"(＾－＾)V Evolution complete~!"
With an excited wave of her front legs, Shiraori beamed from ear to ear.
After her new makeover, her adorable little spider face glowed with joy, like a flower blooming in spring. Her eight pink eyes sparkled with pure delight.
"Shirao—uh…"
She eagerly turned to share her excitement with her companions, but the moment she laid eyes on the scene before her, her voice caught in her throat.
Her expression froze in a mix of shock and bewilderment.
There, on the white bed, lay a black-haired boy on his side—Nagami.
Curled up peacefully in his arms was a green-haired girl, still fast asleep.
Her slender figure was tucked neatly against his chest, her delicate, pale shoulder peeking out from under her hair like porcelain.
Silky strands of emerald hair cascaded down her back, hiding the rest of her snow-white skin.
Her small mouth was slightly parted, long lashes gently resting over closed eyes, her flawless face exuding a serene calm.
Her breathing was soft and even, her legs subtly tangled, and her tiny bare feet were dainty as carved jade.
It was such a harmonious, peaceful scene. Beautiful. Tender.
Like a couple deeply in love.
Except… you're one person, dammit!!!
Shiraori pressed a leg to her forehead, teetering on the edge of a breakdown, her whole face contorting into a tangled mess of emotions.
Wait, could it be that Nagami is into himself…?
No way… right?
Humans can't—at least, shouldn't—
But… trying to look at it from another angle… If before reincarnating, I had not only Wakaba Hiiro's body, but also a pretty-boy version of myself…
Then… maybe… possibly… probably I'd try it?
'Wait, no! I was a spider before reincarnating!'
Never mind then~
The noise snapped Nagami out of his sleep.
He stirred, opening his eyes alongside the green-haired girl.
Though a trace of drowsiness lingered, his mind cleared within seconds.
"Shiro-chan, what's up?"
Nagami, of course, hadn't done anything inappropriate.
The bed Shiraori made out of webs was barely big enough for two people.
What was he supposed to do—sleep on the floor?
Besides, C.C.'s body was soft and smelled faintly sweet, like the world's most luxurious marshmallow. Very sleep-inducing.
Unfortunately, the feeling of being held countered much of that pleasure.
Being hugged was strange enough—hugging yourself? Even weirder.
"N-n-nothing at all!"
Shiraori instinctively took a step back, her little snow-white face turning a shade pinker as she flailed her front legs in denial, her eyes darting away awkwardly.
She could tell Nagami hadn't actually done anything.
Doing that kind of thing in a hellhole like the Elroe Great Labyrinth would be pure madness—unless Nagami had taken a hit to the head yesterday.
Still, no way was she letting Nagami find out what kind of bizarre mental image had just flashed through her mind.
After all, she was a proper lady—well, lady/spider—and her heart was pure as snow, thank you very much!
"…Huh?" Nagami raised a slightly suspicious eyebrow.
With that kind of reaction, who'd believe it was "nothing"? But sensing no actual danger or weird energy in the area, he dropped it with a shrug.
As he backed off from the questioning, Shiraori let out a silent sigh of relief.
Her face relaxed, relief washing over her like a cool breeze.
Her gaze then drifted to the room's sole light source—and her expression imploded.
"AAAHHH! Nagami! Why didn't you turn off the tablet yesterday?! My battery!!"
Though one of the gifts Nagami gave her included a solar charger, there was no telling when she'd evolve into a Reaper-class spider and finally escape the labyrinth.
And guess what—no sunlight down here.
"Wait, what? It's still fully charged?!"
Her face of utter doom instantly flipped to astonishment as the battery icon popped up—still full.
Her expression blended surprise and joy, then she turned to Nagami, suspicion rising in her beady pink eyes.
"Obviously it's not infinite power. Maybe some kind stranger passed by and decided to give it a charge," Nagami replied innocently, shrugging.
Heh. Looks like that onee-san D really knows how to look out for people.
But as the thought formed, it fuzzed out and faded, as if something inside him said, Don't go there.
She's a god.
And for beings far beneath her, mind-reading probably comes standard.
Better to be safe than sorry.
"Well, since you've evolved, let's get back to grinding," Nagami said, wiping his blade clean with some leftover spider silk.
