"The space we had worked so hard to create has been shattered. I think it must be someone like Minerva who is being so violent. She is a bit quick to use her hands."
"A little...? I thought it was quick. It was a new sensation of violent tsundere type soothing loli with big breasts. There were too many elements and I got full."
Subaru swung his successfully healed right arm around his shoulder and cursed at Echidna, who stood in front of him.
The quality of the pressure I felt from the white-haired girl hadn't changed. Still, I couldn't help but think that her plan had had some effect.
"Well, I felt like I could talk to you face to face. It's true that you are a lot more rational than the other witches… well, the Witch of Sloth was the only one who seemed really easy to reason with."
"Sekhmet, if I may say so myself, was the oldest and most rational of the witches. However, she was extremely angry."
"Not half bad, are you scary when you're angry?"
"No, even if we banded together we wouldn't be a match for her. I don't think the five witches other than Sekhmet could have defeated her even if they had joined forces."
Subaru gave Echidna a suspicious look as she sat back in her chair.
The image that came to mind was of a listless woman with long burgundy hair. Her attitude was full of lifelessness and lethargy, yet she was by far the strongest witch.
"Actually, from what I've been saying so far, it seems like you've left out the 'Witch of Envy'."
"---Here's a word of advice when talking to me."
When Subaru asked, remembering the witch whose name had never been mentioned once, Echidna held up a finger with a smile on her face.
Seeing Subaru gazing intently at her fingertips, she tilted her head,
"I consider the other witches my friends, and I believe they are worthy of my respect. I have a personality with many flaws. The existence of these women, who I was able to be friends with for so long, was a refuge and a salvation for me. That's why I'm collecting all of their souls."
"...I have a feeling that this is a bit of a tough one to accept, but please continue."
"The one who destroyed those witches was the ``Witch of Envy.'' --Can you really laugh at the being who killed your friend in the most brutal way possible?"
The smile remains the same, but the quality of it has changed.
Fear ran down Subaru's spine, and before he knew it, he was nodding repeatedly in agreement with her opinion. Seeing this, she tilted her chin in and said, "I suppose so."
"The atmosphere has gotten a little tense. Would you like some more tea to cleanse your palate?"
"...I don't have the guts to drink Donna tea again. If I can't get a decent cup of tea, I have no intention of eating or drinking here."
"Being invited to a witch's tea party would have been the envy of many in my time... but man, times and people change, I guess."
It seems they were preparing some for Subaru as well, so Echidna, looking disappointed, only refills her own cup and brings it to her sip.
If what she said is true, the tea is actually her bodily fluids. In other words, she is drinking the bodily fluids that she produced herself.
"I've heard stories about rabbits eating their own feces and acting like perpetual motion machines."
"It's a bit humiliating to be lumped together with those guys, but... yeah? Or maybe that was just a roundabout way of saying that you wanted to hear more about the Great Rabbit?"
"Big rabbit?"
I tilt my head. It's a word I've heard somewhere before.
I turned my head as if searching my memory, trying to remember where I had heard that word. Yes, I was sure it was when I was riding on Patrasche's back as he ran along the Lifaus Highway.
"A monster on par with the White Whale... was it? A big rabbit and a black snake?"
"They're the negative legacies of Daphne. They're all problem children that she had a hard time dealing with. Leaving aside the Black Snake, I've heard that the White Whale and the Great Rabbit are causing trouble everywhere."
"By the way, if it was a white whale, I killed it the other day. Thanks to my efforts."
Pointing his thumb at himself, Subaru flared his nostrils in a proud manner. Hearing this, Echidna's black eyes widened in surprise for the first time,
"Wow, really? That's amazing. From what I can see, you don't show any skill with the sword or any talent as a magician... but you must have been very skilled at moving those around you."
"It's sad that it was immediately obvious that I wasn't the only one to defeat him...! Maybe I could have taken him down all by myself."
