I Have Tamed a Spider Monster - Chapter 193, Chapter 194, Chapter 195 (Patreon)

Accepting the Investigation of the Western Forest
The next day, after spending a whole day pondering while listening to everyone's opinions, I decided to accept the investigation.
Basically, I judged that there would be little danger as long as Talat was around, and if Rumaja's guess was correct, Ice Wolves would eventually appear within the bounds of the Royal Capital.
Even Alizée said that if we could investigate safely with a margin of safety before that happened, we should, so the situation might be quite urgent.

Anyway, since a conclusion was reached, I headed to report to Rumaja.
Instead of the normal Adventurers' Guild branch, I headed to the Headquarters of the Adventurers' Guild and requested a meeting with Rumaja.
Soon, I was told that the meeting was ready, and I was taken to a room on the upper floor of the guild headquarters.
When the staff member knocked on the door, obtained permission to enter, and then went in, the room looked exactly like an office.

"Thank you for coming, Lily. So, have you made your decision?"

"Yes. I want to participate in the investigation."

"Is that so, is that so. I'm glad my preparations weren't in vain."

"Preparations...?"

"Yes. First, I contacted a Gold-ranked adventurer party. They will be your escorts this time."

"Eh, I thought the Wildcat Claws are supposed to be my escorts..."

"Unfortunately, it would be too much for them. Let them wait in town."

Hmm, Rumaja is quite straightforward.
The members of Wildcat Claws looked disappointed, but they seemed to acknowledge their lack of ability and did not argue.
Looks like we'll have to switch escorts during this mission.

"Next, I have prepared our equipment. It's a bit tricky to handle, and it won't show its true value unless adjusted during use."

"Eh... Is that okay?"

"The adjustments are already done, so there's no problem. The third matter was the most troublesome in a way, but I obtained permission from the Knights Order to investigate the Western Forest. However, they said they wouldn't pay for the investigation."

"Eh..."

"Don't worry. The guild headquarters will cover the rewards for you. I won't make you work for free."

Hmm, I'm getting more and more worried about the King of this country.
When the Royal Capital is in danger, they're skimping on money, which is just hopeless.
Money is useless if you die, after all.

"The investigation will start at dawn tomorrow. I'm sorry, but Lily, please come to the guild headquarters at that time. Let's have a face-to-face meeting with those participating in the investigation."

"Understood. Is there anything I need to prepare?"

"Let's see. It would be helpful if you could prepare 15 robes with ice resistance effects. Everyone probably has their own, but to avoid uneven effects, we need uniform ones."

"Got it."

So, I need to prepare 15 robes with ice resistance.
If I start making them after I get back, there should be no problem.
Alright, let's do our best.

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Departure for the Investigation of the Western Forest
Early the next morning, I arrived at the Adventurers' Guild headquarters a little earlier than the designated time.
There were already several adventurers there, adjusting their equipment.
The atmosphere these people exuded was far stronger than that of the Wildcat Claws members.
I didn't know there were such strong people in the royal capital.

"Hmm? Are you the Tamer joining us this time, Missy?"

"Yes. My name is Lily."

"I see. I'm Volta from the Black Iron Shield. We've been assigned to be your escorts. Don't wander around too much."

"Yes, understood."

Here, I parted ways with the Wildcat Claws members who escorted me.
They will be stationed at the Vardmoi Marquis’ mansion to guard it.
They seemed to realize they wouldn't be of much help among these adventurers.
Gathering such strong individuals for this investigation suggests it's a very dangerous mission.

"It looks like everyone has gathered."

A few more adventurers arrived, and Rumaja came as well.
It seems everyone is here now.

"Let me explain today's objective. The investigation site is the forest area west of the Royal Capital. Normally, it should only contain monsters that even white-ranked adventurers can handle in a party, but now it's different. Despite their superficial strength, the 3rd Knights Order has been devastated by the monsters residing there."

Rumaja explained everything she knew.
The other adventurers were focused, not making light of the situation, ensuring they didn't miss a single word.

"… In essence, the Royal Capital is currently isolated due to the Ice Wolves spilling out from the Western Forest. The characteristics of these Ice Wolves are unknown. We searched through past records, but there were no matches, so we are dealing with a completely new monster with no information available. Any questions?"

