Gasping for breath, Subaru belatedly realized he was on all fours on a green meadow.
The rich scent of grass assailed his nostrils from the ground his limbs pressed against. Like a sun-drenched prairie after rainfall, the suffocatingly natural atmosphere enveloped his entire body in a faint embrace.
Subaru turned his head and looked straight ahead at
As always, she had set up a table and chairs atop a small hillock in the meadow, preparing for a tea party, waiting for her guest — Subaru.
As always. —Yes, as always.
"I imagine there's a great deal you'd like to say and ask, but wouldn't you care to sit down and finish a cup of tea first?"
"You think — after what you just did to me — I'd take that seat on friendly terms? Much less agree to a tea party?"
"Of course I do. You're the kind of person who can prioritize cold, calculating rationality over the instinct to fly into a blind rage. You've already determined internally that having a meaningful discussion with me is more advantageous than shutting me out right now… haven't you?"
"————"
Before Subaru, who strangled his voice down with fury, Echidna maintained her composed demeanor without a crack.
Her words, delivered from on high as though mocking Subaru's transparent little ploy, struck so close to the mark that he could neither affirm nor deny.
But he couldn't simply comply like a docile puppet — what had been violated was far too precious for that.
"Echidna… tell me that wasn't what you truly wanted."
"Hm?"
"Tell me that what just happened — the interaction with the
"…………"
"Tell me it was unavoidable. That it was unexpected, that it wasn't supposed to go that way. Say that, and I… won't condemn you any further."
Echidna's words were correct.
For Subaru to move forward, her knowledge, her cooperation was essential.
But "unforgivable" was "unforgivable." Echidna had used the Witch of Lust to trample upon a sacred place that must never be violated — Subaru's "
So, in order to forgive Echidna and accept her proposal for a meaningful discussion, this was a necessary demand from Subaru.
"…And here I thought you'd say something more dramatic."
In that single moment, she had surely grasped the weakness and stubbornness lurking within him.
Echidna murmured almost involuntarily, then bit her lip and glanced at Subaru, who waited for her answer. Slowly, absently toying with the tip of her white hair with one finger— "As you wish — that was indeed the Witch of Lust,
"————"
"You nearly fell for it, but broke free on your own. And in the moment Carmilla's guard dropped after her failed attempt, you seized the initiative and invited me back to my castle. That we can sit here face to face now — I'd call that a stroke of fortune."
"————"
"…So — if I say that, will you be satisfied?"
Rapidly listing off exactly the words Subaru wanted to hear, then betraying them at the very end — that was Echidna.
Subaru silently looked away from Echidna's face, deflecting her questioning gaze.
"…Why did you sic the witch on me like that?"
"Didn't Carmilla say? That she wanted to save you — because the 'Trial' was wearing your heart down to nothing?"
"That — that's not the Witch of Lust's true feeling. If what she said is right, then that was nothing but my own weakness — the pathetic things I wanted
"From such limited dialogue, to deduce all that… I suppose there's no getting out of this excuse."
Echidna readily dropped all pretense and shrugged. Then, lifting her own teacup from the table to her lips and tilting it— "Just as you surmised — sending Carmilla after you, and having her impersonate the girl inside your heart — that was my instruction. As for the impersonation being insufficient and getting seen through, that's more Carmilla's problem than mine."
"…Why would you do something like that?"
"If I say it bluntly, you'll get angry, but — it was the most efficient method, and more than anything, the one with the highest probability of success."
Unrepentant, Echidna continued before Subaru, whose expression had gone blank.
"That you would be caught up in the Second 'Trial' at this particular timing was unexpected for me as well. And frankly, that its contents would pierce so deeply into you — I didn't foresee that until I actually saw the state of things."
"————"
"Oh, and do turn a blind eye to the fact that I was peeking at the 'Trial.' I told you before during the First 'Trial' — this is a 'Trial' prepared by the Witch, after all. I'd rather not be judged for a nasty punchline."
