But just as they entered the final stage of preparations, only a few days after Ash returned to the Demon Lord's castle and was planning to study the grimoire to further improve his strength, the spider cocoon that had been sitting quietly in front of him suddenly split open without warning.
Immediately afterward, the upper half of the girl inside crawled out.
Having just broken out of the cocoon, Kumoko was clearly still confused about what was happening. Since her lower body was still tightly wrapped inside the cocoon, she lost her balance and pitched forward, landing face-first on the floor, leaving Ash staring in silence.
The moment the girl's nose hit the ground, however, her delicate face instantly scrunched up in pain, making her look pitiful.
Watching this, Ash couldn't help being dumbfounded.
"Shouldn't you have Pain Nullification? By the way..."
'What's wrong! Is there a problem?! I'm confused too! Wait, so you were here all along! At least help me up! Why are you just sitting there watching? Where's your gentlemanly manners?', Before Ash could finish, Kumoko stared at him while grumbling in her heart, giving him a resentful look that silently accused him of standing by and doing nothing.
After spending so much time together, Ash could more or less read part of what she was thinking from her eyes. He couldn't help but quickly walk over and reach out to pull her free from the cocoon.
"You alright?"
"My nose... hurts!", Kumoko covered her bright red nose, looking as though she was about to cry, like a child who had been wronged, mixed with a trace of resentment toward Ash.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll heal it right away...", He couldn't understand why she wasn't using healing magic herself, but Ash smiled awkwardly and immediately cast a healing spell. One hand gently rubbed her nose while the other softly stroked her head, trying to ease her pain.
'This guy feels like he's comforting a child? But... forget it, this is fine too?', Kumoko wanted to complain, but after thinking about it, gave up. The corners of her mouth even lifted slightly, as though she quite enjoyed it.
Although Ash didn't stop comforting her, his gaze unconsciously drifted downward, and he looked as though he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Because... having missed the best opportunity to mention it at first, he now had no idea how to tell Kumoko that ever since she emerged from the cocoon, she had been... naked. And now she also had the lower half of a human woman.
The strange expression on Ash's face left Kumoko, who was still being patted on the head, completely confused.
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes full of confusion stared straight at Ash.
As usual, she didn't say a word.
'What's wrong? Could it be that after not seeing me for so long, you've been captivated by my beauty that could topple kingdoms? Ah~ As expected, being too beautiful and too lovable is a crime,' Kumoko unconsciously began admiring herself again.
The more she thought about it, the more she simply copied the pose of a cover model she had once seen.
She gracefully placed one hand on her waist, the other behind her back, striking an unusual pose as though she were being photographed.
The moment she struck that pose, things became troublesome.
Her already impressive chest became even more prominent from the way she straightened herself, almost as though it wanted to completely occupy Ash's field of vision.
It was as if the pose even came with a silent "Hm!", carrying a unique charm that gave Ash a splitting headache. Although it felt almost like being rewarded, if he kept staring, he'd definitely be mistaken for a pervert, leaving him unsure where to look.
He even had the strange illusion that he was the one being harassed by her instead...
'Maybe it isn't an illusion after all?'
After all, Kumoko looked rather awkward striking that pose. No matter how he looked at it, it felt forced, making it difficult for Ash to comment.
Yet despite her lack of expression, her eyes were full of pride.
"Ah... uh, calm down, Shiro. You... um... anyway, don't move for now. Let's just stand normally first, alright?"
Ash hurriedly reached out and gently placed his hands on the girl's smooth shoulders. Forcing a smile, he tried to calm her down so they could properly talk about her current condition.
'Hehe~ What's wrong? You're embarrassed by just this? You're still just a little swallow that hasn't seen much of the world and can't weather a storm! Hehe!', Seeing Ash unconsciously avert his eyes, Kumoko couldn't have been more pleased. She leaned forward a little more, the corners of her mouth lifting further.
She looked exactly like a kitten that had stolen a fish, secretly delighted with herself.
But before she could savor her triumph any longer, a heavy killing intent suddenly swept over her like an icy wind.
Her back instantly turned cold.
She shivered all over.
Carefully raising her eyes, she looked toward where the killing intent had come from.
