Seeing this, Lilith could only withdraw her hand, looking a little dejected. It seemed this lord didn't like others touching his pet.
Sensing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Hero Julius quickly bowed slightly to Elliot and then said with some difficulty, "Although it's a bit embarrassing to say... we're currently at the end of our rope..."
"...Could we trouble you to escort us out of the Beast Mountain Range? We will prepare appropriate compensation." Julius looked sincere.
Although human mages could learn Space Magic for example, Ronandt, currently humanity's strongest mage, had used Space Magic to escape after Kumoko beat him up in the labyrinth not everyone could learn it.
Neither of the mages in their current party had Space Magic skills. And right now, they were exhausted, thirsty, and deep within the Beast Mountain Range. Getting out on their own would indeed be difficult.
"Compensation?" Elliot scoffed internally. If only the Hero title could be offered as compensation... But that was impossible.
The Hero title was only ever bestowed upon a human. Having reincarnated into this world, he no longer had any connection to humanity.
But just then, Kumoko suddenly began to tremble slightly. Then, her voice appeared directly in Elliot's mind.
"Elliot, I feel something strange. Ever since you healed my wounds with your healing magic, my body has felt... off."
"Long story short... I think I'm about to evolve again! Even though my level isn't high enough, the feeling of evolution is incredibly strong!"
Elliot raised an eyebrow. In Kumoko's upward evolution path, at Level 50, she could choose to evolve into an Arachne. This was a creature with a human upper body and a spider lower body, not the deified Shiraori form.
Logically, Kumoko shouldn't meet the conditions for evolution yet. In the original story, she only reached Level 50 and evolved into an Arachne after defeating her mother-in-law (Araba, in a sense) and fighting Ariel, absorbing the massive EXP from her mother's forces and the numerous humans who died in the battle with Ariel.
Furthermore, Arachne was the highest evolution on the spider path; there were no further evolutions beyond it. Kumoko only managed to evolve from Arachne into a complete human form by consuming MA Energy.
Kumoko evolving prematurely... perhaps it had something to do with his power. After all, to heal Kumoko, he had used divine power from another world. Perhaps it was the Dendro Archon's divine power that had triggered her early evolution.
"And... the Queen Taratect seems to have sensed I'm about to evolve! She knows I'll be extremely weak during this evolution! So... she's on her way..." Kumoko then dropped another bombshell.
In other words, the Queen Taratect was planning to personally come and kill her disobedient daughter during her vulnerable evolution.
Elliot fell silent for a moment. Kumoko's evolution this time definitely wouldn't be short. If they just found a random spot, the Queen Taratect would find them quickly, and that would be troublesome.
Perhaps... I could divert the disaster towards a human settlement. Although humans were weak, if a town was destroyed by the Queen Taratect, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.
An endless stream of heroes would come to help, and even the Human Pontiff wouldn't just sit by and watch.
This would buy Kumoko time to evolve. Besides, with Hero Julius here a being even Demon Lord Ariel was wary of having him fight the Queen Taratect should, at the very least, result in a forced 50/50 stalemate, right?
Well, well. He never thought he'd one day need to rely on the power of a Hero!
So, Elliot pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright. Might as well help you all the way."
"Thank you for your help!"
"Thank you so much!" The group of five was both shocked and overjoyed. They never expected this powerful lord to agree to their request so easily. This lord is such a kind-hearted and good person!
But they didn't know that the moment Elliot turned away, a mysterious, knowing smile touched his lips a "just as planned" evil grin that even Light Yagami would have called professional.
Hero Julius had no idea he was the one being used.
…
...Later, entering the city...
This was a prosperous major city in the Human Empire: Flamebright City.
Elliot now carried a backpack slung over his shoulder, similar to a school bag. Inside, of course, was Kumoko.
The city was crowded and full of prying eyes; Kumoko, in her current spider form, couldn't be seen easily.
The backpack was something he had woven from leaves using his Dendro Gnosis powers. It had several ventilation holes to ensure Kumoko wouldn't be uncomfortable.
He had even meticulously woven a pillow and blanket from soft grass inside, making it almost as comfortable as a Serta mattress back home. Kumoko was very satisfied.
However, an uncontrollable power was surging within her. At the same time, her mother from the Elroe Labyrinth was madly rushing towards this human city.
You didn't need to be a genius to guess what kind of bloody storm was about to hit this place. While the Queen Taratect wasn't unintelligent, compared to cunning, scheming humans, she was still lacking.
This human city was destined to be the place where Kumoko's mother would fall. Instead of being slowly and miserably worn down by Kumoko's Parallel Minds in the Elroe Labyrinth, it was better to come out and fight.
If she could kill Kumoko, the Information Brain and Magic Brain would become useless, no longer posing a threat to the Queen.
"This is your reward, sir." Hero Julius and his companions were either princes and princesses or children of counts and marquises. The reward they offered Elliot was naturally very generous.
After accepting the payment, Elliot nodded. "I still have things to do. This is where we part ways."
"Lord Elliot..." Lilith looked at him, reluctant to see him go. "We will meet again, won't we?" Her eyes held a hopeful gleam.
Elliot nodded and smiled. "We will." After all, the Queen Taratect is about to attack this city. We'll definitely meet again then.
Lilith couldn't help but smile broadly. "Oh, that's wonderful!"
"Until next time, Lord Elliot!" She waved at him before leaving with her companions. Hero Julius also expressed his respect towards Elliot.
Only Anthony, the mage in their group, had a dark expression. He had intended this trip to be his chance to shine in front of the girls.
But instead, this Elliot guy had stolen all the spotlight! This Elliot... his appearance was too coincidental. It filled Anthony with jealousy!
"Even if you're strong, in human society, you're still too naive to compete with me," he muttered, glaring at Elliot's departing figure, then snorted coldly. Finally, his gaze fell upon Elliot's backpack. He remembered: a spider monster was hidden in there!
….
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