A/N: A recollection chapter.
The very first ti I woke up, it was to a lifeless world of darkness.
I knew nothing. Not where I was, nor what I was. I only had a vague feeling that I used to be living in so other world, sowhere not here.
Yet as ignorant as I was, my mind still possessed a strange sort of knowledge, enough so that I could recognize my current form as sothing like a mass of sli.
A part of was finding the whole thing unnatural, uncomfortable. Another part much more instinctive was driving to catch these strange bug-like things and eat them.
Every ti I crushed a bug, I felt sweetness, a physical satisfaction, but it was also accompanied with a kind of forlorn hosickness. I stopped eating the bugs to instead spend all my ti chasing thoughts that never go anywhere. My body shouted at , telling it was hungry, but my mind was filled with nothing but sadness and sorrow, robbing of all will to live.
I had enemies.
Well, not quite exactly enemies, to be accurate. Among them were slis like , as well as so sort of things that looked like clouds of mist. They were probably of the sa species as , and they were trying to eat .
I wasnt scared. I also didnt want to be eaten by them.
I ran-uh, I an, I strategically retreated, forcing my deteriorating body to carry away.
But they were faster. As they were slowly but surely catching up to , sothing resembling an incredibly small magic circle suddenly appeared in front of in a burst of shining light, and it sucked in.
It was a tiny, tiny summoning circle, and it was unstable. If I hadnt been so weakened, so starved, I probably wouldnt have passed through it.
I arrived sowhere bright. Thinking that my hunters wouldnt be able to catch up with now, I jiggled in relief.
Yes, I did it!
This might be the first ti since I was born that I heard words of aning, I thought.
As I gradually got used to the light, I ca to realize that I was in a room built out of stone. Standing in the middle of the room and looking at was a small girl.
She was a cute thing of about five years old, with silver hair and violet eyes. Her dress itself was finely made, though I could see fraying threads here and there. Her gaze was fixed on with evident joy.
Then I felt a connection opening up between us, a conduit through which poured into her loneliness and her magic. It filled my weakened body with strength.
As small as she was, I was still smaller. She bead at , reaching out a hand to brush against so gingerly, as though afraid that any more force would pop like a balloon.
Hey will you be
The very mont she finished her words, the magic circle once more sucked in. I took a look around to see that I was already back in that world of darkness. The magic circle must have been incomplete, I thought. Not enough magic power.
mories of the girl passed through my mind, accompanied by a faint sadness. Yet this was no ti for sentintality. My fellow creatures of darkness had been lying in wait for my return, and they were now approaching .
But I was no longer the sa.
The slis attacked. I slipped through them, using the power Id regained thanks to the girls supply of magic to eliminate my enemies. Ooh, tasty.
After that, well, I kinda went a bit out of control.
I still didnt know what sort of creature I was, but my instincts seed to know how to fight, so I listened to it. I killed and consud more of those things that looked like .
I had thought the cannibalism would have bothered at least a little bit, yet I felt nothing at all. I wondered why?
I was on a roll. I kept eating, eating, and my body began to feel heavier hold on was I getting fat? I got stronger but also slower, so my hunting speed didnt improve.
If only I was faster. If only I was more nimble.
If only I had a longer reach.
If only I had more limbs, so that I could hunt more of my prey
Splat! My black claws tore apart a small simian thing.
In the end, I turned into so sort of spindly creature with suuuuper long legs that looked a lot like a golden orb-weaver spider, only pure black in color. Why the heck did this happen?
I asked for it, thats why.
With the transformation, I got even cockier. The small slis and clouds of mist no longer satisfied , and I began to hunt the small monkeys.
The little guys were quite powerful. With my new ability to spin threads like a real spider, however, I grew strong enough to deal with five of them at once without breaking a sweat.
So more ti passed since then. I might have gotten a bit too arrogant.
I found a monkey sowhat stronger than the rest, with a slightly different fur color. I killed him after a difficult fight and surprise, surprise, he dropped sothing that looked like so dried seaweed upon his death. Its like a video ga. Then a while after, all the monkeys and slis near vanished.
