The sudden flood of information was too much, and the impact was a bit too great.
Rubbing his aching temples, Ash tried to sort out the current situation.
Ariel didn't hide anything, though. She directly revealed the truth about the world, since it was also related to that D.
At the same time that he learned who D was, he finally understood why the humans of this world were so weak, and why their souls were so fragile and small.
A very, very long time ago, the technology of this world was actually highly advanced. Machines were everywhere, and people lived prosperous lives.
However, they made a huge mistake.
They meddled with a forbidden energy source they should never have touched, M Energy.
Even though the goddess Sariel told everyone about the risks and hoped they would restrain themselves, people ignored her warnings completely.
They continued using M Energy to gain even more comfortable lives.
As a result, they bought a one-way ticket to hell.
When they finally realized destruction was right around the corner and fell into despair, they discovered that sacrificing the goddess could save the world.
So... with incredible shamelessness, they directly asked the goddess.
Even though they had never listened to her before.
Even though it was only because of her protection that they had avoided being ruled by true dragons, a type of god, and other gods.
At least from the time humans began recording history, Goddess Sariel had already existed and had always protected humanity.
And Goddess Sariel, her true form was an angel.
An angel separated from the angelic group, known as a stray angel.
As for angels, to put it simply, they were a race created to fight gods.
For some reason, angels regarded the destruction of gods as their mission and waged endless war against them.
It was said that as long as something was a god, angels would attack regardless of faction.
The conflict had lasted so long that even the gods themselves could no longer remember its beginning.
Among the gods, there was a theory that the universe itself had created angels as antibodies against the gods.
After all, the gods existed within the universe, yet were also beings capable of destroying it.
Even the lowest-ranking angels were at the level of gods.
And angels attacked in groups.
Among such powerful beings, Sariel was also a high-ranking angel with considerable combat power.
Her mission was to protect native species.
Perhaps in ancient times, gods from outside had invaded this place and attempted to rule it.
To resist that invasion, Sariel had been sent here.
Normally, after driving those gods away, her mission should have been considered complete, and she should have received a new mission elsewhere.
However, for some unknown reason, Sariel remained here.
She was forgotten.
She continued carrying out her original mission and protected the native species from foreign gods.
The angel race only received orders from an unknown source, and those orders might not even be organized properly.
Although angels fought together, they had no contact with one another.
As a result, even if one got lost or separated from the group, no angel would come looking for them, not even for a high-ranking angel like Sariel.
Perhaps because of the restraints of her mission, she eventually agreed to humanity's request despite them never listening to her.
After that, she became a hostage supporting the world.
People completely began calling her a goddess and worshiped her as a divine being.
Now... the goddess remained suspended at the system core as its central component, even after all these years.
"I see. If I'm not mistaken, then behind that giant door at the bottom of the labyrinth is the goddess and the system core, right?"
Listening to the long explanation, Ash unconsciously patted Kumoko's abdomen.
Ariel nodded bitterly.
He felt like something was off about her, but didn't ask.
Instead, he simply said, "Then continue."
"After hearing all that, you should understand now. The so-called system is actually an enormous magic spell supporting this world. A giant spell covering the entire planet."
Since she had already explained this much, Ariel didn't hide anything.
She directly revealed the true nature of the system.
It was created to help a dying planet regenerate.
To accomplish that, it distorted the cycle of reincarnation and granted people supernatural powers called skills.
With the goddess serving as both core and fuel, the system was personally designed and built by the evil god D.
It forced humans to reincarnate only within this world.
Their souls were bound.
They trained things called skills, which acted as soul expansion packs.
When reincarnation occurred, those skills were collected and converted into M Energy to help restore the planet.
Simply put, the system was a device that used humans as fuel.
People had to fight.
Combat increased the energy within their souls, which took the form of skills.
The system was a mechanism that increased energy through battle and victory.
When people died, the accumulated energy was collected and used to regenerate the planet.
In short, that was how it worked.
As long as someone remained within the system, they could continue reincarnating on this planet.
After death, they would eventually be born again somewhere in this world.
Then they would fight to gather energy.
Fight and die.
Reincarnate and continue fighting.
Then die again.
