Flugel, as Subaru was called now, woke up to find Minerva asleep in a chair next to his bed. The day before, she stopped him from committing suicide to test if Return By Death still worked in this world and if it would bring him back to the time that he came from.

"Now that I think about it," Flugel mumbled, his hands running through his disheveled hair, "I could've just said the name of the ability and seen if it worked."

He sighed and pulled himself out of the faded covers. "Well, that would only give me half the answer, so I guess it doesn't matter. And I won't be testing to see if it works because if I don't plan on using it, I don't need to know."

Flugel fixed his gaze on Minerva, and a smile jumped onto his lips. "I need to love myself, so I'm planning on living this life to the fullest." In a whisper that didn't even count as audible, he added, "And now I have someone else to live for too."

With that, he slid off of the slightly rumpled bed. Since Echidna didn't have any staff to maintain this mansion, most everything was in a state of disarray, and the bed certainly wasn't spared.

Now standing up on legs that were still weary, Flugel changed between glancing at the bed and Minerva. Now, the boy didn't know whether to wake up the sleeping Witch or let her sleep.

On one hand, she would be distraught if she woke up on her own to see the bed empty, but if he woke her up, he would be depriving her of sleep.

Flugel sighed and tidied up the bed. "I guess I'll compromise," he sighed as he straightened the forlorn bed sheets.

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When Minerva opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of brown eyes that quickly broke eye contact.

Flugel was sitting on the edge of the bed facing Minerva, and now he awkwardly looked around the room as if he didn't notice that the Witch of Wrath had just awakened.

"Hey, don't try to put up that act!" Minerva pointed an accusing finger at the boy in front of her, her eyebrows furrowing. "You know, you could have just tapped my shoulder until I woke up! I'm not a heavy sleeper!"

Flugel sighed and dropped his gaze back down to Minerva. "To be honest, you helped me out a lot yesterday, more than you might think, so I figured that I should let you have as much rest as you could get."

Minerva's cheeks suddenly took on a rosy hue, and she quickly stood up. She turned around, and while facing the closed door, she announced, "I-in that case, I'll forgive you, but I'm still upset! I'm going to find Echidna now, so I'll see you at breakfast!"

With that, the Witch of Wrath exited the room in a dramatic fashion, almost slamming the door but stopping it just before it hit the frame.

"Huh," Flugel noted, "it looks like I've got a tsundere on my hands now..." He leaned back until his back ruffled the bed covers that he had carefully placed earlier.

So, what now?

Flugel wondered what exactly his life was going to entail now that he decided to embrace his new existence. Once again, he was starting a new life from nothing, but it seemed like Echidna and Minerva already had something in mind.

If he remembered correctly, Echidna wanted to save the entire world from harm, and since he was now her Instigator, he was somehow supposed to help with that.

"What did Flugel do?" he wondered.

'Flugel' was a name that Subaru borrowed from the history that he was now living, and based on his assumption, then 'Flugel' was himself, so surely he could repeat the success of the Sage that saved this world from disaster.

"Let me see..." he mumbled. "I know about the whole saving the world thing, the big tree, the Pleiades Watchtower, and... oh... and... Sh...S..."

A word got caught in Flugel's throat, and he felt tears building at the back of his eyes. This word was one that he never thought that he would be able to think of without regret, and even in this time, he couldn't escape the feeling of mournfulness that was associated with this word.

In fact, this word was a name:

Shaula.

Ever since Shaula effectively died, Flugel had been thinking about ways to bring her back or about ways that he could have saved her.

Now, in this new time period, he could witness her birth/creation.

"I guess that when I meet Daphne, she'll make Shaula," Flugel whispered. He was able to stifle his tears with legitimate hope to see the demon beast girl once more.

Taking a deep breath, the invigorated teen sat himself up once more. In the same motion, he slid off of the bed and onto the floor.

As he straightened the bed again, Flugel conceded, "Well, I guess that Echidna can tell me about what she's planning, so I won't have to think up anything crazy just yet."

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Half an hour later, Flugel was sitting at the dining table as the two Witches surprised him with a secret platter that they pulled out of the kitchen.

Sure, they were the only ones here, but he didn't expect breakfast to be made for him.

