Re;Kingdom, Starting a Life with Amnesia from Zero

Arc 4 – “Eternal Contract” – Sanctuary Arc

Chapter 42 – “A Chance for R eassurance ”

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Echidna : “What are you doing here? As a matter of fact, I don’t remember inviting you here, am I right? So, what’s the reason why you’re here?”

The voice of the Witch of Greed was different from before. It sounded somewhat irritated, or perhaps slightly angry actually.

I myself was somewhat confused of what happened, and why Minerva was here. From what I remember, Echidna told me that Minerva was the Witch of Wrath, who punched all people into health while lamenting the strife-filled world.

Minerva : “That is none of your concern Echidna! Nothing! Completely nothing!”

With her eyes starting to get watery, and her hands formed into fists, she stands into a fighting position. She was somewhat different from what I expected. The Sin of Wrath defines anger, and honestly, something more scary than her.

She’s a blue-eyed beauty with wavy blonde hair. She’s wearing a short skirt with clothing that looks easy to move in. She’s somewhat short, probably around one meter sixty. Her big chest and abundant curves give her a salacious air.

Minerva : “The Trial Takers have the right to meet us as well! Always! All the Witches of Sin!!!”

Echidna : “Tsk…”

The Witch of Greed clicked her tongue, and stood up from her chair. Her beautiful white hair was moving because of some kind of breeze that I personally did not feel. She turned around and walked away. Before she left my vision, she turned around and stared me in the eyes.

Echidna : “Make sure to call out my name once you’re finished talking. If I remember correctly, you still wanted to take the trials… We’ll discuss the Contract later.”

Her facial expression she left off was somewhat questionable, but it was certain that she was irritated.

Soon after, the Witch of Greed turned around and walked down the path of grass. While I was looking at her, I noticed that her silhouette was disappearing slowly, until she completely vanished. It was as if she walked into an invisible, thick mist which devoured her entire body.

Minerva : “Jens! It’s you! You’re finally here! Here! With us!”

As Echidna made her exit just a second ago, Minerva immediately grabbed my hands, and started jumping out of excitement. Her blonde hair waved, and her eyes glistered.

Jens : “… Minerva, right? The Witch of Wrath?”

Minerva : “Yes! That’s me! Nothing worth introducing myself”

She was so plain, personality wise.

Despite that, she had a lot of cute and noticeable features.

She puts her hands on her waist and stared at me. While narrowing her eyes, she sighed.

Minerva : “Are you alright? Aren’t you injured? There is no blood, is there? How is your sanity? What about your gate, Aura and Od? Everything alright? You seem somewhat stressed?”

Jens : “I’m fine.”

I tried to respond in a serious and a nice way. It might have sounded somewhat like a harsh refusal, but that wasn’t my intention, and I really hoped that she would understand that.

Minerva : “Liar! You’re lying! Your Aura is below the fatal level! You perverted man! Why would you lie if I can heal your wounds?! All men are the same, lying for their own pleasure! Disgusting! Hyaaaaaaa!”

Jens : “Uwagh!”

When she stared to rant a mouthful of words, she took a step back, and punched me in the guts, as hard as she could it seemed.

I got send back a few meters, spinning in the air. I saw the Dream like world spinning around me a few hundred times, until I landed on the ground.

Jens : “What was that good for!? I said I was fineー”

As I was about to scream at her, and confront her with my own blade. I noticed that I felt somewhat better. Of course, the fact that I just got punched by a girl was somewhat questionable, but she healed me with that punch. Was this the power of a Witch, mending?

Jens : “I… What did you to me?”

Minerva : “Ain’t it obvious? I healed all your wounds. Even those who are not visible with a human eye! Your Aura is back at it’s peak! So you should be able to fight at your maximum potential, got me!”

The woman named Minerva turned her back to me, and I just stood there, confused.

Minerva : “Anyway, if your wounds are healed then I’ve got nothing to do here! Now don’t you get hurt by even the tiniest bugbite! That’s a promise between you and a Witch!”

