(A/N): I'm sorry that I didn't post a chapter last week! To make up for that, here's an extra long chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

"Why did they go to the Sanctuary! Didn't all of the Witch Cultists get killed? What, or who, made the villagers go there?!" This was bad news, as this meant that you had to go to the Sanctuary and deal with all of the crap that would happen over there.

Frederica was slightly taken aback by your aggressive reaction, and Subaru also looked horrified. He mouthed the words 'death trap', but you were the only one who could have known what he was trying to mouth.

Being the professional maid that she was, Frederica answered politely. "This morning, I received a letter from Ram asking me to return. In that letter, she explained that the villagers of Arlam felt uneasy about the possibility of the Witch Cult remaining in the forest, and since there were no fighters other than her left, the elder approached her. The elder wanted to have the villagers evacuated somewhere safe for the next few days, and Ram complied, taking them to the Sanctuary. "

"I can't believe this." You would have slapped your forehead, but you were still holding on to Rem. All of a sudden, a thought hit you.

You can just stay here at the mansion and let Subaru go to the Sanctuary and figure everything out there. You can figure out a way to stop Elsa and the mabeast user, and Subaru can handle the things at the Sanctuary.

Everybody was looking at you, expecting you to keep on fuming about the development.

You took a deep breath and calmed down. "Sorry about that. Just because something unexpected happened doesn't mean that I need to freak out. Now," you looked at Frederica, who was listening closely. "I guess we can go inside and talk about this some more."

Frederica smiled, showing off her sharp teeth. "Of course. Please allow me to help take your luggage inside."

Time Skip

By the time that you and Subaru had taken Rem to her room, Frederica had already taken out all of the things from the other carriages with the help of Crusch's attendants. You never did get to see what was in them.

When everybody had their things situated, the four of you sat in the main lobby.

Frederica initiated the conversation. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Frederica Baumann. I was employed here in the past."

Subaru's face lit up when a realization hit him. "Now that you mention it, I do remember somebody telling me that a maid had quit right before me and (Y/N) got here."

Frederica nodded her head. "I took my leave for personal reasons. Then I came back at Ram's request, and I returned about an hour before the three of you came." She then grimaced. "I found the kitchen and the trees in the garden in a desolate state. It was quite awful, and I just finished cleaning it up."

Yeah, that's what happens when Rem isn't here.

Emilia, who didn't remember the blue-haired maid, was confused. "But Ram always worked hard for us while you were away, so why, in the past few days...?" After she said this, Emilia gasped.

It seemed like she realized what had happened, and you vocalized her thoughts. "Without Rem- who nobody remembers except for me and Subaru-" You added that because Frederica wasn't really filled in about her. "Ram probably can't handle everything by herself, so that's why everything turned out the way it did."

Frederica pursed her lips together. "Was Rem that girl who you were carrying earlier?"

You and Subaru nodded your heads. The latter explained, "Yeah. Rem is Ram's little sister, and her existence was eaten by the Archbishop of Gluttony, so nobody remembers her. I don't know why (Y/N) and I remember her, but that's what happened."

Frederica brought her hand to her chin. "I wonder how the master and Ram will react when they return..."

"I don't know how Roswaal will react and I don't even want to imagine what Ram will do," Subaru answered.

That was definitely one thing that you wanted to avoid seeing, but knowing how life works, you're probably going to get caught up in Ram's reaction in some way.

"Speaking about Ram, how did she even get the villagers to the Sanctuary? It must have been difficult to move them by foot." This was something that just crossed your mind, and now it was just confusing.

This seemed to stump Frederica too. "Did the master not have carriages here for Ram to take? I assumed that there were plenty of those at hand, even though we did not have that many when I last worked here."

Emilia shook her head. "No, we didn't have that many carriages. So, how did they get there?"

This was answered when the front door was knocked on. Frederica answered it, and none other than Otto Suwen stood in the doorframe.

"Oh. I forgot about him," you comment. Everything now made sense. Otto and his crew of merchants had stayed here when everybody else went to the incident, so he must have helped transport the villagers to the Sanctuary.