Had I gotten powerful enough for them to avoid ? I thought, full of myself.
I was wrong. Apparently I was smarter than them, but also with a weaker set of survival instincts.
eep?!
I only realized its existence after it got much too close.
Sothing terrible was coming, sothing impossibly brutal. An oppressively enormous presence was heading in my direction.
The monkeys and slis had ran away because of the arrival of this thing. At least give a warning! Werent you my neighbors?!
What arrived was a horror in the shape of a human wearing a maid uniform.
I knew, just from a glance, that both running and fighting would be aningless. To the giant in front of , I was but an ant-no, a microbe. I couldnt even look at her. I imdiately dropped down, my face scraping the ground.
I thought I felt a flicker of sothing changing in the aura of the horror before as she saw my perpendicular prostration.
The innurable strands of hair on her head stretched out toward ah, they werent hair, they were gold-colored snakes the swarm of snakes stared at , watching . The horror looked at the nest I built out of my threads aaaand she decided to get as takeaway. Sobody help
In the end, I wasnt eaten.
Apparently the monkey with the weird coloring that I killed had been a subordinate of the horror-I an, Miss Horror. And since I killed it, now I had to work for her as a replacent. I was hired, to be paid with an exceptional salary of 1 kilogram of dried seaweed a day, and my job was to make clothes (that were going to be worn by won, it seed) with my threads Why seaweed?
What? No, I didnt call you a horror. Hmm? I have to call you the Maid Chief? Ah, yes, understood.
Once she found out I could speak, I was, for so reason, provided with a maid uniform and repositioned into the maid squad as a newcor.
A spider wearing a maid uniform. Surreal, right? Who made this? The Maid Chief herself, surprisingly, and it was handmade too at that.
Thus began my maid life. Proper language and manners were beaten into . mories of what was probably a past life, combined with the fact that I picked things up decently quickly had helped to, in ti, climb up the ranks to beco the Maid Chiefs assistant.
The existence of a maid implied the existence of a master that she would serve. Then I really had to wonder how ridiculous the horror-ahem, I an, the Maid Chiefs master had to be, if they managed to make her into their servant.
But I was just an insignificant spider. I would never have the chance to et that sort of deity in my whole lifeti. Its actually relaxing, in a way. Hahahah.
what? The Lord wanted to et ?
Seriously?
From what Id heard, the underthings that Id been making days and nights from my threads, a material that I could proudly say to be even better than silk, had been presented to the Lord. And that theyd caught her attention, as unbelievable as it was.
Darn it, I should have cut so corners Not like I actually would, though. The Maid Chief would chastise . Severely.
So now, I was being dragged toward the Lords place for an audience.
The Lord was, umm, how do I say this, she were giving off so much golden light I couldnt even see what she looked like. Anyway, before her overwhelming presence and divinity, I unconsciously and instantly did a perpendicular prostration. Again.
By the way, a perpendicular prostration was when you touched the ground with your head while your butt pointed up in the air, which made your lower body perpendicular to the ground. Seeing my strange posture, the masked maid beside the Lord cackled as she held her stomach.
Life was such a strange thing. You never knew what tomorrow might bring.
I wasnt sure what had endeared so to the Lord, but she had decided to grant a Na herself.
Fleurety.
The Lord was the only one who could bestow Nas to creatures like us. With a Na, my power was stabilized and dramatically strengthened.
With my power and my abilities, I was granted a thousand subordinate maids and the duty to eliminate the enemies of the Lord.
Fleurety, the Maid Lieutenant-General what did being a maid have to do with this?
A question ca to my mind and was out of my mouth before I could think about it: why a lieutenant-general? Then the Lord spoke as though Id asked sothing obvious: Fleuretys supposed to be a lieutenant-general, right?
It seed like my na had a history behind it.
Anyway, while I still had no idea what it ant, I was on the fast track to success.
Yet although my life seed to be smooth-sailing, I could see dark clouds waiting for on the horizon. My power had been growing unimpeded until now, but it was plateauing these days.