"Whether it's the White Whale or the Great Rabbit, it's hard to imagine that there's a human being who could kill them on their own. Even in my time, the only one who'd be able to do it is Reid."
Subaru raised his eyebrows at the unfamiliar name that was mentioned again. Seeing this, she put her finger to her thin lips and said, "Hmm."
"Maybe it hasn't been passed down in this era? I thought his achievements were impressive. At the very least, I'm sure only someone like him could have cut down twelve dragons, including adult ones, all by himself."
"Well, I guess I have a really shallow understanding of common sense or general knowledge. That being said, that person is incredible. Just how incredible is that?"
"--Reid Astrea. He was supposed to have been given the title of 『Sword Saint』, but I guess he no longer has it?"
Echidna's words caused a piece of the puzzle to fall into place in Subaru's mind.
Astrea - That was the family name of Reinhard and Wilhelm, a clan beloved by the staunch Sword God, with an active Sword Saint and Sword Demon respectively.
The first of these was probably Reid Astrea.
"Okay, I understand. There's still one left, Sword Saint. I don't know which generation it is, but the current active Sword Saint is my friend. He's probably just as monstrous as your ancestor."
"That's quite a way to talk to a friend... I'd like to say, but knowing how unreasonable Reid is, I can't laugh at you. Now, was there a story about the giant rabbit?"
"Ah, no. I'm still very interested in information about the Great Rabbit and the Black Snake though..."
It seemed as if the talkative person wanted to boast about his knowledge, but Subaru put a stop to it and thought. There was a mountain of things he wanted to ask, but even if he tried to digest them all at once, Subaru's mind wouldn't be able to keep up.
It would be best to pick out only the things you really want to know and pursue them in detail.
First, what I want to know right now is,
"Umm, you're Echidna. The 'Witch of Greed' is already deceased. So far so good, right?"
"It's just as I confirmed at the beginning. There's no mistake. This is just my dream, so if you ever want to go home, just let me know."
"Thank you for your consideration. Anyway, I just have a question for now..."
He put his hand to his chin and stared at the white-haired girl. As she received Subaru's rude gaze, she placed her hand on her translucent white cheek, closed one eye and asked, "What is it?"
"I think I should have checked that first… but in the first place, how are you a deceased person? You're living your life to the fullest."
"…Ah, I see. It's true that you haven't explained that point at all. You're the one who hasn't mentioned that point up until now, but I'm the one who's been the same."
Echidna clapped her hands and nodded as if she understood. Subaru agreed with her, but scratched his head, wondering what he had been thinking.
Because I was so surprised by the impact of the witches' appearance and the prank witches' reunion that followed, I was late in asking even such an obvious question.
"If it was a ghost in a graveyard, that would be fine. But with this much interference, it's a bit much to dismiss it as just your imagination."
"I won't deny that I'm a ghost. It's true that I'm a spirit that has lost my body. Now, if you ask me why I'm doing this... well. The most accurate answer would be that it's as a deterrent."
"Deterrence...? What... no, what would be more accurate to say?"
"That's sharp."
Echidna nodded in satisfaction at Subaru's answer and gave a small clap. She then pointed to the sky, the artificial blue sky, and,
"The one who has kept me tied to this land is Volcanica – Divine Dragon Volcanica. I'm sure you've heard of him at least?"
"…If I recall correctly, it's the dragon who made a pact with the King of Lugnica. I heard that name in the Royal Selection Hall."
"That's right, Volcanica. I was sealed in this tomb by the power of that dragon. As you guessed, Volcanica did so to deter the Witch of Envy."
Echidna had a calm and intelligent gaze, but each time the words of the ``Witch of Jealousy'' came out of her mouth, a fierce emotion flashed across her eyes for just a moment.
That just shows how big the gap is between her and the ``Witch of Jealousy''.
