Chapter 15: Spider Lady Yurakne (4)
In a remote forest far from the village.
Under the dense and gradually fading shade of trees.
In an old wooden house rumoured to be inhabited by a woman who seduces and devours men.
There lived a woman alone.
Her name was Yurakne.
She was a distinctive woman with dark purple hair and clear, large eyes.
It was a day in the past winter.
She was going about her daily routine as usual.
Walking through the forest to pick fruits,
Collecting firewood,
Checking traps,
Tending to her garden,
And taking care of her husband's grave...
A small mound covered in lush grass behind the cabin.
Below it, yellow winter flowers were in full bloom.
Perhaps it was a message from her deceased husband, a flower she had nurtured by his graveside last year.
That one flower had managed to bloom more flowers around it.
She plucked two of them and placed them on the mound.
"It looks like a birthday cake, doesn't it?"
Speaking to an audience that would never respond, she slid down and leaned against it as if sliding.
With each touch of the grass at her fingertips, she could recall memories with the man she had leaned on.
From the pounding in her chest to the gentle whispers in her ear, from the big moments to the small.
But the more she remembered, the more she felt.
The realization that the man who used to make her heart race and whisper love in her ear was no longer there.
The 10-year-old boy who complimented her beauty as he took the beating meant for her...
The close friend from her childhood who promised to be with her while tying the broken flower to her finger at 15...
The handsome young man who held her hand and ran away to an unknown place at the age of 20...
In that place where they had fled to together.
He left to pick starlight even before that day arrived.
It's okay. It's okay.
Don't blame yourself.
Please, keep on living.
The man who worried about her even as he left.
Yurakne struggled to hold back her tears.
Foolish person.
Starlight?
The brightest thing she had wished for was already beside her.
Just one word whispered by you.
That would have been enough...
Idiot.
Did he ever realize how important he was to her?
He probably didn't.
If he had, he would have known how difficult it was for her to be left alone, asking to live on.
A foolish man who always focused on worthless things instead of beautiful and valuable ones.
But...
Wait for me.
Just a little while longer.
Soon...
It was at that moment.
Rustling.
The sound of branches and grass being crushed.
The sound of something alive.
Was it a beast?
She wiped away her tears.
Living alone in a forest like this was not easy.
Yet she had lived without any problems for the past two years.
She had learned some magic from an old wandering fortune teller.
The magic involved making poisons and remedies from flowers and herbs, and how to ward off intruding beasts.
The magic that surrounded her home had the power to deter beasts with a strong scent of blood.
She maintained the magic every day, so there were no issues.
It was probably a small animal.
Like a rabbit...
"Hello?"
Yurakne's heart sank.
She turned to where the sound had come from, and there was someone standing in the darkness.
Dressed in all black with a black cloak.
A particularly pale face and golden hair gleamed in the darkness.
Yurakne gripped her sickle and stood up.
His hand rested on her shoulder.
Yurakne trembled each time his hand touched her. But nothing happened. There was no malice in his actions, just an intention to comfort her.
"Please calm down."
His hand gently patted her shoulder.
Each time his hand made contact, she flinched, but nothing happened. There was no malice, just an attempt to console her.
"Boss?"
"Yes."
The boss smiled.
The same as always.
Somewhere awkward,
Somewhere pretentious,
Somewhere mischievous,
That kind of smile.
It was the usual Wonderstein.
"Are you... not going to punish me?"
At her words, the boss tilted his head quizzically.
And then he smiled.
As if it were amusing.
"Just because you hit me once? It didn't even hurt."
It was strange.
Really strange.
He was a devil.
All the things he had done so far came to mind.
He committed all those atrocities with a smiling face.
Just like his usual smile.
Without remorse or hesitation.
A human couldn't do that.
Only a devil could.
But now the devil was trying to reassure her?
Was it the devil's mercy? Or the devil's caprice?
Either way, it couldn't be trusted.
He would mock and insult with a smiling face and then destroy his opponent with that same smile.
All she could do was to comply with his whims.
To not cross him.
"I'm sorry. I overreacted a bit..."
Given what he had done so far, it was not an overreaction at all.
But she had no choice but to say that.
If the devil wanted to pretend to be merciful, she had to go along with it.
"You don't need to apologize."
"I'm sorry... I mean, well..."
"That's enough."
"I'm sorry..."
"Oh, come on... Alright, I understand. If you're so sorry, you should be punished."
He raised his arm.
Ah, as expected.
The devil was playing with her, enjoying her reactions.
She closed her eyes tightly.
And then.
Whack.
A clear and refreshing sound struck her forehead.
And...?
...That was it.
His gentle fingertips touched her reddened forehead.
"Boss?"
"This is how I am repaying you."
He chuckled and withdrew his hand from her forehead.
She felt a wave of relief and almost collapsed to the ground.
"It's already 2 o'clock like this."
He stared into the empty space for a moment and muttered.
In the distance, the bell of a temple rang out with a 'ding, ding, ding' sound.
"Let's go together."
"...Huh?"
"It's too dark for a woman to go alone at night. I'll accompany you."
Yurakne looked at him, who was smiling brightly at her, with a bewildered expression.
Am I dreaming right now?
She held her pounding heart.
5 months ago.
Just like when she first met him.
Her heart started beating again.
