Subaru lost the girl. He was ashamed to admit that a girl half his size was faster than him. And people used to tell him that he was a fast runner. What a bunch of lies!

He was hardly breathing, gasping for every bit of air. He could barely bring himself to walk, let alone run anymore.

Honestly, how did it even come to this? He just walked out of the shower after exercising, and the next moment he found himself in this forest. Was he perhaps dreaming? Or just drunk? He could've sworn the girl that ran away had pointy ears beneath her pink hair. None of that made sense at all. He had never seen someone have such features. Even her face was like a doll.

Thinking about it wasn't going to solve anything. Having caught his breath, he continued in the same direction he saw the girl run. Finally, after what felt like hours he finally left the forest.

What he saw next perplexed him even more.

"A monument?" Subaru whispered, gazing at a structure made out of bricks. He had never seen something similar in Japan, however the chiseled pillars holding it together reminded him of ancient Greek architecture.

The building was in a rough shape, to say the least. Vines and other plants protruding through the bricks gave the ruin a pinch of life, but otherwise it looked entirely abandoned.

After he'd looked around for long enough, Subaru approached the entrance to the building.

"I hope I'm not walking into some sort of ancient shrine," he said to himself, wondering whether the girl he'd followed here had something to do with this.

He shook his head. "Whatever follows doesn't matter. It's not like I'm scared!" Steeling his resolve, Subaru slowly began walking through the hallway.

Just a few meters in, he was regretting this decision. The further he went, the darker it got. He used the wall to his right to help orient himself, but other than that, he was entirely blind.

"How much further does this darkness go on for…" Subaru sighed. "I could really use some light."

"What a peculiar wish."

"...?!" Subaru heard a feminine voice inside his head. He was pretty sure this darkness was making him go crazy. How long was he even inside? Were his eyes even open? He needed to get out ASAP.

"Let there be light!"

'There's that voice again,' Subaru shivered. He felt his eyes close for real, and when he opened them again, he was standing on a green hill.

He didn't expect the sun to just blast into his face like this, so he squinted and tried to look around. But no matter how far he looked, it was nothing but green grass.

"Don't just stand there. Come closer!" The same feminine voice called out to him, but thankfully, it was outside his head now. He turned around to see who the voice belonged to.

What met him was a white-haired woman who he guessed was around her early twenties.

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

"Oh my, did I startle you?"

Subaru didn't answer and instead carefully approached the table the woman was sitting at. That already made him question his sanity. A beautiful lady and a table in the middle of a green plain?

"How did I get here? And who are you? I heard… I think I heard you in my head."

The woman's thin smile widened.

"How rude of me. You're in an unknown land, talking to a stranger, and the aforementioned stranger hasn't even introduced herself."

She assumed a relaxed position. "My name is Echidna. It's a pleasure to talk to you…?" The woman waited for Subaru's introduction.

"The name's Natsuki Subaru."

The two shook their hands. With a smile on her face, Echidna waved her hand, followed by a couple of porcelain teacups and a pot appearing out of thin air.

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Alright. That's definitely not normal." He pointed his finger at the magically-created cups and asked, "Are you a genie, a wizard, or have I gone insane?"

"Insane? Preposterous. You could say I am a wizard, yes. But what made you reach the conclusion that I am a genie?" she inquired.

"When I was going through that dark hall, I wanted to see again and be outside. Then I heard your voice and showed up here. I thought you were responsible for that."

Echidna shook her head. "No, there are no genies in this world."

Subaru smirked. He thought that was pretty obvious.

Seeing his reaction, Echidna's smile widened. "I apologize."

"Huh? For what?"

"I withheld a small portion of information from you. My name is Echidna, but the people of this world know me as the Witch of Greed."

The amused Echidna watched as Subaru's cocky attitude disappeared. He thought he was in control of the situation, but he was about to learn just how wrong he was.

"Being so wary of me… I'm still a maiden so my feelings get easily hurt you know," she teased.

"I'm sorry but I'm not about to pretend you haven't just called yourself a witch."

"Hm? I was sure that you had no concept of the word 'witch'. Perhaps I was wrong?"

