"Very well. Since you agreed, from today onward, you are my personal maid!"
Eriri placed her hands on Meido's shoulders, her face full of a triumphant smile at her successful scheme.
Compared to Eriri's satisfaction, Meido now seemed a little flustered.
"Wait, why a personal maid? Shouldn't your goal be to help?"
"Mm, that's true, but I never said this bet was for D-chan's sake. With me here, there's no way you could take her away, so this bet was for you from the very start. If you won, you'd take D-chan. As the winner, I get to make you my personal maid—that's perfectly reasonable, isn't it? Besides, I see you like wearing maid outfits, so now the title is official."
Eriri looked at her with a smiling, utterly confident expression.
"What do you mean 'give me a chance'? This is clearly a trap!" Meido stared at Eriri resentfully, now fully aware she'd been outplayed from the beginning.
Still, thinking of her responsibilities, she let out a small sigh, then put on a pitiful expression.
"Um… Eriri, can't we change the request? You know I'm the ruler of Hell, managing the souls of the entire universe, and now you want me to also help D manage—"
Before she could finish, Eriri shook her head with a decisive smile.
"Nope."
Her firm refusal made Meido even more troubled.
"Alright, stop frowning. Come on, smile!"
Eriri affectionately pinched Meido's cheeks and gently pulled them outward.
"Don't worry about Hell or the Underworld. I'll arrange everything for you."
At that, Meido's eyes filled with doubt.
"Really?"
"Of course! Do you think I'd lie to you? You'll see soon enough~"
...
A short while later, the three of them returned to D's room.
After some hesitation, Meido finally accepted Eriri's request, officially becoming her personal maid.
Earlier, Eriri had perfectly resolved her worries. Before returning, she had taken both D and Meido to the Underworld and Hell, creating a female NPC of Level 8 strength in each realm, granting them the same authority as D and Meido to handle management duties. She even gave D and Meido full control over these NPCs.
With her obligations handled, Meido no longer clung to her top-tier god duties.
On their trip, Eriri also revealed her true identity and origins, telling them of the existence of the Multiverse.
Back in the room, Eriri and D resumed gaming, while Meido, fulfilling her maid role, stood behind Eriri, massaging her shoulders.
Their conversation continued as they played.
"You know, my original reason for coming to this world was to watch you for entertainment. But seeing your performance in the classroom today satisfied me, so I decided to spare you~"
"So my instincts saved me this time?" D gave her a sidelong glance.
"Yes, you could put it that way. So make sure to keep that instinct alive and strong~"
Ignoring D's look, Eriri flashed her a bright smile.
D scoffed. "Do you really need me to protect you? It's enough if you're not bullying others."
She recalled what Eriri had said earlier and couldn't help asking:
"I'd like to know—if I hadn't acted on that instinct just now, what would you have done to me?" D asked.
"Hmm… for example, I might have sealed your powers and made you one of the reincarnators, forcing you to survive in another world. Sounds fun, right?" Eriri said with obvious mischief in her eyes.
"It does sound fun—and it matches my own thinking. Though it would be even more interesting if the protagonist in that survival story wasn't me." D replied flatly.
"Haven't you already sent a bunch of people to survive in another world? Even my little tagalong ended up there."
"Speaking of which, I'm curious," D said, pausing her controller input. "You've been getting along with Mirei Shinohara for the past two months. Why didn't you protect her from the explosion earlier?"
Ever since learning Eriri's true strength, she'd wondered about that—though it hadn't been important enough to ask until now.
"Well, letting her experience another world's life isn't so bad, right~"
D said nothing at first, simply staring at Eriri for several seconds before finally speaking.
"It seems you and I are the same kind of person, Eriri."
...
Meanwhile, in another world countless light-years from Earth, all the students and teachers from Class 2-3 who died in the dimensional magic attack had successfully reincarnated.
Alongside them, the little spider Eriri had rescued and kept as a pet for over half a month was also reincarnated as a substitute.
Inside a massive spider nest, hundreds upon hundreds of huge white spider eggs covered the ground. Above them loomed a gargantuan spider, its eight scarlet eyes fixed on the soon-to-hatch brood below.
Soon, with the first crack, a chorus of hatching sounds spread through the nest. One by one, white, patterned spiderlings crawled out of their eggs. "Little" only by comparison to the giant spider—they each measured over a meter long.
Among them, the reincarnated little spider broke free of her egg and entered this new world. But her first experience here was anything but pleasant.
