The Journey of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica begins!

"Hello there! My name is Otto Suwen."

Subaru and the others stood quietly for a second before Subaru chuckled to himself.

"Um, is there something on my face?" Otto asked in uncertainty as his body stiffened. He started to check his face to see if there was any dirt clinging to it but his search turned up no fruits.

Once Subaru stopped his triumphant chuckle, he looked back at Otto. "No… Nothing's wrong with your face, Otto. I'm just glad that you're here," he said, a trace of humor still present in his voice.

Otto let his hands drop as he replied to Subaru. "Oh, well, I'm also glad to meet you, mister-"

"-Natsuki Subaru."

Otto nodded to his introduction. "So it is you."

"Uh, me?" Subaru inquired, as he was sure he didn't really meet anyone in this world yet, and he didn't do anything big to get his name recognized.

Otto started searching for something inside his purse pocket. "I bring you a letter from Margrave Mathers-sama. He told me where to expect you and to deliver it as fast as possible. Even though I think the Margrave would be a lot faster if he flew here to deliver it himself," he said, muttering the last part.

No one heard Echidna mutter the name "Mathers?"

"A Margrave sent me a letter?" Subaru repeated as he gazed at the letter he received.

'That's a bit… weird. How can someone with such a high standing know about me? Wait… Don't tell me this whole escape thing was scripted and we were being watched!' Subaru couldn't find a reasonable solution no matter what he thought of.

"-san. Natsuki-san!"

Subaru was finally brought out of the trance by Otto's shout.

"Are you alright, Natsuki-san? You suddenly went pale!"

"Ugh, I'm fine. It just got to me that I almost lost my life today and suddenly I hear a really important person wrote me a letter even though I never met them," Subaru joked.

Otto sighed in relief, and once he backed away from Subaru, he noticed that the black-haired boy had companions with him.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I didn't get a lot of sleep these past few days due to all the accumulated stress."

He bowed before the seven girls, and with a smile, he reintroduced himself. "The name's Otto Suwen."

The seven witches also introduced themselves respectively, of course, Carmilla was a little bit further away from Otto so her authority wouldn't threaten him, and Satella decided to go with the nickname "Tella" when she's speaking in public. Yeah, it's not much, but she thought it's better than nothing. Common sense wasn't in her vocabulary anyway. But once Subaru heard Satella lie and tell Otto that her name is Tella, he raised an eyebrow. What was the reason for her to lie?

"U-Uh… It is nice to meet you, but… Why is Daphne-san in a coffin?" Otto asked, scared of the little girl that gives out a frightening aura.

"It's a… a stylish choice Daphne decided to go with. Nothing more," Subaru awkwardly explained. As of now, he himself didn't really know the use for the coffin, other than its footsteps being strong enough to make the ground quake.

"I see… In any case, it was nice talking to you, but I'm gonna have to go now. I still have one more letter to deliver."

At the mention of another letter, Echidna raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have quite a lot of these letters from the Margrave. Are you his messenger?" she questioned.

Otto straightened his back, but then he instantly slumped back. "A-Actually… I am just an unsuccessful merchant. I made a horrible gamble and paid for it greatly. Fortunately, Margrave Mathers-sama told me he can do me a favor if I deliver these letters to their owners, so here I am, in the middle of nowhere," he explained with an awkward chuckle.

"What gamble did you make?" Echidna continued the questioning, glad that she could finally hold a conversation with someone that wasn't a witch. Well, except for Subaru, but he wasn't a stranger any longer.

Otto scratched his head awkwardly. "It's kinda embarrassing, but I bought quite a few pots of oil cheaply and wanted to sell them in Gusteko, though since they closed the borders due to the situation with the royal family, I was unable to. If Margrave Mathers-sama gives me his favor, I will ask him whether it would be possible for him to contact the Sage Council and ask them for a permit to travel between Lugunica and Gusteko. It sounds impossible but… it's the only chance I have at avoiding bankruptcy."

Subaru listened to their dialogue, but when Otto mentioned something with the royal family, he couldn't help but join in. "What happened to the royal family? Did they get into an accident?"

Otto squinted his eyes at Subaru in suspicion. "Ehm, you mean to tell me you haven't heard about the royal family's death?"

