"Ugh... how long did you hide here?" Saze asks softly.


    "Do you believe me If I say that I just got pulled up here a while ago?" Sophia says with a hand full of black spider silks.


    "....." Saze was speechless, he didn''t even need time to think, he was definitely sure it was Moty pulling her up here and letting her chat with him.


    Sophia doesn''t say anything but steps closer to Saze and sits down beside him. Her long raven black hair sways in the air by a gust and Saze is sitting next to her and looking at her blankly.


    "Your hair smells so good." Saze says with a deep blush on his face he sits with two arms holding his knees.


    "Thanks..." Sophia stuns for a moment and whispers.


    "What does Finty look like? You and that girl said I look like Finty." Sophia adds.


    "Your face shape and facial features are very similar to hers. If you grow up, I might not be able to tell you two apart." Saze says slowly.


    "Whao, I really want to see her right now."


    "But I don''t think you guys should meet."


    "Hm, Why?"


    "She might kill you."


    Saze closes his eyes and the memory flashes back.


    Saze lived with them for four years so he could know the personalities of Finty and Moty and most of the spiders inside and out. Moty is a girl with a personality as lively as those little spiders and bigger spiders, they are much more mature.


    As for Finty, she is a cold queen who barely smiles. But this problem was solved when Saze came. He seems to have a special charm that makes people happy. Even Moty will joke with him often.


    "Fortunately, you showed up, otherwise it would be harder to make Finty laugh than to kill her."


    In the past four years, Saze also asked Finty a question. It was a bright morning and Saze and Finty asked a question when they were watering the garden.


    "Finty, what if there''s a person who looks the same as you? And also having the same of your mind, talent, and thought." Saze asked after watering the flowers.


    "I might kill that person." Finty responded lightly.


    "May I know why?" Saze looked at her with confusion, expecting a reply.


    Finty rose and looked at the sky, she didn''t answer Saze instantly but she took a long time to though and eventually replied Saze.


    "If everyone is truly unique, then each person possesses their own irreplaceable value. But if uniqueness is stripped away, then we are just mere tools that are interchangeable, we can be replaced at any time. In this case, our value will be minimized, we will struggle to prove ourselves and we will need to try harder and pay more heavier price just to get noticed."


    "Let me give you an example: this flower is very beautiful, deniable, right? Its beauty draws your gaze, you want to take good care of it. However, there are countless flowers of this type in the huge garden, so you may not cherish this one flower because if you lose one, there''s another flower for you to take its place instantly. After all, it''s inexhaustible."


    "Instead of being the one flower in the same types of flower fields, we trying to stand tall, stand in a different place to not let our value be lost among the countless others, trying to not let ourselves fade into obscurity and wither in oblivion."


    At this time, Finty turned around and looked at Saze. She found out that Saze''s standing there blankly, his two eyes dulled, seems his brain couldn''t able to decipher the meaning of Finty''s words


    Finty chuckled and walked over and gently touched Saze''s head, preparing to take him away. But when she touched his head, his mind came back instantly.


    "Are you afraid of being replaced? It''s okay, nobody can truly copy us, even if there is, there will still be a person, a pet, or a place or group of people, pets, and places that need you and love you, just like us! Me, Moty, and those spiders! We all love you and need you!"


    "You see the flower that you used for your example? The flower is also getting noticed by us and not only that flower, but all the flower garden. After all, we always come here to give them water!"


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    Saze smiled with those warmful words stunned and shocked Finty, her eyes widened a little bit as if didn''t expect Saze will be said such an optimistic reply.


    "Haha, well then, I will stay with you guys." Finty chuckled.


    Her sentences still remain in Saze''s mind also Saze''s sentences remain in Finty''s mind. To this day, Saze sometimes still thinks about what Finty said.


    Saze opens his eyes and exits the flashback, returning to reality, Sophia is still sitting next to him but is obviously a little sleepy because she is stroking her eyes and of course, the same is true for Saze.


    "Then we''d better not meet." Sophia says.


    "Maybe that''s a good choice and... Ahh~ I''m going back to sleep, goodnight." Saze says lazily and stands slowly.


    "Alright, goodnight." Sophia replies lightly.


    When Saze turns around and leaves, she is the only one left on the roof of the palace. She looks down at the glittering palace in the night and then swift her gaze at the dilapidated towers. Sophia could still see those giant spiders staring at her with a hint of warning.


    After Sophia turns around and leaves, the glances from the tower fade away. As she walks back to her room and lies down on the bed, she closes her eyes, ready to face tomorrow.


    "Ah... please guys don''t come here too early... I don''t want to kill him yet..." She whispers in the air.


