Chapter 23
The boss spider-san hops down from the top of my head,
and scurries into the crack,
then the boss spider-san appears, carrying a small piece of silver ore.
I was amazed by how quickly the boss spider-san acted.
Since it seemed to be holding it out to me, I accept the ore, which is about the size of a ten-yen coin.
I wonder if this beautiful silver ore is what's beyond the crack.
"Thank you, Boss-san."
I called it Boss-san without really thinking. I wonder if that's okay.
Come to think of it, I haven't named the spiders yet.
The boss spider-san already seems like a Boss-san~.
As for the baby spiders...
...
Hold on—give me time to tell you apart.
They're all the same size, the same color, and the same species... Will I ever be able to tell them apart?
The crack is too narrow for me to squeeze into.
I use Spatial Perception to inspect every detail, checking whether there are any other cracks or holes in the space containing the silver ore.
None!
I've finally conquered the rocky mountain!
For now, I tuck the silver ore into my pocket.
I don't know what the ore is called, but it's precious because Boss-san gave it to me.
On my way back to the surface, I pick up some rock fragments lying around.
Come to think of it, I always associate caves with lots of rocks lying around.
Now that I think about it, this is the first rock fragment I've picked up... Is this rock hard?
But I wonder if I can work this somehow.
I'm planning to use this shelter as a base, explore the area around it, and look for people.
I look around.
Everywhere I look, the ground is uneven.
I keep tripping over the uneven spots, and sooner or later I'm really going to take a dive.
Nighttime is especially scary!
Hmm~ I wonder if working on stone is difficult.
It is rock, after all.
Would sandpaper be the way to smooth the surface? It works on wood, at least...
I remember a shelf I made as a hobby.
It hurt when I got a splinter in my hand, but I worked hard sanding it down~.
"Hmm~ Process."
Huh?
The rough rock in my hand now has a smooth surface.
The gritty stuff in my palm is probably rock dust.
So I can process things with magic, too.
Magic really is amazing.
Karen, perched on my shoulder, and Boss-san, who had climbed down from my head,
are staring at the ore, which has somehow become smooth.
Koa and the others, along with Chai, who is usually a little farther away, come closer.
Or rather, they're incredibly close.
I wonder what this is.
Is the smooth rock unusual?
Is it something you don't often see in nature?
Well, anyway, this means I can make this shelter a little more comfortable.
For now, I'll polish every surface in here.
One of the baby spiders jumps off Chai toward the smooth rock.
It slides right off and falls...
...
Let's make the floor nonslip.
Boss-san, baby spider-san, no running on the floor!
That was close~.
Good thing I didn't step on it~.