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#198 The Spider Goddess
🕑 Added 2021-08-17 12:01:02 +0000 UTCBatemy here.
Things suddenly took a serious turn.
Elder spirits.
They’re one kind of transcendent beings that reign over this world and preserve its balance by blending into the universal mana flow.
Earth spirits that work on Lord Saint’s farm, for example, are invisible by nature, but they have materialized with Hades’ blessings.
Then, there are the elder spirits.
They are essentially the same as the spirits in that they are spiritual beings that flow with mana, but their abilities, character, and intelligence are considered to be much different.
Of course, they are also superior to us mortal races.
An elder spirit’s power far surpasses that of those who live on earth. Some of them are even objects of worship, just like how we tailors worship Arachne.
Other names for them include “lower-ranking gods” or “quasi-gods,” and they are, if you will, somewhere between gods and spirits. However, they are closer to being gods.
They aren’t someone we demons could easily come in contact with under normal circumstances.
Still, we’re closer to them than to genuine deities like Hades and Poseidon.
“Here we go!”
“YESSIR!!!”
“This is a request from Demon Queen Astres! We must work hard and succeed in summoning the elder spirit Arachne even if it costs us our lives!”
“ROGER!!!”
They’re risking their lives for this?
Does Arachne’s summoning require that much resolve?!
Must they really push themselves that far???
This is all for a mere sewing contest!
“Ugh!!!”
“Gah!”
“Chief! Our summoners are vomiting blood one after the other because they cannot withstand the massive emission of magic!”
“Do not falter! Keep invoking your magic! It's not enough for summoning!!!”
The expert demon alchemists, who are supposedly the finest pick in the entire demon race, collapsed one after another as they vomited blood.
This elder spirit must be the real deal if they have to go this far.
...But just to reiterate an important point; if you compare elder spirits to a god like Hades whom we often see on the farm, they are literally nothing more than worms.
And to think Sensei the Lifeless King can casually summon chief gods all by himself... He really is on a different level!
“Good! We have enough magic now!”
“Chief Mage! The summoning incantation, please! The magic we have accumulated is only good for one-time use, so please don’t ever stumble on your words!!!”
“I knyow!!!”
He already did.
Nevertheless, light emitted from the magic circle they made, and then, a bizarre figure appeared.
It was a beautiful woman... well, only half of her body is.
The lower half of her body is that of a huge spider.
What should’ve been the head of a spider has been replaced by a woman’s torso.
Such an aspect is what differentiates elder spirits from mankind.
Arachne, the thread guardian.
She is the guardian not only of us tailors, but also of weavers, dyers, and all other cloth-related professions.
“It's been a while since I've been summoned and materialized into this plane,” says Arachne in a relaxed tone.
“Who summoned me? And for what purpose?”
“Ah, that would be me, Demon Queen Astres!”
Miss Astres brazenly introduces herself.
Won’t you please show a little more reserve?
“The Demon Queen? I suppose you are more than qualified to have an audience with me.”
“The contest to determine the best tailor in the Demon Kingdom is about to take place, I would like you to be the judge of it.”
“Oh? A contest, you say?”
“I've heard that you are the guardian of all thread-related professions and are close to being divine. Hence, I thought you’d be the perfect judge.”
Miss Astres’ idea is a good one, but she’s really bold for actually asking that from an elder spirit.
If it were any other person, they’d get cold feet and abandon the thought of it altogether.
Perhaps it’s because she has seen Hades, a chief god, several times that she has lost her senses.
“For reference, these are the past works of the two participants.”
They really prepared for this.
Mr. Shax ordered his maid to bring in several pieces of clothing.
I’m guessing those are my and Sis’ past works.
“Hm, I see now."
Arachne unfolds the garment that was presented before her.
I don't recognize those clothes, so they must be my sister’s.
“...”
How she improved through these years is beyond me, having been separated at an early age.
But I knew at first glance that her piece was a masterpiece, as is expected of the largest tailoring brand’s number one tailor.