It’s weird to say, but Minerva was actually a Witch that seemed ‘Normal’ to me, contrary to Echidna. If she would have been a member from a royal election camp, I would have believed that she was simply a girl.

Jens : “Minerva-san… What about the Contract that Echidna just requested to make… You refused me of creating one, remember?”

She turned towards me and looked me in the eyes with watery eyes.

Minerva : “Oh my god! You’re right! Minerva is so stupid! I can’t! Why am I such an idiot! Why was I enrolled for this kind of rule?! There are way more people that could have done my job better!”

She started to look at her hands.

Tears started to stream from the corners of her eyes. She kept wiping her tears away, but the streaming tears kept coming and coming.

Jens : “W-Why are you crying? There is no need to cry Minerva-san!”

I tried to make her feel at ease. I might have done it not exactly the right way, but this sure made my point clear. She just kept on crying, despite there being completely nothing to cry about. She simply forgot something, and now she’s crying.

Minerva : “Hmph!”

She put her hands on her thighs, and looked angry at me. As if I said something wrong. Her eyes were furious, but still watery.

Minerva : “Men are all the same! They don’t actually care about the feelings of women! They just keep saying that everything is fine for their own, selfish desires! You Pervert!”

After she finished talking, there was simply only one thought which remained inside my mind. It was the fact that I just could not understand how Minerva is the Witch of Wrath. Weren’t all Witches supposed to cause chaos and calamities all around the world? How in the world could this woman be one of those?

ーーSatella, who devoured the half of the world, sure caused some calamities. It wasn’t even a question. She was a Witch for a fact.

ーーEchidna, who searched for nothing but knowledge. Someone like her could have caused chaos with her thirst towards the unknown. Without a doubt, Echidna sure caused some things in the past. It wasn’t hard to believe that.

ーーBut Minerva, a woman with this kind of attitude and personality, someone with healing powers, how could someone like her be a Witch? Especially the Witch of Wrath. Just that thought was unable to make sense to me, and probably to others as well.

Jens : “I’m very sorry that I gave you the wrong impression of myself, but I’m actually… In a pretty shitty situation. Would you mind helping Minerva-san?”

Minerva : “Wrong impression? Wrong impression?! Tsk!”

She crossed her arms and shook her head a few times.

Jens : “Tell me Minerva… What about Echidna? Is there something wrong with the contract she offered? Because in my opinion, it did not sound that bad at all.”

Minerva : “Because that’s how she planned it.”

The plain and non-serious attitude was swept away by my question.

Right that instant, Minerva’s weird attitude shifted towards a serious one. With that response, her eyes were all dried up, and were observing me with all seriousness.

Minerva : “Because Echidna always knows what to say to get what she want. I’m not saying that she’s lying, which she most of the times does, she’s simply hiding all of the bad things.”

When I heard that, things started to make way more sense.

That indeed, did sound like Echidna.

Minerva : “She is one of the most powerful Thinkers ever born in this world. She doesn’t have a powerful Semblance, or some kind of masterful Divine Protection… She was simply born with a superior brain, and her… Book.”

Jens : “Book?”

I repeated that word, because I wasn’t quite sure to which book she was referring to.

Minerva : “The Book of Wisdom.”

When I finally started to catch up with what was going on, I lost track of the whole situation once Minerva mentioned the Book of Wisdom. The only Book of Wisdom I knew was the purple covered book which Anastasia Hoshin brought to the Capital City of Lugnica.

Jens : “I-Is that book… Purple Covered?”

Minerva : “No, the cover of the Book of Wisdom is Black. There’s no such thing as a replica of the Book of Wisdom. In fact, it’s basically impossible to recreate the Book of Wisdom, as it’s one of the only artifacts that is able to bend the rules of Od Laguna.”

Jens : “A-Ah…”

Her words were hard to understand. It wasn’t because of her way of speaking, but because of the terminology she used. But in the end, I still understood what she was talking about.