Death. Oh…

"The king of this nation is dead?" Subaru mumbled under his breath.

"We apologize for our ignorance. We've come to Lugunica on a holiday to get a bit of a break from home, but we are uneducated in the matters of politics. In fact, Subaru himself tries to avoid it," Echidna explained, managing to make Subaru slightly blush as she casually started to use his first name instead of the full "Natsuki Subaru."

Otto nodded with a smile. "I understand what you mean. A similar thing happened to me when I was younger, but fortunately, I was able to reconnect with some of my family and everything ended well." Otto smiled as he reminisced.

"In any case, I'll have to go. I have someone that's waiting for me, and-"

"-Wait, you mentioned the royal family is dead, correct?" This time, Minerva came forward to question the merchant.

"Um, yes?"

"In that case, bring us with you. I'll heal the royal family. In the end, all pain, suffering, and death falter before me," she stated with care in her voice. It still surprised Subaru how she can care so much about the pain of others, even the ones she doesn't know. She's like Mother Nature that overlooks all life. But in this case, she made a grave mistake and Subaru was about to fix it.

"Uhm," Subaru coughed as he grabbed Minerva's shoulder and turned around with her. He looked back at the speechless Otto and said, "Be right back!"

Once the two had enough of a distance, they came to a halt.

"What is it, Subaru?"

"Minerva… I understand your power and your need to save everyone. I saw it with my own eyes. You can revive the dead!" Subaru tried to whisper but his voice was slowly rising. Fortunately not enough for Otto to overhear.

Minerva stared at the boy in confusion, not certain what his point was.

Subaru sighed and decided to continue. "Your power is amazing, but sometimes, enough is enough. Don't you get what would happen to you if you revived a monarch that has been dead for God knows how long?"

"What?" Minerva inquired.

"They'd put you in a cage and experiment on you. A power strong enough to revive the dead with a single punch? They'd abuse you to no end! They'd bring all the dead soldiers and nobles for you to heal! They could even monopolize you and make fortune by preaching about this power that can 'revive your loved ones.'

"I don't mind you using it for anybody, but this time, it's dangerous. And please don't mention you can revive the dead in public. If you get my point, thank you," Subaru finished and was about to return to the others, but he was forced to stop once he heard Minerva.

"Tsk. Echidna has been a real influence on you even though you've only known each other for less than two hours," she spat.

Subaru turned around, his eyes piercing Minerva's. "Echi-!? This isn't Echidna's influence. It's common sense! I am trying to protect you!"

"I can protect myself, as well as protect others with this power! They will never catch me, and if they do, it will be worth it all because I did something instead of just sitting on a couch watching people run around helplessly!"

Subaru couldn't comprehend what he just heard the wrathful witch say. "Did you… Did you just insult me?"

"..."

Subaru deeply sighed. He was starting to have enough of this. "Fine. If you won't take care of yourself for a stranger, then perhaps a friend?"

"What do you mean?"

"Back when we were escaping the Sanctuary, I noticed how you and Satella talk, smile around each other. I don't want you to become an experiment, and I sure as hell doubt Satella would. That's why… if you won't care for the feelings of a stranger, then it should be in your best interest to at least care for the feelings of a friend."

"..." Minerva could only stare at Subaru's retreating back. Deep down she knew she was being reckless, and that Subaru was right.

"H-Hey. Sorry about that. Sometimes Minerva says stuff she doesn't really mean," Subaru chuckled as he and Otto watched Minerva return to the group.

"I see…" Otto replied, then he came closer to Subaru so only the ones close enough would hear.

"Listen, Natsuki-san. I don't want to be rude, but Minerva-san should be careful about what she says. I don't really care that much, but when someone else overhears her talking about reviving the royal family or something, they might think she's a lunatic looking to cause trouble. There are all kinds of scary people out there."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry though, it shouldn't happen again," Subaru nodded.

Otto gazed at Minerva before sighing. "Oh, well. It was nice talking to you. But I still need to deliver this letter to the Sanctuary."

Subaru widened his eyes. "Wait, wait, wait. Why do you need to deliver a letter to the Sanctuary? Is it from the Margrave, too?"

"Hmm, the Margrave didn't say not to mention it, so I don't really care. It's for Garfiel Tinsel-san."

Otto didn't notice the slight fear on Subaru's face.

