Chapter 1: An Encounter with a Little Spider
Inside an ordinary high school.
On a breezy, sunny afternoon, the sunlight was so bright it felt almost sluggish. Beneath the shade of a tree, a high school girl—her eyes mostly hidden by her bangs—sat silently, clutching a manga volume. Her long hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall. She was slender and delicate; even with her fringe obscuring her gaze, one could still discern an exquisite silhouette from her profile.
"Hey, Wakaba."
The girl looked up. What met her eyes was a handsome, spirited face radiating youthful sunlight. He wore a simple white shirt and black trousers, looking clean and refreshing. However, when he spoke with a grin, that sun-like warmth took on a bit of a "bad boy" edge, making him look like a total rascal.
"..."
Upon seeing who it was, the girl chose to ignore him entirely. She lowered her head back to her manga, pretending she hadn't heard a thing. Shirazawa's corner of his mouth twitched slightly; this girl was as cold as ever. But he could only suffer in silence—after all, who told him to be a "simp" right now? And a simp for an evil god with a twisted sense of humor, no less.
Thinking of this, he brushed off her attitude and walked up with a smile. "Hey, do you know what time it is? At the very least, shouldn't you head to the classroom for lessons?"
"..." The girl flipped a page, responding only with silence.
Shirazawa sighed. "Do you want me to help you ask for a leave of absence?"
"...Mm."
Finally, she gave him a single-word response and closed her manga. Just as he thought she was getting up to leave, she pulled out a different manga and went right back to reading. Helpless, Shirazawa realized she clearly had no intention of moving today. He could only head toward the classroom alone.
Just as he reached the door, Shirazawa heard a chorus of startled cries erupting from the classroom—
"Whoa!!"
"What a scary spider! Quick, stomp on it!!"
"Ah! Don't bite me! Don't bite me! Help, aaaaaah..."
After a bout of chaos, the shouting gradually died down. The petite class rep—the "loli" teacher, Kanami Okazaki—stood in front of the students, blocking their path.
"Spiders are so cute! Why are you bullying it?" she scolded with a face full of resolve, shielding the trembling little spider cowering in the corner.
"C-Cute?"
"Sensei, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'cute'?"
"Uuuugh... that was terrifying, I almost pissed myself."
"Me too..."
The students grumbled incessantly, but out of respect for their teacher, they didn't push further. Meanwhile, the little spider hiding behind the teacher looked around with a dazed expression, crawling toward a corner in confusion. It couldn't understand the human world—after all, it didn't exactly have "brains" yet.
"Spiders are beneficial creatures that eat pests, we shouldn't hurt them #*￥&!#（）￥*..."
Seeing that the others didn't understand, the little loli teacher entered a non-stop "lecture mode." Well, truth be told, she just really liked spiders; it didn't have much to do with them eating pests.
Shirazawa, having just entered the room, thought to himself: *Did I miss it?*
But it wasn't a big deal. Watching the little spider slowly crawl toward the corner, Shirazawa grinned.
"First time meeting you. I'm Shirazawa."
He showed a row of pearly white teeth, his smile as bright as the boy next door. The little spider tilted its head and studied him for a moment. Unable to understand human speech, it simply felt this giant creature was terrifying. *I should find a place to spin a web. Staying in a web-nest is the safest.*
But before the spider could move, a pair of large hands suddenly snatched it up.
"Are? (Huh?)"
The little spider's ruby-like eyes widened as it stared in disbelief at the human inches away. Shirazawa squeezed it gently, smiling. "How about we have a heart-to-heart?"
The little spider was instantly dumbfounded.
*A... heart-to-heart?!*
*Wait... what does this human want to talk about? Different genders, different species—what is there to talk about, hey!*
"Shirazawa-kun! W-What are you doing?!"
Shinohara Mirei, a petite girl with short brown hair, suddenly popped up, looking at Shirazawa with an expression of shock.
"Hmm? You mean the little spider?"
Following Shinohara's gaze, the rest of the class noticed the spider in Shirazawa's hand.
"Heavens, is Shirazawa-kun not scared?"
"As expected of Shirazawa-kun, actually daring to grab such a dangerous creature!"
"But I still find spiders disgusting. It's better not to touch it."
The students whispered among themselves.
"Shirazawa-kun, it seems you have a lot of compassion! From now on, I'm putting this fellow in your care. I hereby appoint you as the class Biology Representative. Do a good job!"
Little Kanami Okazaki flashed a pure, innocent smile and gave him a thumbs up, looking like she had full confidence in him. Shirazawa grinned back, flashing eight white teeth. Combined with his lean 178cm frame, he looked exceptionally handsome.
"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "I'll take good care of it."
Hearing this, the little loli teacher nodded immediately, standing on her tiptoes with some effort to pat his shoulder encouragingly. "Mhm, keep it up~~"
The other students watched the interaction between Shirazawa and the teacher, feeling a strange vibe. It felt like the two of them had established some weird bond. And so, the little spider inexplicably became the class "mascot."
Though, aside from Shirazawa and the teacher, no one else was willing to go near it. As time passed, everyone gradually accepted this setup. Regardless, Shirazawa was the one looking after it, so it was none of their business. However, the popular Shirazawa became even more of a focal point because of a spider.
Some male students, jealous of his popularity, even secretly mocked him as a pervert with some weird fetishes. Shirazawa turned a deaf ear to it. After all, in this world, the only ones he cared about were Wakaba Hiiro and the little spider.
At dusk.
Shirazawa was napping at his desk. The wind rattled the window, occasionally carrying a cherry blossom petal inside. Suddenly, the sound of harsh shouting and cursing drifted in from outside.
"Ugh!"
Shirazawa opened his bleary eyes and looked out the window. He happened to see Shinohara Mirei snatching away Wakaba Hiiro's manga and pouring a cup of juice over her head. The juice trickled down her black hair, soaking her clothes.
Wakaba Hiiro remained expressionless, as if the person being bullied wasn't her, but someone else. Facing the indifferent Wakaba, Shinohara's rage flared. It felt like her heavy punch had landed on a pile of cotton; it only made her angrier. She reached out, grabbed Wakaba's collar, and glared, screaming: "Hey! What's wrong with you? Why didn't you dodge?"
Faced with the interrogation, Wakaba still gave no reaction. It was as if the girl in front of her was transparent—a complete non-entity.
"You..."
She raised her other hand, ready to deliver a slap.
"Stop it!"
A cold reprimand suddenly cut through her movements. Shinohara froze for a moment and instinctively turned her head. There stood Shirazawa in his white shirt, appearing behind them at some unknown moment.