Disclaimer：I cannot guarantee the complete accuracy of this translation
蜘蛛と蝶
The Spider and the Butterfly
Part 2
“I don’t know how it is in your kingdom, nevertheless this sweet nectar is considered honey here. It is not the honey of flowers, but as it is often fought over, so it must unmistakably be quite nourishing.”
As it spoke, the spider raised the nectar up to the butterfly’s mouth, its proboscis gently wrapping around and slowly began to feed upon it.
“This is darker, yet even tastier than the honey of the orchid flowers that I’ve often drank.”
The spider explained that it was taken behind the backs of ants and that it could be safely taken from the ant colony at any time, though there was a bit of a lie within that explanation.
“Oh, how lucky I am. To have tasted such a delicious thing in my dying moment, I should be grateful to that whirlwind.”
“Well then, from now on, three times a day, I’ll feed it directly to your mouth. You’ll surely return to the state you once were.”
And so three days have passed since then.
The butterfly had visibly recovered; the body that was dried up is now shiny like freshly squeezed milk, and the wings were as brilliant as ever.
The wings that were shiny despite their tattered state, looked as though they have been covered by a layer of glistening lapis lazuli.
The spider who once believed its own web had been the most beautiful thing in the world, was a bit disappointed that they couldn’t hold a candle to this, but that had been quickly lost to him long ago; for it had been enamored by the butterfly’s figure.
As the sun started to set, the azure-colored wings began to shimmer even more elegantly under the light of the full moon.
“I’ve kept you waiting for far too long. I have now been restored to my original form. Now then, please go ahead eat me up completely.”
The butterfly quietly shut its eyes.
The spider, having forgotten its own hunger, had not immediately understood the meaning of the butterfly’s offer.
“Let’s stop today. I’ve forgotten, but someone has drawn closer to death.”
“Who are you referring to? More importantly, I’m anxious that you might continue to lose weight like this. So please make sure to eat me tomorrow.”
“No, I sense that tomorrow is another day closer to death.”
The butterfly opens its closed eyes, puts on a strange expression, and stares at the cheeks that were stained red. Before the spider had fully comprehended the situation, it spoke out all in one breath.
“I wonder if we could just live together like this. Please allow that of me. I wish to live here for the rest of my life together with you. However, I cannot continue living as is. I’ll make sure to bring you extra honey every day, if I do at least that much, would you be willing to split me some of your blood and fluids?”
And when the spider finished its speech, it closed each of its four eyes alternately, and while waiting for a response; it looked in the direction of the moon with all four eyes open.
“Besides having saved my life, you had many reasons to refuse me this level of care. I too, if it’s possible to remain married to you for life, there would be no greater happiness than that. Go on, drink your share for the day.”
Tears gently trickled out of the spider’s eyes. And in order to shield that fact, the spider entwined its eight legs around the butterfly’s soft abdomen, and in the meantime, until its tears had dried, it looked face down onto the butterfly’s shoulder.
“What is the matter? Please hurry and drink.”
“It’s not a big deal, I’ve drunk from others many times before, I’m just doing checks that’s all.”
The spider breathed out unwilling to admit defeat, and cautiously sank its teeth into that neck and gradually began sucking.
“Ahh, even though I’ve consumed countless prey, this is the first time I’ve come to realize the world of joy outside of the mere delicious taste of favors.”
The butterfly, whilst peering up towards the moon replied “Me too” and was about to say something else, but chose to end it there.
From that day forward, the spider carried off more nectar than previously and was careful not to arouse suspicion from the ant colony.
Common vetches were already cut into a form, akin to a well-crafted blade. A single army recruit ant drenched in sweat can be seen working on the common vetches with the sheath of its spear. The spider thought it was quite funny to be wielding around such a disproportionately large sheath, and felt fortunate to have seen such a scenery.
“Bastard, you still haven’t brought us those wings, how long do you intend to rear it?!”
The commanding garrison officer, who had come across the spider, had spoken in a slightly angry fashion. And so, it faced towards the twenty or so guards and ordered them to surround the spider, while slowly approaching with an arrogant expression,
“The look on your face has changed and also those fangs are stained red.”
The commanding officer glared heavily while directly tapping on the spider’s fangs.
“It is simply only the shape of the wings that have been restored. However, the muscles still remain quite feeble. As it is, I’m certain it’ll barely match the wind produced by fallen leaves. If one does not thicken those muscles, it will not perform to its full potential. Furthermore, it’ll be the rainy season soon. Even if I were to pluck them off right now, it’ll become useless amidst the humidity. The color of my fangs is merely a testament of me slurping its blood for the sake of ascertaining the butterfly’s current state of physical well-being. It’s to your own disadvantage to be so quick-tempered, I ask of you to please wait for the time being.”
“Is that so? I understand. So that it can be finished early…Listen, it’ll be terrible if you were to have strange thoughts.”
After leaving behind those words, the commanding officer faced right, gave commands then turned its heel and went off. The spider knew that the commanding officer was merely keeping up airs in front of the guards, and so calmly spewed out lies.
As the rainy season ended, the butterfly grew to be significantly more beautiful.
The six legs once tied to the net, have now long been freed.
“I wonder if it’s the fault of the drought here, but I sucked you too much yesterday. And so that’s why today, I brought over more than the usual.”
The spider gave a longer than usual kiss, four legs checking the butterfly’s pulsating torso, slowly caressing it, and proceeded to bite down happily.
“Even though I require nothing more than your body, bugs, and mayflies however often frequent here, and since I have no eyes for them; it becomes a job for me to release them from the net. How about it? I no longer need a transparent web, and so I was thinking of dying it with the fruits of trees.”
“If you dye it, you’ll no longer be surprised by sudden visitors and your workload will decrease too.”
The butterfly answered with a smile on its face.
“On that side of the forest grows the fruits of the udensis plant. Tomorrow, to better suit you; allow me to dye this net the same azure color as your wings”
The spider had considered it many times prior, but only now thought to say it.
“Even though you cannot fly in the air, do you still intend to go over to that forest over there? Shall I come as well?”
“No no, with your strength, you’ll only be able to carry the berries one at a time. Also, I’m worried it’ll be painful when separating those wings from the web.”
The spider was not suspicious of the possibility that the butterfly would simply fly away never to return. Rather it was extremely concerned that, once again during its flight, it would become trapped within a spider’s web.
“I very much appreciate you going as far as to match the color. In spite of that, being forced to wait for your return during each outing is always disheartening. Could you not dye it with things located nearby?”
“No, udensis is the best choice. Besides, I’ll return before sunrise, so I ask you to please stay. Afterwards, you can sing occasionally so that the web wouldn’t be covered in bugs and mayflies. Noticing you, they’ll surely be wary.”
To be Continued…
Criy's Forgotten Memories 