“The seams are tightly sewn and the choice of fabric is good. Above all, the design is as fresh as a cool breeze. You have the skills to be judged by me.”
My sister passed the elder spirit’s preliminary screen.
Guess I’m up next...
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”
Huh?!
The elder spirit who is also known as a quasi-god suddenly howled!
She holds up the clothes I made.
“What is this? This shiny, pure fabric? It's so smooth and it feels so good on the skin! It even has traces of magic in it! So sparkly! So, so sparkly!!!”
Isn’t that the one I made with adamantine silk?
I only made a few of those in the beginning, why did they choose that of all the clothes I made?!
“The clothes you made are so popular that every single item we had in stock has been sold, Ma’am Batemy...”
“So, I chose a sample from my wardrobe.”
From your wardrobe, Miss Astres?!
I guess that makes sense!
I've only ever given her clothes made out of adamantine silk!
Wait, no, that’s not true.
I’ve given her tons of other clothes made out of normal fiber! Why choose adamantine silk out of all that?!
“Wow... W-Whoever made this piece of clothing has already won in my books!!!”
Just before Arachne was about to abandon all rational judgment due to her excitement...
“Please wait, Arachne!”
“The material has nothing to do with the skill of the tailor! No matter how good the fabric is, if the stitching is rough and the measurements are inappropriate, it's still a poor piece of work!!!”
My parents objected to the elder spirit’s statement!
“How could you antagonize your own daughter’s work?!”
“Daughter or not, as long as anyone’s against us, we must win at all costs! For Mixpider’s survival!!!”
My parents are putting their work before familial love!
They’ll smash anything in their way by all means!
“O-Oh, you do have a point. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the fabric that I almost missed it, but the tailoring is as good as anything I've seen. It's passable enough.”
Phew.
I'm glad that my own sewing skills are being recognized since most people only focus on the adamantine silk.
The sample presented was one of the first few garments I made, so it was still hand-sewn.
The elder spirit gave my sister and me an even rating for our sewing skills.
“I acknowledge the both of you worthy of my judging. To eliminate all sorts of bias, you’ll make a new garment using the same materials in the same amount of time, then I’ll judge them based on your workmanship. How about that?”
“AS YOU WISH!”
My sister and I declare in unison.
I didn’t have an inkling of an idea that we would be facing off against each other like this. Heck, I wasn't even expecting to see her or my family when I arrived here.
“Batemy, I’m going to defeat you and carry over your skills and fame into Mixpider! Families are meant to support each other and a younger sister is supposed to absolutely obey her elder!!!”
“I already have a master who is scarier to me than the gods, and that’s Miss Astres! I’m pissed off now, so I’m going to crush you myself!!!”
The tension in the room keeps on rising.
“A word of encouragement from me before we officially start the contest,” says Arachne as she volunteers to do the introductory remarks.
“I’ve discerned that both of your skills are top-notch. Though that wonderful fabric caught my attention more. Its impact alone was several folds greater!”
It seems the adamantine silk was to her liking.
“As the Demon Queen said, this contest is meant to decide who is the best tailor on earth. Therefore, I, elder spirit Arachne, will present a prize to the winner.”
A prize?
The concept of receiving something in return is exciting to me!!!
“Have a look.”
Arachne, with a torso of a beautiful woman and a lower body of a spider, spews thread from her rear.
The thread shines with a faint rainbow color.
“This is a thread that I, the guardian of all tailors, can produce. It’s stronger and more beautiful than any other thread on earth and was even used as the raw material for a variety of legendary armor and divine garments in the past.”
“Could it be that... that’s the prize?!”
“I’m not going to be stingy. The winner will receive a blessing from the elder spirit Arachne which grants them the ability to obtain this thread as much as they like.”
“?”
...Which means what?
“I'll let you make as much of this supreme thread come out of your bums, like me!”
“NO, THANK YOU!”
