"By the way, where did Yuexing go? Didn't he come here?" Subaru looked around, but didn't see Yuexing.
"I'm lying down there." Echidna pursed her lips toward the bottom of the slope.
Subaru stood up, squinted his eyes and looked down - his silver hair was swaying in the wind, reflecting the sunlight
Pouring his lips helplessly, Subaru and Echidna sat down again across the table, facing each other, and the tea party began again.
"My girlish heart was hurt when I was rejected to such an extent that I provided bodily fluids."
"A real girl will never say anything like providing bodily fluids in her life. Let's not mention it. Let's quickly continue talking about important things. You promise to make a vow - no, you can do it, right?"
"You reject the word "promise"? No matter what, of course I will do it."
The joking dialogue made people worry, but after receiving the assurance, Subaru felt much more at ease. Even if he woke up from the dream, he would not forget Echidna's existence.
In the "sacred realm" known as the Witch's Experimental Field, this must be the necessary key to the answer.
Now that this has been promised, there is one more thing I want to confirm with the witch——
"——Echidna, how much do you know about me?"
"If you want to know, then it is limited to what I know. If you want to know, then I want to know everything in the world."
"Don't prevaricate, you should have noticed that I feel strange here."
"That's not the case. It's because you met the conditions for being invited to the tea party: in a place within my domain, you have a strong desire for "why", and that desire attracts me--"
Echidna playing with words made Subaru put his hands on the table again
It's okay to have a tea party with her, but I don't intend to make a farce with her
"It's strange. After all, for you, you shouldn't be here."
"————"
"...I crossed over and came back, but I appeared in the tomb."
The rebirth time of this reincarnation is set after entering the tomb, which is different from the previous one.
"If you have a good head, it's impossible not to find it strange. If you don't, then..."
"……that is?"
When hesitating about what to say next, Echidna pushed Subaru, and Subaru inhaled and exhaled.
The reason why Echidna has no doubts about this reunion is——
"——Because you know these things"
"————"
Subaru's questioning, Echidna kept smiling and remained silent in response.
Subaru suddenly remembered that Yuexing had mentioned to him that he had signed a contract with Echidna, so the price must be
--memory
"——You should have activated a skill such as checking memory, so I don't think this situation is strange."
If one had the ability to refer to memories, of course one would know that several days had passed since then, including the events of losing everything and welcoming "death"
——And the fact that Natsuki Subaru returned to this point in time through "return through death"
"————"
He hesitated to stop Subaru. It would be dangerous if he continued speaking. His heart was beating violently.
——If he says it out loud, Subaru will hit a taboo
Saying "return after death" would violate the only prohibition set by the witch
Once the ban is broken, Subaru will be forced to taste extreme pain
Or maybe the magic hand will take away someone important to Subaru, just like Emilia's life
"Hu, ha...hu ha...!"
Sweat gradually wets the forehead of the spiritual body, slides down the cheeks, to the chin, and finally drips
The body reflected the state of the soul, recreating it vividly. Subaru was forced into this situation.
Now, what is forcing Subaru's heart is not the fear of taboos, but the "unknown"
If Subaru takes the initiative to reveal the taboo, his heart will be broken.
If Subaru wanted to confess to someone from the bottom of his heart, the devil's hand would take that person's life.
In this case, what would happen if someone understood the "return of death" from another angle and spoke about it?
That was an extremely unknown and unimaginable situation——
“Just give it a try”
"——!?"
Echidna said this to Subaru who was afraid of taboos and the unknown in a relaxed manner.
At first her ease made Subaru stunned, but then he felt indignant. Echidna didn't know: trying such a thing would cause so much damage. She had no idea what would happen.
However, facing Subaru's anger, Echidna shook her head and said:
"Facing the result with the desire for results is a noble act. Because of this, it has the value of what you want."
He didn’t know Subaru’s hesitation, and he didn’t know that being killed would even affect him—no, it’s not like that.
Witch Echidna saw through Subaru's reason for hesitation
She knew that it was not only Subaru who was in danger, but also herself. The witch knew this but still asked Subaru to do it. She could say this because the belief she blurted out would not be shaken.
The incarnation of the desire for knowledge, the "Desire Witch", is willing to risk her life for actions with no visible results.
"You may not even have time to regret...?"
"At that time, I will expect you to cry bitterly in front of my corpse."
Subaru hesitated to the limit, but Echidna still responded calmly.
Even that attitude was a concern to prevent Subaru's decision from being mixed with unnecessary personal emotions.
Rather than saying that it was her consideration for Subaru, it was the result of her determination - in order to prevent impurities from being mixed in, the witch showed her sincerity, not to mention expectations, not even wishes.
She only wanted the purest results. Her attitude allowed Subaru to see the true appearance of the witch, and then he made up his mind.
Her way of living without any doubts about herself made Subaru feel like his own sense of self was being laughed off——
"Echidna, I will [die——]"
say taboo words
I have said this several times before, and it is a conventional word that breaks the rules.
Volunteering to become a bait to attract demon dogs and white whales, in order to deceive the witch cultists, this word has been mentioned several times
I can’t finish the story every time, and the time of the world will pause——
"[--return]"
Subaru closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth to endure the severe pain that was about to come.
However, that tragic realization had no chance to take effect
"……Huh?"
Open your eyes, the world has not changed, time has not paused, and pain has not come.
Then, Subaru looked at the witch in front of him
"Huh..."
Sitting on the chair, the witch crossed her legs and slightly frowned her eyebrows. However, her reaction was just like this. Even if she stared at the witch's chest, she didn't see any change.
"...I would be shy if you stared at me like that. Although I am quite confident about my appearance, I have no confidence in my figure. I am different from Sekhmet and Minerva."
"I'm not staring at you for that reason, no, compared to that..."
Faced with the unexpected attitude, Subaru stopped thinking and followed her words.
Echidna covered her breasts with her hands to prevent Subaru from seeing them, so the taboo penalty did not apply.
This thing makes my thinking start to work slowly, and at the same time, I put my hand on my mouth
Because the teeth are chattering and the voice is trembling
"I, as long as I die, time will go back and the world will start over again. I call this phenomenon "death return""
"I heard it, it's true..."
"really?"
A look of astonishment on his face
"But, I can only watch, so if possible, I hope you will tell me personally. What have you been thinking about so far, how you feel, and how many thoughts you have hidden in your mind. I want to know, after all--"
The witch paused and said
"—I am Echidna, the "Desire Witch" who wants to know everything about this world."
"Come on, how can you, a guy who has been here for hundreds of years, know what is going on..."
Subaru sighed and began to tell the story of starting from scratch.