Subaru nodded with a snort. "In the stories from my homeland, witches are old, ugly women that change their appearance into young girls so they can manipulate the people around them."

Echidna tried to stifle a laugh, but she burst and couldn't stop laughing at Subaru's description of a witch.

Subaru stiffed his brows. "I don't remember telling a joke."

"I'm sorry," Echidna wiped tears off her visage, "It's just… this is the first time in many years that someone has called me ugly, even if indirectly."

Subaru panicked when he realized that he just called the first girl he talked to in ages 'ugly'. His mouth opened on its own, the tongue in his mouth tripping over words.

"I-I didn't mean…"

When Echidna stopped chuckling, she responded. "Don't worry. The woman you see in front of you is as real as this table," she said as she knocked on it, "No magic that alternates my likeness is involved."

Subaru sighed. "Oi don't scare me like that! I was scared that I made the maiden in front of me cry!"

Echidna chuckled. "How curious. We've been talking for only a few minutes, and yet it seems like we've known each other for years. I suppose that's what they call 'compatible,'" she jested.

Subaru's face reddened. "S-Stop teasing me!" Echidna couldn't help but smile at Subaru's cute reaction. He has never talked to a woman other than his mother, has he?

"Ahem," Echidna cleared her throat. "Seeing how you're back to being yourself, why don't you drink some of my tea? I've prepared it especially for you!"

Subaru nodded. Echidna was right about him being relaxed. He didn't find her suspicious at all. "Now that you mention it, I could use a bit of tea. My throat is really sore," he said, picking up the cup and putting it to his lips. But before he could as much as feel the liquid on his lips, he sensed the ground beneath him rumble.

"W-What's going on?" He dropped the cup to the table and frantically asked the witch in front of him.

Echidna's smile instantly disappeared. "I was hoping to get a bit more time out of this," she whispered.

She cleaned her throat and composed herself. "An uninvited guest is trying to force their way into my castle. It's a matter of seconds before she gets here." Echidna didn't care to hide the disdain she has for the aforementioned person.

Subaru stood up in panic. "Who? Who's coming here?"

The clear blue sky turned overcast as clouds arrived from every corner of the world.

"The Witch of Envy. Satella."

As soon as she said her name, the woman appeared behind them, slowly walking towards the pair. Her head was covered with a cloak as dark as the night, and even her face was hidden behind a veil of shadows. Only a few silver strands of hair were noticeable.

Every inch of Subaru's body screamed for him to get away. He slowly backed away from Echidna and the shadow-bound woman instantly noticed Subaru and locked her sight on him. Her eyes protruded a deranged gleam, making the boy feel afraid.

Subaru froze in place. Try as he might, he couldn't move any part of his body. He was left to his fate as the Witch of Envy approached. When she was close enough, he closed his eyes and hoped for the best. He even hoped Echidna would interfere.

What Subaru didn't notice was the woman's instantaneous mood shift to happiness and warmth. It was as though a switch flicked in her head. She outstretched her hands and wrapped them around the boy. The warmth coaxed Subaru to open his eyes, his dumbfounded expression giving away his confusion. Seeing the girl embracing him, he wasn't really sure what to do. Should he reciprocate? Who even is she?

Feeling Subaru's confusing gaze, she abruptly ended her hug and stared at Subaru's almond-shaped eyes.

"It worked…" she said in awe, her breath taken away by disbelief.

"O-Okay, can someone explain what's going on?"

Seeing how Satella was absolutely mesmerized by the boy, Echidna approached the two as the Witch of Envy was in absolutely no condition to explain the situation to Subaru.

Echidna pointed at the silver-haired beauty. "This is the woman that summoned you to this world. Originally, you were to be sent to the capital city of the Kingdom of Lugunica, however I managed to persuade her into summoning you to us."

Subaru held his breath for a few seconds. "So… you're telling me this isn't Japan or some weird dream, but another world?"

Echidna nodded. "The space we're currently inside—that being my Castle of Dreams, is indeed made up. Nevertheless, the world outside is very real. It is not a fantasy as you may have been led to believe."

Subaru looked around himself, his breathing getting faster. "W-What about my parents? I need—"

"—As unfortunate as it is, the time in your old world doesn't stop with you appearing here, meaning that right about now, your parents must be desperately searching for you."