Through this endless cycle of reincarnation, harvesting, and becoming fuel for the system, souls gradually wore down.
That was why the souls of people in this world were so weak.
As for why this was done, it was probably to make them atone for their sins.
The reason D helped was because the current administrator of the system, a stray true dragon, had begged her.
Of course, that true dragon was basically an infant among dragons.
Although true dragons were born as gods, they also grew stronger with age.
As a result, he was considered weak among gods.
D, meanwhile, stood at the very top among divine beings.
The real reason she helped was likely nothing more than a whim.
D might have been capable of saving the world directly.
However, the true dragon couldn't offer a suitable price.
So D simply treated the world as a toy.
She incorporated game elements such as stats and skills into reality.
She turned the real world into a game.
As for the inhabitants dragged into that game, they only had themselves to blame.
D had appeared at first.
However, she quickly grew bored of a world that remained stagnant and even continued declining.
So she simply stopped caring and left it to survive or perish on its own.
Ash quietly listened to the truth of the world.
Inside, however, he felt nothing.
To him, this wasn't his original world.
Those complicated truths felt like stories from a distant land.
No matter how strange they were, they couldn't stir much emotion in him.
Still, some questions that had troubled him for a long time finally received answers.
That was at least something.
As for the reincarnators, what surprised Ash was that even Ariel, with all her knowledge and age, didn't know much about them.
Regarding Kumoko, however, Ariel revealed some interesting information.
According to Kumoko's own memories, the mysterious evil god D seemed particularly fond of her.
D paid special attention to her and had even personally created the title "Wisdom" for her.
As for why Kumoko, who had originally been human, reincarnated as a monster and specifically a spider, based on conversations between D and Kumoko, it seemed this form suited her best.
It even felt a bit like a punishment game.
But compared to all that, something else was more important.
If souls in this world were all meant to repair the system, then wasn't his own existence a huge threat?
After all, every soul he killed was taken away by him.
If that was true...
"But when I really think about it, D doesn't matter at all! You, on the other hand, you demon! You kept bullying me over and over and over! You stuffed weird things into my mouth! Made me raise you! Hunt for you! Cook for you! Then you used me as a pillow! Slept on my stomach at night! Used me as a body pillow! And while I was sleeping, you touched my butt trying to make silk! And it was only for playing around!"
While Ash was still thinking about his role in the world, Ariel's calm explanation gradually became more emotional.
By the end, she was practically shaking.
Just recalling those events made her shoulders tremble.
She even started grinding her teeth.
Those embarrassing scenes kept appearing in her mind.
Although she wanted to forget them, the more she tried, the more clearly they surfaced.
As a result, before Ash could figure out whether the true dragon protecting the system would become his enemy, Ariel was already glaring at him.
All those emotions had stacked together.
Her unwillingness and embarrassment were even stronger than Kumoko's original feelings.
Sharp fangs reflected sunlight.
It looked as though she might bite into him at any moment and leave a bloody hole to vent her anger.
"Wait! I did those things to Shiro, not you—"
Ash tried to explain.
He didn't want Ariel using him as an outlet for her anger.
Especially since none of those actions had actually been directed at her.
"Those humiliations got amplified inside me!"
Ariel directly cut him off.
She looked like a wronged wife.
Her face was completely red.
She looked angry, wronged, and embarrassed all at once.
Like a child who had been bullied too much and had nowhere to complain, using anger to cover her vulnerability.
Seeing her so agitated left Ash speechless.
The whole thing felt completely undeserved.
Still, if he didn't handle it properly, another conflict would probably break out.
He really didn't want to get dragged into another strange fight.
His brain worked rapidly, searching for a way to calm Ariel down.
Then...
"Let's put everything else aside for now. But if it's just using a stomach as a pillow or as a body pillow, I don't really mind. Want to?"
He cautiously patted his own stomach.
Ariel instantly switched from anger to delight and nodded without hesitation.
"Yes!"
"Huh? Really?"
"Ah, n-no! That wasn't me talking!"
The moment she regained her senses, her smile disappeared.
Her cheeks turned red as she frantically shook her head.
After forcibly pushing those thoughts away, she shot him a cold sideways glare.
"Unforgivable! You actually dare make fun of me like this!"
