'... But that's unfair, 'Dona! We got to talk to Emi' yesterday, so why won't you let us talk to (Y/n) today? Stop telling me no!'

'Typhon, you do not simply talk to (Y/N). As I stated before, I believe that he does not require the distraction that you and the others quickly become.'

'But that's unfair! You're being a very bad person right now! People need other people!'

'Now, Typhon, you know that this space is under my discretion, correct? Even if you attempt to touch me and destroy my body, I can warp this field to become anything I wish for it to be.'

'B-but... but... ... BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-'

As the Witch of Pride proceeded to make an unholy screech of frustration, you were drawn out of your sleep.

'Echidna, can't you turn that off? I thought alarm clocks were bad, but this one forces you to wake up,' you complained.

'Ah, you are awake now? I would act surprised, but that was intentional. I have been confronted by Typhon for at least six hours now, so I assumed that you would not mind helping me get this child to stop whining.'

You paused for a second before settling back down, you hand crawling under your sleeping shirt to find the black pendant that rested beneath it.

'Yeah, that seems pretty fair. I'll be there in a sec.'

You grabbed the pendant, and in a flash, the dimly lit bedroom gave way to a Windows background that was occupied by an extra guest today.

When she saw you appear, Typhon's face lit up, all of her crocodile tears dissipating into nothingness. "(Y/n)! You came!"

She playfully stuck a tongue out at Echidna, who looked back with a glance of superiority.

Ignoring the older Witch's expression, Typhon ran toward you, arms outstretched. "(Y/n)! We had so much fun with Emi' yesterday, so I wanted to play some games with you too! I'm always watching you and 'Dona have a lot of fun, so it's my turn now!"

She slowed down as she neared you, adding, "Although some of the things you two watch are a bit sinful..."

You clicked your tongue, wagging your index finger as you did so. "I think you're talking about fanservice, in which case you're probably right, but what's the problem with that? You literally hang out with Sekhmet, so I see no problem there."

As Typhon contemplated the validness of your statement, you turned toward Echidna and asked, "So, you let Emilia in here yesterday while Roswaal was looking for you?"

The Witch of Greed's eye twitched as she broke eye contact. "Y-yes, indeed, I did. After a miniscule amount of self-reflection, I deduced that my current attitude towards Emilia would create more nuisances than attempting to resolve it."

You nodded your head with impressment. "So, you're finally over that 'I hate Emilia' phase?"

Echidna's head snapped back toward you. "Of course not! I despise that filth who has been carried by both you and Subaru! Without the two of you, her dreams would have been shattered, her goals forgotten after they are buried deep within her to keep the pain away!"

"So... I'm taking that as a no." You scratched your head. "And by the way, could you tell me why you hate her so much? I know that you've said no before, but-"

"(Y/N)! Stop it right now!"

This was the Witch of Wrath, Minerva, speaking, but you couldn't see where she was. You looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

All of a sudden, there was a pink flash before your eyes, and dust rose from where Minerva crashed down.

Deadpanning, you noted, "You just had to be extra with that entrance, didn't you?"

With a red hue on her cheeks, Minerva pointed at you and shouted, "You're too insensitive! You ask the wrong questions and say whatever comes to mind, and now I'm angry! I'm also super happy that Echidna let us talk to Emilia yesterday, because she really wanted to meet all of us!"

"Minerva," Echidna called in a soft voice.

"What is it!?"

With a calm tone that was laced with tension, Echidna replied, "Stay out of what is not your business. Just because you are driven to help everybody does not require you to butt in whenever you feel the need to do so. In fact, you are the insensitive one for taking the conversation away from me."

As Minerva teared up from what was presumably anger, another voice made itself heard as it sighed. "You're not wrong," *sigh* "Echidna, but" *sigh* "you need to be nicer."

From a short distance to your left, Sekhmet, the Witch of Sloth, appeared. She was laying down on the ground, with an arm lazily propping up her head. As usual, even the act of breathing seemed to be a chore for her.

When the fourth Witch appeared, Typhon clapped. "Yay! Everyone is getting back together again so soon! We should do this every day!"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure about that, Tyu Tyu."