"…Keep going."
"Regardless — watching you tackle the 'Trial' from the sidelines, I came to a conclusion. If I kept letting you face the 'Trial' alone in this state, it wouldn't be long before you wore through completely."
That was no exaggeration. It was, in fact, exactly what would have happened.
Subaru wasn't so blind to his own footing that he could deny it.
The Second "Trial" — the impossible "Now" — and being confronted with it: the countless scenes, events, tragedies laid bare before him. Those would have been more than enough to snap whatever was left of Subaru's bravado, stubbornness, and self-deception clean in two.
"So I intervened. Wearing through is one possible outcome. I experiment. I test every possibility. That's because, within me, a curiosity that never grows bored keeps demanding conclusions. To satisfy that insatiable Greed, I seek every outcome. —An outcome where you challenge the 'Trial' and break is no exception."
"Then why intervene at all? If my breaking is one of the outcomes you're after, you could've just left me alone. If the result was simply 'he was that kind of person after all,' wouldn't you have been satisfied?"
"Of course I could have accepted it as one outcome. …But that doesn't mean doing nothing while the desired outcome unfolds."
"What…?"
Echidna's reply came with her voice dropping lower.
Hearing it, Subaru furrowed his brow for the first time in this scene for reasons other than anger.
If he absorbed the meaning of her words and it took solid shape, then— "You set up that situation… to prevent the outcome of me wearing through and disappearing?"
"…That doesn't excuse the fact that it resulted in the violation of something precious to you. That's precisely why — if you want to hurl abuse at me, I'll take it willingly. Your anger is justified. My selfishness was wrong. That's all there is to it."
Setting her cup down on the table, Echidna looked straight at Subaru below the hill.
Gone was the mischief and playfulness she had shown before, and had always shown. The Witch of Greed faced Subaru with every ounce of sincerity she could muster.
Her attitude, her posture, her words — they were overwhelming.
The wordless anger and distrust that had been filling Subaru's chest moments ago now seemed petty and selfish in comparison.
In truth, the resistance to acknowledging Echidna's help — to putting words to what had happened — still lingered stubbornly. But without it, what would have become of Subaru's heart?
On the cold floor of the tomb, heart shattered, ground to dust, unable to see even the faintest light in the darkness — it wasn't hard to imagine it simply fading away.
He couldn't offer words of gratitude. But he didn't believe she was someone worthy of anger and abuse either. —That was where his emotions settled.
"————"
Without a word, Subaru stood and brushed the grass from his body as he climbed the hill.
Echidna, seated in her chair, watched him approach, and a fleeting look of anguish crossed her expression. Even after centuries of existence, the Witch couldn't read what words Subaru intended to throw at her.
The incarnation of intellectual desire. The "Witch of Greed." The fact that he had managed to twist the expression of such a being offered him the faintest measure of peace.
"Oh—"
At Subaru's small sound of surprise, Echidna looked up. Subaru pulled out a chair and sat across from her.
He didn't lift the cup to his lips, but it was a clear gesture of willingness to engage at the negotiation table. Echidna gazed at him with anxious eyes, and Subaru, resting his cheek on his fist and looking away— "I ain't in the mood to drink Dona tea. …But I will have that meaningful conversation with you."
Swallowing the emotion that nearly choked him, he showed his magnanimity.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "So in the end, what exactly was this thing called the 'Second Trial'?"
Still resting his chin on his fist, Subaru asked without looking at Echidna.
In response, Echidna shifted her chair forward and angled it so she entered Subaru's line of sight— "What do you think it was?"
"You tryin' to dodge the question…? Is it too much to expect a straight answer?"
"I'm not being evasive. After what I put you through, I want to confirm we can talk on friendly terms — and I'd like to hear your voice a while longer."
It was a remark that, in a different context, might have tickled the heart of any conversation partner.
If Subaru had been in his normal state, engaging without any emotional burden, he would surely have stumbled over his words in embarrassment.
