Just as Kevin Cross was mulling over whether to go look for Samuel Stern, a notification pinged in the chat group.
"Kumoko has officially joined the chat group."
Kevin blinked. That caught him off guard. Hadn't she been refusing all this time? And now she just... joined? No announcement, no drama just quietly accepted her place in his growing harem?
"Ahem, I... I just really wanted to eat a hamburger, that's all. I haven't had one in forever. And, and... there are only four of us in this group besides the admin, and three have already joined you. If I stayed out any longer, I'd probably get left out. So, um... I joined. Reluctantly. Okay? Reluctantly," Kumoko stammered through her explanation.
"That so? Well, that's perfect then. Hang on a sec I'm heading out anyway, so I'll grab a few burgers and some other food and send them over to you," Kevin replied, feeling a wave of unexpected happiness after reading her message.
Sure, Kumoko was still, well... a spider. And it was going to take a long time before she evolved into a human. But that didn't matter to Kevin. Time was just time. Back when he watched her anime, he'd really grown fond of her character.
The only downside? The anime kept cutting away from her arc to insert filler episodes jumping to the hero's party or the human kingdom every other episode. It never stayed focused on the main story!
Still, aside from that, her world's leveling system well, the system was actually pretty decent. It was incredibly effective for powering up in the early stages. But if Kevin wanted to get access to that system...
Well, let's just say the only method was ahem not exactly PG.
Anyway, she was still literally a spider. Doing that would be too much, even for him. But if he waited until she evolved into human form, the system might disappear altogether.
"Hey, uh... Group Leader, you're really not good at flirting with girls, are you?" Kumoko, a little bashful but still smiling, couldn't help but point it out.
"Huh? Flirting? What makes you say that?" Kevin asked, puzzled.
"Seriously? You just told me you'd 'grab some burgers for me on the way.' On the way! You don't say that to a girl! If you're giving a girl food, you have to make it sound like she's the sole reason you're doing it. Like 'I'm going out just to get you hamburgers.' That makes it feel like you're doing it just for her. That's how you show sincerity."
"But I am going out anyway. And I am getting them on the way..." Kevin replied, genuinely confused.
"..."
Kumoko sighed. "Kevin, if this group didn't exist, you'd be single forever."
"No way. I'm really good-looking. Girls approach me all the time I don't even have to flirt."
Kumoko felt a sharp pang of secondhand embarrassment. But when she looked at the selfie Kevin had just posted in the group...
Okay. Fine. With a face like that, he really didn't need pickup lines.
On his way to meet Samuel Stern at the university, Kevin bought a mountain of burgers, hot dogs, even pizza and sent them all through the portal to Kumoko.
"This one's a beef burger, this one's a cheeseburger, this is the pizza, and here's some soda... Oh my god, I'm in heaven! I'm really in heaven! I forgot how amazing this stuff tasted it's all so delicious!" Kumoko crammed half a burger in her mouth, sipping her soda and crying tears of joy.
But just as she was basking in that bliss...
Thud!
A smartphone dropped straight onto her head.
A woman's voice echoed from the device.
Kumoko froze.
She'd forgotten everything she did was still being monitored by her world's administrator. Now, with all these burgers appearing out of nowhere, it was blatantly obvious something was wrong.
"I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead!" she cried out in the group chat.
"Huh? What's wrong, Kumoko? Did you run into a boss or something?" someone asked.
"Kumoko, are you alright?" Izumi asked with concern.
"What happened?" Serena Tranquil chimed in.
Now that they were all part of the same group and by extension, the same "sisterhood" they couldn't help but worry about her.
"Kevin sent me burgers. But the administrator saw them. She's interrogating me right now," Kumoko messaged, adding a crying emoji.
"...My condolences," Kevin sighed. "I totally forgot you were being watched 24/7."
"What do I do? Should I just come clean?" Kumoko stared at the phone, visibly trembling.
"It's fine. Go ahead and tell her. Even if she finds out about the chat group, it's not like she can touch us. As for you..."
"What about me? What happens to me?!"
"Relax. Your world's administrator is so bored she's probably thrilled something new is happening. Honestly, she might even help you after this."
"Really...? Okay. Then I'll tell her."
"Do it."
After that, Kumoko went silent in the chat. She was likely explaining everything to her world's administrator.
Kevin was mildly concerned, but not overly so. Just like he said he figured the administrator was bored out of her mind. If anything, this might brighten her day.
With that handled, Kevin tagged Saeko Busujima.
"Saeko, I'm heading to meet a brilliant scientist. Send me the data on your world's zombie virus. I'll see if he can develop a cure or at least a vaccine."
"A cure and a vaccine? Understood. Thank you, Kevin." Saeko's message was calm and elegant, but the gratitude in her tone was unmistakable.
She didn't reject Kevin's offer of help. Though her personality thrived in the post-apocalyptic world, it didn't mean she liked it.
Saeko Busujima was bloodthirsty, yes she loved fighting, the thrill of it, the violence. But the dead swarming the world, the looming collapse of society, no water, no electricity... That kind of world was worse than living in ancient times. Her love of combat didn't extend to suffering.
In fact, to Saeko, a vaccine might be more appealing than a cure. That way, humanity could survive and the zombies would still be around for her to kill to her heart's content.
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