Right behind Typhon, a large, black coffin that had purple legs protruding from the bottom appeared. Inside of it was a small girl who was restrained by purple chains and blindfolded by a black cloth. This was Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony.

She licked her lips, displaying the sharp teeth that hid beneath them. "If we meet every day, I might go crazy with hunger!"

As more and more Witches appeared, you began counting on your fingers. "Ok, so five of you are here now. That means that we're just missing Carmilla and... yeah, I don't think that Satella will show up today." After glancing at Echidna, you added, "Or any day, if you have anything to say about it."

Right on cue, there was a stutter that came from next to you. "S-Satella-chan i-isn't a bad person... I-It's just that s-she isn't c-completely in c-control."

"Tsk," Echidna sneered, losing some of her cool. "If she would not have tried to go save the world, she would not have destroyed it."

"No!" Minerva asserted. "She tried to do the right thing, and you know that she never meant to do those bad things! Isn't that the same as a lot of us here!? That includes both me and you, so don't go arguing about that point!"

"Umm..." you interrupted, completely left out of whatever was going on here.

All of the Witches suddenly stopped and looked (or in Daphne's case, turned) toward you, and they all stopped talking.

With a lost expression, you started talking since you had everyone's attention. "I don't know what any of you are talking about, so can I have some context here?"

"Not yet," Echidna firmly stated. "I promised you that I would tell you about this one day, but that day has not come yet."

You sighed as you shrugged. "Oh well. I guess that I'll have to wait until I've started to figure all of that out on my own before you tell me anything."

"You must be starvingfor some information right now, (Y/N)-(N)!" Daphne growled as she licked her lips, her coffin scooting towards Echidna's tea table.

You were about to agree with Daphne, but something stopped you.

In fact, it even stopped Daphne in her advance to eat the table.

"..."

Echidna was glaring at Daphne, and her animosity was so strong that it could be sensed in the air. "No. Means. No." The Witch harshly articulated her words, and it was so unusual to see her so angry about something that it sent shivers down your spine.

The other Witches felt this fury, and it shut them all up.

As soon as the intensity filled the room, it spilled out into nothingness. With a look of feigned ignorance, Echidna looked around the green hill. "Why so serious?" she asked to her fellow Witches.

Time Skip

At Typhon's insistence, you played Monopoly with the Witches (minus Sekhmet, who watched lazily from the side, and Daphne, who couldn't see the board through her blindfold).

At this point in the game, Echidna owned the entire red side and seeing as Minerva was going broke, it looked like she was about to take the green properties as well.

Typhon owned most of the pink/orange side, and you owned the light blues, the two browns, and Boardwalk.

Carmilla was in the odd position of having Park Place and a single orange property. She wasn't really getting money, but she had been able to dodge most pricey places so far, so she had been slowly stockpiling money.

"Why are you so good at this, 'Dona?! You're getting too much money for this to be fair!" Typhon complained, even though this game was her idea in the first place.

Echidna shrugged, indifference coating her face. "I am merely taking advantage of the property that I buy, and I utilized the needs of my competitors to purchase land from them as needed. When one proposes a deal, they must consider the needs of their competitor. Then, they must overstate the initial price and once it is disagreed upon, it can then be lowered to something to your satisfaction."

You squinted your eyes. "You know, Echidna, you sounded like a true capitalist just now. I guess that's fitting though, since you're Greed and all that."

Echidna smiled as she watched you roll the dice.

"Aww... that is too bad, (Y/N)!" Echidna noted. "It seems as if you landed on one of my hotels! Just as you noted, the capitalist within me is very pleased right now!"

You moved your token along the board, making sure that Echidna was actually right, just in the small case that she was messing with you and perhaps you landed on the utility instead.

When you reached the spot, a look of defeat spread across your face. "You were right..." you grumbled. "I'm the first one out."

Echidna grinned and quickly moved her attention from you back to the game, since it was now Typhon's turn.

You clicked your tongue as you stood up and left the table. Looking up, you saw Daphne drooling next to Sekhmet, so you decided to go talk to them as the other Witches finished their game.