But in his current state, there was no way he could return the reaction she wanted. Subaru let out a small sigh and replied briefly— "The 'Trial' opened with 'Look at the Now that shouldn't be.' That preface, and then the scenes it showed — that was the content. …'The Now that shouldn't be' means the 'now' where different choices were made along the path that led me here, the ones that shaped the current situation."
Conceptually, it was the same as a visual novel.
A game where the player's choices at key junctures branch the story's content and possibilities. If you wanted to think grandly about it, you could say even life itself unfolds as a vast game in that same format.
When a person faces a choice and selects a path through their own will — and the world beyond that branching of possibility is what they desire — then that is nothing less than "life" itself.
"A world you were never supposed to see. Perhaps it was a far happier world than the real 'Now,' and you'd regret not living in it. Perhaps it was a far more miserable world, and you'd be grateful for the self standing here now. —The original 'Second Trial' was about whether you could affirm the 'Now' that should be, by gazing upon these 'Nows' that differ from it."
Picking up where Subaru left off, Echidna gave a brief summary of the Second Trial's nature.
It was virtually identical to what Subaru had imagined. With one exception — that its contents pierced deeply and sharply into Subaru alone.
"The different 'Now' I saw… does that actually exist?"
"…………"
"I died, and I came back through 'Return by Death.' So I've never seen what happens after I die. …Before that, I'd never even considered that the world might continue after my death. …No — I never let myself think about it."
Because, well, wasn't that obvious?
Subaru's "Return by Death" existed because the world had reached an unsalvageable dead end. He endured the sensation of burning through his life by affirming that it was for the sake of breaking through that impasse, saving the people precious to him, and reaching the best possible future.
The existence of a world after death would overturn Subaru's entire foundation from the root.
For his own peace of mind — and above all, because he believed that "there is no world I've left behind" — Subaru had been saving the people who might exist in that "left-behind world."
So— "After I die, the world keeps going…? The world branched off by my choices, and in the world where I failed and lost everything — everyone I couldn't protect was there…?"
"————"
"Echidna. …Tell me."
Having lost the option to look away, Subaru directed a pleading gaze at Echidna, seated diagonally before him.
Echidna, wordless under Subaru's stare, touched her chin thoughtfully, then closed her eyes.
"There's one thing I need to explain about the 'Trial.'"
"…………"
"The 'Now' of the Second Trial is a phenomenon that merely projected a vision of a hypothetical world. The challenger undergoing the Trial — in this case, you — it projected the fine details of your memories, and from there extracted the people, the world, the atmosphere, even the mana that 'the world's memory' forms around you. Assembling the necessary information from past, present, and future, it generated that 'Now.'"
"…………"
"In other words, it was a remarkably well-crafted 'unreality.' The fidelity is on an entirely different level from mere fantasy or delusion, and as a hypothetical, 'that kind of thing' could conceivably happen. But it remains an 'artificial unreality.' I cannot affirm whether it actually occurred."
"Th-then…"
"However—"
Hope flickered in Subaru's face at Echidna's explanation. But as light seemed to dawn, Echidna extended her palm and cut him off— "The detailed mechanism of your 'Return by Death' is unclear. It's almost certainly connected to the 'Witch of Envy,' but exactly how she causes you to 'return' remains an open question. It could be a power that rolls back the entire world, using your death as a trigger. Or — if a parallel world, another world, exists, it could be that 'you' are overwritten onto another version of yourself there."
"Oh…"
"If the latter principle applies, then a parallel world does exist, and in that world, after your death, a world without 'you' continues on as you saw it."
"A way to verify that…?"
"None."
Echidna's无情 denial came with a shake of her head.
Subaru's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open in speechlessness. Echidna regarded him with what looked like pity, tapping the edge of the table with one fingertip.
"If there is one method of verification, it would be to hear it from the 'Witch of Envy' herself. But you've already experienced firsthand how difficult that is, haven't you?"