"What does the Margrave want to do with Garfiel?" Satella came to join the conversation.

Otto looked at the silver-haired girl. "Wait, you know him?"

Satella chuckled. "Well, knowing isn't the right word."

"It seems Garfiel isn't in the right mood. We found ourselves in his territory and as a way out, he almost tore all of us apart," Subaru added.

"I-I see. Certainly, I don't want to be torn apart today, so, let me just keep the letter," Otto said as he hid it inside his purse pocket. "Thank you for the information, though I suppose the Margrave won't be happy with me not delivering it today."

"Yeah… Sorry about that," Subaru said with a smile.

"It's not your fault, Natsuki-san," Otto replied as he turned around and gazed at the horizon. "It's probably around two hours before the sunset. I should get going if I want to get dinner," Otto's lips turned into a bright smile.

"Otto?" Echidna called out to the ashen-haired merchant.

"Um, w-why are you saying my name with that expression?"

Echidna approached him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"You wouldn't mind giving us a ride, would you?"

"I-I am not really sure if it's even possible to carry nine people in a single carriage without breaking it…"

"You wouldn't deny this poor maiden, would you?"

Otto stood frozen in silence, contemplating his situation, until he finally broke. He grabbed Echidna's hand and put it away from him. "I am only going to the town of Hanumas, nowhere else. And… you're gonna have to do something about Daphne-san and her… creation. There's no way that coffin is fitting into the carriage," Otto tried to explain it as nicely as possible, but he still couldn't help but get a weird look from the aforementioned Daphne.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you insult Coffin-chan, Otter."

"Otter? Please don't just change my name out of nowhere…" Otto cried out.

Typhon reveals herself from behind Subaru's back. "Don't worry about it, Ottie. Daph gives nicknames to all she thinks of as a friend."

"Ottie?" Otto repeated as he received another nickname. Then, it hit him. "Wait, you just said 'friend'?"

Subaru laughed out loud. "Yeah, Otto. At this point, I think we could be called friends."

The ashen-haired merchant smiled to himself. "Friends, huh? I guess that's not a bad start," he whispered.

Without him noticing, Subaru appeared behind him and patted him on the back. "Ghehe, that's right. So, whaddya say? Have Minerva help you move the oil around so all of us can fit while I go discuss something with the others. Alright?"

Otto's expression turned into a sad one. "Uwaa, I feel like I'm being bullied."

"Nah, nothing like that. Just a friendly quarrel is all," Subaru answered as he gazed at the frustrated Otto leaving with Minerva. The two of them moved into the back of the carriage and started moving the pots full of oil around so there'd be more space for the group.

"Phew… Today is seriously tiring. Or maybe that's because I didn't sleep for more than twenty-four hours?" Subaru questioned himself.

He moved towards the girls so they could assess their plans. Subaru also hoped he could learn of their powers. They needed to know everything about themselves since from now on, they'd be living and working together every day.

"So, first of all," Subaru started as he gazed at Daphne. "Do you think we could do something with that coffin of yours? O-Of course, I have nothing against Coffin-chan, but we don't want to put unnecessary attention on us."

"Hmm…" Daphne thought.

"Subaru-kun is right, Daphne-chan," Satella agreed.

Daphne deeply sighed. "Oh, well. I suppose it can't be helped." As she said that, one by one, her limbs started to get freed from the coffin's chains until she jumped out of it.

"..." Subaru couldn't mutter a single word as he contemplated what he just saw.

Daphne walked behind the unmoving coffin and did something to it, because the next moment, it started to shrink until it looked more like a little lunchbox rather than a coffin.

"Wait… If you can free yourself so easily, why even imprison yourself in this coffin?"

"Tsk, tsk. Silly Subarun. Coffin-chan is my creation. Why do you think I would willingly create something to hinder my eating?"

Getting no answer from Subaru, she decided to continue.

"My authority isn't entirely offensive. I can create animals of all sorts, but it takes time. Hence, I decided to create Coffin-chan to be my support and guardian."

"I see. So it's not to protect others, but to protect you?"

"Of course, silly Subarun. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go search for something to eat," Daphne said as she started walking towards Otto's carriage.

"W-Wait, Daphne! Please don't eat Otto!" Subaru shouted at the girl, but all he got as an answer was the nod of her head and an uncertain shake of her shoulders.