But well, I still had enough strength to deal with most enemies I encountered anyway. Excepting the Maid Chief and the Lords aides, I was considered one of the more powerful among my colleagues, so I wasnt really that worried. I continued to live my life as carefree as ever.
Then one day, I was called to et the Lord once more was I going to get my pay docked?
It seed the Lord knew the reason why my power hadnt been growing. To summarize what she said, it was because I hadnt completed my first Contract.
My Contract? The mont I heard the words, I was reminded of the adorable girl.
I still hadnt fulfilled my Promise with her.
Ever since that day, for every single mont of my life, she had been occupying so corner of my mind. But knowing that I couldnt enter that world by my own power, a part of had already given up.
I could say that I was busy living for myself, that I hadnt the spare ti but it would just be an excuse. The girl had given the power to live, after all.
I want to see her again, I thought idly, I really do. I wished that I could et her, could beco her strength.
I wanted to fulfill our promise.
I wanted to et her again, and this ti around, IlI
And right at that mont, I thought I felt the Lord smirking.
Oh no, what a gaffe Of all the things I could have done, I had made a wish in front of soone who might as well be a goddess. I might not have said it out loud, but a wish had still been a wish.
eek?!
A golden magic circle abruptly appeared on the ground below . The Lord spoke as I panicked.
She said that the bond between and the girl was a string that connected us, that pulled us together even through ti and space, that would allow us to et once more.
Then I returned to the body I once had in my past life, and I t my lady once more.
*
Thats it, everyone. The flashback is over.
My? It seems the remaining people had gone ahead and passed away while I was busy with my lengthy reminiscence. I had planned to teach them a bit of a lesson, but when I heard of their intentions toward lady Sharon, well, I just accidentally.
At any rate, I order the at still under my control to deal with the expired at, and I head for milady.
Tsk, the fuck are they doing, comparing dick sizes? Fine, Ill do it myself.
W-what are you doing?! What about the store-
Hah, well arent you just precious. Dont be so scared. Just listen to what youre told and you wont be hurt.
Y-youre
Heheh thats right, Im going to kidnap you and sell you to those dirty old noblen. Do what they want you to and you just might live even better than you are now, you know?
N-no sobody
Nobodys coming. You only have yourself to bla, little girl. Werent you taught to not follow strangers? Hey, co now, dont run.
No no, soone Letty!
Yes, milady. What is your order? I speak.
Eh? My fearful lady says, looking like a bit of an idio-ahem, looking rather flabbergasted, her cute little puppy-dog eyes opening widely.
Letty?!
Yes, milady. Fleurety is here.
W-what about that woman?
She was blocking my way so I relocated her, milady.
Blocking your way? Why are you here?
I am here because milady called for .
I speak as gently as I can, enveloping her still-shivering hand with both of my own as I try to reassure her. Milady squeezes back tightly and presses her face to my shoulder.
thank you she whispers, her voice muted and quavering.
*
After we ca back to the dorm, I made dinner for milady, then helped change her clothes and bathe her. By then, it was near lights-out in the dorm.
I lay milady down on the clean and carefully-made bed. I turn off all the lights except for the lantern Im holding. Milady speaks, sounding sowhat forlorn.
good night, Letty.
I wish you a good night, lady Sharon.
Despite her unease, it doesnt take long for her breathing to slow down. She must have been tired. But even when asleep, her hand is still looking for sothing to grip, to give her comfort.
I silently walk toward her and kneel down by the side of her bed. I take her hand in mine.
Her breathing calms down. From her small lips cos barely a whisper.
Letty
yes.
Asleep, milady looks so much younger. I look at her face and rember.
You had been just a child back then. You had called for when I was still weak, and you had given the strength to live.
That day, lady Sharon had spoken to .
Hey will you be my friend? please?
As the light of the moon slips through the curtain gaps and falls on the two of us, I gently stroke her hair and give her a smile.
Yes, lady Sharon. I am here. I will always be here.
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