47: The Four Questions (Part two)
"Tsk~~"
Noticing that Subaru wasn't shaken at all, Echidna seemed to lose interest.
"If you want details, ask the one who created them—the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne. Oh, and let me warn you: don't undo her restraints. And don't get too close to her."
"What do you~ want to ask Daphne~?"
Before Subaru could react, a sweet and coquettish voice suddenly spoke beside him.
He turned and saw, not far away, a girl lying inside a coffin.
She was tightly bound with chains and a straitjacket, and her eyes were covered by a black blindfold.
"I only came out because Dona kept nagging~ I was sleeping soundly~ and I don't want to be awake for too long~ so don't say anything boring, okay~"
Despite this sounding more like the Witch of Sloth than Gluttony, the sight of her drooling, along with the palpable sense of hunger directed at him, made Subaru feel genuine fear from the depths of his soul.
"This... is poison to Daphne's body—Centipede Coffin."
Noticing something was off, the girl murmured softly.
Then, to Subaru's shock, the coffin she was confined in began moving sideways like a crab. Perhaps he had been hit with too much strangeness in a short time, but Subaru found himself too stunned to even question or comment on the bizarre sight.
"I get it. Talking for too long won't benefit either of us."
Remembering what happened the last time he was surrounded by multiple witches, and sensing that Daphne's presence had a stronger spiritual impact on him than the others,
Subaru braced himself, trying to avoid getting ejected prematurely.
"Let me ask quickly. I want to know about the Three Great Mabeasts that you created."
"The Three Great Mabeasts...?"
Daphne tilted her head a few times as if trying to recall, then finally spoke:
"Oh~ you mean the whale~ the bunny babies~ and the snakey~? Those kids~ they just ran off on their own from Daphne~"
"Then... how do we get rid of... the rabbit?"
Noticing Echidna's gaze, Subaru paused, but still rephrased the question.
"Eh~? You want to get rid of the bunny babies~? Those kids~ are weak and easy to eat~ and they multiply too~ they're Daphne's pride and joy~"
"What did you say? Why would you create such things?"
Daphne looked genuinely puzzled and responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"The White Whale is really big~ right? Isn't it perfect to feed lots of people~?"
"The bunny babies~ they can multiply endlessly no matter how many times you eat them~. As long as they exist~ nobody has to go hungry~ amazing, right~?"
She spoke in an innocent and cheerful tone, confirming Subaru's suspicions.
Daphne had created the Mabeasts in an attempt to solve the food shortage problem.
In her eyes, they were food sources meant to save people from starvation.
"But the exact opposite of what you wanted happened! So many people have been brutally eaten by the Great Rabbit!!"
"Wanting to eat others~ but not thinking you might get eaten yourself~ isn't that kinda selfish~?"
Daphne smiled sweetly as she said this to Subaru, who now had a bitter expression on his face.
In that moment, Subaru understood—this girl wasn't "human."
Her thinking wasn't human.
She thought like a hungry beast. Her focus wasn't saving people, but simply feeding.
She created Mabeasts solely to satisfy that instinct.
"Since you believe in the predator-prey survival rule, then I hope you'll also acknowledge the instinct to kill for survival. So tell me: how can we defeat the Great Rabbit?"
"The bunny babies act as a group~ Those kids~ were born when Daphne was so hungry her chest stuck to her back~ and since they've never known a full stomach~ they'll devour everything."
"What are you playing at?"
Subaru stared in surprise at Daphne's clear and coherent answer.
"Well~ since living requires eating~ then living by killing also makes sense~ doesn't it~?"
"A single bunny baby~ can infinitely split and reproduce~ it's the perfect food~ that never runs out."
"And the bunny babies~ rely on mana to find their prey~"
"Wait!"
Realizing this was critical information, Subaru hurriedly stopped her, but Daphne, the "Mother of Mabeasts," ignored him and continued calmly describing her creations.
"They're drawn to areas with high mana~ so if you use a strong magic user as bait~ you can lure them all in~ and then wipe them out all at once~"
"But since they multiply infinitely, what if some of them split off from the main group?"
"Even though they're many~ they share only one consciousness~. The whole group~ has a single mind~."
—Now it made sense. That's why they didn't split up but instead devoured the ones with stronger mana first—like Rem—before coming after Subaru.
"Also~ they don't have the intelligence to take action to avoid being killed~"
Daphne's information was incredibly valuable in planning the rabbit extermination.
Though they still lacked a sure method of wiping them out, Subaru could now faintly see the path forward.
"Can Daphne go back now~?"
Yawning, Daphne looked at Subaru, who was deep in thought about the rabbit situation.
"Yeah. Whatever your reasons were, your info is useful. Thanks. I'm going to wipe out the Great Rabbit, the White Whale... and the Black Serpent too, if it's still alive. So don't complain, Mother of Mabeasts.
Whether your intentions were good or bad, they've wreaked havoc for four centuries.
That's long enough. I'm going to erase them without a trace."
Subaru's declaration sparked a reaction in Daphne that she'd never shown before.
"Just a human."
The Witch's mouth twisted sideways, revealing a mind for the first time that was not about food.
"If you can do it~ go ahead and try~"
Exposing her sharp teeth, the Witch of Gluttony let out a delighted sneer and vanished.
"Can we move on to the next question? Although Minerva and the others didn't appear for long, your time is running out too."
Echidna's emotionless voice interrupted Subaru's thoughts.
He closed his eyes.
Despite all the information he had gained, he didn't feel elated.
But remembering the image of a certain girl with curled hair, Natsuki Subaru opened his eyes, filled with resolve.
"Who is the person Beatrice has been waiting for?"
"Well, who could it be?"
"Huh?"
"No, you're not wrong. It's true that I made the contract with Beatrice, and that I instructed her to wait for 'that person.' I'm not joking."
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right. Among the people she meets, choosing someone as 'that person' is one possible outcome.
Spending 400 years without choosing anyone is another outcome.
Or even agonizing over whether to break the contract and seeking her own death counts as an outcome. So in the end, I don't know who Beatrice is really waiting for."
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