She was referring to the memory of Subaru's actual encounter with the Witch of Envy. The Witch who had appeared outside the tomb when Subaru emerged at the end of the tea party.
The true monster who had stolen
"That's right… Echidna. Before, after this tea party ended — outside, I saw a witch at the Sanctuary. What was that? What was it?"
"As you already know, that was the 'Witch of Envy.' Though it was a far cry from the real thing. The vessel she'd chosen was immature, and more importantly, not a single seal had been broken. With a missing Witch Factor, there was no way she could have wielded full power."
"Even that was far from her peak…?"
The creature that had effortlessly slaughtered everything without so much as a scratch — the same creature that hadn't even deigned to notice Garfiel in his beast form — was incomparable to the true "Witch of Envy."
What kind of hell had that era been, four hundred years ago, when the Witch truly walked the world?
"As you'd imagine, the trigger for her emergence was this tea party. Here, the taboo that binds you to silence couldn't even apply to her. So driven mad by envy, unable to vent her frustration inside, she threw a tantrum and ran rampant outside."
"And you knew that was going to happen?"
"I didn't know. It was unprecedented. Only after seeing it actually happen did I form the hypothesis. Even I can't reach a conclusion until I've witnessed the reality — I'm no different from you in that regard."
"————"
Echidna, who refused to abandon her observer's stance, left Subaru at a loss for words. He knew it was pointless to blame her. Even so, the frustration gnawed at him.
If she so chose, if she decided to cooperate with Subaru, perhaps— "There was no particular reason for choosing your beloved as the vessel. The fact that she's a half-elf like you may have made her somewhat easier to inhabit, but the primary reason was nothing other than 'Envy.'"
"Envy…?"
"For a witch who wants to monopolize your feelings, what's so strange about hating and wanting to destroy the object of your devoted affection?"
To love someone madly is to wish for that same love in return. And when that someone's love is directed elsewhere — the drama of "love" can drive one to turn those very feelings toward destruction.
Was that why the "Witch of Envy" continued to exhibit such behavior — the behavior of her incarnation?
"Everything that torments you is known only to the 'Witch of Envy.'"
"————"
"No matter how much you turn it over in your mind, you won't reach an honest answer. The scene that cornered you, and above all, the question of the 'Now' that may or may not exist — no conclusion will be reached."
"That's…"
It was, for Subaru, nothing short of a cruel reality.
He wanted to be told outright: the world Subaru had witnessed doesn't exist.
And if that wasn't possible, he wanted to be told firmly: your self-righteousness cost many lives.
Whichever answer he received, Subaru would surely have taken it as a warning, a wedge driven in so he'd never forget. He would have clenched his teeth, wept blood, screamed with his soul — and still moved forward.
—And yet, the answer that "there is no answer" was far too cruel.
Was he to live with both affirmation and denial left suspended, the state of the world hanging in the balance?
Not knowing whether what he had trampled was truly trampled. Not even allowed the awareness of having abandoned what he'd abandoned. Was the denial of that sin itself his punishment?
Had
No one could judge Subaru. No one could condemn him. He knew that.
—But was even Subaru himself not permitted to do so?
"I know it's harsh. But I believe the only choice is to accept it."
Those words came from Echidna, directed at the broken, speechless Subaru.
Subaru slowly raised his head and looked at her with hollow eyes.
Echidna met his gaze, drew a breath, and spoke with a grave expression— "The Second Trial, in essence, is this: accept the 'Now' as the only 'Now' you have, and come to terms with every other 'Now' as belonging to a world beyond your reach."
"————"
"For you — who has a stronger awareness than other challengers that such worlds could actually exist — it will be harder. Even so, you must shift your perspective."
"Shift…?"
"Your choices may indeed have come at a terrible cost. Among what you've left behind, there are surely many things that can never be recovered. But spending all your time counting what you've lost and what you've destroyed — isn't that sad? Empty? Painful?"