Like some nightmarish survival trial, the newborn spiders all pounced on their nearest siblings, biting and devouring them without hesitation.
Seeing this bloody scene of cannibalism, the little spider was horrified, all eight of her eyes wide with disbelief.
She instantly knew that if she stayed here, she would be eaten. Without a second thought, she dashed away on her long legs, desperate to escape this terrifying "spider pit."
But before she could get far, she spotted the massive spider above, ravenously devouring its own offspring. Her urge to escape became even more urgent.
She sprinted with everything she had until her body was too exhausted to move. Finally, she was far from the cannibalistic swarm.
As she tried to catch her breath and think about her next move, a voice suddenly rang in her mind:
[Congratulations, you have obtained the unique skill: Appraisal Promax Version (cannot be upgraded), passive immunity to all negative effects, and 100 skill points.]
"Eh!!! Don't tell me… I really came to another world?!"
The voice in her mind left the little spider so shocked that she screamed internally. She had suspected it before, but having it confirmed still amazed her.
"So, there really is an Appraisal skill? Looks like those light novel authors weren't making things up after all!"
"And this 'Unique'… is it the kind I'm thinking of? A skill that belongs only to me?"
"Yahoo~ I'm getting excited now! This is what a true isekai reincarnation should be like!"
She cheered wildly in her heart, her eight legs moving restlessly in joy. Though the voice in her head felt oddly familiar, it didn't matter compared to the thrill of living in another world.
The most important thing now was to use this newly acquired skill to gather intel on her surroundings.
She picked up a random stone from the ground and thought, "Appraise."
Instantly, unfamiliar information appeared clearly in her mind:
[A normal stone fallen from above the Queen Spider's nest. Hardness: 10. Can be used to throw at enemies, smash objects with hardness below 10, craft stone knives, etc.]
"Oooh~ as expected from the promax version—so detailed!"
"So this is the Queen Spider's nest… which means that huge spider isn't the father, but the mother."
Even after realizing where she was, she continued to appraise everything around her like a child with a new toy.
[Wall of the Queen Spider's nest…]
[Floor of the Queen Spider's nest…]
[…]
After playing around for a while, she finally stopped—then suddenly decided to appraise herself.
Name: Shiraori (fixed)
Race: Small Lesser Taratect
Evolution Path: Small Lesser Taratect → Small Taratect → Small Poison Taratect → Reaper Scythe → Reaper's Shadow → Immortal Spider Queen → Jorogumo → God
Evolution Requirements: …
Passive: Immunity to all negative effects
Innate Skills: Hermes Dash LV1 (Top-tier speed growth skill), Predator MAX (Gain all energy, skills, and skill points from prey; acquire prey's transformation forms)
Unique Skill: Appraisal Promax Version
Skills: Thread Manipulation LV1, Poison Fang LV1, Escape LV1, Night Vision LV2
Skill Points: 100
A flood of information poured into Shiraori's mind, but the skill was strong enough to present it without strain.
"What's with this name? Monsters in this world are born with names now? Well, fine—since I've reincarnated, I don't need my old one. And 'Shiraori' does sound nice—it fits my taste!"
"These skills and passives are amazing. Am I actually the protagonist? This is great! Hahaha!"
Overjoyed, Shiraori rolled on the ground—until she suddenly froze and scrambled upright.
"Ah! Eriri—my Eriri!"
"If I'm right, that explosion in the classroom must have caught a lot of people. At the very least, Eriri, who was sitting next to me, must have been caught in it too. Which means she might have reincarnated here as well!"
"Ahhh, I'm so worried! Where is she? Is she safe? Was she reincarnated as a human, or… like me, a monster?"
"No, no—she's so beautiful, she must have been reincarnated as a human. Right? Right?!"
"I can't waste time here. I need to evolve quickly and find her. Without me, she'll be scared!"
Driven by a deep concern for Eriri, Shiraori immediately began using her Appraisal skill to locate the nest's exit. Before long, she found it and easily escaped.
Through Appraisal, she learned her current location: the Upper Layer of the Elroe Great Labyrinth. She now knew its geography, total area, and all monster species present—though not their specific distributions.
Having not eaten since birth, Shiraori decided to find some weaker monsters to prey upon, using Predator to gain their abilities.
After some searching, she found no suitable prey—but did find the fresh corpse of another spider, likely one of the Queen's offspring and thus her sibling.
Naturally, she felt no affection or sense of kinship for this cannibalistic "family."
—
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