Otto turned to look at you. "What kind of introduction was that?!"

Subaru chuckled. "Now this makes sense! Hey Otto, you can let the other merchants in! I want to thank everyone for their help when we were fighting Betelgeuse!"

Otto nervously shook his head. "Actually, they left."

"What?!" Subaru snapped. "Did they just go to the Sanctuary and just decide to go to some random place and leave you alone?!"

Otto nodded his head. "That is surprisingly close to what happened."

Everything went silent for a moment until Frederica motioned to where everybody was sitting. "Why don't you join us in the main lobby? I am sure that we would all appreciate a firsthand report on what happened earlier today."

Otto walked inside and took a seat next to you. Frederica was sitting across from you, and Subaru and Emilia were sitting on the couch beside you.

"Now, can you tell us what happened here, Otto?" You asked the merchant.

He nodded his head, and began. "Last night, the villagers came up to the mansion and asked Ram-san if she would evacuate them to somewhere that was guaranteed to be safe. The elder claimed that she and many other villagers did not feel safe with all of the fighters suddenly disappearing, so they wanted to be safe for a few days. Ram then asked me and the other merchants if we could transport the villagers to the Sanctuary, and we agreed. Before the sun was at its peak, we departed, and it took less time than I had thought for us to reach the Sanctuary. When we got there, Ram asked everybody to stay in the carriages, and she helped the villagers out carriage by carriage. The other guys wanted some compensation, so when she told them that there was nothing that they could get, they left."

Otto paused for a few seconds so that he could breathe. "I stayed since I wanted to talk to Roswaal-sama, but Ram told me that he was not in good health, and that I could probably talk to him after I brought the rest of you to the Sanctuary."

When he said that, Otto took a letter out of his cloak. "And she actually gave me this letter from Roswaal-sama, and told me to deliver this to you."

You took the letter, and read it out loud. "I am currently injured, and I will not be able to perform physical activities for several days. If you could all do me a favor and come to the Sanctuary, I am sure that there are several things that you would like to discuss with me."

That word... favor.

This meant that Roswaal wanted you to go to the Sanctuary. If you didn't go, you didn't know what would happen. On one hand, nothing might happen. On the other, you might die or something, and Subaru would never know, and he might potentially move past a save point without knowing that something happened to you.

Yeah... that didn't sound too good.

"...(Y/N)?"

You looked up, and everybody had a worried expression. Emilia, who said your name, continued. "(Y/N), is everything alright? You looked really angry for a second and..."

You did your best to smile. "Oh, it's nothing. I was hoping that I didn't need to go to the Sanctuary and could stay here and unwind, but it looks like I have no choice! I'm going to the Sanctuary, and I guess you two are coming too, right?"

Subaru and Emilia slowly nodded their heads. "Then that settles it! Let's leave... tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

They looked at each other, then nodded their heads. "That sounds good," Subaru replied.

Otto, who was still sitting next to you, sighed. "And that's fine with me too, if you were wondering."

Time Skip

After the small meeting, everybody ate lunch, which Frederica had prepared quickly.

While wiping the crumbs off of your mouth, you tapped Subaru on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow you.

You led him to your room, and after making sure the door was shut, you grabbed a pen and a piece of writing parchment.

"Subaru, we need to talk about what happens next."

He stood next to you, and he was obviously paying close attention to you.

"First off, you need to know that the knowledge of the future that I have stops near the end of our time at the Sanctuary."

Subaru gasped. "Then how do we know what will happen? How do we-"

You put your hand up, silencing him. "With that said, I am pretty sure how this plays out. I'm going to write as many things down as I can, so if you have any questions, let me know because I tend to forget some details. But please don't interrupt unless I go over something and don't explain it well before going on to something else."

With that, you began your explanation of the Sanctuary arc. "The very first thing that will happen is we will meet Echidna, the Witch of Greed. She's actually dead, but your mind or something will be transported to a different place that she calls her 'Tea Party', where you talk to her soul(?). Now, the first time that you meet her, nothing will happen, but the second time you try to talk to her, you will have to go through one of the Trials."