The steel gleamed even in the dim light, its edge dangerously sharp.
He nodded with satisfaction.
It really was a great sword—no wonder Raiden Ryoma had paid so much for it.
"Already? So soon?" Shiraori asked, cradling the tablet like a precious treasure.
She carefully sealed it inside her layered silk-wrapped backpack, clearly reluctant to jump right back into the fray.
Thanks to C.C.'s earlier explanation of the Geass ability, Shiraori had been somewhat worried about her companions' mental states.
"I'm fine. My double-body healing speed is far beyond your imagination."
A crisp voice from the boy and a gentle voice from the girl rang out at the same time.
Their perfectly synchronized tones fused into a new, strangely harmonious voice.
"Alright then, let's head out!"
After wrapping her backpack—stuffed with otaku gear—in another two layers of spider silk, a determined aura surrounded Shiraori.
She waved her tiny hands and dashed out the door.
C.C. pulled two compressed rations from her skirt pocket, handed one to Nagami, and the two of them followed Shiraori with perfectly matched strides.
When using the dimensional travel card, the system's rules for what luggage could accompany you were a bit... arcane.
It wasn't just about touching Nagami or C.C., nor did it relate to the size of the object.
As a result, all the food and water Nagami had prepared went to waste.
In the end, aside from a gift for Shiraori, the only things that made it through were his weapons and just about a week's worth of drinking water.
As for food, that wasn't a concern—he'd had someone procure military-grade rations.
They'd be more than enough for this evolution journey.
And if they managed to reach the middle levels during this trip, they might even be able to try some catfish meat.
Other monsters, though? Just looking at them killed any appetite.
———————————————————————
Crouched behind a rock, the two humans and one spider rested their hands on the damp stone wall.
They peered ahead at the open space filled with snail-like monsters.
C.C. casually tossed out an Appraisal.
The moment the system data returned, her expression grew... complicated.
She turned to look at the cute little spider beside her. "Shiro..."
"Yeah, I know," Shiraori sighed.
Her pink eyes gleamed like priceless gemstones—glistening and clear, but hiding unfathomable depths like the ocean.
At a glance, they shimmered like clouds veiling distant mountains.
But the facade of seriousness crumbled a second later.
Her gaze turned sorrowful, as if mourning the cruelty of the world.
"So, these are Elroe Corrosion Bugs..."
Elroe Corrosion Bugs—an incredibly weak type of monster.
In the lower levels of the Great Elroe Labyrinth, they should be sitting at the absolute bottom of the food chain.
Actually, apart from them, there were a few monsters on par with those from the upper levels here as well.
The common factor?
They were all poisonous.
Corrosion Bugs were so foul-tasting and toxic that almost no monsters hunted them.
Their bodies were infused with corrosive venom that made them entirely unappetizing.
But for Shiraori, eating them was a necessary evil—an essential step on her evolution path.
The "Scythe of Death" evolution in the Great Elroe Labyrinth was extremely rare and difficult to achieve.
Put bluntly, under normal circumstances, almost no wild spider monster could evolve into that form.
First, the candidate had to be a small-type spider monster.
Second, they needed the "Assassin" title—something Shiraori had already earned through her long-standing strategy of ambushing other monsters.
Third, their stats had to exceed a specific threshold before they could evolve into the Scythe of Death.
And even if a monster managed to meet all those extreme conditions, most would still die shortly after evolving.
The Scythe of Death could deliver corrosive attacks—deadly to anyone lacking corrosion resistance.
But the corrosion didn't just affect the target—it could harm the attacker too.
That's why these sewer-flavored snail bugs were so important: eating them would grant Shiraori corrosion resistance.
With such weak monsters, there was no need to sneak around.
The trio casually stepped out from behind the rock and approached one of the Elroe Corrosion Bugs for a closer look.
"So, what's your plan?"
C.C. crossed her arms and calmly glanced over at the spider, who looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"Do you even need to ask? There's only one choice!"
With a look of grim determination, Shiraori stabbed her sharp foreleg into the bug's squishy body.
Face contorted with tragic resolve, she opened her mouth wide and took a vicious bite.