Hearing Mirei Shinohara's words, Shiraori finally opened her eyes, revealing a pair of strange eyes that looked like works of art.
Unlike before, when her half-human, half-spider form had only a single pupil, now her eyes were composed of multiple pupils layered together—circles within circles, perfectly symmetrical and mesmerizing.
Looking closely, one could see that each eye contained five pupils, neatly stacked, as if merging the eyes of her former human upper body with those of her spider lower body.
"I'm fine. I just suddenly remembered many things from the past."
Shiraori shook her head slightly at Mirei, a deeply complex expression flickering in her gaze.
"The past? You mean… are you thinking about Eriri? Don't worry, we'll be seeing her soon anyway."
Mirei assumed that Shiraori's tears were caused by her longing for Eriri.
Just as she was about to open the cocoon's exit, Shiraori's voice sounded again.
"Mirei… do you remember that little spider Eriri saved back then?"
"Eh? Why are you suddenly bringing that up?" Mirei blinked, surprised by the seemingly unrelated question.
But without overthinking it, she recalled after a moment and replied:
"You mean that little white spider that always perched on Eriri's shoulder? Of course I remember. Why?"
"That was me," Shiraori said casually.
"Oh… huh???"
Mirei let out an absent-minded "oh," but quickly her mouth dropped open in shock.
"What did you just say? You're telling me you were that little spider?!"
Wanting to make sure she hadn't misheard, Mirei asked again in disbelief.
Shiraori nodded firmly. "You didn't mishear. I really am the little spider Eriri saved."
"But… but didn't you say before that you were Wakaba Hiiro? And you also knew everything that happened back then…"
Mirei still couldn't wrap her head around it. Over the past year, they had occasionally chatted about their past lives and their time with Eriri.
Most of the time it was Mirei who spoke, but Shiraori's reactions—and the few times she did respond—showed that she clearly remembered those past events as well.
If she was really that little spider, then she shouldn't have known those things, since many of them happened before the spider even appeared.
"After I reincarnated into this world, my true memories were sealed away. They only just now unlocked. As for the 'Wakaba Hiiro' memories, they were deliberately implanted in me by someone. I have a rough idea who might have done it."
Even with her real memories restored, her deeply ingrained social anxiety was still part of her nature—it hadn't come from false memories.
But when speaking with Mirei about her true identity, her usual silence vanished. She spoke smoothly, a whole series of words flowing from her mouth.
Mirei's mind immediately jumped to a startling thought.
"You mean…"
"Yes. It was either Eriri, my master, who arranged it… or the original Wakaba Hiiro. One thing's certain: Eriri definitely knew the truth. She may even be watching us right now."
Thinking of the last words spoken by that familiar Voice of Heaven, Shiraori's face softened into a smile of nostalgia.
She was eager—eager to return to her master's side.
"And don't you think that Voice of Heaven sounds just like Eriri's voice? This whole past year, she's been with us all along, in her own way."
Hearing this, Mirei recalled the mysterious voice that would occasionally echo in her mind.
Before, it had only felt familiar, though she couldn't place why. But now, it finally clicked—the Voice of Heaven's tone was uncannily similar to Eriri's.
"Don't tell me… Eriri and the original Wakaba Hiiro aren't ordinary people? Could they actually be existences even stronger than the gods of this world?"
"At the very least, my master Eriri is. As for the original Wakaba Hiiro… that, I'm not sure of. Maybe only when we see Master Eriri again will we know the truth." Shiraori's voice carried certainty. Since the Voice of Heaven was Eriri's, then her heaven-defying skills and the unbeatable Appraisal must have been gifts from Eriri.
Otherwise, how could a mere spider monster like her grow this strong in only a little over a year—and without the slightest setback? It was as though everything had flowed in line with her wishes.
Now, she finally understood why Gülied never returned from dealing with the UFO. It must have been because Eriri heard her wish and deliberately made it happen.
If Shiraori could figure this out, then Mirei Shinohara certainly could too.
If not for Eriri's special arrangements, what reason would a normal reincarnator like her have to possess such an absurdly powerful bloodline? In just over a year, without even doing much, she had already become one of the strongest beings in this world.
And her main body—so utterly out of place compared to this world's aesthetics. Now she had plenty of reason to suspect that Eriri had made her body so beautiful just to keep her as a pet.
At the thought, she couldn't help feeling a little depressed.
It wasn't that she disliked being Eriri's pet. But more than that, she wanted to be Eriri's intimate companion.
Still…
If Eriri kept her by her side, doted on her often, and showered her with affection, then maybe being a pet wouldn't be so bad…
The moment such thoughts crossed her mind, Mirei broke into a goofy smile like some lovestruck fool.
Even learning Eriri's true identity didn't change her feelings for her in the slightest.
Her fantasy didn't last long. Soon, she turned her attention back to Shiraori.