You wrote down a point for the trials. "About the Trials, there are three Trials, and they deal with your past, present, and future, and they are the key to freeing the Sanctuary. There is a barrier that surrounds it, and most demi-humans can't go through it unless they want to die, so the residents of the Sanctuary are trapped inside. Each time that you want to talk to Echidna, the more that it takes to get to her Tea Party, and eventually, she will try to manipulate you into making a contract with her. She will want to abuse your power to learn as much about the world as she can, so don't accept her offer when she tells you that she wants to form a contract."

You started a new section, and it was about Roswaal. "And Roswaal. He's actually injured, but don't let that fool you. He wants you to become someone who will sacrifice anything and anyone for their goal, so he has set up a very elaborate plan to do that. Like I told you before, don't trust him. He has a goal, and whatever it is, he will do anything to achieve it."

Backtracking, you explain, "Roswaal has a Gospel, and it's the perfected version of the one that you have, which I want to talk about later." You glanced at Subaru, who looked like he wanted to ask questions, but he refrained.

Continuing the explanation, you said, "His Gospel tells him about the future, and he follows it very closely. Because of that, he hired somebody to attack the mansion, and he is going to make it snow at the Sanctuary, and then the Great Rabbit will come in and eat everyone."

"What?!" Subaru couldn't hold his confusion any longer, and you could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears. "How are we supposed to face all of that?"

"As I was saying, there are some important people that you need to get help from in order to succeed. First, Otto will be more than willing to help, so make sure to stay on good terms with him, and he will be a very important person, and I'll explain his part later. Next is Garfiel, Frederica's little brother."

"He is very strong, but very hard to figure out. He, along with the Ryuzu Meyer clones, guard the Sanctuary. The way to get him to help you is to beat him in combat, and then get him to go through the first Trial, which I talked about earlier. Otto and Ram will help you defeat him, and so will I. Once Garfiel is on your side, he can help fight the people attacking the mansion, who are the Bowel Hunter and the little blue haired girl that used to live in the village."

Subaru's mouth was agape at the reveal of the girl's ability. "Wait... Meili is a mabeast user?!"

"If that's her name, yup. She was the one who made that little dog bite everyone, and the reason that we suffered so much during that battle."

Subaru grinded his teeth together. "That little brat... I'm going to teach her a lesson!"

You nodded in agreement, then went back on track. "Another important piece will be Beatrice. I don't know the full story yet, but from what I've gathered, she's waiting for 'that person', who is the person who will make her the most important thing in their life, to take her away from the library. Somehow, you will need to persuade her to come with you. I know that you aren't 'that person', but I'll leave it up to you to figure her out."

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. You stopped talking, and stood up. "Who is it?" You asked nonchalantly as you flipped the parchment over.

"It's Petra! Is Subaru-sama in there?"

The two of you smiled as you heard the child's voice, and you opened the door. Subaru answered her by saying, "It sure seems like it!"

Petra smiled, and ran up to Subaru. "Did you know that I was working here?" She asked enthusiastically.

Subaru shook his head. "To be honest, I had no idea! What made you decide to work here? Why aren't you with the rest of the villagers?"

Petra blushed a little before replying, "Well... I wanted to help all of the people who saved me, so I asked if I could be a maid here since they were asking for new maids! And just so you know, not all of the villagers wanted to leave, but they listened to the elder. But I stayed here because I told them that Frederica-sama would protect me!" What she really wanted to say was 'Because I wanted to be with you, Subaru!', but she couldn't find it in herself to voice her true intentions.

Even though she didn't say it, you could easily tell that she liked Subaru, but he probably couldn't tell. He was still pretty slow when it came to things like that, even though he had gone through so much.

Petra, as if she forgot something, turned to you and curtsied. "Oh, and hello, (Y/N)-sama! I'm sorry that I haven't greeted you yet!"

You smiled. "Don't worry about it. You've just started your job as a maid, so it's going to take some getting used to."

"But you sure are rocking that uniform, new recruit!" Subaru added.

