Chapter 200: An Insect Problem
A few meters ahead of where we were, a tree stood out from the others. There was a small rise beneath its roots, which spread across the ground, but even without that, its height still made it stand out from the rest. I think the tree was 7 meters tall, approximately 23 feet, and its branches, rich with leaves, stretched out like an umbrella over the small mound. This was the shelter I remembered, and it was the first landmark along the forest route.
"We can take shelter there for the night," I said to my girls, but an awkward smile appeared on my face. "There’s just one small problem. Maybe ’obstacle’ would be the better term to describe it."
"There had to be a catch..." Erina said with a smile. "What is it this time? Is there a dragon guarding the tree or something?"
"Of course not," I said to her. "That certainly wouldn’t be just an ’obstacle’."
"Then what’s this obstacle?" Justine asked me.
"Insects," I said bluntly.
"I-Insects?" Justine seemed surprised by my answer.
"That’s right. Not normal insects. Maybe monsters in the form of insects would be the more accurate term. It seems there was a dungeon nearby that was eliminated, but unfortunately, some giant insects turned that tree into their home and..."
"I-Insects?" Diane said, her eyes fixed on empty space, and for a moment, it looked like her face had become paler than usual.
"Is something wrong, Diane?" I asked her.
"N-No, there’s no problem," she said, snapping out of her trance and acting as if she wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible. "B-But I think we should look for somewhere else to spend the night."
"Huh? Seriously? But it’s a good place to stay," I protested. "There’s an opening at the base of the tree that can protect us during the night. There is an insect that does resemble a Boss, but it’s nothing beyond our capabilities."
"What does this insect look like?" Erina asked me.
"Really big!"
Diane trembled a little when she heard that. From the way things were going, I already knew what was happening to her, but even so, I asked as if I didn’t know, more to comfort her than for any other reason.
"Diane, are you all right?"
"I-I’m perfectly fine! Why do you ask?!"
"It’s because you’re usually calmer, but right now, you’re shouting while you talk."
"That’s just your imagination, Rick!" She continued shouting as she spoke, stubbornly refusing to be honest with me.
"Hey, Diane," Erina said to her, "there’s something on your shoulder."
Diane froze where she was. Her nervousness had been so focused on our conversation that she hadn’t noticed the little spider legs walking over her shoulder.
Diane promptly brushed the insect off her shoulder and backed away, holding her shoulders as she sat down at the base of the nearest tree. She was terrified, but—
"Diane," Erina said with a smile, "there’s an anthill near you."
There really was an anthill near where she had sat down. Diane leapt away from there with an acrobatic move, and now she was standing with her body curled up.
"Hmm..." It seemed like she was trying to suppress her words, but now that she had already drawn everyone’s attention, there was no way to hide the truth. "All right! I admit it! Insects are incredibly disgusting beings! I hate them! I don’t want to be anywhere near them!" Diane said to us with all the air in her lungs. She spoke so loudly that some nearby birds were startled by her and took flight.
Diane was completely embarrassed by her behavior, her face as red as a pepper. Erina laughed a little, satisfied at having found a weak point in the unshakable Diane, and Justine put her in a chokehold as punishment for her childish attitude. Diane was trembling where she had landed, and at that moment, her childhood friend approached her.
"When we spent time in the forest, Diane would get super nervous whenever an insect got near her." Alicia said to us, and stroked Diane’s head, which was tilted enough for her to reach.
"Alicia, don’t tell Rick something so..."
Diane stopped speaking when I started joining Alicia in stroking Diane’s white hair. My Assassin really became cute when she was embarrassed.
"I don’t see any reason to be so scared." Sarah said with her hands on her hips. "Insects are no big deal."
"I-Insects don’t scare you, Sarah?" Diane asked her, gulping.
"Not at all," Sarah said, proudly puffing out her chest.
"Eeeh~" Diane seemed impressed by Sarah’s attitude.
"Well, that was to be expected. Sarah was quite the tomboy growing up," I said to them playfully. "She used to catch insects and worms with her bare hands when she was a child."
"D-Don’t say that!" Sarah complained to me.
I took a lock of her red hair. "You had really short hair for a while. You looked like a boy."
"Are you trying to provoke me or something?" Sarah said with a crooked smile full of anger.
"But I have to say, you did have a great glow up."
Sarah turned her face away with her cheeks flushed, her blue eyes trembling. "Idiot. Don’t say embarrassing things like that in front of the others."
When I turned to the other Valkyries, I saw that they had already recovered from the shock of having to face giant insects, but now they were staring at the two of us with jealousy.
"Anyway," I said, changing the subject as I addressed Diane, "I’ll be here with you, so nothing bad will happen to you."
The girl still looked hesitant. It was clear that she had an irrational fear of insects, but even so, she said to me, "All right, let’s go."
The girls then started heading in the direction I had indicated, and I was about to do the same when I was surprised by Diane, who silently approached me and whispered in my ear, "Thank you."
Right after that, Diane gave me a peck on the cheek and headed over to Alicia. She acted so quickly that I didn’t even have time to respond.
"As expected of my Shadow Assassin, I think," I said to myself.
"Hmm, Master," a feminine voice called out to me. When I turned around, Camula was close to me. Her tense expression told me that something was bothering her.
"Is something wrong, Camula?" I asked my Demonic Slime.
"Master, these insects... would there be any problem if... I ate them?" she asked me with the expression of a helpless maiden.
I sighed after hearing that genuine and sincere request from her, then smiled and said, "Absolutely not."
"Please, Master," Camula pleaded with me. "What harm would it do if I ate some insects after we defeated them? It’s better than wasting their bodies by leaving them to rot."
Hearing that from a woman with the body of a milf was really something that made my head spin, because what she said didn’t match her appearance. But I had to remember that it was in Camula’s nature to devour living beings in her Slime form.
"No way," I said to her with a serious expression. "I don’t even want to imagine the face Diane would make if she saw you devouring an insect."
Camula pouted at me, pretending to be innocent.
"What if I did it while Diane wasn’t looking?" she asked me, trying to find a loophole in my words.
"No."
Camula puffed her cheeks at me, clearly irritated by my sequence of refusals. She looked like a pressure cooker, murmuring a muffled sound, until her expression changed.
A smile bloomed on her lips. A malicious smile, as malicious as the idea passing through her head.
Camula approached me, grabbed my arm, and placed it between her cleavage, making me feel the softness of her mounds.
"What if I give you special treatment later, Master~?" she offered in a seductive voice.
"Camula..." I called her name.
"Yes?"
"It’s a very ugly thing to try to bribe your Master with sex to satisfy your gluttony," I said to her with a smile that didn’t match the coldness of my words. "I will certainly punish you later."
"Eh?" Camula seemed surprised by my reaction.
I felt a little offended by the offer the Demon I had created had made. Trying to manipulate her Tamer meant it was obvious that I would punish her after this.
I took Camula by the chin and looked her in the eyes. "But I believe you’ll find the taste of what I’m going to give you better than those insects. Either way, prepare yourself for it."
Her confused expression was replaced by a daring smile. "U-Understood, Master~"
It was funny to see Camula’s expression change like that. She was someone who had wanted to manipulate me just a few seconds ago, yet she seemed quite easy to influence.
’Is she as malleable as modeling clay?’ I thought inwardly.
Not that I was going to use that side of her personality against her in a malicious way, but it was good to keep her in check. I still hadn’t forgotten her getting angry with Leila and the others at the lake.
"Let’s go already," I said to my servant. "The others are waiting for us."
