Chapter 9 The backpack he brought back, and another one stained with blood...
It was a backpack, a human backpack.
There were some specks of red on it, like bloodstains from something.
Her pupils contracted uncontrollably, but slowly returned to normal as the firelight dimmed. She dared not let Tarasco behind her see her terror.
It was only now that Catherine suddenly realized what she had forgotten.
Even in the Devil's Forest, Tarasco is an exceptionally powerful beast, always has been.
Because of his docility these days, she had somehow forgotten about this fact.
...
When Catherine turned around, her face looked normal. However, her thoughts were still lingering on the bloodstained backpack.
Aside from the chilling fact that "Tarasco brought back a backpack stained with blood, in addition to food," what's even stranger is that it's a backpack that only humans would possess.
That's very strange.
She initially arrived here as a sacrifice offered to the Devil's Forest by the church, part of a routine ceremony held for the tree spirit every few years. Normally, with the "sacrifice" in place and the tree spirit satisfied, the threat of the Devil's Forest to humanity should be temporarily eliminated.
So why does a second "sacrifice" appear in the Devil's Forest?
As for voluntarily entering the Devil's Forest... unless that person is not quite of their mind, why would they come in to seek death—and a gruesome, extremely painful one at that? Even if they wanted to die, there was no need to subject themselves to such torment before their demise.
Tarasco had no idea what Catherine was thinking. Her face was calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.
But he could sense her silence. Since waking up, she hadn't said a single word to him.
Tarasco's grip on her hand tightened involuntarily, and Catherine let out a soft gasp. She pushed against his chest with her soft hand: "You're hurting me."
Tarasco instinctively let go of her hand.
Catherine rubbed her arm and looked up at Tarasco, just in time to see a hint of guilt that hadn't yet faded.
But the next second, he noticed Catherine's gaze fixed on him. His blood-red pupils contracted instinctively, then he quickly turned his head away, frowning as if angered.
Catherine rolled her eyes, then moved closer to Tarasco and placed his hand on her arm.
When she saw the look in his eyes, she smiled and said, "Can you rub it for me?"
Tarasco still had a frown on his face, seemingly still angry. Catherine, however, didn't change her smile at all. She reached out and took his hand, placing it on her arm.
The moment he touched her skin, Tarasco instinctively flinched. Catherine felt it but remained silent, otherwise he probably would have been angry for a while longer.
Catherine took his hand and gently massaged it with light pressure. Before long, Tarasco started massaging it more forcefully on his own.
Catherine lowered her hands, knowing that this was enough to appease her.
Thinking about the package she had just seen, after a while, seeing that Tarasco seemed alright, Catherine cautiously probed, "I just noticed something on the ground, what is that...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Tarasco's eyes suddenly turned around.
Catherine had expected a warning and a probing look, but instead, she saw only excitement in it, as if to say, "You've finally figured it out."
And upon closer inspection, it seems... to carry a hint of seeking praise?
However, that fleeting look was so quick that Catherine instinctively thought she had misread it.
“Ruan—” Tarasco began with difficulty, his tone strange and unrecognizable. Catherine, as expected, couldn’t understand what he was saying either.
However, Tarasco didn't give up, and kept trying to speak. The word gradually went from being awkward and strange at first, to becoming familiar and clear later.
Catherine was stunned. She recognized that Tarasco had said "people," and that he was speaking the very standard language of Vilander—the language she spoke.
How could this be...?
Catherine couldn't believe it, but the words Tarasco kept repeating, becoming clearer and clearer, were unmistakably... "human."
She froze, then began to try to recall the description of the alien spider in the "Devil's Forest Monster Compendium".
Could it be that the alien spider actually possesses a higher level of intelligence than ordinary magical beasts, and was able to learn the local language of Vilandel City based on just a few words exchanged during its few days in the cave?
Catherine's reaction was clearly not what Tarasco had expected.
He lowered his head somewhat angrily and nudged her body. Of course, this time he controlled his strength so as not to make Catherine cry out in pain—he had never imagined that the human race could be so fragile; just a light touch had caused her arm to turn red.