"Seriously… That girl is gonna give me a heart attack," Subaru chuckled as he watched her jump into the carriage, surprising Otto so much he almost fell out of the back of the carriage. In the end, the two laughed. Watching them get together made Subaru think that perhaps they come from the same family since both of them have ashen-gray hair.

"Nah, it couldn't be…" Subaru muttered.

"Is something bothering you, Subaru-kun?" Satella joined him in watching the merchant and the gluttonous witch play around.

"No, it just surprised me how fast Daphne adapted. It looks like she even made a friend already," Subaru replied as he continued looking at the carriage. Minerva also looked stunned when she saw Daphne out of her coffin and playing with Otto.

'It seems it's the first time Minerva sees Daphne out of the coffin, too. Well, there's a first time for everything.'

"Oh, by the way, what's with your nickname, Tella?" Subaru teased the half-elf.

Satella widened her eyes. "I-I didn't lie about my name! I swear it's Satella. But… I thought it'd be a better idea to use an alias in public. You should use 'Tella', too."

"I never thought you were lying. It's just that your name change happened suddenly. In any case, why do you need to use an alias in public? The other girls have no issue with using their regular names," Subaru wondered.

Here it comes. Satella knew this would be Subaru's next question. And she was looking forward to her beloved too… Looks like this relationship will end before it even began.

She needs to be honest, this is one of the worst moments for it, but even she, with her little-to-no common sense, knew that lying right now and then Subaru finding out the truth later would doom their relationship completely.

"Do you promise not to be angry with me if I tell you the truth?" she asked, her voice trembling in fear of what's to come.

"Tella… I don't really think it's that big of a deal to get angry. But I promise," Subaru replied.

"Well, you already know how all the witches have their authorities, right? So… when I received mine, I developed a second personality that was twisted, and… I destroyed half the world," she explained, awaiting Subaru's wrath in silence.

"...So, even though you did all that more than 400 years ago, the people in this world hate you?"

"Eh? U-Um, yes," Satella tried to answer. Subaru was unusually calm.

"I see. In that case, it would really be wise to use that nickname. As I said, we don't want to put unnecessary attention on us."

"Huuuh?!" Satella exclaimed with a cute tone.

"Is something wrong?"

"No… I-I mean, I just said I destroyed half the world, right?"

"Yes?" Subaru nodded.

"Why aren't you angry with me?"

"Oh, is that what this is about?" Subaru inquired. "It's not that hard, Tella. I came to this world without knowing anyone but the seven of you. And, well… Otto. You see where I'm going with this?" he asked, but Satella only shook her head. Subaru sighed as he smiled at the witch. "What I mean is that I have no attachment to this world yet. I can't feel sorry for people I never even knew. And from what I've seen on TV and in books, a lot of people can be dicks to demi-humans. So, I kinda understand what you were going for, but the way you did it is still wrong," he finished his rant with a warm smile to calm the witch down.

"So, you're not mad at me? Not even a little bit?" Satella asked.

"Not at all. Say, Sate- Tella, how about you take Sekhmet and Typhon with you and go warm up our seats in the carriage?"

Satella chuckled. "Gladly."

When Subaru least expected it, Sekhmet just stood up and started walking behind the two witches.

"Wait, you can stand up and walk on your own?!" Subaru exclaimed.

"I never said… I can't walk short distances."

Heh, what do you know? Subaru had to agree with her even with her short explanation. Sekhmet was a woman of few words after all.

That only left one more person to discuss with. Carmilla, the Witch of Lust.

"Carmilla?"

"Yeep!"

"Sorry… Did I frighten you?"

"N-Not at a-all. Do you n-need something?"

"Actually, yeah. Since we'll get to civilization soon, I doubt we'll have a lot of time to talk about the 'unnatural', if you know what I mean."

"D-Do you mean my a-authority?" she inquired.

Subaru nodded. "Yeah. How does it work? Garfiel looked really awful and you seem to be putting a distance between you and Otto."

"M-My authority is called the F-Faceless Bride. It works just l-like you think. It shows the p-person in my vicinity someone they l-love. But for some reason, it d-doesn't work on y-you, w-which made me really happy."