As the covered dish made itself in front of Flugel, he slid his chair back, attempting to stand back up, away from the table. "You two didn't need to do that! You know, I might be a little clumsy sometimes, but I can still help make food! You know, like last night."

Unless, of course, Minerva told Echidna about what happened with the knife... In which case this makes perfect sense.

"Pfft," Echidna scoffed as she came behind the confused teenager and pushed his chair back in. "As today will be your first official day acting as my Instigator, I felt the need to thank you in ways better than any of my mere words could do so. Therefore, I created a special meal for you, with Minerva acting as a taste consultant."

"Wait," Flugel directed toward Minerva as he realized something. "Is this why you were angry that I didn't wake you up earlier?"

Not making direct eye contact, the blonde Witch replied, "N-no! You already know why I was angry, so don't go and make things up!" As her face heated up, Minerva made a swatting motion with her hands. "Go ahead and open the... the..."

Balling her fists up as her eyes watered, Minerva shuffled toward Echidna. In a hushed voice, she asked, "What exactly is that thing called? The thing that covers that food?"

In between Minerva's intensifying sniffles, Echidna answered, "Hmm? That is a cloche." Facing Flugel, she instructed, "Just as Minerva attempted to convey, please carefully remove the cloche and enjoy the special meal."

At this point, Flugel was starting to feel bad for Minerva. Everything seemed to make her sad... or angry? It was really hard to tell, but apparently she cried because she was angry, so this was supposed to be normal.

Shrugging his shoulders, Flugel dispelled this thought and lifted the cloche, not knowing what to expect from beneath it.

The two Witches watched in anticipation as the dish was slowly revealed, and their eyes soon went to Flugel's face to observe his reaction.

The Instigator's jaw dropped when he finally saw the food, and Echidna grinned victoriously while Minerva was wiping her tears away.

Flugel had no idea what the food was, but it looked amazing. There was an unknown meat that was cooked to what seemed to be medium rare, and a mysterious vegetable sauté rested next to it, warm steam still rising from the fresh food.

"Where did you get all of this?" he asked in shock. "All we had yesterday was 'tatoes, and all of this looks like it's meant for special occasions!"

Echidna's grin widened as Flugel stared at her food with fascination. "You are correct about our very limited inventory as of yesterday, but I acquired the ingredients for this meal last night in the forest! In a mere seven hours, I harvested wild vegetables and I killed a-"

"You WHAT?!" Minerva interjected.

She was about to yell at Echidna, but the urge seemed to pass away quickly. Instead, she settled on, "D-did you at least make it painless?"

Echidna started blankly back at her friend.

"Echidna?" Minerva repeated.

Holding the deadpan, the Witch of Greed sighed. "Well, to be fair, if it had not struggled so much-"

"WHAT?!"

Minerva's face turned blood red, and she reached out for Echidna to shake some sense into the animal abuser. However, as her hands approached Echidna's black cloak, something stopped her.

Tears were pouring out of Flugel's eyes, and his hands covered his mouth, and seeing this made Minerva pause in place.

"Heh," Echidna chuckled. "After ingesting a single bite of this remarkable assortment, my food has moved him to tears! For Flugel's sake, please do not harass me about the origins of this divine meal, Minerva."

Flugel's hands shook as they retracted from his mouth, and with a voice that shook just as much as those hands, the teenager said, "Y-yeah... Minerva... d-don't bother E-Echinda."

He took a shaky breath and finished, "B-because... I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!"

Sliding his chair back and standing up, Flugel yelled, "I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but what the crap was that?! It looked soooo good, but when I took a bite of it, I got so nauseous that my eyes watered!"

"Is that so?" Echidna replied with no emotion. Turning to Minerva, she asked, "Did you not taste-test portions of this food before it was served?"

Minerva nodded her head violently, tears already coming out of her eyes. "I did, and it was a lot better than what you used to make! But I failed Flugel! I'm so mad at myself! Please, Flugel! Get mad at me! Not Echidna! She can't help that she's a poor cook!"

Immediately after Minerva's outburst, Flugel calmed down and took a deep breath. Looking between the two Witches, he chuckled to himself. "Sorry about that, Echidna. I bet that you tried really hard to make this, so sorry if you took any offense to that."