Petra twirled around in her maid outfit while sporting a wide smile. When she finished, she asked, "What are you two doing in here? I was looking everywhere for Subaru-sama, and this was one of the last places that I checked!"

Subaru shifted uncomfortably, but you already had a good excuse for this that wasn't really a lie. "Well, we were just talking about what we'd be doing at the Sanctuary. There are a lot of things that we want to do, so we were just making plans."

Petra looked curious about this. "Ooh! What are you going to do?"

Subaru cleared his throat. "Well, that's what we're trying to figure out."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll see you later! Good luck coming up with plans!" Petra cheerfully exclaimed as she walked out of your room.

You waited a few seconds after she left, then flipped the paper back over. "Was Beatrice the last thing that I talked about?"

Subaru nodded his head. "Actually, I have a question about her. How am I supposed to get her to leave with me if she's been waiting for 'that person', but I'm not him?"

You shrugged. "I honestly have no clue. But knowing you, you'll find some clever way to make her leave with you. I know that you can do it."

Your reassurance made Subaru feel a little better, but he still had no idea what he was going to do.

"Now, let's move on. The next important thing is you make sure that Emilia passes all of the Trials. You can't do it for her. You have to let her do them herself. At first, she won't be able to pass the first one, but there is a reason for that. Emilia will notice this soon, but Puck isn't coming out of his crystal. Soon, you will have to call him out, and he will come. Just so I don't confuse you any more than I have to, I won't explain why, but Puck will have to break his contract with Emilia for her to be able to pass the Trials."

Subaru looked completely lost, and you couldn't blame him. You were just throwing information at him, and it was a lot to process.

This made you think of something. "Subaru, do you want me to keep going, or do you want to figure this stuff out as you go? To be honest, overloading you with information might not be a good thing."

He considered this, then asked you, "Well, will you be staying in the Sanctuary the whole time? If you are, we can face everything as it happens. If you're going to come back here to fight Elsa and Meili, then I think that you should keep on telling me this. It's that or have me die trying to figure things out."

This made you think. Were you going to come back here, or were you going to stay? "Well, you see, you will need to come back here at some point so that you can get Beatrice to come with you. I hate to say this, but Roswaal can probably help us learn more about her. So two things might happen: I will either stay at the Sanctuary and come back here with you, or I will come here earlier, prepare for the attack, and then rejoin you when you go back to the Sanctuary."

Subaru scratched his head, and replied, "In that case, I think you can stop. I'm not very smart, so this is all going over my head. It'll probably be better to explain all of this once I start to understand some of what you are talking about."

You nodded your head. "Yeah, it's a lot of informati-" You cut yourself off as you realized something. "Oh no... I went on a lecture! What is this world doing to me?! Please forgive me, for I have done something unforgivable!"

Subaru wore a small smile, and shook his hands around. "You're fine! This world has really..." When Subaru began to think about life before he came to this world, his expression dropped.

A silence ensued, and you began to think about your own life. Was it good before you came here? Was it bad?

To be honest, it probably wasn't as bad as you used to think it was, but it definitely could have been a lot better.

Time Skip

The next day, after saying goodbye to the comatose Rem, you, Subaru and Emilia were getting ready to board Otto's dragon carriage, which was now being pulled by Patrasche. Otto's original ground dragon was now being taken care of by Frederica.

Right before the three of you left, Frederica addressed something. "When you arrive at the Sanctuary, make sure to be wary around the one named Garfiel."

You and Subaru knew who this was, but you still acted like you didn't know who that was. "Okay. Garfiel... got it. We'll be careful."

Frederica nodded her head, and pulled something out of her uniform. It was a necklace that had a blue crystal on the end of it. Giving it to Emilia, she said, "This will allow you to pass the barrier that surrounds the Sanctuary. You have the location and the qualification. Now you only need resolve and a strong will."

Emilia accepted the necklace and put it around her neck. With a smile, she thanked the maid.

Right at the last moment, Petra ran up to Subaru. "Um, Subaru-sama..!"

Subaru turned to look at the little maid as she held up a handkerchief. "Will you please accept this?" she asked anxiously.

