168 Memorizing something by writing it down and eating it, like that.

Mother consumed. Status increased dramatically.

Skills at Mach speed.

Gained another body as a bonus.

What even am I now?

Also, side effects—something like that—absorbed Mother’s memories and knowledge.

Specifically, I now understand the language of this world.

Just as I was thinking I wanted to eavesdrop on the chatter in the streets, this arrived.

How timely.

So, let’s listen in on why that old man’s servant turned so pale.

Hmm.

From fragments of conversation, it appears that old man was a high-ranking official from another nation.

But he was essentially dispatched here as a formality, made my personal envoy to bring me back to his homeland.

And the verbal negotiations failed.

Of course they did.

I only just gained language comprehension a moment ago.

No matter what was said, negotiation was impossible.

Besides, that old man’s attitude made it clear he wouldn’t agree, even if he could.

Now, I’m being questioned for secretly attempting to harm a foreign deity-beast. But that old man is already dead.

Are you saying the deity-beast refers to me?

No way.

Spiders don’t fit the image of a deity-beast, do they?

Ah—those ninja were definitely acting under his orders.

And the town’s mayor seems to know about it too.

The servant questioned confessed easily.

The ninja never returned. The old man died under mysterious circumstances.

His death is already being recognized as my doing.

No—there’s no doubt it was my doing, but why was it discovered?

Anyway.

Back to the matter—this diplomatic issue could escalate into war?

Hmph.

That’s why the servants look so pale.

I’ve made both myself and this nation enemies through my master’s reckless actions.

If one imagines the homeland suffering damage as a result, it’s understandable they’d turn pale.

But really—am I just being used as a scapegoat?

It’s as if I’m being blamed for starting a war, but I had no knowledge of it.

Why are they speaking of me as if I were property of their nation?

I don’t have any particular attachment to this country, anyway.

It’s annoying.

In the end, they’re doing exactly what that old man does.

Worse—using me as a pretext to threaten war makes their actions even more despicable.

Perhaps it’s time I left.

Being fawned over felt pleasant. Receiving indulgences was joyful. But I am not a tool for human use.

To think someone so insignificant as a mere human dares to regard me thus—such arrogance is excessive.

Observe for a little longer. If displeased, relocate.

Capture the audio transmitted through the thread.

Impossible to grasp every sound in the city. Only a portion, at best.

Utilize high-speed computation and thought super-acceleration to simultaneously process multiple audio streams.

No skill, no such ability.

If Shōtoku Taishi existed in reality, he’d be a monster.

Thought super-acceleration is convenient, but requires adjustment to interpret human speech.

The incoming sounds stretch unnaturally long.

“Good morning” becomes “o-o-ha-yo-u-g-o-z-a-i-m-a-s-u.”

My perception of time is extended compared to normal. Without adjustment, the meaning of speech becomes indistinct.

It’s just practice to get used to it, and also serves the purpose of gathering various information by randomly picking up sounds.

When I was eavesdropping on the town mayor, I focused solely on that, so it was manageable. But now that I’m picking up multiple sounds at once, perception inevitably conflicts.

Still, I’ve gotten quite used to it.

That said, it still requires enormous concentration.

After listening to the town’s sounds all day, I’ve learned several things.

First, about myself.

I’ve been identified as a divine beast.

Well, I already knew that from eavesdropping on the town mayor earlier.

It seems the townspeople regard me as a protective deity of the town.

Although, given what happened today, they’ve probably banned anyone from approaching me.

It seems the reason I’ve been venerated isn’t just because of the story spreading about saving the town leader’s wife and child.

This town—more accurately, the nation it belongs to—has a strong presence of a religion known as the Goddess Cult. According to the teachings, spiders are the divine messengers of the goddess.

Ah, yes.

I’m not affiliated with that doctrine.

In fact, the current messenger of the goddess is serving as the Demon King.

I am her opponent.

Is that acceptable?

Thus, the combination of my random acts of rescue and the preexisting reverence for spiders has led, without resistance, to the atmosphere of worshiping me as a Divine Beast.

I see.

Now I understand a little about the man I killed yesterday.

He was a noble from a neighboring small nation.

A person of considerable rank.

But solely by bloodline—his personal abilities were negligible.

He’d been effectively exiled from his homeland and sent here as a goodwill ambassador.

Whether it's true or not, I don't know—just hearsay from the common folk. Leaving diplomacy to an incompetent? That’s dangerous, isn’t it?

And now that incompetent’s causing trouble at the destination.

Isn’t that country’s leadership equally incompetent?

Given the old man’s personality, problems were inevitable. It’s obvious.

Or—could that be the point?

Is the goal to provoke a diplomatic incident with the old man, then use it as justification for war?

No way.

That’s too much of a leap.

Ah.

I’m getting hungry.

Even after merging with Mother, SP didn’t fully recover.

No choice.

I’ll go hunting to fill my stomach.