"None taken."

Flugel paused as Echidna obviously didn't care about what he said about her food. After all, she was still a person who struggled to understand emotions, both hers and the ones that came from other people.

Moving on, he continued, "And Minerva... Thank you for caring about everything. It means a lot, and I promise that I'm not mad at anyone here."

"You're not?" Minerva sniffled.

Flugel smiled warmly. "I'm not. After all, you two seem to make it really hard for me to stay angry! Now, ignoring that food, what are we going to do today?"

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Echidna knew what they were going to do, but for some reason, she kept some of it a surprise.

"My book has informed me that a certain woman has returned to her home after traveling afar, and I have been yearning to meet her once more, for she can be of assistance to us in our plan to help the world," is all the information that Flugel got.

Unfortunately for Echidna, Minerva was a bit confused. "Wait, who? That description fits three people, so can you go ahead and tell us who it is? Because if it's Typhon..."

Echidna donned a dumbfounded look. "Why would I be exuberant to see that brat? She wreaks havoc wherever she goes, and if not for Sekhmet following her, I am sure that some organized force would have ended her life by now."

Minvera shrugged her shoulders. "That's why I asked you. Typhon gets me really angry, so I was just making sure, and since you said that she wasn't the one, that leaves-"

The blonde Witch was stopped by a pale finger.

Shaking her head, Echidna gestured toward Flugel, who was right next to them. "I would like to keep this a surprise for my Instigator, so kindly refrain from asking questions that will reveal our destination. In fact, do not say anything else on this matter until we meet this person, for you will definitely know who she is as soon as we near her place of residence."

With pursed lips and crossed arms, Minerva silently agreed to Echidna's request and began to exit the mansion.

As the angry Witch was about to exit the main door, Echidna tapped on Flugel's shoulder. "Minerva has not been informed of our method of travel, so please stop her before she performs another reckless act."

Flugel nodded in understanding and chuckled as he jogged after Minerva.

"Come back!" he called as soon as he passed through the door. The blonde was already a short distance away, but she was more than close enough to hear these words.

"Huh?" she grunted as she stomped in place. "Did I forget something? Usually, that's Echidna's job."

Flugel just made a waving motion in response. "I don't really understand either, but Echidna seems to have something in mind other than walking!"

Minerva reluctantly walked back, the only things stopping her from throwing another tantrum being curiosity toward what Echidna was planning.

As Minerva returned to the doorway, Echidna exited the mansion as well, muttering something under her breath as she closed the large door behind her.

A slight rumbling sound came from behind the door, and Flugel assumed that the Witch had cast a spell - probably an Earth spell - to lock the door.

"I am very glad to have you back, Minerva," Echidna teased.

Flugel heard knuckles crack as Minerva's temper began to rise again. "Just go ahead and show us how we're going to get there, wherever there is!"

Echidna grinned at the impatient Witch and chose to tread a dangerous path as she did not explain anything. Instead, she only held her hands out. "Each of you take one of my hands, and then you will understand," she said slowly.

Minerva quickly grabbed one of Echidna's hands, and both of the Witches turned to watch Flugel as he hesitantly clasped the hand in front of him.

Despite the fact that Flugel was forever angry at the Echidna who tried to get him to join a horrendous contact, he was unsure of this action for another reason: this meant that he would be holding a female's hand.

Sure, Flugel had shared a kiss with Minerva not even twenty-four hours ago, and Beatrice had often sat on his lap and held his hands as well, but he was yet to share any intimate experiences with Echidna, and it didn't help that she was physically attractive. Of course, Flugel was not at all attracted to her, but all of these factors created a mini dilemma in his mind.

That dilemma was solved by the scornful look of a woman who had places to go, and as soon as Flugel took Echidna's hand, the trio found themselves levitating off of the ground.

"Wha-" is all that Flugel managed to get out of his mouth before a sudden acceleration toward the sky shut him up. The wind beat against him so hard that he feared that he would lose his grip and fall down to the ground that was getting farther and farther away.

Minerva must have noticed this somehow, or perhaps she experienced the same fear, because Flugel suddenly felt her hand grasp his firmly.