Frederica smiled when she saw this display. "Lending a white handkerchief to a traveler, who later returns it stained and worn from the journey, is an old custom performed as a prayer for safe travels."

You fought the urge to 'tsk'. Safe travels will not be happening.

Hearing this explanation, Subaru replied, "Oh, it's one of those things? Okay, got it. Thanks Petra! I promise I'll return it."

He held out his arm, and the twelve year old tied it to him. As soon as the deed was done, she scurried behind Frederica.

"What? What brought that reaction on?" Sure enough, Subaru hadn't caught on that the little girl liked him, proven by the fact that her nervous reaction surprised him. "This sudden rebellious faze is making me sad..."

Frederica smiled at Subaru's antics. "Now, you should hurry. The forest grows more dangerous as the day grows older."

You nodded your head, and opened the door for Emilia and Subaru. Once they were inside, you waved at the two maids, and took your seat, closing the door behind you.

Otto turned to his passengers. "Is everybody ready to leave?"

Subaru gave him a thumbs up. "We're ready when you are, Otto!"

Otto turned back around, and the ride began.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, Frederica pulled a letter out of her uniform, one that was left for her in her quarters. "I have done exactly as Master directed. Now everything depends on how Emilia-sama overcomes the Sanctuary. There is nothing that we can do except pray."

Time Skip

Later that day, Emilia was starting to worry. "Um... Subaru. (Y/N). I don't know why, but Puck isn't coming out."

When he heard this, Subaru looked at you, and you shook your head slightly, signaling that you won't be explaining anything here.

Subaru saw this motion, and acted natural. "Puck isn't showing up?"

"Yeah..." Emilia looked down. "I've called out to him several times, and I can feel the link from our contract but... "

"Well," you say, "if you don't know, then I have no idea. Have you ever heard of something like this happening to any Spirit Arts user before?"

Emilia pursed her lips "Actually, there have been times when Puck wouldn't come out for a few days..."

Subaru suddenly remembered Puck's last words, and some of what you had said the previous night. "Could it be?"

Seeing Subaru look so serious, Emilia tried to make the mood brighter. "B-but I have contracts with lesser spirits too, and I can fight with them! So no matter what happens, I can protect the two of you!"

You sighed. "If I'm being honest, it's weird hearing a girl say that to me, but I have to accept that. I'm still getting stronger, so I'll count on you if something happens."

Subaru, being the person he is, had a different reply. "Wow, Emilia-tan! You're so manly!"

This made the half-elf laugh, momentarily forgetting about her troubles. "And Frederica said to watch out for Garfiel, right?"

Both you and Subaru nodded your heads in confirmation.

"I wonder what kind of person he is?" Emilia wondered out loud.

This made Subaru remember something. "Now that I think about it, Roswaal did mention a few times that he was going to talk to him."

"How do you keep on hearing these things?!" It was weird how Subaru was able to know these things when you were supposed to be the one who knew what was supposed to be happening.

As if he was waiting for you to say something, Otto interrupted as he poked his head through the little hole between the back of the carriage and the front. "We're in the forest!"

Subaru drew back the curtains next to him, and you and Emilia did the same. Looking into the trees, Emilia began to clutch her seat.

Noticing this, Subaru remarked, "Emilia-tan. Are you actually nervous?"

Surprised, Emilia turned to Subaru. "How could you tell?"

Subaru smirked. "I know everything about you!" You took a breath as you were about to say something about that line, but Subaru kept on going. "At least, that's what I would like to say., but anyone can tell. Right, (Y/N)?"

You nodded your head.

Emilia noticed that she was indeed outwardly nervous. "You're right! I'm sorry for worrying you. When I think about arriving at the Sanctuary, a place where only demihumans live..."

You swiped your hand flippantly. "It'll be fine. You're just letting yourself get into your head."

Subaru gave you a kind of dirty look when you said this. "Actually, I should apologize to you, Emilia. I wasn't thinking that far ahead. I guess that there might be half-elves like you there, huh?"