"Haha! I can smell the disappointment oozing off of you, (Y/N)-(N)! Can I have a bite~?"

"You know what? No! I get that Monopoly is just a game, but it's no joke - it really does make you mad enough to the point where it destroys relationships."

*sigh*"Then what was the point" *sigh* "of you coming over here?" *sigh*

You looked over to Sekhmet, whose eyes didn't meet yours since they were closed.

With a sigh that mirrored hers, you plopped down onto the ground. "You're right. I overreacted a little. Sorry about that, Daphne."

The confined Witch giggled. "Don't be sorry, (Y/N)-(N)! Be gracious and give me food!"

"I don't think I will," you responded with a grin.

Daphne's legged coffin crawled right up to you until there was no personal space between you and her. "Would you like to experience hunger? Not the hunger you've felt before, but true hunger? True hunger that makes you want to consume every single thing? Don't you want to know how I feel?"

"Wait, you can make me feel like that?"

The Witch of Gluttony grinned, displaying her sharp teeth. "Of course I can! All you have to do is look into my eyes-"

"Left eye," the Giantess interrupted as she sighed, "is what she means." *sigh* "And you probably shouldn't do it." *sigh*

You shifted your focus back to Sekhmet, who was still sprawled out of the ground. "Why just the left eye, and what in the world does it do?"

The Witch of Sloth opened her eyes and huffed again. "Her eyes do different things" *sigh* "and the left one is weaker." *sigh* "It just makes you very hungry." *sigh*

You shrugged. "That seems about right, considering what Daphne just told me. Now, is this a timed thing, or can one of us break the hungry thing whenever we want to?"

Daphne licked her lips, stopping some drool from escaping her mouth. "Oh, we can snap you out of it!"

"Really? So I can just feel really hungry for a second and feel how you feel?"

"Yes!"

"And all I have to do is look at your left eye?"

"Yes!"

"How about no?"

"YE-" Daphne paused mid-sentence, her mouth still agape. "W-what did you just say?"

With exasperation, you explained, "Well, you see, why in the world would I want to feel really hungry? You're so hungry that you literally eat tables, so I'm not going to put myself through that. I'll just take your word and believe that you're hungry beyond what should physically be possible."

Both the Witch and her coffin stood motionless for a second, and then they disappeared from Echidna's Castle of Dreams.

You pursed your lips as your company went down by one.

Sekhmet was the only Witch next to you for a few seconds before Daphne's spot was promptly taken by Minerva, who was the second to lose in Monopoly.

"What did you do Daphne?!" Minerva demanded as she stomped toward you.

You deadpanned. "Well, you see, she told me to look into her left eye-"

"SHE WHAT?!"

Minerva's mouth dropped, her tears from losing reappearing as she transitioned into her teary-angry state.

"How dare she try to hurt you like that?! Daphne knows how much it hurts to feel that hungry! She shouldn't make you feel like that! I hate the world for making it possible for her to still hurt people!"

The ground shook as Minerva began punching it, which actually did nothing. A few comical hearts, in varying shades of red and pink, rose from the punching site, but the ground... it didn't take any damage. If anything, the simulated grass seemed to look even healthier.

"Hey! 'Nerva!" Typhon called out from the table, "Stop shaking everything! You almost made my money fall! Are you trying to cheat? Because if you are, I'll have to judge you as a sinner!"

"B-but... Daphne... she... SHE COULD HAVE HURT (Y/N)!"

Minerva began to bawl again, so you got up and put a hand on one of her shoulders to calm her down. "Come on now, she didn't actually do anything, and I'm perfectly fine." You paused, not really knowing what to say. Minerva was an oddball, and her weird, caring attitude toward everybody was not something that you were used to dealing with.

Nothing came to mind to say, so you shrugged and said, "I'm not really good at this kind of thing, so please do me a favor and stop crying."

The Witch of Wrath didn't seem to mind the bluntness since her tears reduced to sniffles, but something else seemed to be bothering her now.