But as a matter of fact, something did not make sense. Did Anastasia trick us, or did she trick the Witch Cult?

Jens : “Where is this Book of Wisdom…?”

Minerva : “It’s destroyed. The only way of using it, is to be here, with Echidna. As this is her Dream World, and her Castle, she has the ability to still use the long forgotten Book of Wisdom here.”

Jens : “So… What you’re saying is… There is no Book of Wisdom outside of these walls?”

I stuttered with my words, as I wasn’t quite sure how to word it so Minerva would understand, and even though I stuttered, I still wasn’t able to word it correctly. As there are no actual walls within this place. It’s simply an endless world of starry skies and an eternal horizon of meadows.

Minerva : “There is no Book of Wisdom outside Echidna’s Castle.”

Jens : “Aha…”

I nodded my head to confirm that I understood the words of her.

I placed my thumb on my chin, and started thinking. Connecting the lines with my current circumstances was something which I shouldn’t have done. Thinking in a place like this wasn’t my best option. Neither is creating the contract with Echidna, that should be able to wait.

The only thing which takes priority right now, taking the Trials.

Jens : “Thank you very much Minerva. I will not forge a Contract with Echidna for the time being, but I might change my thoughts.”

Minerva : “I understaaand. You’ll simply cling to that woman when you need her the mostーー”

Jens : “No. I’ll simply start asking questions.”

That’s right. This was the perfect opportunity to learn from the unknown. Like Echidna, my thirst of knowledge towards the unknown started to grow since I felt awakened.

Jens : “So far I have done nothing but accept what others tell me, but I need to question everything.”

Was I being rude? Because I wasn’t actually really sure. I felt different from before, and my way of speaking may differ from the person I was a few minutes ago, but this is who I really am.

Minerva : “I understand. Now there’s actually, something I want to ask you.”

Jens : “Oh?”

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the Witch of Wrath. Someone like her wanted to ask me something.

Minerva : “Your Od, it’s completely collapsed. You won’t be able to use your Semblance and your Magic correctly… Would you mind if I healed you?”

My Od, was there something wrong with it? I didn’t know that my Od was damaged at all. Did I break it when I used my Semblance for the first time against Furuta? I simply pointed my arms towards Furuta’s attack, and I completely removed it from reality. In addition to that, I never felt different or more tired after that moment. So what was Minerva talking about?

Though, if someone like Minerva would say such a thing, then it had to be true. There was no doubt.

Jens : “Sure, you can heal my Od. But please, be gentle.”

Hearing that, Minerva clicked her tongue out of annoyance and formed fists out of her gentle hands. She put her right foot forward, and her left foot behind. Then, she swung her first right towards my jaw, and punched me.

An irritating pain rose from my face towards my whole body that moment. I fell with my back onto the ground, and when I tried to stand up, Minerva jumped on my stomach, and started to punch me rapidly.

In the face, in my stomach, in my chest, in my genitals, everywhere.

Minerva : “Pervert! You’re so perverted! I can’t stand men! You’re all so disgusting! How dare you ordering me to be gentle when I’m trying to help you! You’re the worst! The worst! I can’t believe you said that! Pervert! You dirty pedophile! You’re a lolicon! I can’t believe the one who I finally met after four hundred of years, was such a degenerate like you! I can’t stand weirdos like you! Freaks like you make me all fuzzy! You’re a freak! A Freak! That’s what you are! I bet your mind is filled with degenerate thoughts about me! Stop them right now! I can’t believe you’re actually being this lewd! Oh my god, you really are the worst! The worst! That’s what you are! The worst possible perverted lolicon! I can’t stand it!”

While ranting a mouthful of bitter words, Minerva kept punching all spots of my body, and I couldn’t even move. All those punches in different kinds of areas made me feel different with each and single punch.