He didn't want to believe Echidna's words. "You." Subaru's nasty eyes locked on Satella. "You need to bring me back. This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

"I cannot."

"You cannot what? You cannot what?! You take me away from my parents without my consent and then you act all lovey-dovey with me as if nothing's wrong?! WHAT THE HELL!" Subaru grabbed Satella's shoulders, but before he could do or say anything else, the ground beneath him exploded.

All Subaru could see was smoke and… hearts?

"Ugh, what the hell," he coughed.

When the smoke dissipated, he saw a blond-haired woman glare at him.

"I will have to put a stop to your actions!" The woman pointed her finger at Subaru.

"To think Minerva would've interrupted our meeting too… Seems like today is an unlucky day," Echidna said obliviously, trying to calm down the heated situation.

The blond's—Minerva's eyes shifted to Echidna, as did her accusatory finger.

"Don't act surprised, Echidna! You were the one who agreed for Satella to summon Natsuki Subaru here. She was supposed to explain it to him herself, but you locked everyone out just so you could sate your thirst for knowledge for a few more minutes!" Minerva ranted at the white-haired woman. "Ahhh, it angers me so much!" She began stomping her feet, the ground beneath shaking with her.

When her temper tantrum was over as soon as it began, she glared back at Subaru, anger inflaming her eyes once more. "And you! Don't just jump on people you've met for the first time!" she exclaimed, approached Subaru and punched him straight on his forehead. He rocketed a few meters into the air, his scream tracing the wind around him before his sorry state crashed to the ground. He drifted across the grass until he bounced into the unmoving Satella—who wasn't hurt at all thanks to her sturdy body.

Subaru collapsed onto his back. He couldn't help but be surprised at the woman's strength. But then he realized— "It… doesn't hurt?" He stood up and checked his body for any damage. Then, he gazed at the blond witch.

"Oi! Why'd you punch me right after telling me that I shouldn't hit strangers?" he gritted his teeth. "Who even are you?"

"You don't deserve to know my name!—Even so, I am Minerva, the Witch of Wrath!"

"You just said it!"

"Please, stop fighting." Satella, the person that nobody expected to speak out, tried to calm down the duo.

Subaru turned to face the silver-haired beauty. "Satella, I—" Subaru was about to apologize to the witch for trying to assault her—perhaps getting punched directly on his head caused him to cool off? However he was cut off by Minerva yet again.

"I refuse! I refuuuuse! This man just decided to walk into our home and attack you! I won't allow that on my watch!" She exclaimed while greatly exaggerating the actual events.

"Quiet!" Satella shouted, shutting up both of the arguing idiots in an instant. Did the air get colder or was that just a feeling?

"Minerva, go with Echidna. I can handle this." She just ordered the Witch of Wrath to calm down and leave, and surprisingly, the embodiment of anger itself just nodded and did as she was told without a word—but a reluctant pout followed her shrinking figure.

Returning her gaze back to the black-haired boy, she said his name in the most affectionate way. "Subaru…"

Nobody has ever said his name in this way. Subaru felt love emanate from the woman, cradling him like a lover would to his beloved.

He was conflicted. Satella evoked sentimental feelings, but the hatred inside him cascaded her true self from being shown. Yet that acknowledgment was all he needed. Being aware of the woman's feelings made the dark veil covering Satella's visage slowly dissipate, revealing the woman's features.

Subaru was flabbergasted. She had pointy ears and silver hair—just like his type!

Satella was confused why Subaru was looking at her that way, but instead she decided to explain further.

"...It is true that I am the reason you're here." Hearing that made Subaru scowl again.

"But it was the Witch of Envy that actually summoned you."

'Huh?'

The unfamiliar term provoked an aura of confusion around Subaru.

"H-Hold on. Didn't Echidna say that you're the Witch of Envy?" he questioned. Things weren't adding up here.

Satella nodded. "Four hundred years ago, I consumed what is called 'Envy Witch Factor.' It gave me strength to protect those closest to me, but it also gave me another, much colder personality."

"So the other you has no respect for other people and does what she wants, huh?" Subaru wondered, and Satella confirmed it.