This hadn't even crossed your mind because you knew that there probably weren't half elves anywhere, and certainly not the Sanctuary. Your knowledge had kept you from thinking about how Emilia might feel.

"I've never met another half-elf, but maybe, just mayb-"

Before Emilia could end her sentence, the crystal at the end of her necklace began to shine brightly.

"Emilia!" Subaru shouted.

"Um..." was all she could say as she stared at the light at her chest.

"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this!" As Subaru said this, he grabbed the necklace and took it off of Emilia.

At that very instant, she became limp. You caught her body and set it down gently.

"What's going on?!" Subaru shouted.

You didn't reply. Instead, you also grabbed the necklace. It was time that you met a certain Witch.

The light grew brighter, and eventually, everything was swallowed by it.

You and Subaru opened your eyes to find yourselves in the middle of the forest, the dragon carriage being nowhere in sight.

The first thing that Subaru did was to yell. "(Y/N)! What was that? Was that supposed to happen?!"

You shrugged your shoulders. "Actually, I don't know if you were supposed to take that necklace off of Emilia, but I do know what happens next."

"Wait... does this mean that we meet-"

You cut him off as a small figure entered your peripheral vision. She was barefooted, and wore a white robe. This was Ryuzu Meyer. Well, to be more precise, it was a clone of her.

The first thing that Subaru noticed were her pointy ears. "Those ears... are you an elf?"

With no words, the clone began to run.

You patted Subaru on the back, and started to run after her. You needed to train today, so this could possibly count as the running portion.

After a disappointingly short distance, you arrived at some ruins.

A few moments after you arrived, Subaru came gasping along. Catching his breath, Subaru asked, "Where did she go?"

You shrugged your shoulders for a second time, but there was something else that you wanted to tell Subaru. "Walk into there. Remember that first meeting that I told you about?"

He nodded his head, and you followed Subaru as he walked into the stone structure. He walked forward while keeping his hands on the wall, not trusting the path.

This behavior was slightly annoying. "Subaru, do you need to touch everything you see? I can understand that you're a little nervous, but can you at least... oh."

Subaru slumped down where he was.

"Well, I guess that Echidna won't take the both of us together. Or does this mean that I can't meet her?"

Your question was answered when you heard a voice in your head. "My my, you are even more interesting than your friend."

You closed your eyes. When you opened them, you were no longer in the dark passage. You were now in a brightly lit field, with a single table being the only thing occupying the space.

Well, that and one other person.

"I can see that you don't seem surprised. Of course, that makes sense, considering the knowledge that you have. "

Wordlessly, you started walking towards the speaker of the voice, who acted startled.

"Ah, how bold! You know my identity, yet you still approach me without hesitation! Most people would vomit in my presence, but you almost seem to have the opposite reaction!" She smiled in amusement. "So (Y/N), why don't you take a seat? Let's talk over some tea."

"Why thank you, Echidna," you replied, the first words that you spoke to the Witch. You pulled a seat back and sat down. Without even having to think about it, you gulped down the tea that was in front of you. So many people would kill to do that, so you honestly felt like you were superior in a way, if that makes sense.

Echidna, the Witch of Greed, giggled when you did that. "You do know what was in that, no?"

"Actually, I was wondering something. Which bodily fluid did you put in this?"

Echidna smirked. "Oh, already asking me questions? You are awfully relaxed, even though you know who I am. But since you so generously drank my tea, I will answer that question. The tea is made with my saliva."

When she said this, your face turned red.

This only made her laugh even more. In all honesty, you couldn't deny that she was attractive, and the thought that you just drank her saliva made your mind go straight to 'indirect kiss'. Thanks a lot, anime.

When Echidna stopped laughing, she became a lot more serious. "You really are a fascinating individual. As you are aware, I can see your memories. Not only does this other world of yours excite me more than you can imagine, there is something even more interesting that I found."

Echidna licked her lips. "I am quite shocked to find out that this world was one of fiction in your homeland. Do you understand the implications of this? Does this mean that I am a fictional character, and all my actions have been thought out? Does this mean that there are people who can see different worlds? Can this be a coincidence?"