"The Witch of Envy is still sealed away in the Demon Sealing Stone, but her seal is not solid. Volcanica's lifespan is not eternal, and there's no guarantee that the seal won't be broken at some point. There are quite a few beings who worship her, and there's no guarantee that a natural disaster won't destroy part of the Demon Sealing Stone. --And so, Volcanica has retained my existence."
"As a fighting force against the return of the 'Witch of Envy'...?"
"Although, I don't think the remaining witches can live up to Volcanica's expectations. If they were going to stay, they should have left Sekhmet. The problem is that Volcanica herself had some friction with Sekhmet. Apparently she disliked her because she was beaten up so badly."
Echidna lightly laughed off the feud between the dragon and the witch, but Subaru, hearing it, found it hard to laugh.
The rift between the dragon and the witch didn't seem on such a scale that it could be explained as just a minor misunderstanding in a human relationship, and I'm not sure how much to believe the story that the "Witch of Sloth" beat up the dragon in the first place.
Subaru was silent, not knowing what to say. In front of him, Echidna continued, "Anyway,"
"There is me, the witch, and Divine Dragon Volcanica. All that's left is the 『Sword Saint』 and... a sage. For now, if we gather those together, we might be able to oppose the 『Witch of Envy』 if she were to be resurrected. That's what Volcanica's fleeting hope is. That's the background to why I'm still exposing myself to the shame of my posthumous life."
"So, does that mean it's the dragon that's keeping you as a bound spirit?"
"To be precise, Volcanica's will is connected to Mathers' magic formula. Since you've come all the way here, you must know Mathers, right? Or perhaps the family name no longer exists..."
"No, Mathers is still here. Roswaal L. Mathers is the lord of this area, including this tomb. And he's my employer, or my guardian, or maybe a pervert..."
Astonished at the deep-rootedness of his connection with the witch, Subaru racks his brains over how to explain Roswaal. However, apart from Subaru's hesitation, Echidna's beautiful eyebrows twitch and she mutters, "Roswaal?"
"Sorry, but did you just say Roswaal?"
"Hmm? Ah, that's right, it's Roswaal. Do you know him?"
"If I did know, it would be strange. After all, I existed about 400 years ago. If that person existed in the same era, the story would become a little strange."
Subaru agreed with her point. As Subaru pursed his lips and remembered his clown face, Echidna put her finger to her lips and said, "That's right,"
"The Roswaal you're talking about is the man with the long, dark grey hair. His eyes are... yellow, I think."
"--No, that's not it. The Roswaal I know has indigo hair, or should I say, the same color as the jeans I'm wearing. Also, his eyes are different. He has two different colored eyes, one blue and one yellow."
Subaru let out a sigh of relief at the difference in their features, and then he suddenly thought.
Roswaal tells Subaru that the care of this land, the "Sanctuary," has been passed down for generations, which means that he has also inherited the pact with Volcanica that seals Echidna in this tomb.
It is a role that has been passed down through generations of the family.
"Perhaps Roswaal's name is also a succession ceremony. Sometimes girls are given names that sound like boys, and I often see that kind of setting in manga."
"The one to succeed Roswaal, huh? If so, that's a bit of a nightmare."
Echidna nodded in agreement with Subaru's reasoning, then shrugged, showing signs of fatigue. When Subaru frowned at her uncharacteristic behavior, she replied, "No."
"The Roswaal I knew was a bit too single-minded. There was the danger that he might devote his whole life to a certain goal. If he had remained the same after my death..."
"Maybe he's not satisfied with just his own life and is devoting his family's time to it as well?"
"That's it. My goodness, it's a frightening thing to think about."
Despite the way she said it, a smile graced the corners of Echidna's mouth.
Subaru was probably mistaken in thinking that it looked like a parent watching over a poorly behaved child.
"I now know why you are in the tomb, and who is doing it. As for the actual situation, I will question the modern-day Roswaal after I wake up from this dream."
"That's up to you. ...So, any other questions?"