"Yes. We both love you, but she has her own… twisted ways to achieve things. To her, nothing except you matters."

"Why?" Was all Subaru asked. That was perhaps the most important question he had for her.

"Why do you love me? This is the first time we've met, yet you talk as if we have known each other for years."

"I…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry but I cannot say yet. The burden placed on you would be too much."

"Even strangers who claim a romantic interest in me cannot bring themselves to trust me, huh?" Subaru exclaimed, a little hurt.

Satella sighed. "You haven't changed a bit," she whispered to herself, warmly smiling about the old days she recalled.

She steeled her resolve, discarding what was and what could've been. Instead, she focused on the moment. "The truth is," she began pressing her fingers together awkwardly, "the two of us were a pair in this world… four centuries ago." She shut her eyes close, awaiting his reaction.

After a minute of awkward silence for Satella, the source of her affection finally responded.

"Really, huh? I mean, I guess it makes sense considering how familiar you are with me, but… Man, my past self must've been a real charmer to date such a cutie!"

"H-Huh?" Was all that Satella could muster up, an involuntary flush staining her cheeks with red hue. She never expected that statement to come at all.

"Pfft." Seeing Satella all flustered coaxed Subaru to laugh out loud. "Hehe, did you expect my mind to shatter just because you've fallen in love with a guy who has the same face and personality?"

"W-Well…"

"I may not remember the things you two—we have lived through, but now I'm here. We can make new memories. All of us, together. Including that pink-haired girl who has been listening in on our conversation this whole time!" Subaru said, chastising the stalker.

"Hm?" Satella, Minerva and Echidna all noticed the woman, and the latter two witches decided to join in on the conversation.

"Carmilla, what brings you here?" It was Echidna that asked this question of her, as even she hadn't expected yet another fellow witch to appear.

"I… just w-wanted to see Satella's l-love be reciprocated."

'Love?' Subaru thought, then it clicked.

"You must be the Witch of Lust," he said. Appearance-wise, her being Lust wouldn't make sense. The woman in front of him wore a cozy dress that covered all parts of her body, and even her face was hidden behind a green scarf—that's too far from being the symbol of lust and sex appeal. But since everyone in this place called themselves a witch, and none other sin would fit her, Subaru had reached this conclusion.

"Y-Yes," she beeped. "I am C-Carmilla, the Witch of L-Lust."

"I'm Natsuki Subaru. It's a pleasure to meet you, Carmilla." Subaru raised his hand, and while a bit reluctant, Carmilla awkwardly shook it.

Echidna appeared from behind them. "How curious. Carmilla's Authority doesn't seem to affect you in the least. Perhaps because this is all inside your mind and not the reality?"

Subaru winced at her words. "What do you mean by 'Authority'? Also, could you please not say that this is happening in my head? You make it sound as if I was a schizophrenic who's talking to himself."

"That isn't far from the truth," Echidna pointed out, then answered his previous question.

"An Authority is the result of consuming, or otherwise receiving a Witch Factor. There exist seven main Witch Factors; Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Pride, and Gluttony. Once a Witch Factor is inside you, and you prove to be worthy, you get a powerful ability," she explained.

"I see," Subaru said. "So what powers do you have? Minerva's punches seem to have some kind of healing property, but I don't know about the rest of you."

Echidna was visibly elated to answer that question. She always loved to share her knowledge.

She raised her finger as a teacher would. "The Authority of Greed isn't really a power. Rather than that, it is an obje—"

"—Ooh, can I go first? I want to go first!" A high-pitched voice seemingly belonging to a child interrupted Echidna's heartfelt explanation from nowhere.

"Huuh~, Typhon, what did I haah~ tell you? No huuh~ interrupting others, haah~."

Two new faces materialized out of thin air. One was that of a brown-skinned child with green hair.

The other one was, unsurprisingly, another woman. She had violet hair with an exotic ornament wrapped around her head. If Subaru had to rate all the witches based on strangeness, this one was a ten. Her skin glowed whiter than the precipice of snow, and even though she laid on the ground, Subaru could tell she was tall. If the little green-haired girl was around nine years old, and the average height for people her age was around one hundred twenty centimeters, then this woman was easily over two meters—towering over everyone else in this landscape.