The sight nearly frightened her out of her wits.
Sophia was standing quietly by the doorway.
Her expression was blank, but her head was tilted sharply to one side, making her look indescribably eerie.
One hand gripped the doorframe like a vise. The force was so great that cracks spread through the marble around it, even caving it inward, as though the frame itself were groaning in pain.
Sophia's crimson eyes had somehow turned dull and lifeless, filled with endless gloom and coldness.
Her silver hair also seemed to be wrapped in some sinister aura, slowly drifting through the air like ghostly energy.
At that moment, Sophia truly looked like a silver-haired ghost crawling out of the underworld.
Her pupils rapidly dilated as she silently stared at Kumoko.
Illuminated by the flickering candlelight, her already corpse-like pale skin became even more bloodless.
She genuinely looked like a ghost.
Just looking at her was enough to make goosebumps rise all over one's body and send chills through the heart.
For a moment, the previously barely "warm" reception room instantly became oppressively silent.
It was so quiet that a pin dropping could have been heard.
The three of them remained locked in silence.
No one spoke.
Until... the documents Sophia had been holding in her other hand were gradually crushed apart by the force she could no longer control. The pages drifted to the floor one after another like withered flower petals.
Only then did Sophia slowly open her mouth.
In a voice so cold it seemed capable of freezing the surrounding air, she broke the suffocating silence, speaking one word at a time.
"Miss Shiro. You were perfectly fine being a spider. But the moment you became human, you even threw away a spider's proper conduct and devoted yourself to becoming a vixen that seduces people. So... is there anything you'd like to explain to me?"
"Eek!"
Sophia's beautiful yet twisted appearance was, in some ways, even more frightening than an actual ghost.
After freezing for a moment, Kumoko was so startled that she instinctively leaped up just as she used to whenever danger approached, throwing herself directly onto Ash.
She wrapped both arms tightly around his neck while her legs locked around his waist.
Like a koala, she clung firmly to him.
Ash instinctively reached out and supported her hips.
After all, wasn't that just how you held a child clinging to you?
Sophia had already been on the verge of snapping.
The instant she noticed Ash's instinctive reaction, her hand gripping the doorframe completely lost control.
BOOM!
The solid marble doorframe exploded apart, fragments scattering everywhere.
At the same time, the silver-haired girl's expression became terrifying.
She looked like an evil ghost crawling out of the deepest hell, her eyes opened wide with blazing fury, her lips bitten until they bled without her even noticing.
Grinding her lips together, she strode toward Kumoko with overwhelming force, shouting,
"Y-You... you vixen! It was one thing when you were using those ordinary tricks to seduce him, but now you're actually grabbing him directly? I'll... I'll fight you! Even if we both die, I won't let you off!"
With her anger ignited so easily, Sophia truly looked as though she intended to fight Kumoko to the death.
It seemed as though she would pounce and bite her the very next second.
'So scary! Jealousy is terrifying? I said it from the beginning, her condition has gotten worse year after year. She really should've gotten treatment sooner!', Knowing Sophia possessed the title "Ruler of Jealousy," Kumoko was genuinely frightened.
Instinctively, she hugged Ash even tighter, as though he were a lifesaving straw.
She didn't dare let go.
But in Sophia's eyes, that only poured oil onto the fire.
Her eyes widened with rage.
Without another word, she reached out to yank Kumoko off Ash while roaring, "Stop that right now!"
"Wait! Wait!", Ash hurriedly stopped her.
He could clearly feel how much strength Sophia was putting into her hand, while Kumoko seemed strangely fragile.
He worried that if Sophia acted on impulse, she might really hurt Kumoko.
So he quickly grabbed Sophia's hand and stopped her.
At once, Sophia looked as though she had suffered an enormous injustice.
Her expression was both furious and on the verge of tears as she demanded in a trembling voice,
"W-Why? Why do you always take this vixen's side! She's obviously the one doing bad things this time!"
"It doesn't work like that," Faced with the clearly jealous girl who had obviously misunderstood Kumoko, Ash felt his head splitting in two.
