[ "Since you are a guest at this tea party, you should first prove that you accept the hospitality. Don't you think?"
"…You're so hard to read. Damn it, I get it!" Subaru snatched the cup and drank the bodily fluid in one go.
"Drinking my bodily fluid so enthusiastically… mm, it makes me a little shy."
"Ugh! I'd forgotten about that!" Subaru started retching.
Clap!
Echidna clapped her hands.
"Then again, what about a thank you? I don't think I've heard you say it yet."
"Thanks for brewing this damn tea for me! You witch!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"He finally said thank you, though it was very rude,"
Emilia said.
"Although I think that was more like sarcasm, haha,"
Otto said.
"Why would the Witch of Greed repeatedly make Subaru drink her bodily fluid?"
Yuriusu wondered, deep in thought.
—
[ "To be rejected like this, my maiden's heart is hurt, considering I'm the one providing the fluid," Echidna responded to Subaru's retching.
"A maiden would never say 'providing bodily fluid' in her life. Then again, I want to continue with the real business. Regarding that oath, can you make a pact with me… no, are you willing to help?"
"Are you avoiding the word 'pact'? Regardless, my answer is yes."
"And one more thing. Echidna, how much do you know about me?"
"If you're asking how much I know, it's that I only know what I know. If you're asking how much I want to know, it's that I want to know everything in the world."
"Don't change the subject. You should have noticed by now; you should know that my appearing here is a strange thing." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"'Strange'… what do you mean?"
Emilia tilted her head.
"It's too short, that must be what he means,"
Ram said. Then she explained further:
"From her perspective, the interval since she last met Barusu is simply too short. After all, the world restarts after Barusu dies, so from her perspective, Barusu experienced the first trial, met her, suddenly had a mental breakdown, and then came here again. And one explanation is—"
"One explanation is that Master knows what happened in those ended worlds, so she isn't surprised by Subaru's breakdown."
…This is a spirit world; theoretically, it shouldn't be restricted by the loops,"
Roswaal said, and Beatrice explained as if suddenly enlightened.
"If that's the case, does it mean the Witch of Greed knows what happened to Subaru-kun, knows about Return by Death?"
Rem said softly.
An inexplicable feeling of displeasure welled up in Rem's heart.
Even if Rem wasn't the first person to know about Subaru-kun's Return by Death, at least…
At least it shouldn't be that damn witch.
"Oho? Is little Rem jealous?"
Ferris noticed Rem's expression and teased.
"Ah, eh? No, no."
Rem shook her head, blushing.
—
[ "That's just too strange. Because from your perspective, it should have been just a moment ago that we parted. I cleared the 'Trial'… overcame the past, and then returned. Not long after, I ran back here again," Subaru said.
It seemed Subaru had noticed too.
From Echidna's perspective, the time interval since meeting Subaru was simply too short.
"…" Echidna did not respond.
"You're so smart, it's impossible for you not to find it strange. If you don't find it strange, then that means…"
"That means?" Subaru hesitated, seemingly searching for the right words.
"It means you knew it would turn out like this all along." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"He's very cautious. He's afraid of triggering the taboo, right?"
Yuriusu said.
He wasn't speaking directly or clearly, but vaguely, testing the red line of the taboo.
"Haizz, after all, he's been scared by that thing, I can understand. That guy is really miserable,"
Felt thought, wondering how many times she had already thought Subaru was miserable.
—
[ "You possess the power to view my memories, so you wouldn't find this situation strange." Subaru realized he hadn't touched the red line, so he took a step further.
"Haa… haa…"
He was panting, sweating; he must have been recalling the pain of having his heart squeezed.
"Then let's try it and see," Echidna said lightly.
Subaru looked surprised, his brow furrowed tightly.
She shook her head and said, "Challenging to obtain a result is a noble act. Precisely because of that, it has the value of being desired."
"…Chances are, you won't even have the time to regret it…" Subaru stopped mid-sentence.
"If it really comes to that, I'll look forward to the scene of you wailing in front of my corpse." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Could it be… Echidna really…"
Emilia didn't think Echidna's last sentence was just a casual remark.
Because the scene she described was the same as that time.
That was the loop where they fought Petelgeuse.
Subaru endured the pain to tell Emilia the truth, but as a result, Emilia's heart was crushed.
"And she also saw Subaru's fear, and told Subaru to 'try it and see', as expected…"
Yuriusu said.
—
[ "Echidna... I'VE BEEN RETURNING BY DEATH!!" After saying this, Subaru fell silent.
With a tragic expression on his face, he waited quietly for the world to pause.
The world paused…
Paused…
Paused…
…
"Huh?"
Nothing happened.
The world did not pause, and Subaru felt no pain. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"W-what's going on?"
Otto was bewildered.
Could the reason be that this is a spirit world, so it's not affected?
"Nothing…"
Emilia was incredibly surprised.
The world didn't pause, and Subaru's heart wasn't squeezed.
"No, if that's the case, then Echidna!"
Emilia recalled the loop where her heart was crushed, worried about Echidna, and hurriedly looked at the screen...
—
[ "Hmm…" Echidna was still sitting in the chair, looking completely out of danger. Then she crossed her other leg over, slightly furrowing her brow.
"Ah…?" Subaru was stunned, staring at Echidna's chest, observing the rise and fall—
There was no change; it was a completely normal rise and fall.
"If you keep staring, I'll get shy. I'm quite proud of my appearance, but I'm not confident in my figure. It's not like Sekhmet or Minerva." Echidna pretended to be shy and reached out to cover her chest. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Watch your gaze, Subaru~"
Roswaal was somewhat annoyed, his expression stern.
"Echidna is okay?!"
Emilia said in shock.
"Because this is a spirit world, it's not restricted by those things. Furthermore, as fellow witches, Mother's heart isn't something that can be crushed just like that."
Then Beatrice showed a sorrowful expression.
There was another reason: Mother had already passed away, so how could there be another death?
Wait.
Everyone realized something.
This meant Subaru could finally… finally be able to…
—