Subaru recently found out about this world having elves, but he wouldn't be surprised if he was looking at a giant right now.

But his thoughts would soon come to a halt when he noticed the woman gazing at him.

"I am huuh~ Sekhmet. The Witch of haah~ Sloth."

'Seems about right,' Subaru thought. Now this is what it means to embody a sin. She's literally lying on the ground and breathing heavily— it was as if every word she said was a vigorous exercise for her. Still, he can't help but mentally compliment her voluptuous figure.

"I'm Natsuki Subaru," he said with little enthusiasm. Shaking hands with her would be a nice gesture, but he wasn't sure if she would even bother raising a finger.

"I'll shake your hand, Baru!" the little girl next to Sekhmet voiced.

"NO!" Most of the crowd unanimously exclaimed, provoking Subaru to pull away his hand, startled by the sudden shouts.

"What's with you all?" he wondered, a bit concerned.

"She's Typhon, the Witch of Pride. Her Authority allows her to judge people based on their sins. Even mild cases cause people to get crushed into little pieces while under excruciating pain," Echidna explained.

"WHAT?!" Subaru shouted—a thing everyone found perfectly understandable.

"Does anyone else have an extremely dangerous Authority that I should know about?" he deadpanned.

…Most of them, Echidna and Minerva excluded, raised their hands, including Sekhmet who surprisingly lifted a single finger.

"Ahem, Minerva, you might also be a member of that group," Echidna whispered, making the blond roll her eyes and hesitantly raise her hand.

"E-Even Minerva? What can she do? I thought she could only heal. Tell me everything you know," Subaru said.

Echidna sighed. There was no way out of this conversation, was there? But if she wished for them to spend more time together, she had no choice.

"He's right, Echidna," Satella said to the white-haired witch.

"If you want huuh~ this relationship to work, haah~, there's no other way huuh~ but to be honest haah~— I agree with the boy huuh~." Subaru was surprised that Sekhmet herself agreed with him.

'Perhaps she's one of the friendlier ones.' Subaru thought, a sense of hope filling his heart.

"My Authority of Sloth huuh~, allows me to use haah~ an invisible force that huuh~ can break almost anything." Since she thought showing him was better, and less strenuous than telling him all the boring details, Sekhmet decided to prove her point by using her Authority on the ground in front of Subaru. One. Two. Three. Three very loud crashes caused the earth to quake and break. In just a second, the ground in front of Subaru tore apart, creating a crater so big, if Subaru jumped into it he was sure he'd break his legs.

'…Definitely don't want to mess with her.'

Subaru's sudden unease made Sekhmet smirk. Nobody knew what crossed her mind, but they were sure it was something along the lines of "This means don't make a mistake or you'll be flattened huuh~." She was scary!

"Subaru, you look pale. Do you need me to punch you?" Minerva asked, wanting to use her healing power to help the boy.

"Woah, woah, woah. No, nope. Not gonna happen! Who knows what your twisted Authority does to me! You may be able to heal me in the moment, but maybe it lowers my lifespan!"

Minerva gasped and placed her hand on her chest, offended by his rude words.

"It's nothing like that! My powers can only heal!" The world trembled under the tantruming child once more.

"Ahem." It was Echidna who interrupted the blond. "It is true that Minerva's Authority of Wrath heals people as long as she touches them in any way, however each time she uses it, a calamity befalls the world."

Subaru just stared at Echidna with wide eyes and open mouth, wondering if she was serious.

"Floods, storms, earthquakes, mana in the air suddenly exploding without apparent cause… Any kind of natural disaster that might have crossed your head, at some point, Minerva has caused it. Of course, this behavior is irregular. Fifty percent of the time, nothing happens at all."

"As if that makes a difference!" was what he wanted to languish out, but instead, he just stood still and traded looks with the blond witch.

Minerva sighed in exasperation. "So what…? I'll just have to help those who got caught up in the disaster and heal them too!"

Subaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You definitely have a screw loose in your head. Your way of thinking is insane!" he shook his head disapprovingly.