Just as he was about to sort everything out and explain the complicated situation... Sophia sniffled and cried, "Then how does it work? Have you really fallen for someone else?"
"The way you put that... gives me way too many things to complain about. But... sigh. How about you drink some blood first and calm down?"
With no better solution, Ash could only think of using this to soothe her first.
"Hah? Do you seriously think that as long as I have blood! I'll just accept everything? I'm not that eas... mmm? Delicious..."
Sophia had been arguing stubbornly at first.
But the instant that familiar taste touched her tongue, she seemed to become a different person.
The familiar flavor that gradually spread, one she longed for...
She simply couldn't resist it.
Tears rolled continuously down her face like broken strings of pearls, yet she couldn't stop herself from sobbing while sucking on Ash's finger.
Her expression, unable to accept her own behavior yet completely unable to resist the temptation, while still staring fixedly at Ash, truly opened his eyes.
He had never imagined a person's emotions and actions could become so contradictory and tangled.
Finally, Sophia glared fiercely at Kumoko again and mumbled through the finger in her mouth, "Just... wait! Once I'm done drinking, I'll settle this with you properly!"
'Are you some kind of street punk? Besides, you know perfectly well you can't beat Shiro, don't you? Isn't that just asking for humiliation? How did I raise a kid like you who acts like some third-rate grunt?', Listening from the side, Ash almost couldn't bear to watch Sophia's overwhelming small-fry behavior.
As for Kumoko...
'I know you haven't exactly become a yandere overnight, but? You've been saying things like this for ages, so why are you getting this angry now? Are you really beyond saving? But this is way too much! Why are you taking it out on me? Ariel sometimes goes even further! Weren't we supposed to be in the Anti-Ariel Alliance? Now that you've grown up a little, you're crossing the river and destroying the bridge? Is this how I raised you?', Still unconsciously clinging to Ash for protection, Kumoko felt utterly wronged.
She felt like she had been caught in the crossfire for absolutely no reason.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Like Sophia, she even felt betrayed.
She puffed up with dissatisfaction and glared back at Sophia with all the determination she could muster, though her gaze lacked any real intimidation, trying to strike back at the girl who had once been her ally but was now inexplicably targeting her.
That's right. An ally.
Back then, one of them had been a half-human, half-spider monster, while the other had still been an overly immature child.
To stop Ariel from getting ahead, the two of them had worked together countless times, doing everything they could to keep Ariel from being alone with Ash.
Even if Ariel occasionally managed to spend time alone with him, it never lasted very long.
But now... sure enough, the kid has grown up, and her thoughts have become complicated. All those hidden ambitions and bad intentions have finally come to light. Looks like it's finally time for me to set this family's house in order.
Looking at the Sophia before her, now completely different from the little child she had once been, especially seeing the evil things that had grown larger than her own head, Kumoko sighed inwardly.
She realized that their friendship and alliance had finally come to an end.
Meanwhile, Ash could clearly see that the girl clinging to him had gone from frightened to strangely serious, even developing some mysterious sense of mission.
Watching this series of bizarre changes, he finally couldn't help interrupting.
"Listen..."
"Hm?"
'Don't interrupt me! I'm trying to build up the tragic emotions before punishing a traitor!', Kumoko turned back with dissatisfaction.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but for everyone's reputation, could you please put on some clothes before a third person comes in?", Ash forced an awkward smile and finally said the thing that had been so difficult to bring up.
'Put on some clothes? What does that mean? Wasn't I... Huh? Wait, now that I think about it... why is his hand so warm? And why do I feel cold all over? This doesn't feel right either. Come to think of it... how did my body end up climbing onto him?', At first, Kumoko had been too confused to even understand why she could feel pain. She had only been busy teasing Ash before Sophia frightened her, leaving her with no chance to examine her own condition.
Fortunately, she gradually calmed down.
Her mind, which had seemed half-asleep the whole time, finally "woke up."
Everything she had overlooked came flooding back.
Her thoughts quickly became clear.
And once they did... she immediately realized that something was very wrong.
She could clearly feel that her senses had become much duller.
Even thinking felt sluggish, as though her brain had rusted.
Only then did she lower her head.
