Chapter 39
The giant insects all turned their gazes toward me at once.
...I want to run away.
Why here?
...Did I do something to Boss-san?
As all kinds of thoughts raced through my mind, Boss-san brought one of the giant insects over in front of me.
It was about 120 centimeters long. I really wanted to run away.
However, I decided to trust Boss-san. This one would be okay... surely.
"Whoa!"
I instinctively shielded my face with my arm.
Something came toward me from the giant insect... An attack?
Once the attack stopped, I lowered my arm and...?
Countless white strands wrapped around my arm—
"Thread??"
Countless threads were wrapped around my arm.
...Ah, thread.
I did say I wanted thread, after all.
...So it wasn't an attack. That startled me.
What I'd imagined was material, like cotton, that could be spun into thread.
The reality: a giant insect that spits thread.
...Well, if I thought of it as saving me the trouble of turning it into thread... surely I could accept it.
Boss-san busily moved around, collecting the thread.
What is this?
...
I decided to take the giant insects home.
Chai and Crow each carried two giant insects on their backs.
...Somehow, they looked...
Watching them, the giant insects appeared to be following Boss-san's instructions.
What a strange sight.
As soon as I got home, I created a room for the giant insects to spin thread in on the second floor.
I had brought leaves for them to eat as well, so I placed them in one corner of the room.
I thought about what I'd need to use the thread and made those things.
A rod for winding the precious thread around.
Then... I made two new rock figures.
Wind the thread round and round~
I'm counting on you.
The rock figures started moving.
The giant insects were frightened when the rock figures approached.
They're cute, but this time I tried making the new rock figures with three eyes.
One in each usual spot, and one on the forehead.
I did it more or less to distinguish them by their jobs.
Back when I was a student, I was really into Japanese yokai. How nostalgic.
The thread steadily wound around the rod, coming from the giant insects.
Round and round, round and round.
Yep, I've secured the thread.
The thread was smooth and quite beautiful.
They should be able to make clothes from it if I ask the rock figures...
But how should I handle that process?
I can't imagine how to knit at all.
All I can picture is thread tangling together.
A challenge even greater than the bed...
...
The rock figures' bed-making team is amazing.
Somehow, they've made a much sturdier bed than I imagined.
Horizontal boards securely fitted into a sturdy wooden frame.
A slatted design with gaps for ventilation.
A low-profile bed that doesn't budge even when I climb onto it.
And they even made beds for Koa and the others.
Hm? Without mattresses, wouldn't gaps be a problem?
I hurriedly shaped some boards and had the rock figures finish the job.
Sorry, that was a mistake in my mental image.
One of the rock figures patted me on the shoulder as I sat there, encouraging me... Huh?