In addition to that, the words of Minerva really were mean. I didn’t see myself as a pedophile, nor a lolicon, and I’m not a pervert what so ever. I didn’t even think of Minerva in a lewd way. She was the one who jumped on me.

Minerva : “HIYAAAA!”

A final blow reached my nose, and the world started to fade away from my eyes. The starry night sky started to diminish once I tried to reach it with my lonely, powerless fingers.

Minerva : “W-W-Wait..!”

I heard Minerva’s voice chiming within my skull when my eyes started to close.

Minerva : “Why are you closing your eyes?! I didn’t even hurt…”

Her voice turned into a noise I couldn’t hear. A noise that tried to pierce through my skull for me to hear, which never happened. Once I closed my eyes, the noise was gone, and my hand fell on the grassy ground.

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When I opened my eyes, there was nothing but darkness, and a gently wind breezing through my hair. The sky was completely black, no stars to be found. Just a distant, dark, black, hollow darkness.

I sat down, and looked around. Minerva was sitting in front of me, with her hands crossed. Her eyes were burning out of anger, and overflowed by tears, as usual.

Jens : “Have I been gone for a long time?”

Minerva : “Does it matter? Whatever happens here, no matter how long you are here, it will not affect reality.”

She was right, that was indeed the case. I’m still laying unconscious on the ground, somewhere in the Sanctuary.

Jens : “Can’t anyone kill me while I’m there? In the Sanctuary?”

Minerva : “No. The Sanctuary Temple is surrounded with a special kind of Miasma. It’s a sense which calms everyone, and the thirst for bloodshed is diminished once someone enters.”

Jens : “Ah… I see.”

I sighed because I was relieved.

But I wondered, would I lose the “real” me if I would die now? I can not control my check point every time I die and return because of Return By Death.

Jens : “Minerva-san. Have you healed my Od?”

Minerva : “Do you really think I would punch someone without any particular reason? That is too violent, and I wouldn’t do anything like that! I’m not that way!”

Why can’t she just give a normal answer? I can’t understand it at all. I asked something completely normal, and she has to answer this, weird way.

Jens : “I assume that’s a yes. Now for real, Minerva. I don’t have time for chit chatting, even though you really are nice. Tell me, what in the world is Echidna hiding from me?”

Minerva : “Hmpf! I already told you, she’s hiding major details regarding that contract. If you would accept it, you would easily surpass the Trials, save your friends, whatever! But… The consequences will not be minor.”

That somewhat made sense. A contract was probably not easy to break, and would most likely result into big… very big problems. I placed my hands in the green grass to support my tired body.

However… I felt someone… or something approaching me from behind.

Minerva’s eyes widened, and she her silhouette suddenly disappeared. In addition to that, she suddenly started to grow transparent, until she completely disappeared. But… a single tear from her eyes fell on the ground before Minerva completely vanished.

??? : “Is that enough? I assume you discussed everything, is that right?”

Hearing that cold-like voice, I decided to jump up on my heels, and face the voice.

But when I did, I felt a change in my biology. When I stood on my feet, I felt different. I felt stronger, stronger than ever. I kept my posture steady, and turned around.

It was Echidna.

Echidna : “How did the beginning of your acquaintanceship with Minerva-san go? Have you learned a lot about her? Or did she simply kept crying the whole time, over and over again?”

Jens : “Both… I guess.”

Echidna chuckled because of my response, I thought. I looked at her when she fixed her hair with her right hand, and then… she looked into my eyes, deeply… with no hesitation.

Echidna : “Did Minerva say anything about the contract?”

I gulped. I was so scared to say anything. What if I said something, and I wouldn’t be allowed to take the trials? No, what if I said something wrong, and Echidna, the Witch of Greed would become an enemy instead of an ally?

Jens : “She… She said you were hiding some stuff from me… Not lying, but hiding.”

Echidna : “Is that so? Minerva really makes me sound like a villain. Won’t that make you misunderstand? IF we seal this contract, I will certainly help you, and guide you to the optimal destination you desire. My only request is to see what you see, hear what you hear, and learn what you learn in the process. Not a single one of of the things I said was false. Neither am I hiding something that would change the visual about the contract, you know?”