Minerva turned her head so that her eyes met yours. "Don't let people hurt you like that," she whispered as her lips quivered. "It's stupid, so be smart for once!"

"But..." you started, dumbfounded by these words. "I didn't look in her eyes, and I'm not hurt. I didn't do the dumb thing, and I'm pretty sure that we've established that already."

Minerva sighed and turned away, breaking the eye contact. You heard her take some deep breaths, and then she also faded away.

*sigh* "You seem to be having a rough day." *sigh*

You slowly faced Sekhmet, who hadn't moved at all. "Yeah, you're right," you admitted. "But in my defense, I was woken up early and I haven't eaten yet."

You patted your stomach to make a point, but then a pressure grew inside your hand. As you looked down to investigate the source of the pressure, you were shocked.

There was now a Snicker's bar in your hand, and you unconsciously held on to it.

From the table, you heard Echidna call out, "You are not yourself when you are hungry!

Time Skip

As it turned out, Echidna lost that Monopoly game.

To whom, you ask?

Well, who do you think? Typhon, who owned an entire side of the board before you left, or Carmilla, who only possessed a mere two properties when you lost?

Echidna sighed. 'Yes... Carmilla was victorious. It seems as if luck is much more efficient than strategy when it comes to games.'

At this point, you had left the Castle of Dreams, and the other Witches had left one by one, leaving only Echidna to talk to you as you made your way to the practice area.

"So," you wondered silently, "what exactly were you talking about with Emilia yesterday? I never got to ask, and I was just a little curious."

'Hmph. I am very tempted to remain silent about this matter, but I suppose that you have received negative responses to your statements quite often today, so I will quench your curiosity and appeal to your Greed!'

'As you have already been informed, that bitc- I mean, Emilia- requested to meet all of the Witches, and that request was granted. We made small talk, and she had the unexpected decency to refrain from asking insensitive questions, unlike a certain somebody else.'

"Ouch," you thought as you clicked your tongue. "So what else did she say? The other Witches seemed like they already like her."

'There is nothing else. I have said all that needs to be said about her visit.'

You stopped in your tracks, which would have looked odd to any onlookers. "Wait... did you just summarize something?"

'Yes, I suppose I did. However, what else would I say? Delving into the specifics of that conversation is something that even I deem to be boring, so what good would that do for you to learn?'

"I got the message. I'll just put that thought onto the backburner, where it will be forgotten and quite possibly lost forever."

Echidna chuckled quietly. 'Thank you for understanding.'

"You know, you've been acting weird lately. At first, you were all excited because you tricked Roswaal into making a contract with you, and then you were really upset because of stuff I don't know about, and now you're all happy again. I don't get it."

'(Y/N), the answer is simple: I am a woman.'

"..."

You moved your leg forward and proceeded to walk again, not responding to that answer.

It didn't take long for you to arrive at the training site; this place was outside, and you didn't seem to have an issue navigating through a field and the edge of a forest.

It was only two days ago that you fought Al there, but it felt like it had been months.

'That is true. Time seems to function oddly here. Of course, this statement has no merit here, as my Castle of Dreams exists outside of this world's spacetime continuum, but I felt the need to vocalize my observation.'

"Well, that sounds great and all, but I think that we should spend this time that we have right now and start training me. I really want to learn that incantation-less magic that you mentioned."

'Omega will arrive at the training location promptly. You see, I am now involved in this camp's affairs, so I was approached by the merchant, who seems to still be weary of me. Obviously, he is making the correct decision, but that does not change the fact that his caution is irksome. Now, since you have been anticipating this moment for the last half a day, let us begin your progressed training.'

As soon as you stepped onto the dirt that encompassed the training field, you cracked your knuckles, ready to learn... right after some stretches.

A few minutes later

After some light stretching, you were ready to start working on new techniques.

It might not seem important to stretch before using magic, but as Echidna has once explained, if you were trying to push the limits of Akra, which enhanced your body, you could end up pulling something or end up being subject to painful cramping. Since Akra was the best current way to build up your mana capacity, you made it a routine to stretch every time you practiced spells.

"Good!" you heard from behind you.