"I may agree, but please watch your words, Natsuki Subaru. You are in the presence of young maidens, and being insulted might hurt our feelings," Echidna said while trailing her cheek with her finger as if she was tearing up.

"I…" Subaru didn't know what he's supposed to say anymore.

"Is it my turn already?" Echidna wondered. "What I wanted to say before Typhon interrupted me so rudely is; the Authority of Greed isn't a power. Rather than that, it is an object. I call it the Book of Wisdom."

"Book of Wisdom…" Subaru repeated the name. "Let me guess, the book is actually alive and it will eat anyone at your command and steal their knowledge?" he asked, not trying to disguise his rudeness.

Echidna audibly sighed, dropping her hands to her hips like a disappointed mother. "I'd be glad if you didn't interrupt from now on. I find it quite enough to take care of one child. Taking care of you as well wouldn't benefit me in any way whatsoever."

"Did you just—"

"—Call you a child? Yes, I did since you like to cry and shout so much. Now, can you kindly be quiet before I regret my previous and future actions?"

"..."

"There we go," she sighed.

"The Book of Wisdom allows me to draw knowledge from the world's memory. Simply put, I can gaze into the past, see the present, and predict the future based on the actions of every single human. Only I can read its contents. If anyone else attempted to read even a single word, the sheer amount of information flooding their head would fry their brains—that is the true potential of my greed," she finished with just a single breath.

Leaving Subaru speechless, Echidna turned to Satella and Carmilla with a smirk.

"Satella…?" .

"Right," she nodded. "The Authority of Envy is a bit… broken, to say the least. I can create a virtually infinite number of shadows—enough to flood an entire area. If multiple people get caught up in them, they will start seeing the others' memories and drown in the confusion. I can also make these shadows take various shapes—anything I think of!" Satella said, trying to think about the good things while completely shrugging off the depressing thought of being drowned in a stranger's memory.

Echidna nodded in agreement. "And that's only the abilities that we know of. According to my research, every single Authority has the potential to get stronger as time passes by. If you're willing, that is. Stubborn people only scratch the surface and never think… to look within," she said while touching her chest.

Echidna looked at Carmilla—the last witch.

The pink-haired woman shyly looked at Echidna, then at Subaru. "M-My Authority of L-Lust is called F-Faceless Bride. I-It captivates any h-human beings in my p-presence, and when they g-get too close, they f-forget how to b-breathe." Subaru could tell that Carmilla had a hard time explaining it. The pain and shame in her voice hurt his heart.

"Oh? We're introducing ourselves and I wasn't invited?" A new feminine voice that Subaru didn't recognize just appeared. He heard it behind him.

The ground started rumbling behind him, startling no one but Subaru.

When he turned around, he was faced with a large coffin-like structure. Within it was a girl. Based on her height, Subaru guessed she was definitely older than Typhon. Perhaps around twelve, thirteen.

But while she was still relatively small, the coffin she was locked inside stood grandiose in comparison. Even larger than Sekhmet—which was something to say.

"There are no cookies, but I smell new meat~."

"She means me by that, doesn't she?" Subaru asked, but the gaze he received from the girl was all he needed.

"Of course you do… Please don't eat me?"

"Daphne! Don't eat our guest! I would still very much like to talk with him!" Satella was the one to defend Subaru this time around, and he was thankful for it.

"Huu Tella~, just a taste?"

"Not even!"

So this was Daphne. Every other sin and their corresponding person was named except for… Gluttony.

"You're the Witch of Gluttony?"

She opened her mouth, making Subaru wonder what she'll have to say next. Yet even after she closed the distance, she had no words to share. Once she was close enough to his hand, she quickly shut her mouth tight with a bite so strong the sound of her teeth coming together resounded throughout the entire grass field.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Fortunately, Subaru managed to retract it just in time to escape getting cannibalized. The speed at which he pulled back surprised even him. Perhaps being around these women was enough to grant him some sort of superpower? Maybe he was beginning to grow accustomed to their presence.

"But you smell so bizzare~. I just want to lick you~~."

"Daphne." A single call from Echidna made the Witch of Gluttony back off like a good dog.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They really thought there was about to be blood spilled.

"Daphne is an oddball with strange quirks and oddities, but once you get to know her, there's a lot of fun with her," Echidna commented on her fellow witch.