As Tarasco thought about this, his thoughts wandered uncontrollably, and fragments of memories surfaced in his mind. His blood-red pupils narrowed instantly, and his body temperature began to rise slightly.
When Catherine finally came to her senses after being teased by him, she met a pair of dark red eyes filled with chaotic emotions. She couldn't help but curse inwardly.
The "energy" of the alien spider is so abundant that it is really difficult for humans to bear.
"That...that package...was it from a human?"
Catherine hurriedly spoke, and although she stumbled slightly at the beginning, she still managed to finish what she wanted to say while pretending to be calm.
Her voice managed to bring Tarasco back to his senses somewhat.
His eyes lingered on Catherine's delicate face, but he still answered her question: "Yes, a person."
After being able to pronounce the word "person" clearly, Tarasco spoke the language of Vilandel more fluently. Although his intonation was still strange, Catherine could basically understand what he was saying.
It really is human...
Catherine's eyes flickered.
But before she could think any further, the dampness on her arm forcibly pulled her back to reality.
Tarasco lowered his head and licked her arm with a serious expression, as if he were treating an extremely delicious meal.
His lower face was hidden in the darkness, his eyelashes were lowered, and the candlelight shone on his face, making him look as if he possessed the warm emotions unique to humans.
Although the person opposite her was an outsider, and Tarasco's deceptive face wasn't exactly what Catherine liked, she still couldn't help but be captivated by his current appearance for a few seconds.
However, her body had not fully recovered. The intermittent, throbbing pains told Catherine that she would need at least a day or two to recover.
Tarasco's claws gripped her arm. He was clearly excited, but he hadn't completely forgotten the fragility of the human race, carefully controlling his strength so that his sharp nails wouldn't scratch Catherine's delicate skin.
Catherine instinctively tried to pull her arm away, but as expected, she couldn't—even though Tarasco had only used a very light touch.
However, this action still made him stop.
Tarasco looked up at her, his bloodshot eyes filled with displeasure.
"Is there another human species in the Devil's Forest?" Catherine tried hard to control her tone and carefully avoided making a tremor in her voice.
Her current "good" treatment is entirely based on Tarasco being in a good mood and her appearing not afraid of him. If she were to show any fear, there's a high chance she would cause Tarasco to lose interest.
She didn't want this to happen so soon.
Tarasco showed a hint of frustration in his movements, but still nodded.
"Then how come you can speak my language?"
Catherine subtly shifted her body, narrowly avoiding Tarasco's outstretched claws. At the same time, she posed a question to divert his attention.
However, Tarasco was clearly not too stupid. After being interrupted twice, he stopped completely and looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
Catherine's heart tightened; she couldn't let her "function" disappear too quickly, at least not now.
Her eyes flickered, then she lowered them, feigning shyness. She reached out her hand, slowly extending it towards him…
Tarasco's pupils narrowed to mere slits. The temperature inside the cave began to rise rapidly, and the enormous spider lowered its body, licking the cheek of the human, who was extremely vulnerable to it. From a distance, it looked as if the spider was feeding.
At first, everything was in Catherine's hands, but the initiative quickly shifted.
After a long while, Catherine began to feel tired, and Tarasco reluctantly ended the session. She started to feel as if her hands no longer belonged to her; the skin between her thumb and forefinger was aching, a lingering numbness and heat, and her delicate finger bones ached terribly.
Tarasco held her close, his entire body pressed against her back. His eyes were bright; he was clearly in a good mood.
Catherine climbed off his carapace and went to the pool of water in the cave to wash her hands.
With his desires satisfied, Tarasco no longer kept Catherine by his side, but simply followed her quietly, going wherever she went.
Ignoring the "little tail" behind her, Catherine washed her hands and shook them a few times. Just as she was about to speak, Tarasco suddenly bent down and took her hands in his.
"I like it..." He gently kissed her fingertips, the slight tickling making Catherine's fingers curl slightly.
"Hmm? What do you like?"
Tarasco fell silent, a troubled look on his face, as if he didn't know what to say.
Catherine was about to speak when she saw him suddenly move and crawl towards where the backpack had been. He lifted his feet and easily pried open the backpack, then hooked something out from inside, and quickly crawled back to Catherine's side.
A note from the author:
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