Without having to turn around, you replied, "You showed up right on time, Omega!"

Omega chuckled as she walked in front of you, where you could see her. "I would have offered to join you, but walking this distance seems to have been a good enough warm up for my body. In addition, I am certainly not a close combatant, so I will not be using Akra in the same matter as you. However, there is something that I wish to test with you."

Omega motioned to the three swords that were strapped to your back. To be honest, these swords were almost like a part of you now since they've been with you for almost half a year, so there was a small part of you that wanted nobody else to swing them.

A stern look from Omega killed that tiny voice in your head, and you unsheathed the sword that was given as a result of someone giving it as a gift after hearing about Feeding Lugnica, which was the program that gave people parts of the White Whale to eat.

She took the sword with a serious demeanor, but her thoughtful action was completely undermined by the fact that she had no idea as to how to hold a sword.

'No. Do not help me, (Y/N). I-'

Echidna read your mind and tried to stop you from helping, but she cut herself off.

"Actually," she said through Omega, "I am teaching you, so it is only fair if I allow myself to learn from you as well. I can discern the correct technique sooner by searching through certain memories, but I will ignore this fact, for I will seldom require this technique."

You ignored the second part of her sentence and took her left arm, which was Omega's non-dominant hand. Echidna was actually left-handed, so this might have played a part in the awkward position she was currently in.

Anyway, you moved Omega's left arm so that it held the grip below her right hand. The three swords that you possessed all had handles that allowed for both one-handed and two-handed fighting, and Clind once mentioned that they were called "handle-and-a-half blades" amongst the Knights.

You guessed what Omega was about to do, so you chose a stance that wouldn't tire her arms too quickly. Pulling out the sword that Julius gifted to you, you demonstrated a stance that may have seemed off: your arms pointed down, and the tip of your sword was almost touching the ground. At the same time, you shifted your feet into the appropriate position.

Omega looked at your posture, and being careful to maintain the exact position of her hands on the grip, she moved into the stance that you displayed.

Within seconds, she mimicked you almost perfectly.

"Wow..." you muttered. "Not gonna lie, that's impressive. It's one thing to be able to see and then visualize something, but actually being able to copy this stance almost perfectly in just a few seconds is insane. If your body actually had endurance, then I'd say that you should train with a sword."

Omega shrugged. "I have always fit in the archetypical mold of an intelligent being who does not meddle in physical combat. I definitely possess no affinity for swordsmanship, and hyperintelligence cannot make up for the raw talent and refined skills of one such as Reid."

You saw a faint tremor in Omega's hands, and you couldn't tell if it was a result of that name or if she was already getting tired from holding the sword.

"Reid... he was the first Sword Saint, right?"

Omega nodded. "Correct. I would have been ecstatic to see your reaction to his prowess, but I am afraid that you have been spoiled by his descendent, Reinhard van Astrea."

You nodded your head. "Yeah, after seeing Reinhard in action, it's hard to compare anything to him and think that it's amazing."

You didn't get a response because Omega closed her eyes and began concentrating. You were pretty certain that she was trying to replicate the technique you used against Al, in which you imbued mana into your sword.

While Omega was trying to figure out how to copy your magic, you tried to do it for a second time.

Just like your contracted partner, you closed your eyes and focused on your mind. This time, you didn't have adrenaline to make things suddenly happen in the moment, so you had to work harder to get the same result as before.

From the darkness of your closed eyelids, you visualized your sword. It came into view of your mind's eye, and once the trusted blade was clear, you visualized your hands holding it.

Hands appeared on the grip, and then you imagined a light that surrounded them. This light was yellow, and it had a faint glow that had no definite shape.

This was the mana that was held inside of you by your gate, and all that was left was to control its release so that it transferred into the sword.

The light slowly crept from your hands onto the handle, but it dimmed as soon as it began to move farther out.

To fix this, you imagined a brighter light, and the image in your mind corrected itself so that the sword was quickly being bathed in a yellow aura.

You opened your eyes, and your sword was doing exactly as you saw with your eyes closed. It was emitting light, and you could feel the power that it gained from the mana transfer.