"If you're dishing out generic platitudes, save it. …I hate to say it, but do you really think the kind of experience I've been through can be fixed with cliché counseling?"
Echidna's words were soothing, pleasant to the ear.
If the wound had been shallow, if the sin had been light, if the matter could be seen with broader eyes — they might have been effective.
He might even have felt saved and managed that very "shift."
But— "The bill for everything I've done — the reality of the irreparable hasn't changed anywhere. Everything I've poured myself into was built on sacrifices I mistook for things that never existed or things I could erase. That possible reality hasn't changed."
"…That's true."
"In that situation, how do I affirm myself? What do I have to do to forgive myself? The salvation you tried to extend — even that, I threw it back. I don't want to be saved by a Rem who isn't the real one. I will reclaim the real Rem someday — but—"
Taking a breath, Subaru twisted his face into a grimace— "…When I finally get Rem back, will she really be the Rem I want to save?"
"————"
"Until that answer comes, the wreck inside me won't change. …Are you seriously telling me that even this is something I should just 'accept' and move on from?"
"————"
"Telling me to count the ones I saved instead of the ones I couldn't — is that what you're saying to me?"
What Echidna wanted to say to Subaru was, at its core, a kind of hope.
It might have become hope for Subaru, too.
—But the darkness Subaru had sunk into was simply too deep for such words to feel like hope.
"Are you really telling me to fight back… with that kind of cheap platitude…?"
"—Yes. That's what I'm telling you."
"————"
"I am telling you: that."
Pushing past the platitudes, Echidna spoke to Subaru — who screamed at the edge of despair.
Slowly, deliberately, as though tasting each word, Echidna looked straight at Subaru and spoke.
"Rather than counting the many you might not have saved, you should count the many you did. In the path that brought you here — I can see that."
"What have I… what of mine could you possibly see…?"
"Until this moment, you have lived with everything you had — with every fiber of your being. That is what I've witnessed. And so I can say this. I can."
"————"
"Not a single step of the path you've walked has been wasted. No one has the right to say your all was 'not enough.' You threw everything you had into this, and walked all the way to this moment. —That is something to be proud of."
Echidna's earnest words struck Subaru's hollow chest. Something echoed in the emptiness. —But it wasn't enough. Those words alone wouldn't make him stand.
Being told he had something to be proud of didn't change the fact that Subaru had lost so much along the way. Someone else — anyone but Subaru — could have done better under the same circumstances. But because it was Subaru standing here, many had gone unrescued.
That was Subaru's sin. Subaru's guilt. A sin Subaru must acknowledge and atone for.
"No one can forgive me."
"I will. I — who know what you've done — I will forgive you."
"No one can judge me."
"I will judge you. I — who know your sin — I will."
"No one… can affirm me."
"If you cannot affirm yourself, then I will deny the unforgivable you."
"————"
"If you affirm your sin, then I will deny that sin."
Every word Subaru spoke, Echidna seized and refused to let go.
Why was this witch so determined to deny Subaru's guilt?
Why did she so relentlessly try to brush away the darkness in his heart?
"Why do you… why do you keep trying to save me like this?"
"…Asking a girl to say it outright is a bit cruel, you know."
For the first time, Echidna — who hadn't stumbled over a single word until now — faltered, just slightly.
With a faint blush still on her cheeks, she cleared her throat and— "…Won't you enter into a contract with me, Natsuki Subaru?"
Her voice was quiet, but carried an unmistakable will.
The words took time to sink into Subaru's mind before understanding dawned.
"A… contract…?"
"Yes, a contract. A formal contract with the 'Witch of Greed' — won't you seal one with me?"
"If I do… if I enter into it, then what?"
"Simple. —From now on, when you face some insurmountable obstacle, I will rack my brain alongside you. When you want someone's words, I will try my hardest to give you the words you need. When your own guilt threatens to crush you, I will help you kick it aside."