"So it's true—you really were that little spider. No wonder you reincarnated as a spider. But if that's the case, why did I, a human, reincarnate as a dragon species?"
Shiraori gave her a sidelong glance. "Do you dislike your body that much?"
"That's not it. I'm satisfied, actually. I just wish I could someday have a human body like you."
Mirei looked Shiraori up and down with a touch of envy, then floated to her side and tapped her shoulder with her tail.
"White, don't worry. Even if you were that little spider, you'll always be my best friend!"
"Mm."
Shiraori nodded, a moved smile appearing on her face.
"Alright, come out already. Even with all these twists and turns, our real goal is still to find Eriri." Mirei backed up a couple of meters, urging her again.
Shiraori didn't reply. She simply nodded, pushed her upper body out of the cocoon's opening, and crawled out in a few quick movements.
But the moment she stood up, her body lost balance and she dropped back down to the ground with a thud.
Seeing this, Mirei froze again. "Huh? What now?"
"I… I don't know how to walk on two legs…"
Even with the memories of Wakaba Hiiro, Shiraori couldn't recall any experiences of walking.
When Mirei heard this, she burst out laughing. "Of course. In both your past and current life, you've never used two legs. No wonder it feels unnatural. But if you practice a bit, you'll get the hang of it."
Shiraori nodded and tried again, only to stumble and collapse once more.
For a spider accustomed to walking on eight legs, learning to walk on two was no easy task.
Still, habits can be built. After repeated attempts, she managed to progress from falling flat on the ground, to at least standing shakily on her feet—though she couldn't stay up for long—until…
By now, Shiraori was able to stand steadily on the ground. But turning walking on two legs into a natural instinct would take more effort.
...
Half an hour quickly passed.
During that time, Shiraori did nothing else—just focused on practicing walking. Fortunately, her efforts paid off. By now, she could run and jump without issue.
At this point, their objectives in this world were more or less complete. The only things left were to find Eriri and kill Potimas.
But based on the information they had now, it was practically impossible to follow their old plan of searching for Eriri in the human world. They knew for sure that Eriri hadn't reincarnated. As for where she was now—that was still uncertain.
Still, they had already decided on their first destination.
Floating beside Shiraori, Mirei asked once more for confirmation:
"White, are you sure your Space Magic can take both of us back to Earth?"
"…Probably."
"What do you mean 'probably'? Either it can or it can't! Being vague about something like this could cost us our lives!"
At Mirei's complaint, Shiraori didn't answer. She only stared silently at her—as if urging her to decide whether or not she really wanted to return to Earth.
Once again, Shiraori reverted to that deeply introverted girl who could hardly say a word to strangers.
But Mirei wasn't going to give up her decision over something this small. Of course she would go back to Earth to find Eriri.
And besides, once she returned to Earth, she could also see her family again. Even though in this life they weren't related by blood, more than ten years of feelings couldn't just be cut off.
"Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that. It's not like I said I wouldn't go. Hurry up and cast your Space Magic."
Hearing Mirei's words, Shiraori no longer hesitated. She activated her Space Magic, and soon a human-sized spatial rift appeared before them.
The two of them exchanged a glance, then stepped toward the rift without hesitation.
...
At Heijou High School, the once-bustling Class 2-3 classroom now stood completely empty.
Both the front and back doors were locked, with "Do Not Enter" signs hanging outside.
It had been nearly five days since the mysterious incident where the entire class vanished without a trace.
To prevent panic, the government had sealed the classroom entirely, forbidding even students of the school from entering.
Now, it was past 5 p.m., and aside from a few club members, most students had already gone home.
Suddenly, in the middle of the silent classroom, a human-sized spatial rift tore open. From it emerged two pure-white figures—one in human form, the other floating in the air like a long, pale ribbon.
It was none other than Shiraori and Mirei, just returned from the other world.
"This is… the classroom?"
Looking around the familiar yet strangely distant room, Mirei felt as if an eternity had passed.
"It's been more than a year… We really made it back to Earth!"
As she breathed in the air—so different from the other world's—her eyes grew misty.
Shiraori, too, looked around the empty classroom, filled with emotion.
Whether from her own memories or those of Wakaba Hiiro, this classroom carried countless recollections.
In her previous life, the room had felt enormous. She hadn't had the spare energy to notice much of anything—her gaze had always been occupied by Eriri and the scenery around her.
But now, she could easily take in the entire classroom. Yet to her, it didn't feel nearly as wonderful as it once had.
She knew why—because Eriri wasn't here. If she were, everything would look entirely different.
Her longing for Eriri only grew stronger.
So she turned to Mirei, who was still lost in emotion, and said directly:
"Mirei, I'm going to Eriri's house first. Will you come with me, or do you want to see your family first?"
Mirei snapped back to her senses and answered without hesitation:
"Do you even need to ask? Of course I'm coming with you!"
—
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