Classmate Tsukasa's murmur caused the spider monster to stop. The creature was a spider about half a meter long, entirely snow-white with multiple Evil Eyes.
Compared to common spiders, this one was definitely considered large, since ordinary spiders aren't even as big as a palm.
But this was a world teeming with monsters, after all. Among spider monsters, a spider of this size was actually quite small and juvenile.
Furthermore, compared to the giant spider monsters Classmate Tsukasa had encountered in the forest before, this spider monster possessed extraordinary beauty—it was beautiful to the point that even someone like her, who hated insects, found it a bit cute.
However, the oppressive feeling emanating from the opponent made it clear that this overly cute spider was the strongest monster she had ever encountered. Isn't there a saying? In nature, the more beautiful a creature is, the more dangerous it is. That saying applied to this world as well. Therefore, a monster with such transcendent charm like this spider monster must be lethally dangerous!
Appraisal used.
"Appraisal skill activation failed on target."
"...?!"
Classmate Tsukasa instinctively took a step back.
Another monster immune to Appraisal? And unlike Miss Fairy's troubled state, this spider looked perfectly healthy. Judging by how it violently broke through the magic at the cave entrance, its strength was definitely not weak. So, was this a monster-level creature equivalent to Miss Fairy in her prime? What kind of bad things had she done to have such terrifying beings seek her out one after another lately?!
"Classmate Tsukasa, were you asking what I am?" A pleasant female voice suddenly rang out in Classmate Tsukasa's mind. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it before; having an impression of it meant it should be the voice of someone she knew relatively well. She heard the other party say, "As you can see, I am a spider."
Uh.
I know you're a spider.
Classmate Tsukasa looked into the spider's eyes.
But can you explain what kind of spider has so many Evil Eyes? Because
she had also unlocked the Evil Eye skill tree and had already learned one Evil Eye, she could tell that all of this spider's eyes were Evil Eyes. Just being gazed at by these Evil Eyes gave her the feeling that the Grim Reaper's scythe was hanging against her neck, and she could die at any moment.
But... "You just called me... Classmate?"
Classmate Tsukasa thought of a certain possibility.
A surge of complex emotions welled up for a moment.
No... way?
The monster in front of her was a Reincarnator like her?
And likely her own classmate?
You've got to be kidding... what's with this gap? I just barely left the starting village, so why is my classmate already this ridiculously strong! This sense of déjà vu involving a monster + invincibility + reincarnation reminded her of an anime she had seen two lifetimes ago. The protagonist of that anime was a Slime, also a Reincarnator. Although the monster before her was a spider, could it be that the other party was actually the protagonist of a Japanese light novel reincarnation story?!
"Yes, I am Wakaba."
Spider Child thought about it and decided to use the Evil God's persona. After all, without this identity, she couldn't get close to her former classmate. Besides, hadn't that guy D said she was reincarnated specifically to take the place of the 'Wakaba Himeiro' character? So what was wrong with her being Wakaba now? Since D didn't care about this identity anyway, she would unceremoniously claim it!
"Wakaba... the Wakaba-san who was in the same class as me?" Classmate Tsukasa recalled the genius beautiful girl who sat in the seat behind her in her previous life. If it was Wakaba-san, it felt perfectly natural that she would become so powerful after reincarnating. She looked over at Miss Fairy, who was wrapped into a ball by spider silk. "Wakaba-san, could you please release Miss Fairy?"
"If she behaves and stops secretly preparing spatial magic, it's not impossible to let her go." Spider Child hooked her front claw into the ball of spider silk, tearing through the tough webbing and releasing Eidor, who had nearly suffocated inside. As soon as Miss Fairy was out, she hid behind Classmate Tsukasa. Spider Child spoke from over there: "If you secretly use magic again, I won't let you off next time."
Classmate Tsukasa looked at Miss Fairy and realized that when she first ran out, she really had intended to continue using magic. But after being discovered by Wakaba-san, she was now looking at Classmate Tsukasa dejectedly, as if to say they couldn't escape. Activating magic required a certain amount of time, and that time was more than enough for Wakaba-san to kill them both.
Tsukasa thought about how her relationship with Wakaba-san in her past life seemed quite average—and that was only if she looked at it in a positive light. In reality, their relationship was merely one of mutual convenience; since neither of them wanted to partner with others during class activities, Wakaba-san had approached her. Even when teamed up for coursework, they each completed their own parts with very little communication. Occasionally running into Wakaba-san during lunch breaks might have just been a coincidence as well.
If it wasn't a coincidence, it would only be more terrifying.
She felt an immense fear at the thought that Wakaba-san might have been interested in her. After all, she was a genius beautiful girl standing at the pinnacle of the school. For a nobody like herself to be targeted, it couldn't possibly be something good like a romantic encounter. Moreover, since they were both girls, she felt the possibility of being bullied was much higher.
So, she actually avoided Wakaba-san while at school. Now that she had been suddenly found by Wakaba-san after being reincarnated into another world, she found it hard to believe this would be a good thing, because in her eyes, Wakaba-san was a very terrifying character.
"Thank you. So, Wakaba-san, what do you want with me?" Tsukasa weighed her words with extreme caution. She didn't think there would be any sense of kinship between Reincarnators. After all, Reincarnators were Transmigrators, and wasn't it basic common sense that Transmigrators couldn't coexist peacefully?
After all, no one wants their secrets known. If the fact that she was a Reincarnator were to be leaked, it would definitely cause a massive uproar in this world. Therefore, there could only be conflict between Reincarnators, and peaceful coexistence was impossible. The more she thought about these things, the heavier her heart became.
Spider Child quickly crawled up to Tsukasa, making Tsukasa's face turn dark. One reason was her fear of insects, and the other was the overwhelming pressure Spider Child exerted on her. However, Spider Child just looked at her, and then a thumb-sized spider crawled out from her hide clothing, lowered itself to the ground on a thread, and returned to Spider Child's body. For Spider Child, these clones were actually quite precious.
Having retrieved the ultra-miniature clone, Spider Child finally stated her purpose: "Classmate Tsukasa, I've come to invite you to join the Demon Lords Army."
"..."
Tsukasa's eyebrow twitched.
The Demon Lords Army?
...Can I refuse?
"Okay."
Agree first.
Then find a way to escape.
In an instant.
She made her decision.
As for the Demon Lords Army.
Whoever wants to go to such a dangerous place can go. Whether it's the Demon Lord or the Hero, she didn't want anything to do with them. She was so weak that she'd be cannon fodder no matter which side she joined. Right now, she just wanted to be an ordinary Adventurer.
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