In a single breath, Echidna finished — and then offered a shy smile.
"Would you enter into such a contract?"
"…Aren't you dead? Can't you not interfere with the real world?"
"I suppose I'd be overstepping the bounds of the dead. It's a rather late objection, and honestly, I've come to think that's not so bad. …If you'll allow it."
Echidna placed a hand on her chest and bowed her head slightly, her words vibrating against Subaru's eardrums. The vibration传导 through his body, gradually growing warm as it traveled through his blood to every extremity.
Sensation returned to his fingertips, which had been crying out with numbness.
The tip of his tongue, parched and dry, recovered a hint of moisture. His eyes, which had forgotten how to blink, filled slowly with something warm, as if remembering how to stave off their own drought.
He was bewildered — the outstretched hand, the offer, the proposal, the words of aid — how should he respond?
He had sworn to keep fighting, but had nearly lost sight of why — and the witch was telling him she would support him.
"Not to brag, but I'm quite confident in my knowledge. I believe I can provide solutions to most problems you'll face, and no matter how outlandish the circumstances, unlike the people around you, I won't need any effort to convince. Above all, I can understand your 'Return by Death.'"
"Wait, are you — are you pitching me your selling points at light speed?"
"I think it's only natural for the one making the request to explain the benefits of a contract. And if doing so can buy even a sliver of peace of mind for you, I'd call that a benefit too, wouldn't you?"
Seizing on Subaru's words and turning even that into part of her sales pitch — that was Echidna. Unable to help himself, Subaru's cheek relaxed into a smile.
A breath escaped his lungs, easy and calm, and he let out an "Ah."
The meadow wind played across the nape of his neck as he leaned back against the chair and gazed up at the sky.
White clouds drifted through an artificial blue sky.
When he hit a dead end. When answers eluded him. When he faced the impossible.
—If he could, like this, once more exchange words beneath the blue sky in search of a conclusion— "…Maybe that wouldn't be so bad…"
"…So, does that mean—?"
Echidna shot up from her chair, involuntarily clenching her fist, looking down at Subaru. Seeing him gaze back from his reclined position, she flushed — almost ashamed of having done something so forward.
"Oh, I mean… if you truly insist, then a contract like that wouldn't be…"
"Don't try to play it cool now. And besides, it's not like I'm the one asking — you're the one who… no, wait, is it tasteless to point that out?"
It was Echidna's offer, but it was made purely for the sake of Subaru's heart.
To put it bluntly, this was the witch's kindness. And the fact that Subaru didn't have to beg for it — that the witch hadn't dropped even an ounce of her consideration toward him — was proof of that.
Every time, with everyone — was he always going to be saved like this?
Subaru leaned forward off the backrest and stood.
Echidna stood at arm's length, looking up at Subaru — who now stood slightly taller — with an anxious expression.
He thought it was a bit much, how every tiny gesture of hers was so deliberately endearing.
And having been saved by it, he was in no position to complain.
"How do you… seal a formal contract?"
"To form a formal contract, we'll connect paths between you and me. I'll handle the details, but for now — your palm."
Echidna raised her right hand, white palm facing Subaru.
It meant: place your palm against mine, like so.
Subaru looked at the witch, who was sitting across from him with a poorly concealed smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, and felt a strange lightness — as if the venom had been drawn out of him. He let out a quiet "yeah," and— "Maybe this will change things, even just a little…"
With at least a measure of hope for the future, he placed his palm against hers— Impact.
A cracking sound split the air as the white table holding Subaru's teacup exploded right beside him.
The shock of the shattered table traveled straight into the ground, carving a crater of destruction into the earth, and the tremor and rumble violently shook the ground beneath their feet. Subaru cried out in involuntary shock— "—I'm putting a hold on that contract."
The golden-haired, blue-eyed girl who drove her fist into the earth and declared with thunderous authority.
—The "Witch of Wrath" stood before them both, glaring with fury.