All of this brain wrapping thinking only seemed to make her even more excited. "And does this mean that, even now, all of our actions, our very thoughts are being created by some being? If so, then are their actions being thought out? The possibilities are endless!"

Seeing the lost expression on her face, Echidna stopped. "I don't blame you for not following this train of thought. Wouldn't it be terrible if it turned out that you were merely a puppet, following directions that you didn't even know about?"

You nodded your head. "Yeah, and on that note, I have another question. Roswaal and I made an agreement, and I swore my soul that I would follow it. What would happen if I broke it?"

Echidna's expression became blank. "You swore your soul... What were you thinking?!" She sighed. "I feel disappointed in you, (Y/N). I haven't known you for a long time, but I already feel like a disappointed parent."

"S-shut up! I was being dumb, so please just answer my question!"

"How bold! Commanding a Witch to do something is not something that a normal person would do. But of course... you are special."

You had no idea what this meant, so you just kept on listening to Echidna.

"But to answer your question, your soul would be destroyed. You would not be able to regenerate back to life, and you would not experience an afterlife. You would have experienced true death."

This made you turn pale. You messed up when you agreed to Roswaal's contract, and if you would have broken it, you would have actually died.

"S-so, is there a way to terminate it?" You didn't want to have to follow Roswaal's orders, but you also didn't want to have your soul destroyed.

Echidna smiled darkly when you asked that. "How greedy... Subaru was too eager to leave, but you have unending questions." She then looked you straight in the eye. "I like that! I will affirm all the desires, the curiosity, the greed that you seek to satisfy with answers." She leaned forward, shortening the distance between the two of you.

"In order to break your contract with him, you would have to enter a new one. One that would override the previous one."

A sudden pain hit you, and you clutched your stomach.

"Ah, it seems to have kicked in quite quickly. The tea took effect even faster with you than it did with Subaru."

Holding your stomach, you asked, "Can you remind me what just caused this pain?"

Echidna was all too glad to explain. "I used the Envy Witch Factor on it to increase your resistance to being pulled back to the real world. So now you and I can talk at leisure."

As she explained this, the pain subsided. These past few moments were more than enough to choose what you thought was the best course of action.

"You just said that I would have to enter a new contract, so what about this? Let's make a contract, but I get to finalize the terms!"

Echidna feigned embarrassment. "Is this your way of getting your way with my body? I am still a pure maiden, so I will have to object if that is your goal!"

No matter how tempting that was, you weren't going to let the horny win. "Actually, I just don't want you manipulating me into doing something that I don't want to do."

Echidna's face darkened when you mentioned that. "If that is the case, what do you propose? How would I benefit from a contract in which my actions are limited?"

"Well, is there something that, no matter how hard you tried, just couldn't understand?" There had to be something that Echidna wanted to know that you could help her learn, and that was one of the cards that you hoped you could play.

Echidna grinned. "Actually, there is one thing that I just cannot wrap my head around."

"What is it?"

Echidna rested her chin on her hands, and fluttered her eyes. "Love."

There was a silence following that answer.

How can I show her about love?! That is literally one of the only things that I wished that I could experience. How can I-

A brilliant idea hit you. You might not have experienced love, but you do have something that might just work.

"In that case, I think that I can help you."

Echidna shook her head. "And how do you suppose that you will do that?"

Grinning, you tapped your head. "I might not have experienced love in real life, but if you will make a contract with me, I'll let you see the best of anime romances! If you don't make a contract with me, I'll just leave right now and not let you see any of that."

Echidna scoffed. "And how will... anime help me understand love?"

"Anime is one of the greatest escapes from reality! It, as it turns out, literally creates worlds, and the problems that the characters face can teach you so many lessons. And of course, the romances! As you watch more and more, you want to fall in love!"

Echidna reeled back from your sudden enthusiasm. "Is that so? Is anime not just a medium for you to escape the disaster called reality? Did you not watch it just so you could immerse yourself in something that could finally make you feel something other than anger, stress, and anxiety?"