Without even opening her eyes, Omega said, "It seems as if you have a talent for unorthodox spells. As of this moment, I am unable to use this technique, but I shall attempt this later with a different object."

She relaxed her body and broke the stance. With both arms, Omega handed the sword back to you, and you sheathed it without even having to look back. Months of experience allowed you to pull this off, and it probably looked cool.

Obviously, Omega was not impressed by this.

"Now," she instructed, "begin your actual training by activating Akra."

Not even closing your eyes, you visualized the familiar light bathing your body, and after you chanted "Akra!" you immediately felt stronger.

Akra boosted your strength and speed, and it also made your body more durable in order to be able to handle the moves that you did while buffed.

Now that this central spell was cast, you could begin casting other spells until your mana was drained to a low level.

Just in case something happened and you needed to gain mana back, Omega had bocco berries on her person, but you wouldn't need them today.

"Now, I will let you choose: would you like to learn a new spell, or would you like to practice incantation-less magic?"

"Well, learning a new spell sounds cool, but you know that I'm really excited to learn how to cast spells without saying anything! I'll be like a less powerful Rudy!"

Omega smirked. "Of course, you lack his perversion and his ability to draw women in, but in the magical aspect, I agree."

"You say that, but you're right here."

"..."

"..."

"Excuse me? Can you please elaborate, (Y/N)? That statement can be interpreted several ways, and I would hate to misunderstand it."

You buried the thought that existed in your mind and created one that wouldn't be as awkward to explain right now. "You know... if we're comparing us to Mushoku Tensei characters, then you're kind of like Roxy, and she's really interested in Rudy and how he can cast magic in a special way. If we take our names and replace them there, then that's the same, right?"

Omega lightened up immediately. "Of course! Now, let us move on from this subject and continue training." You had no idea if she read your mind and knew what you were actually thinking, but she wasn't giving anything away.

"Let us begin by practicing a very simple spell. Disengage Akra and attempt to recast it without speaking its name. This time, instead of only imagining the light enveloping your body, you will have to take a step farther and imagine it imbuing your body with magic. You need to visualize the light seeping through your skin, and you need to feel the strength being given to you."

Listening to this made the process sound a bit tough, but you took a deep breath and let your doubt leave as you exhaled.

This time as you closed your eyes, you tried to do exactly what Echidna outlined. To begin, you imagined yourself (which actually took a month to get used to when you first started out) and once that was complete, you imagined Akra's light covering your body.

This step was easy, but the next was unfamiliar. Not knowing exactly what you were supposed to do, you made the light dimmer as the inside of your body began to glow.

Next, you clenched your actual hands and tried to imagine strength pouring into them. A minute passed as you did this, and suddenly you heard Omega gasp.

"Did I do it?" you asked with your eyes still closed.

After a pause, she answered, "Well, you certainly exceeded my expectations."

You smirked as your fists unballed. Being able to use incantationless magic was going to be really fun.

You opened your eyes and your jaw dropped at the unexpected sight. Omega's body was shaking, and a hand covered her mouth.

She was laughing... at you, and you knew why.

At this moment, your body was dimly glowing like a human lightbulb.

"So... did I just accidentally create something, or is this normal?" you asked, not really caring which of these options were right as long as either of them were true. It would be more awesome if this was a new thing, but if not, at least it meant that you didn't mess up too badly.

With her laughter ending suddenly, Omega answered, "This is a phenomenon that I have never experienced nor come across in my studies. I believe that you just created a new spell. What would you like to name it?" A little chuckle curved her lips and escaped her serious demeanor as she suggested, "Shine bright like a diamond?"

At that moment, you had a thought, and you started to laugh as well. "What if I made a really dramatic pose and yelled, 'Let there be light!' and then, instead of making an actual light, my body glows like Fiona did in Shrek?"

This was a hysterical thought, and Omega couldn't help but busting into gut-hurting laughter. Through tears, she said, "This should not be comical, yet I find this body responding to that suggestion as if it were outrageously hilarious! Why not? I believe that you can also confuse the enemy with that tactic, so there is no reason to reject this proposal."

