world, we could communicate with each other without even opening our mouths.
"This is called negotiation tactics. What do you even know?" Seina replied with a smug smile and continued staring at Meradis.
Ugh… I had no idea what kind of tactic that was, but just sitting there staring at each other like this was starting to feel kind of awkward.
Thankfully, Meradis finally spoke up. "First of all… could you explain a little about this place to me?"
Thank goodness she took the initiative. I was about to go crazy from the silence. I thought Seina would respond, but she didn't say anything and just turned to look at me.
Why is she making me talk?!
I tried using my eyes to tell her I didn't know what to say, but all I got back was a glare from her. And so, I had no choice but to choose my words carefully.
How should I explain this...?
Hmm…
I've seen scenes like this in movies before—a tense negotiation between two sides, and every question hiding countless traps, waiting for the other to step right into them.
I had to be careful—for my own sake, and for the sake of my wills.
"Um… you could say this is my mental world."
That was the best I could come up with.
"A mental world, huh… I've heard of something like this before," Meradis said.
Her answer actually surprised me quite a bit.
Seina once again motioned for me to continue the conversation. Clearly, she was the one who set this whole thing up, so why was I the one getting pushed forward?!
"Um… you know about this kind of thing too?"
"I know quite a bit, actually. Once a spirit evolves to the stage of a <
Oh, I didn't know that.
But how does she know that?
"Is your race somehow related to the spirits?" I asked.
"We are of the same race, but we followed a different evolutionary path."
Meradis spoke very concisely, but I didn't understand a thing.
"Could you… be a bit more specific?" I asked.
Meradis smiled and shook her head. "This has to do with the secrets of the spirit race. Even though we've separated, we swore never to speak of these secrets, so I must ask your forgiveness."
There's even a custom like that? Looks like being the Spirit Queen isn't as easy as I thought.
"Well, then you don't have to worry—because standing before you is the Spirit! Queen! herself!"
Just then, Seina interrupted—and the words she chose completely shocked me.
Hey, can't you say anything else besides bringing up the title I only got by leeching off someone else? This is so embarrassing.
"You said it yourself—you're leeching off of it. That's exactly why it wouldn't make sense to have the name without using the weight behind it. Since we already know they're related to the spirits, using that title will help us put pressure on them."
"I see," Meradis said, still looking perfectly calm, which honestly made us feel a little weird.
"Aren't you surprised?" Seina asked.
"From the moment I met Shiraori, I felt a deep sense of reverence. That feeling… it's something I've only experienced once before—when I was lucky enough to see the Queen as a child. I wasn't completely sure, so I didn't want to provoke her."
Oh, so that's why.
Wait a second—does that mean everything was going according to her plan all along?
Suddenly, I'm not so fond of scheming women anymore… Then again, speaking of schemers, there's one right next to me…
"Say that again?"
Huh…? I was just mumbling to myself…
Ugh, she's so scary. Suzu really is the best after all.
I leaned against Suzu, who'd been sitting there quietly the whole time. My back and neck were getting sore. As usual, Suzu stiffened up completely when I leaned on her, and I still had no idea why…
But anyway, talking about Meradis' sense of reverence got me thinking—why was it only her who could feel it? Why didn't the others sense it too? That would've saved us a lot of trouble.
As if reading my mind, Meradis continued, "My father is a direct descendant of the Queen, so the blood runs in me too. Naturally, only those with a direct connection to the Queen can feel this instinctively."
No way!
So she's the Queen's granddaughter? Or… my granddaughter?
Wait, what am I even thinking?!
"Are you really the Queen's granddaughter?"
"Yes. My father is the seventh child of the Queen. But because of differences between him and the rest of the spirits, he took us and left the Primordial Forest to live here."
The differences she mentioned… were they due to evolution?
"Could you tell me about how your people met the Queen?" Meradis asked.
It seemed like she still cared deeply for this "grandmother" of hers… but sadly, she was in for disappointment.
Should I tell her?
I glanced at Seina, and she gave me a slight nod, so I told Meradis everything I had heard from the Queen—along with the mission to collect the "spirit fragments" that I was currently undertaking.
"I never imagined something like this would happen after we left," Meradis said, her expression unreadable—neither joy nor sorrow visible.