    Drowsiness expands in her mind, Sophia falls asleep quietly, and so does the Orphea in the other room, so does Moty, so does Saze, and most of the spiders.


    .....


    Several days of hunting follow, during which everything is peaceful and no problems occur. There seems to be no movement from the noble family, which makes Sophia and Orphea feel abnormal.


    After the hunt, they return to the palace and discuss their noble family in the room.


    "It''s been so long and I haven''t seen any trace of our family. Don''t they have our mana and life tracking arcane? Or we are abandoned by them?!" Orphea says anxiously with worry.


    "Don''t overthink, they might just get into some bigger trouble so no time to find us." Sophia comforting Orphea gently.


    "R-really?" Orphea''s eyes fill with tears as if she is about to cry.


    "Y-yes, really..." Sophia keeps comforting, but in fact, she also feels unsure whether they are about being abandoned or not.


    Outside the room, Saze leans on the wall beside the door. He was listening secretly to what those two girls talking about.


    "Eavesdropping is not good." Moty appears beside Saze suddenly.


    "Ahh! What the hell! When do you get beside me?!" Saze gets scared by Moty and shouts.


    "While ago." Moty smiles.


    "Please next time don''t just walk so quietly..." Saze''s heart races in his chest.


    "Aw, fine. Tomorrow I will bring more spiders and also Mon will join us, they are right, Seth Noble is quite abnormal, after so many days they still haven''t even started the recruit." Moty says lightly and walks away.


    "Mon will join us? Hooray! But do you think Seth Noble really got into trouble or not?" Saze follows her step and asks.


    "Who knows? Maybe they are planning to get us in once, that''s the worst possibility so we have to prepare everything." Moty sighs lightly.


    "Well then, can I chat with Sophia? I want to know about the human world outside this forest." Saze asks.


    "Yeah, you may and I have to go now, I need to prepare something for tomorrow." Moty says with a nod.


    After Moty walked away, the sound of the door opening sounded behind Saze. He turned around and saw Sophia stood before him.


    "Well, seems someone eavesdropped other people''s conversation." Sophia says.


    "How do you know?" Saze asks.


    "Oh, do you think we can''t hear your scream?" Sophia rolls her eyes back and says with hands on her hips.


    "Eh hehe… sorry, my bad." Saze scratches his head and says awkwardly.


    "What''s stage you on now? And how many months you stepped into this field?" Sophia asks.


    "First stage high level and I started one year and three months ago." Saze replies instantly.


    "Hmm… one year and three months to reach the first stage high level, it''s considered as fast already, most people need at least one year to reach the next level in the first stage." Sophia says


    "Haha, then I''m a genius in the arcane field! By the way, how many years have you spent to reach the second stage?" Saze says proudly and asks.


    "One year only." Sophia replies to him with a sweet smile.


    "….." Saze feels the words of Sophia like a pot of cold water to extinguish his happiness.


    "I have seen many geniuses in the arcane field, but also, everybody called me a genius." Sophia adds happily, her words like a knife, and stab into Saze''s heart.


    "O-okay…" Saze says powerlessly.


    "Well, let''s just talk in my room, come." Sophia walks and opens the door, inviting him to come in.


    "Ugh… It''s okay, let''s just talk at another… ah!" Saze was going to say more but was cut off by Sophia.


    Seeing Saze''s resists, Sophia immediately grabs his collar, pulling him inside the room, and after that, she sits on the bed.


    "What are you worried about? I won''t eat you." Sophia says.


    "B-but… I…" Saze says shyly.


    "Just get the chair and sit down."


    "Ah… ugh… okay."


    This is the first time Saze enters a room of a girl. Here, he is as well-behaved as a puppy, very obedient, and acts cutely which lets Sophia can''t help but chuckle.


    "So what is the next arcane you want to learn?" Sophia asks after Saze sits down on the chair in front of her bed.


    "Next arcane? Why do I need to learn second arcane?" Saze asks.


    "You need two arcanes to break the limit barrier, they didn''t teach you before?" Sophia asks confusingly.


    "They just said that each stage has a huge gap, as for what need to prepare for stepping into the second stage… they said they will teach me if I''m almost there." Saze explains.


    "Welp, whatever, you can choose what you want to learn now, you''re close enough." Sophia says.


    "What arcane I can learn?" Saze tilts his head and asks.


    "Hmm, I don''t know, I have some arcane but doesn''t fit on you. Do you have the arcane that you want to learn?" Sophia asks.


    Saze thinking about it carefully. Although it was easy for him to get the second elemental arcane now, however, he doesn''t want other elements that much. After thinking again and again, he asks carefully.


    "Is it possible for me to get… blood arcane?"