That hit hard, but that didn't stop you. "Well, yes... but that still doesn't make it any worse! Please, trust me! Anime will teach you about love, and I'll make sure that you see the good ones, not the bad ones that will only confuse you more."

Echidna stopped to consider this. "To be quite frank, I was not expecting you to propose a solution to my search for love. My answer was supposed to force you to allow me to impose certain conditions in the contract, but it seems that I underestimated you. With that said, what terms would you like to create the contract with? You have me quite interested now."

You pumped your fist in excitement. You just got the Witch of Greed to think about making a contract on your terms. "First, we will be honest with each other. No hiding things unless there is a very good reason. In that case, explain why you have to hide it."

Echidna bobbed her head. "Okay, go on."

"Next, like we talked about, I'll direct you to some of the better anime romances, and you can use my memories to watch them. The third term will be... we will aid each other constantly. I'll help you learn things, and you will help me when I need it."

"That sounds reasonable," Echidna commented. "Now, are there any other terms? I do believe that you still need a condition that overrides your current contract."

You scratched your head. "Oh yeah... let me see." You squint your eyes, and put your right hand on your chin. "Hmmm..."

Echidna chuckled. "If you do not have an idea, may I suggest something?"

You slowly nodded your head. "Sure. What do you think?"

She smiled. "It is quite simple, really. Just say that, in order to aid each other, we can void any existing contracts."

This set alarms immediately.

Does Echidna have a contract that she wants to get rid of? Wait... can she get rid of the first condition by acting like she had to in order to help me?

"Before I accept that, please answer me honestly. Are you saying that so you can get rid of any contracts?"

Echidna shook her head. "No. But of course, I might want to do that in the future. But don't worry. That won't result in anything harmful to you or your allies."

This seemed to be a good explanation, but you made a note to ask Echidna again if she agreed to the contract.

"Okay, and the final term will be that the first one, the one that states that we can't hide things from each other without good cause, can't be voided because of any other terms or outside contracts."

Echidna gasped when you said that. "Do you not trust me?!"

You deadpanned. "You see, I would love to be able to trust you, but I've learned that trusting people, especially the ones who are known to be constantly plotting something, is something that should be done with care."

She didn't seem offended by that. "You make a good point. Now, will that be all?"

"Yep. Now, do you accept the contract?"

Echidna pushed her chair back and stood up. With her arms raised above her head, she exclaimed, "I accept the contract between (Y/N) (L/N) and myself! I will follow all of the conditions, and if I violate any of them, may my soul be destroyed!"

She looked at you expectantly, as if you were supposed to do something dramatic too. You awkwardly stood up and raised a fist in the air. "And I also agree to this contract between me and Echidna! If I violate the conditions of this contract for some reason, may my... soul be destroyed."

Echidna couldn't help but let a small giggle out when she saw you do that. "My my, you seem embarrassed. Are you sure that swearing your soul on something again is a good idea?"

You winced when she said that. To be honest, you weren't thrilled by the fact that you just did that, but... "Well, when you swore your soul, it only felt right that I did the same."

Echidna put her hand to her chest in response. "Ah, that is quite touching. Now," she started walking towards you. "I need to give you this."

She pulled out a black pendant, and presented it to you. "Wear this, and I will be able to see what you see, and we will be able to speak to each other even if we aren't together."

You took the black pendant, and put it on. "By the way, just to make sure, do you have any intent to use this contract to gain something that would go against my wishes?"

Echidna shook her head. "I simply wish to gain more information. That, and my ultimate goal."

As she was talking, you suddenly felt disjointed. "What's happening?" you exclaimed. You felt dizzy, and you felt like your body was being pulled away from the tea party.

Observing this, Echidna let out a disappointed sigh. "It seems as if someone in the real world is interacting with your body. You are about to wake up. How troublesome."

As your vision began to fade, you could hear Echidna say a few last words. "Oh, and my ultimate goal. That would be... resurrection."

Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

What do you think about (Y/N)'s contract with Echidna?

Next week, you'll meet everybody at the Sanctuary, and a grand scheme will begin to unfold. See you next time!