After a few moments, Echidna slowed down, and not only did the wind lessen in ferocity, but the scenery that had been a blur suddenly became clear. "Ah, that is a good idea!" she yelled over the wailing wind. "Holding the two of your hands together decreases air resistance, giving us a quicker journey! That is very clever, because it took me several flights to deduce that!"

Flugel ignored the fact that Echidna misunderstood what was going on and decided to look at the world below him. The air was still blowing into his face, so he had to squint, but what he could see was stunning.

The sun was behind them, and in its journey upward to its peak, many shadows painted the greenery of the earth with beautiful darkness. Between the lush fields of grass, the waking forests, and the distant outlines of hills, Flugel was stunned. This was indeed a view that was expected from a fantasy world.

And what made it even better was the fact that he was enjoying the view with the girl next to him. He noticed that Minerva was gaping in surprise at the gorgeous scenery presented before her, and seeing her eyes sparkle without needing the sun shining in them made his heart flutter.

Too bad that this moment couldn't last forever.

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"We will arrive at our destination in approximately one hour!"

This is what Echidna announced one hour ago, but the trio was still flying.

"Are we almost there yet?" Minerva cried out. In the past hour, it seemed like the novelty of flying had worn itself off on her. If he was being honest, Flugel was perfectly happy with flying for several more hours, but he was equally interested in meeting whoever it was that made Echidna so excited.

Echidna sighed, but it was inaudible to all but her. "As I stated earlier, one hour was an approximation. Since the distance of our journey and the total mass of our party are all estimates, so was my calculated time of flight."

Flugel vaguely understood that what Echidna referencing was related to physics, which was impressive since this world wasn't nearly as advanced as his home, but since he skipped school so frequently, the specifics of the science eluded him.

While Flugel understood some of what the intellectual Witch had just said, Minerva's eyebrows furrowed as she failed to comprehend any of what she just heard.

Echidna, who knew that Minerva wouldn't follow, added, "But of course, we will be arriving at our destination shortly."

"Oh, really?" Minerva exclaimed with joy. Looking forward, she tried to see if any hints were hiding at the edge of the horizon.

The only thing that she could make out at this distance was the beginning of a large forest, but this seemed to give her enough information.

"Wait, is that forest-"

"Yes," Echidna interrupted before anything could be spoiled. "That forest houses the one whom we will meet today. Please, as we discussed before, do not give Flugel any information that may destroy the sense of mystery that has been created."

Adding on to that thought, Echidna asked Flugel, "And by the way, do you recognize the forest ahead of us? If so, then my surprise may be ruined, whether on a small degree or in its entirety."

Flugel shook his head, but since Echidna wasn't looking back at him, he had to yell, "No, I don't recognize it! It just looks like a bunch of trees!"

"Well," Echidna noted, "at least your qualitative observations are accurate."

This didn't help at all, and the rest of the flight passed in silence.

Well, the silence didn't last for long - perhaps ten minutes - and it was actually broken from below.

There was a clearing in the trees, and Flugel could see that a village occupied that space, and as Echidna slowed down, the wind died down and he could actually make out some voices from below, although their bodies were somewhere he couldn't see yet.

"Look! Is that Echidna?"

"Yes, it is! And she brought Minerva, that really sweet one!"

"But who is that boy?"

"Is he a servant of hers?"

"Perhaps a lover?"

"A lover? The day Echidna gets a lover is the day that you find a man who actually fits all of your silly standards!"

"That's more of an insult to her than-"

"Stop arguing! We have visitors, so act civil!"

At this point, the trio descended into the center of the village, and after over an hour of travel, they finally neared ground, and as soon as her feet touched the rich earth, Echidna's knees buckled.

One of the villagers came out from the surrounding buildings and immediately helped the tired Witch to her feet, and as soon as this person came into view, Flugel gasped.

There was an elf in front of him.

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe that it's already 2023, and what better way to start the new year by uploading a new chapter?

Well, there's probably a whole list of better things to do, but that's beside the point! Quite a few people wanted this story continued, so I listened, and here we are! What did you think about this new chapter? When I first wrote this story, it was supposed to end in the previous chapter, so I hope that I can continue it without making an awkward transition.

And with that, I have another new chapter of this story almost completed, so I'll have that out soon! I'll see ya there!