"Seeing how she wanted to eat me… I'm not sure I want to know what her Authority does."

"Hm," Echidna put a finger on her chin and thought for a second.

"Her cause was one of the more noble ones, but in the end, her childish mind twisted the result into a calamity."

Subaru looked at her in confusion, so Echidna decided to clarify.

"Daphne created mabeasts—they're a somewhat corrupted version of animals that you know of. She wanted to create as many as possible, so nobody would ever go hungry again. Of course, she played around a bit and made them carnivorous."

"Carnivorous? But if they also eat meat, wouldn't they just attack humans?" Subaru questioned. He was starting to understand that none of these witches were quite right in the head.

Echidna continued, "Her reasoning was simple; 'Isn't it selfish to try eating another without considering the possibility of being eaten yourself?' Ahh, the mind of a child—truly intriguing."

"...Why are you telling me all of this?"

Everyone quieted down when hearing Echidna and Subaru argue.

"I think it's important to build trust between two parties. And what better way to do that than getting to know each other? But I have to agree, I haven't received as much information as I would've liked. Only we have shared what we know," Echidna said with a disappointed look.

Subaru was still suspicious. "What do you truly want, Echidna? Why bring me here? Why say that you'll regret your future actions if I act stupid? What did Sekhmet mean when she said that you need to be honest for this relationship to work? What are you not telling me?"

The Witch of Greed closed her eyes and bowed her head. Then, she looked back at Subaru, her dark eyes glistening.

"Natsuki Subaru, would you be willing to form a contract with us, the Witches of Sin?"

The rest of the witches anticipated this question, and approached the duo.

"A con…tract?"

"Yes. A contract is a soul bond between multiple people. You can either forge one to gain more strength, prowess, or simply to gain knowledge. Both parties share their individual conditions that they need to upkeep for the duration of the contract," she explained.

"Our conditions are very simple; the seven of us connect our Ods with yours—in other words, we connect our souls. This would allow us to leave my dreamscape and walk in the outside world. We'd be able to interact with it like any other person."

"So you'll be basically revived?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"..." Subaru wasn't very excited to hear this. Just a few moments ago, the witches were telling him how destructive they can be, and now they want to be resurrected? Should Subaru really unleash this evil?

"I know what you're thinking, which is why I have a second condition in mind," Echidna announced, noticing Subaru's wavering resolve.

"We will not use our Authorities to hurt others unless they are deliberately threatening us."

That gave Subaru a bit of hope. These witches willingly incapacitating themselves? It was almost hard to believe.

"Mhm! We're in this together now, Baru!" Typhon exclaimed.

"Typhon?" He was surprised to see the little girl so happy about this when just twenty minutes ago she wanted to brutally murder him.

"W-We were discussing this c-contract months before S-Satella brought y-you here," Carmilla added.

"R-Really?" The black-haired boy wasn't sure what to say. Were they really so interested in such a shut-in that they were planning in advance to do this with him?

"It is huuh~ true. Raise your head, haah~ Natsuki Subaru."

He looked at the witch still laying on the ground. He could've sworn he saw something akin to a small, miniscule smile on her lips.

"If it wasn't obvious, we care about you, Subaru," Satella said, placing her hand on her chest. "I'm sure all of us would rather lose our powers if it means being able to travel the world and spending more time together!"

Seeing the other six witches agree in unison made Subaru shed a small tear.

"You girls…"

"You can be certain that you'll never be hurt in my presence ever again, hmph!" Minerva put her hands on her hips while proudly puffing out her chest.

Tears were rolling down Subaru's cheeks. This was the first time someone was acknowledging him as a person…

"If there's food, count me in, Subarun~."

"Y-Yes, of course," Subaru wiped his wet cheeks.

Even Echidna was touched by the beautiful scene in front of her.

"Our conditions are set. What do you wish from us?" Satella inquired from her beloved.

Subaru wiped his tears into his sleeve.

"...Let's get along." The girls nodded. "...And make sure the world knows you can be amazing too—because I know you are."

All the witches raised their hands and placed them on one another. Subaru did as the others, and placed his hand on top.

"So be it. The contract has been forged."