Looking at her bare chest, she suddenly realized... her clothes had somehow completely disappeared.
"Y-You... you did this?", The instant Kumoko understood the situation and realized her earlier behavior had been no different from a shameless flirt, her face instantly flushed bright red.
She even had the impulse to die together with him if he had really been responsible.
The overwhelming embarrassment brought tears to her eyes.
Looking utterly pitiful like a frightened rabbit, she stared unblinkingly at Ash from such close range that she was almost touching him.
Her stammering voice was just as it always had been, pitiful, weak, and helpless enough to make anyone feel sorry for her, but...
"Don't look at me. How could I possibly have done it? I was trying to remind you from the beginning."
One of Ash's hands was being sucked by Sophia, while the other was supporting Kumoko.
He didn't even have a free hand to sympathize with her.
Instead, he quietly looked away, trying his best not to let himself be blamed.
However... his apparent attempt to dodge responsibility only made Kumoko furious.
Without thinking, she bit the side of Ash's face.
And she refused to let go.
"Mmm... mmmph!"
She whimpered like a wronged puppy.
Ash couldn't help laughing bitterly.
Though it didn't really hurt, one thing was certain, his face was going to end up covered in saliva.
Ash had originally just been sitting there quietly reading.
He hadn't bothered anyone or interfered with anyone's business.
Yet the moment Kumoko crawled out of that cocoon, she immediately dragged him into a mess.
Not only that, but he had gotten bitten for no reason.
But more than anger or dissatisfaction, he felt something much harder to describe.
It wasn't because he was lewd.
It was simply that after taking human form, every aspect of Kumoko's touch felt far too good.
The intimacy of the way she clung tightly to him, together with her childish yet troublesome nibbling, stirred strange ripples inside his heart.
To calm himself down as quickly as possible and avoid anything awkward happening in front of others, all he could do was silently count in his head, just as he had done while teaching Kumoko in the past, trying to settle his restless heart.
It really wasn't because he was being lewd.
Kumoko wasn't like Ariel.
Ariel still had the flat figure and youthful air of a girl.
Kumoko, however, whether in height or figure, was now unquestionably a proper beautiful young woman.
And one with an outstanding figure that caught the eye at a glance.
Having a girl like that cling to him and crawl into his arms like a baby, it was genuinely more posionous than a venom.
Fortunately, after this brief commotion, things finally settled down a little.
Following Ash's arrangements, Kumoko put on the clothes he had ordered a maid outside to prepare.
They fit her surprisingly well, making her look even more graceful.
Leaving aside her already beautiful upper body, just her pair of long, fair legs alone looked beautiful enough to admire for years.
But despite her icy beauty, Kumoko now looked more like a child who had suffered an enormous grievance, sitting pitifully in the corner.
Her already pale cheeks still carried a blush that refused to fade.
Her gaze remained full of resentment.
Meanwhile, Ash sat where he was, silently wiping his face.
Unable to resist glaring at her, he said irritably, "You and Sophia are exactly the same. Besides covering me in saliva, what else can you do?"
'This is so strange. I'm obviously the victim, aren't I? So why am I the one getting scolded? I'm the one who suffered the most! So mean! I'm angry!', Already feeling wronged, Kumoko only became even angrier after hearing Ash.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
She simply walked quickly over to him and stared straight at him.
"What's wrong?", Ash paused wiping his face and looked up blankly.
"I'm angry!"
Kumoko tried her best to sound full of resentment.
But the words came out soft and gentle, lacking any real anger and instead sounding strangely cute.
"Sigh! You really are something... Forget it. I don't even feel like lecturing you anymore."
Shaking his head as though he were the victim, he casually forgave Kumoko's strange behavior.
He patted the seat beside him, "Anyway, sit down first. Want something to eat? You haven't eaten in so long. You must be hungry."
"Meat!", The moment Kumoko heard the word "eat," she immediately felt her stomach growl and answered instinctively.
"I knew it."
Ash smiled helplessly before a gentle smile appeared on his face.
He reached out and softly rubbed Kumoko's head, "While you were changing clothes, I already had someone prepare your favorite roasted beef leg. Eat one first to fill your stomach."
"Mm... Mm!"