"Then… could you tell us about the evolution of the spirits now?" Seina asked.
Geez, can't she read the room before being so blunt?
"Of course. You could say that you are 'family' now, so I don't mind sharing."
She paused a moment, then began.
"Long ago, spirits were beings without physical bodies. They developed their spiritual essence to the extreme, and that difference led to them becoming the strongest race of that era."
"But one day, a species appeared that specifically targeted beings without physical bodies. The spirits fell into disadvantage, and other races took the opportunity to join forces and invade the Primordial Forest. At the last moment, the Spirit Queen—Marakia Chaocis, the one you met—planted the 'Primordial Tree' to protect the spirits."
"The Primordial Tree didn't just protect the spirit's land—it also boosted the mana in nature, helped plants grow vigorously, and some creatures that consumed its fruits gained benefits. Because of its many advantages, the Queen used the tree as leverage to negotiate peace and demanded the annihilation of the race that threatened the spirits."
She was amazing.
She used just one tree to subdue all threats, build diplomatic relations, and eliminate potential enemies.
I had a whole new respect for that Queen now.
"For a long time afterward, there was peace and tremendous growth for the spirit race under Queen Marakia's leadership. Two centuries ago, my father was born. From birth, he looked different from all other spirits—he had no wings and no talent for magic, the core ability of spirits."
"The spirits deliberated extensively and concluded he was a cursed child, calling for his exile. Since the Queen had seven children, they didn't hesitate to say such a thing. But the final decision rested with Queen Marakia."
Then what happened? What happened?!
I was getting excited.
"Be quiet!" Seina scolded.
"In the end, Queen Marakia decided to keep him. But when my father grew older and evolved, he manifested wings and suddenly showed immense magical talent. Everyone thought everything would be fine—but they were horrified to find that he no longer existed in a spiritual form. He had gained a physical body like other creatures."
"This was even more serious than when he was born. Ultimately, Queen Marakia had no choice but to exile him and his entire branch."
Those people… how awful!
Hearing this made my blood boil. One day, I swear I'll go there and slap every last one of them.
"You thought that was the end of the story, didn't you?"
Huh??
There's more?
Tell me already!
Meradis smiled and continued,
"After exiling my father, Queen Marakia secretly visited him and gave him three instructions. First, to settle here. Second, to return to the tribe with the 'Queen' when the time came."
What about the third?
"He only told me two of them. I don't know what the third was," Meradis said with a sigh.
"Was it a prophecy?" Seina asked, suspicious.
"I don't know. He only ever shared these things, but never said how he felt about them. Still, from what I could tell, he held no resentment toward Queen Marakia."
Hmm…
Strong people always seem to like speaking in riddles, so there must be more to this.
Why choose this place for them to settle? There are plenty of better places than this wasteland. Something's fishy.
And the second part—returning with the Queen—it's even more suspicious.
From what I understood during our conversation, Queen Marakia knew her time was running out. And yet she still asked her son to return… with her?
Wait a minute!
I suddenly realized something, but then noticed everyone staring at me and hesitated.
"Why are you all looking at me?" I asked.
Meradis gave a bright smile—but somehow, it didn't feel friendly at all.
"At first, I thought one day Queen Marakia would come bring us back. But it turns out… I was wrong," she said.
"Hah… what a fool," Seina sighed, rubbing her forehead.
I turned to look at Suzu and found her completely dazed. Was she… spiritually awakened or something?
Can you really have an epiphany just by listening to a story?
But anyway—what's going on here?
Sigh… "Obviously, the 'Queen' Queen Marakia was talking about… is you!"
Me?
But I'm just a spider!
"I know it's not fair to dump this responsibility on you out of nowhere, so I won't say anything more. Besides, our current situation is dire—we're struggling just to survive, let alone return to our homeland."
I…
"THAT WAS PROPHECY MAGIC!"
Before I could say anything, a loud shout cut me off.
Ugh… that was so loud…
What is it now, Suzu?
"Queen Marakia used a magic called [Eye of the Past] to see all of this. After hearing the story, I had a hunch and went searching—and I finally found it!"
I had never seen Suzu so excited before.
But if what she said was true…
Then I had been set up from the very beginning.
From beginning to end—this had all been foretold.