"Of course there is. The next thing I want to ask about is the trial. I've heard that this tomb will hold a trial. I want to know what it entails. Also, if there is a model answer, please tell me."
"How cruel of you to ask the question setter for the answer along with the question."
"I want you to take the easy way out and cheat. If there's a shortcut, there's no reason not to. I'm the kind of person who plays games while glancing at strategy sites."
It would be a hassle to miss an event and have to do it again the second week.
Putting aside Subaru's rough beliefs as a player, Echidna closed her eyes in thought, and opened them exactly five seconds later,
"It was a test."
"Yeah, that's right. It's like I'm being put to the test. If I can't clear it, my precious girl will be in trouble. Even if she gets homesick, she won't be able to leave the 'Sanctuary'. Of course, I don't have the option of leaving her behind and going home."
It was like a barrier that surrounded the Sanctuary. If it refused her access, then Subaru, who wasn't repelled, had no intention of entering or leaving either.
She passes the test and together they go through the wall.
Let's do whatever we can to achieve this. Even if that means
"Even if it's cheating!"
"I'm sorry to say this because you're really motivated, but I don't know anything about the trials. I'm not involved in them, so I don't know what they entail."
"Why not?"
The force of the attack was immediately stopped, causing Subaru to scream. Hearing this, Echidna shook her head and said, "It can't be helped."
"Do you know where this place is? It's my tomb. In other words, this tomb was created after my death. And the trial you speak of takes place inside this tomb, right? In other words, the trials in the tomb were created after my death. There's no way I, a deceased person, could interfere with it that much, right?"
"We've had such a lively conversation, I can't accept that now!"
"In any case, I'm not the one who set the questions. Therefore, I can't answer any questions about the trials. In fact, I would rather hear about them myself. I'm endlessly curious about the content, the question trends, the selection of the contestants, and of course the answers to the questions."
The "Witch of Greed" eyes begin to light up, their eyes sparkling with a desire for knowledge.
Sighing at her honest desire, Subaru decided that there was no point in dragging out the conversation about the "Trial" any further.
In that case,
"There's really nothing I want to ask you."
"...Eh? You're kidding, right? That can't be. I'm the ``Witch of Greed'', you know? People from all over the world have come to me in search of my knowledge. And yet, even though I'm in front of you and you're allowed to ask me any questions you want, you don't have anything you want to ask..."
"Because you're deceased, you probably don't know much about what happens after you die, right? Most of the things I want to ask about are things that are happening in the present, so asking pointless questions to someone who doesn't know anything about that sort of thing…"
"No no no, let's calm down. It's true that I'm not very knowledgeable about the modern world, but on the other hand, there's almost everything I don't know about the past. A lot of history that has faded over the course of 400 years and is no longer in anyone's memory. This is your chance to learn about it. The same goes for the story of those witches. I doubt there are even any records of it left anywhere in the world."
"But I'm not that interested in witches. When I asked, I was told that they were all deceased, and I have a lot to think about, so I don't know what to think about when I hear about them..."
"Ehhh..."
Seeing Subaru getting serious about wanting to take his leave, Echidna frowned in dissatisfaction. The two of them had completely reversed positions.
But, to Subaru, it was a fact. He was interested in the extent of the evil deeds and great deeds of witches of the past, but that wasn't the case. Given that there was nothing to gain from hearing about it, he wasn't really that interested.
That being said, if you ask me if there is any other useful information I might be able to get out of Echidna, I can't think of anything right away.
"Oh, now that I think about it, I just remembered one thing."
"Yes, yes! That's right. Yes, there are. You can ask me anything. I'll answer anything I can, come on!"
Having been made to wait, Echidna's interest in answering Subaru's questions was incredible.
Even if they call her a witch, she still has a human side deep down, Subaru thought to himself. Then he remembered the Sanctuary.