"Yes, from me. Just to confirm, it's okay for us, the Black Iron Shield, to prioritize protecting Missy, right? Frankly, the information we have so far indicates a bad match for us."

"That's correct. Black Iron Shield should focus on Lily's protection. While her combat ability doesn't seem particularly high, she can fight to some extent. More importantly, we need the combat power of Lily's familiar, Talat."

"Her familiar's combat power? This spider?"

"This spider is known as a Frost Silk Spider. Its basic characteristics align with those of Frost Spiders. Isn't that sufficient?"

"… I see. More than sufficient."

As expected, the adventurers Rumaja selected can understand Talat’s strength just from its species name.
I've never seen Talat fight seriously, but he must be incredibly strong.

There were a few other questions, but most were unclear.
It seems there's very little information available.
Many members of the 3rd Knights Order who survived couldn't provide coherent accounts, so gathering enough information was impossible.
Therefore, we plan to explore the shallow parts of the Western Forest over the next few days and gather information.
A full-scale attack will come once we have enough information.
I don't know if I'll be joining that, but I'll do my best not to be a burden.

Alright, let's get going!

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The Investigation Begins
To begin the investigation of the Western Forest, we passed through the city walls of the Royal Capital.
Ahead, the 2nd Knights Order had set up a makeshift camp, but Rumaja's brief intervention allowed us to pass through without any issues.
It seemed they had made proper arrangements.
However, it appeared that the 2nd Knight Order was solely focused on defense and not on defeating the Ice Wolves.
How odd.

"Well then, from here on, we aim for the Western Forest... There are quite a lot."

"It's full of Ice Wolves..."

"They don't attack us just by looking at us, so is it safe to approach?"

"I don't know. Anyway, let's try getting closer."

We began walking along the main road towards the Western Forest.
Suddenly, the closest Ice Wolf lunged at us!
I immediately began preparing my magic, but before I could cast it, a gentleman from the Black Iron Shield intercepted with his shield and stopped its movement.
The problem was just starting.

"Ugh!? It froze the shield!"

"Drop the shield and get away, Enrique!"

"Got it!"

The man, whose shield was frozen, promptly threw both the shield and the Ice Wolf away, escaping unharmed.
At that moment, a concentrated magic attack from one of the investigation team's magicians aimed to obliterate the Ice Wolf along with the shield.
However, even after the shield shattered, the Ice Wolf was still lively.

"... This one's putting up a fight."

"Fire and lightning are useless. This is troubling."

"Now, how should we get through this?"

As we pondered, we found ourselves surrounded by more Ice Wolves.

Hmm, this could be bad...

(Lily, can I give it a try?)

"Talat? Will you be okay?"

(A piece of cake for me. Also, about that monster, I don't smell any magic stones.)

"There’s no scent of magic stones? What do you mean?"

(You'll see when I defeat it. Watch.)

Talat jumped up to our heads, throwing spider silk in all directions.
The Ice Wolves got entangled and couldn't move.
Although the previous magic was fine, why couldn't the Ice Wolf escape from Talat's thread?
I don't quite understand, but while the Ice Wolves were immobilized, Talat melted them one by one by biting them.
Come to think of it, doesn't Talat's poison dissolve ice?

After defeating all the wolves around us, only Talat's thread remained.
Yeah, there were no magic stone.
There are no magic stones that monsters should always have.
Then what was the core of those wolves?

"... Lily, those wolves' magic stones weren't eaten by Talat, were they?"

"No. Talat didn't eat them."

"If that's the case... it might not be a simple investigation. Let's hurry to the Western Forest for now. Can we leave all the wolves along the way to Talat?"

(Hmm, there might be a few too many. I can immobilize them with my threads, but…)

"There seem to be too many to defeat them all. But he can apparently immobilize them with his threads.”

"That's enough. Let's hurry to the Western Forest. Once we identify the culprit, we'll consider exterminating it."

Huh, so it’s not just an investigation, then?
There might be a troublesome monster that needs to be defeated in a hurry?
Other adventurers were exchanging glances too, and it seems only Rumaja had any idea what the culprit might be.
What on earth could it be?

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