"Your life must've been hell. I am really sorry to hear that." Subaru slowly wrapped his hands around her for a hug. They stayed like that for a few more seconds before parting.

"I'm sure we can find some way for your authority to deactivate… We are friends from this day forth, and I don't like seeing my friends sad," Subaru said.

Carmilla's eyes brightened. For the first time since they met, she stopped hiding her visage behind her scarf and finally showed Subaru her smile.

"I-I'd love that very much!" she exclaimed with red cheeks.

Subaru awkwardly turns his head away, but then he widens his eyes as realization hits him.

"Wait… How are we gonna travel with Otto now?"

Carmilla noticed his frustration. "D-Don't worry. My authority only w-works if the person is d-directly in front of me, m-meaning that Otto-kun shouldn't be a-affected since the driver's seat is b-behind a wooden wall."

"Hmm, I see. That's definitely helpful. In that case, we shouldn't let others wait. Let's go!"

"R-Right!"

Now that everyone was finally somewhat seated in the carriage, their journey began.

Due to Sekhmet being of the giant race, she had to move to the driver's seat just so the others could fit in. Hopefully she isn't too hard on Otto.

And now, Subaru was slowly drifting off to sleep.

But before that could happen, a voice whispered into his ear soothingly.

"Subaru? I must say I am intrigued. How did you manage to make Minerva forget about healing? After all, healing was all there ever was to her. For her to just abandon it… I truly wonder what you two spoke about." It was the Witch of Greed, Echidna.

Subaru groggily opened his eyes to look at the white-haired girl. Then, he moved his lips next to her ear. They needed to whisper since the witch they were talking about is right next to them.

"I… I suppose even someone as adamant as Minerva is scared of solitude and imprisonment."

Once he answered, Subaru looked at Echidna's visage to try and read her expression.

"You truly are an interesting person. I'm glad we made the right choice and made that contract," she said as she slowly allowed her head to rest on Subaru's shoulder.

"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, once we reach Hanumas, would you teach me some magic?" Subaru inquired, his interest piqued.

"Sure I can. Hanumas is in the middle of Lifaus Plain, hence no one should be bothered if we shoot a few spells."

"Alright!" Subaru exclaimed with a wide smile.

"Speaking of magic, the spell Satella used to teleport you here had a high chance of malfunction. Thankfully, you were teleported into the Sanctuary which was only a one in a ten chance. The spell would either bring you right next to the caster or another random place, meaning you could've been teleported into someone's yard or a forest where you'd be mauled on by Daphne's mabeasts."

"Uwaa, this world is brutal."

"But we can manage. Things haven't diverged from the correct path," Echidna added.

Subaru nodded with a smile. "Speaking of correct paths, I think I should apologize to you, Minerva."

"Huh, what for?" Minerva asked.

"I… I may have said some things that sounded different from what I meant. I noticed you've been staring at me here and there, so I thought you were mad at me. If so, I want to apologize so our relationship can start over. And you were right about what you said. Echidna has an influence on me, and I'm still not sure whether it's good or bad," Subaru chuckled.

"Oh, no, no, no! I'm not mad. Well, I was… But that's not the reason I was looking at you. I was trying to find the right time… to also apologize. So, I'm sorry, Subaru. For insulting you back then," Minerva said. "Could we start over and be friends?" she smiled as he raised her hand.

'Huh. Is this really the Witch of Wrath I'm talking with? Did she get possessed by an angel of goodwill? No… I can't have these thoughts right now. Minerva is a good girl that truly wants to start over. That's it.'

Subaru accepted her hand and shook it with his own.

"Right now, it's pretty packed here and I'm tired, so a handshake is all I can do. But once this carriage stops, I'll hug you so hard that your authority will have to heal both of us," Subaru said with a smirk.

"... Idiot." Minerva couldn't find a way to react to it, so all she managed was this low insult as her cheeks flushed.

Yeah, Subaru wasn't too good at flirting. If this was to be called flirting to begin with. But, still, it was a good joke as laughter resounded in the carriage, only then Subaru realized what he said as he also started to blush.

Author's Notes

This chapter was more on the talking side, but we had some nice development for our characters.

I'd say the next chapter or the one after is where this story truly starts, so I'm sorry if you've been bored up until now. Hopefully, I'll be able to deliver what I plan without messing up. Later!