"He's a resident of the 'Sanctuary' where this tomb is located, and he called this place something like an experimental site. It seems to mean the experimental site for the 'Witch of Greed', and there's a barrier that doesn't let the Half escape, so I wonder what kind of experiments he was doing..."
"I can't say."
"If only I could hear it..."
However, that question was cut off by Echidna, her expression gone blank.
Subaru was rendered silent by her unapproachable attitude. Seeing Subaru's reaction, Echidna seemed to have realized the harshness of her words and made an awkward face,
"I'm sorry for the way I put it, but there are some things I can't say. I can't answer that question. It's not that I can't say it, it's that I don't want to say it."
"...That's not a good word to use, experimental field. But you don't even deny it."
"Please stop there. I don't want to be disrespected."
Echidna lowered her eyes, refusing to pursue the matter any further.
The witch, an overwhelming presence, hunch her shoulders and pleaded with Subaru. Having heard that, he had no choice but to give up on pursuing the matter any further.
Instead, what crossed Subaru's mind was,
"Now that I think of it, I've heard your name before I came here."
"..."
Echidna remained silent. Standing in front of her, Subaru touched his forehead and recalled his memories. The name of Echidna, the "Witch of Greed." It was a name that had brushed Subaru's ears many times before he came to the "Sanctuary."
Among other things, I first heard about
"Puck."
In the loop that began in the royal capital, Subaru had been killed by the Great Spirit three times. The most bitter and repulsive memory was when he was mauled to death by a gigantic Puck.
Back then, her name had popped up in the conversation between Puck and Petelgeuse, who was freezing to death. Subaru's consciousness was unclear as he was in a critical condition and on the brink of death, and he had not been able to remember it until now.
Hearing Subaru mutter as he dug into that memory, Echidna raised her head.
"Puck...? Don't tell me, that's a cat spirit...?"
"--!? Yes, that's right. It's a cat spirit. Do you know it, Puck?"
"I don't know anything about it... is he here? And if so, how much does he remember?"
Echidna was surprised at the unexpected mention of the name, and Subaru was also surprised by her unexpected response. She spoke quickly and then fell silent.
As Subaru was speechless at her terrifying attitude, she closed her eyes further in deep thought.
Subaru tried to raise his eyes, wondering how he should respond,
"--Huh!?"
Suddenly, my consciousness was captured by the hot feeling asserting its presence deep in my stomach.
"...Oh, what?"
The incredible heat felt like it was burning his stomach. Subaru groaned and placed his hands on his stomach, his feet staggering in place.
The pain that suddenly came over me was extraordinary. The pain was incomparable to a stomach ache, and drool was running down the corners of my mouth. Unable to stand, I dropped to my knees and quickly collapsed.
Such a Subaru,
"Ah, it seems to be finally working."
Echidna said, looking down at him with cold eyes.
She slowly walked over to the writhing Subaru, brought her face close to him as he collapsed to his knees, and brushed away his bangs as he gaped and opened his mouth,
"If you are invited to a witch's tea party, you shouldn't eat anything that is offered to you lightly. --I hope this was a lesson for you."
"You, huh... Don't tell me it's poison..."
"That's impossible. I told you, right? What you drank was my bodily fluids. A part of me that is fundamentally different from humans. You absorbed that."
The word "bodily fluids" and the subsequent exchange made Subaru realize how little he had taken that word for granted. The result was that he was now in agony.
Subaru opened his eyes wide and glared at Echidna. Her friendly attitude from earlier was gone. What on earth was her purpose in doing this――?
"Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not doing this with any ill will or hostility towards you. On the contrary, I find your existence pleasing. That's why I made you drink part of me."
"Tell me so I can understand..."
"To put it simply, I made some changes to make it easier for the witch factor sleeping within you to blend in."
"Witch, factor…?"
Still burning with an unending heat, Subaru desperately repeated the words.
--Witch factor.
That's also a word I've heard a few times.
Sometimes it was Betelgeuse. And sometimes it was Beatrice who spoke the words.