As the two of you were laughing, the light faded from your figure since you quit imagining the mana pouring into your body.

From a distance, you heard somebody call, "Is that laughter that I hear? There's no way that it's who I think it is!"

The owner of this voice seemed to be hurt by something because there was a quieter yelp that followed these words.

Omega immediately employed anti-laugh tactics on herself, and whatever psychological technique that she used seemed to have worked because not only did she stop laughing, but she also didn't leave any signs of crying from laughing too hard.

You weren't able to completely stop laughing, but that didn't matter because Subaru came into view with Beatrice at his side.

"What's up?" you greeted with your hands cupped around your mouth.

Subaru copied your hands. "I was just about to train my parkour skills, but then I heard you two laughing, so I came to check it out!"

You turned to Omega and in your normal voice, you asked, "Do you want to train him too, or do we just get him to go back to parkour?"

Omega shrugged. "After that boy has learned that his gate is not destroyed, he must be eager to learn magic other than Shamak. I suppose that I can take on one more pupil, although he will receive much less attention than you, who is much more promising in this field."

"How kind of you..." you replied sarcastically.

Choosing not to pick up on the sarcasm, Omega said, "Thank you, (Y/N). After my tireless efforts encompassing this past week, receiving praise is almost as rewarding as watching my seeds of thought grow into fruit."

At this point, Subaru jogged to your spot, and he interrupted the conversation between you and Omega. "So," he asked without being out of breath, "now that I'm here, this seems like a really bad idea, so I'm not going to ask about some stupid stuff."

Patting Beatrice on the head, Subaru continued, "So I'll just say this: I found out that I can still use magic, but, you see, me and Beako are in a tricky spot. She can only get mana from draining it from me, but I really need to learn some magic, which uses that mana. So can you help us find a middle ground?"

"Don't make it seem like we are arguing about this, in fact," Beatrice mumbled after Subaru finished his explanation.

Omega sighed. "I was currently training both (Y/N) and myself, but as this seems to be a matter of importance, I shall indulge you. Train your Yin magic without worrying about Beatrice, for there is a simple solution to this dilemma: you must find a crystal that holds a great amount of mana. When this happens, all willing magic users can donate a portion of mana to keep it full while you use magic without worrying about the supply."

As Omega spoke, something seemed to have clicked in Subaru's head. "Wait, would that crystal be the same kind that Emilia-tan is looking for to be able to see Puck again?"

Omega nodded her head. "Yes, indeed."

Subaru pumped his fist. "Heck yeah! Otto told me that Roswaal just scheduled a meeting with a guy that has those crystals! I only remember that his last name is Muse, but I heard that his company has a lot of them!"

You were actually surprised by this news. "Oh, so he actually solved some of our problems this time? That's refreshing."

"Yes, it is," Omega said with exasperation. "Now, let us begin training. We have wasted enough time."

Beatrice smiled as she backed out of the training area and onto the grass that surrounded it. Four hundred years ago, she was taught by Echidna, and now she was about to watch Echidna (but not her Echidna) train the boy who saved her from her eternal depression and his friend. This was going to bring back good memories.

Subaru noticed Beatrice's smile and gave her a cheery thumbs-up. Turning to Omega, he said, "Hey, I was actually doing some thinking, and I came up with an awesome move that (Y/N) and I can do together! It'll be an epic combo of Yin and Yang magic!"

Omega, who clearly wanted to start the lesson, impatiently asked, "And what is this spell called?"

Subaru smirked. "Well, it's called..."

Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

It's been way too long since I last updated, and I'm so sorry for that! Between school and everything else going on, my time to write has been cut really short, so I'm way behind schedule. Thank you all for being really patient and understanding, because that lets me write without having to stress about it.

The next chapter officially begins the next arc of this story, and I'm really hyped for it! Unfortunately, I won't be updating within the next month because I'm starting to work the next chapter of my other story to have it out by Christmas. My target to update this story is on January 24, which is Echidna's birthday, so I'll do my best to get it out by then!

I'll see you next time!