Go see what Cady wants

You get about five minutes outside of the village, using the mana crystal to light your way, before you realize how stupid it was to go this far on your own. Not only are you already lost, but you could be walking right into a trap. Cady’s been more than hospitable with you so far, but that could have all been a trick to get you to lower your guard. Now you’ve done exactly that, and found yourself walking alone through the dark forest, with nothing but the gentle, insistent tug of an invisible spider thread to guide you. If the spider woman wanted to kill you quietly, now would be a great time to do it.

But she doesn’t.

You blindly follow her guiding pull for another ten minutes before coming across a small hill. At the base of the hill is a familiar sight: the rocky entrance of Cady’s cave. One final tug beckons you inside, and you oblige. You passed the point of no return the second you got lost in the forest, so there’s no point in refusing to enter the spider’s den now. Time to cast aside all of your doubts, and go meet the woman in good faith.

The inside is the same as you remember it. A few twists and turns take you deep into the cave, until you finally reach the small room that Cady calls home. In the corner are the jars of colorful liquids, which you now realize are probably dyes for her knitting projects; in the back, one makeshift bed is still laid out next to all of the random piles of clothes, and sitting on its own, slightly flatter level of the cave floor is the carved, wooden table. Next to the table stands the strange mannequin that you noticed before, but this time it’s actually wearing something: a sweater, dyed with a chaotic mixture of different colors. Sitting at the table, watching you survey the room, is the woman you’re here to see.

The spider woman wore several outfits during your brief stay in her home. They were always an eccentric combination of wildly different colors and ideas; if you were an expert in fashion, you’re not sure whether you would find her style horrifying or inspirational. Maybe both. Either way, it was always entertaining for you to see what Cady would pick to wear each day. Which is why what she’s wearing now is throwing you off a little bit. An orange blouse, with a deep blue cloak draped loosely over her shoulders: it’s undoubtedly the simplest and most color-coordinated outfit you’ve ever seen her in.

Beyond its simplicity, it’s also reminiscent of Hesperos’s trials. The orange and blue color combo was used all over the place in the wizard’s world: banners in the town, the sails of the ship, even the wizard’s own robes. It was his signature color palette. You know that Hesperos is important to Cady for some reason, but she’s never told you why. Now she’s dressing like him.

Weird.

“Thank you for coming. Please, sit,” says Cady, gesturing to the open log stool opposite her end of the table. You take the seat, then hand her your lit mana crystal. With practiced ease, she strings the thing up and hangs it from the ceiling of the cave. “I hear that you are the lord of this forest, now.”

“I am,” you say. “We defeated the leaders of the village, and **** all of the monsters in the forest to submit.”

“Really?” Cady adopts a sly smile, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. “All of them submitted?”

“Some were less happy about it than others,” you say. “Violet, in particular, still plans on killing me at some point.”

“Violet?”

“I gave names to the two former leaders. Violet and Scarlett. It was a risk to have them evolve, but a worthwhile one, I think.”

Cady’s hand shifts from her cheek to covering her mouth. Her unfocused eyes look off to the side, and for a few quiet moments, nothing is said between you. The silence stretches on so long that you start to wonder if you said something wrong.

“I called you here,” she says, abruptly changing the subject, “because I cannot accept you as my lord.” Cady straightens her posture and places her hands in her lap. Her eyes shift back in your direction, although they remain unable to properly focus on you. Suddenly, the night air grows a little colder in the cave. “You are a Goddess-loving human. I am a monster. Your kind and mine have hated one another since the dawn of time.” You can feel your muscles tensing up. This conversation is very quickly going in a dangerous direction. “You may have conquered the village, but I will not bow to you.”

“What is this, Cady?” you ask. You place your hands on the table and lean into them. “Are you saying you regret letting me live? Are you challenging me?”

“No,” says the monster girl. “You have earned the right to rule over my brothers and sisters here. I will not dispute that.”

It doesn’t make sense. You know that. If she wanted to, Cady could paralyze you at any moment. She could have done it while you were still in the village, then dragged your ragdoll of a body all the way here. There’s no need for her to challenge you. Because she would win. Easily.

“What is all of this, then?”

“I… I just…” When confronted with that question, Cady’s confidence falters. She struggles to find an answer, but appears to settle on something within a few seconds. Once she regains her composure, she says, “Diplomacy. That’s what this is. I consider myself the guardian of this forest. Nothing moves here without my notice.” One of the spider-like appendages protruding from her back twitches, and you feel a slight tug on your right thumb. “You are a Demon Lord with rising potential. As long as you are here, the Goddess-loving races will not leave this place alone.”

Oh. So now that I took over the village, she sees me as a liability, you think. Did she… not expect me to actually do it?

“We’re preparing for the oncoming threat,” you say. “We’re training an army, and working to improve defenses.”

“It’s not enough,” says Cady. “You, yourself, must become stronger. Much stronger.” The air grows colder once again, prompting Cady to wrap her cloak around herself and conceal her orange blouse. As she pulls the hood over her head and casts a dark shadow over her face, something bizarre clicks in your memory. Suddenly, you see Cady as a mysterious figure with dark skin and a slender build, dressed in a blue cloak that hides her face.

She’s the spitting image of Blue Cloak.