"You killed the apostle of the 'Witch of Envy,' right? When that apostle died, the Witch Factor slipped into you... Although, it seems there may be something else inside of you as well."
"So, even if I get used to it... what's that?"
"Well, I wonder what's going to happen. To be honest, even I don't know. But maybe it's like a thoughtful gesture, like letting a bomb that could go off at any moment explode before it does too much damage. If that can be done in a dream, then surely there will be more time to spare if you go outside and it doesn't explode?"
Hearing this so candidly, Subaru's vision flickered as he nearly lost consciousness. However, even in that situation, Subaru slowly raised his arm and pointed at Echidna,
"I was just thinking..."
"Yeah?"
"The way you talk... you're just like Puck. That cat spirit also talks like that, without reading the atmosphere and in a relaxed manner..."
Hearing Subaru's words, Echidna blinked her eyes wide for just a moment.
Then, immediately afterwards, his face crumples, he puts his hands on his stomach and bursts into laughter as if he's just heard a really amazing joke.
"Haha! Hahaha! Oh, my goodness, how wonderful! You're amazing. I really do. Yeah, yeah, ah, hahahaha! I see, me and Puck. Yeah, yeah, I guess so. I guess so. It makes sense, if you like that, too. From his perspective, I was probably the only one he could look up to."
"what--"
Subaru tried to continue, but was unable to.
The pain was searing all over my body, but I was not losing consciousness. The pain that had seemed to go on forever was easing slightly, and an end was in sight.
But rather than overcome this suffering,
"Looks like our time together is over."
Slowly, slowly, the outline of the world in Subaru's field of vision became blurred.
The clear blue sky, the green grassy hills, and the white table and chairs they were sitting around were starting to become hard to picture.
"It won't end unless you try to end it..."
"Time in the real world has reached its limit. It seems that what you call a 'trial' is about to begin. Once it begins, all of the functions of the tomb will be directed towards you. It won't be able to focus on a single ghost."
Echidna spoke lightly, stroking the collapsed Subaru's forehead with her fingers.
She smiled at Subaru, who was unable to resist or respond,
"Well, I'm coming back from the witch's tea party. Can you give me some money?"
"...Just so you know, I'm strangely penniless."
"It's not money. The compensation is... well, how about an order to not talk about this space? It seems like we have a similar contract, so it should be cheap, right?"
There was no time to ask what that meant.
With her fingers still pressed against Subaru's forehead, she murmured something in a low voice, and just as her fingertips began to heat up, a gentle heat spread throughout Subaru's entire body in an instant, bestowing upon him a mysterious realization.
The contents of the contract, the unilateral agreements that must not be violated, and the connections between them.
"How dare you do this...!"
"The matter of the past, and the establishment of the Witch Factor. Even I think that this is too small a price to pay for all of this. Also, while I'm at it, I'll give you an extra bonus."
Laughing at the indignant Subaru, she transmitted even more heat from her fingertips, which were still touching him.
And the result of that heat wasーー,
"I will now qualify you to take the Trial of the Tomb."
"--!?"
"With this, you too can take on the trial of the Tomb of Night. It's up to you whether you take it or not. You can choose not to take it. However, you have been given the option to take on the trial in place of the girl you care about. What you do with it is up to you."
The world begins to crumble, and the ground beneath your feet slowly melts into darkness.
This time the end of the world really was near.
And in the world coming to an end, Subaru lay there, looking up at Echidna.
The girl who had made a contract he didn't want, forced payment he didn't ask for, and smiled unashamedly at Subaru――ah, that was without a doubt,
"--You are, after all, a witch."
"--Yeah, of course. I'm a bad wizard."
With that customary exchange at the end, Subaru's consciousness was thrown out of his dream.
Falling, falling. Vanishing, vanishing.
I am bounced out of the dream and rise up.
And then, Subaru's consciousness was released from the witch's dream.