"Then how about I treat you to something?"
"That steak with sauce from last time! An extra-large portion please!"
The instant food was mentioned, Ariel's anger vanished and became a smile full of anticipation.
Her eyes shone as she looked at him.
The rapid emotional shifts made Ash look at her with amusement.
"Just steak with sauce is enough?"
"Ah... no! That's that person—Damn it! You really are making fun of me, aren't you?"
Ariel angrily stomped the ground.
She didn't use skills or magic.
It was just a single step.
Yet it caused something like a small earthquake, making the entire house shake violently.
The killing intent coming from her was surprisingly intense.
Yet Ash felt as though he were enjoying a spring breeze.
His eyes were full of anticipation as he looked at the girl.
As though he had just discovered some new source of entertainment.
The reaction made Ariel pull her foot back and retreat several meters.
She looked wary that he might try something.
Ash also realized her condition.
The relationship between them was still something he hadn't sorted out.
He put on an innocent smile and quickly walked toward her.
While promising her delicious food, he also reached out, clearly intending to tease her again.
———
Ash's days at the Keren household were unbelievably good.
At first, he was simply enjoying delicious food.
But now life had become even more interesting.
A super easy-to-tease older Demon King had appeared, Ariel.
Compared to the beginning, the atmosphere between them could even be considered harmonious.
Whether Ariel felt the same was hard to say.
At least Ash was having a great time.
However, from Sophia's perspective as she lazily sunbathed nearby, things looked completely different.
Watching the interactions between Ariel and Ash, she secretly suspected Ariel was enjoying it too.
Otherwise, why didn't she run away?
Wasn't that kind of half-hearted resistance basically inviting more?
With that suspicion in mind, their conversations sounded like the annoying flirting of popular people.
It irritated her greatly.
The joys and sorrows of people really weren't shared.
Ash and Ariel seemed to be having fun.
Sophia only found them noisy.
They were like a swarm of buzzing flies seriously interfering with her sunbathing.
Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to offend either of them.
There was no need to mention Ash.
As for that girlfriend who had appeared out of nowhere, Ariel, she was also terrifying.
One stomp could shake the earth.
Anyone with eyes could tell she was a monster their family absolutely couldn't afford to provoke.
'There are so many monsters in this world.'
'But seriously, is she actually planning to stay at my house forever?'
'And why did he even bring a woman here?'
'She's so strong, shouldn't she go earn money herself?'
'Why do they keep living off my family?'
Sophia's mood was falling apart.
Yet as a baby, all she could do was cross her arms and sigh heavily.
Of course... Kumoko's true identity also surprised Sophia.
It made her very grateful she had at least remained human.
She hadn't become some strange monster like Kumoko.
If she had turned into something like that... she felt she definitely wouldn't have been able to keep living.
But Sophia wasn't the only one with mixed feelings.
Even Kumoko, who was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead, felt strange after hearing familiar names and seeing the complicated relationship between the two.
She unconsciously ground her teeth against the ground.
There was a strange feeling inside her.
As though someone was stealing something from her.
However, before Ash could even begin teasing Ariel properly, Ariel had already reached her limit.
Like a startled rabbit, she ran away.
Ash's attention immediately shifted to the spider, who had rolled over and was scratching at the ground in frustration.
"So, you lied to me?"
As he spoke, Ash picked Kumoko up and held her high in both hands.
Staring into her red eyes, which somehow gave off a guilty feeling, he looked both curious and reproachful.
"You've been lying to me this whole time? I really thought you were an actual spider."
"..."
Kumoko awkwardly turned her head away.
She had always been terrible at talking.
Normally, she couldn't even manage ten sentences in a year.
There was no way she could suddenly say something now.
"How about saying something? Otherwise..."
Now that he knew the spider was actually a high school girl, Ash's feelings were also difficult to describe.
Using one hand, he forcibly turned Kumoko's face back toward him.
He genuinely wanted some explanation from this strange "spider."
At that moment, a girl's unfamiliar voice finally echoed in his mind.
['S-Sorry...']
The voice sounded timid and shy.
It felt like a bashful girl gathering all her courage just to speak with him.
The voice gave him a huge sense of disconnect.
Personally, he had always thought Kumoko was an optimistic goofball.
Before learning she was a reincarnator, he'd basically treated her as the huskiest husky imaginable.
He never expected her to be a shy, timid girl.
The contrast was way too extreme.
"Uh... um...?", Ash froze.
He suddenly didn't know what to do.
The response he'd prepared was completely unusable now.
While still stunned, he unconsciously lowered the spider back onto the ground.
"Sorry. I think I got a little... carried away."
["Ah, n-no... i-it's okay..."]
Kumoko stammered as she shook her head.
The energetic habit she had of throwing tantrums seemed to disappear instantly.
She quietly lay on the ground.
'That obedient appearance...'
'Well, a spider making that pose is still very far from actually looking obedient.'
After that, the conversation ended.
'What now?'
'I have absolutely no idea how to continue talking.'
The disconnect was simply too severe.
Ash felt as though he were talking to a middle-aged man with a little girl's voice.
The feeling was so strange that he couldn't help rubbing his forehead.
'Ahhh!'
'This is so awkward!'
'Seriously awkward!'
'The atmosphere is so weird!'
'I knew talking to people would end up like this!'
'But this isn't my fault, right?'
'Every conversation I have ends like this!'
'Can somebody please save me right now?'
Kumoko, who had remained silent, was also covering her eyes with her two "hands."
She struggled not to roll around on the ground.
Right now, she only wanted to find a crack in the earth and disappear.
While lamenting her situation, she lowered her hands slightly.
Her eyes happened to meet Sophia's, who was watching curiously nearby.
'Huh?'
'What's she trying to do?'
'Why is she looking at me like that?'
'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'
Despite having no warning whatsoever, Sophia's alarm bells suddenly started ringing the moment their eyes met.
A powerful sense of danger washed over her.
It felt like something bad was about to happen.
She immediately rolled over and prepared to jump down from her rocking chair.
Relying on physical abilities far superior to a normal human baby's, she intended to escape before getting caught in someone else's trouble.
However, she had only just landed one foot on the ground.
Before the other foot could stabilize, a transparent strand of spider silk suddenly wrapped around her ankle like a snake.
'Not good!'
The instant Sophia felt something around her ankle, she realized trouble had arrived.
Before she could react, the silk yanked hard.
The unprepared baby immediately crashed face-first into the ground.
"W-Waaah!"
The sharp pain at the tip of her nose twisted her little mouth.
Instinctively, she let out a baby's cry.
The crying spread through the courtyard like an alarm.
Ash, whose thoughts had still been trapped in awkwardness, and the busy servants throughout the estate all turned toward little Sophia.
"Kids these days really are something. She's already a high school student, but she still cries after falling over..."
Since his attention had been elsewhere, Ash hadn't noticed the silk at all.
Shaking his head, he walked over to the sobbing Sophia.
He casually picked her up, placed her back in the rocking chair, and kept muttering to himself.
'I hate spiders...'
Sophia knew she'd be made to cry whether she wanted to or not.
So she simply cried while staring at Kumoko with endless resentment.
As for Kumoko, she acted as though she knew nothing.
Then she immediately ran out of the estate and went back to being a divine beast outside.
She had no desire to stay and deal with this awkward mess.
So naturally, running away was the best option.
'Oh my~ We're all classmates. I'll definitely remember the sacrifice you made for me~ Gahahaha!'
Remembering Sophia's expression, Kumoko ran across the wilderness without a trace of guilt.
After a brief moment of mourning, she laughed happily and without restraint.
———
In the days that followed, Ariel disappeared somewhere.
Perhaps she was meditating, trying to remove the emotions and memories that didn't belong to her.
Now that the spider monsters were no longer hostile toward him, Kumoko remained strangely hardworking.
Although she occasionally went outside to heal people and act as a divine beast, she spent even more time leveling in the dungeon. She also worked hard at learning languages.
Her days were quite busy.
Ash was similarly immersed in improving his own strength.
He loved leveling up and chased power like a tireless adventurer pursuing the peak.
But he also frequently spent time alone studying the mysteries of magic.
He trained his control over it.
Again and again, he continued researching and refining his understanding, striving to reach complete mastery.
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