Listening to the pristine clarity of Echidna’s voice, I began sensing that something was awry. Having overcome the state of heated situations up to now, I once again scrutinized over Echidna’s words. Over her attitude, and why Minerva tried to stop me.

What was out of place… I couldn’t understand. She didn’t say anything strange. Minerva acknowledged that she wasn’t lying. So then, what was she hiding…

Echidna : “I will repeat my King, Jens. If you choose me, choose to forge this contract with me… I will without fail lead you to the place you desire, you know?”

I couldn’t understand. I can’t accept it now, can I? What if she will do something very, very bad to me or the Emilia Camp? What if she would abuse my position or Emilia’s? I need to confirm all…

Jens : “Echidna, if I contract with you… You will definitely lead me to the optimal future, that’s what you’re saying?”

Echidna : “Yes, it is. That is a fact. Without a doubt, I will carry out this contract to the end. With my knowledge and your ability, we will certainly be able to achieve it.”

Yes, surely, the contract would be properly fulfilled according to her, even to Minerva.

There were no lies in Echidna’s words. If I would cooperate with her, we would certainly be able to save everyone and reach that perfect future. However,

Jens : “But…. As you guide me towards the optimal future―― will we be taking the optimal path?”

No response

Jens : “Will you truly be doing everything in your power to bring me to the place I desire?”

No response, once again.

Jens : ” Why are… you saying nothing. Answer me, Echidna…… no…… WITCH OF GREED!!!!”

I lifted my head and I screamed at the top of my lungs. This… woman was scum, she was trash. What the fuck is wrong with her?! She isn’t human, she’s scheming something.

I looked at Echidna, as sharp as possible. But on the other end of my razor-sharp gaze, Echidna let out a small sigh.

Echidna: “――If you wish to reach the optimal future, you would have to permit certain sacrifices along the way. Could it be that you lack even that resolve, My King Jens?”

Jens : “Tsk…”

Her response neither affirmed nor denied what I had asked her.

But, I had realized it:

Echidna’s words just now weren’t meant to dispel his doubts.

Instead, as if intending to make her thoughts known to me, she spread out her arms,

Echidna : “You know what Jens…”

She took a deep, deep breath, before she opened her black eyes, swung her white hair and placed her white hand on her chest.

Echidna : “This extraordinary ability you possess, the Authority of Return by Death: Its utility is something you don’t yet truly comprehend. By refusing to allow endings that are contrary to your desires, you repeatedly retry, and repeatedly reach for the future―― that is the near-perfect ideal of an inquirer. But of course. In the first place, once an event has reached its outcome, it would mean that no other outcome could take its place. While in the process of reaching an outcome, it is possible to hypothesize on various possibilities of what that outcome may be. Such an approach under such conditions can serve to verify such various hypotheses. But when there is an actual result you want to reach, the outcome of each experiment and the hypothesis it verifies must forever remain singular. All the while, to truly reproduce the exact same conditions is impossible. No matter how meticulous the preparation, deviation from the conditions of that particular point in time is inevitable. And so too, is the question: “What would the results have been if I had done things differently?”―― forever out of the reach of an inquirer such as myself, instead being what you’d call a dream beyond a dream. Possessing the “Memories of the World”, there are indeed ways in which I could come to “Know” the answers. But while they exist, I have no desire to use or rely on such methods. My “Desire to Know” is not simply a “Desire to Have Knowledge”. Even for me, that distinction is quite a contradictory and loathsome thing. But I’m getting carried away, let’s return to the topic at hand…… for one such as myself, with no choice but to accept the singularity of the outcomes, having but one means of observation, your existence and your Authority is a godsend. Using “The Same Conditions” to conduct “A Different Test”, and see “A Different Outcome” from “What Originally Should Have Been”―― who would not desire such ultimate Authority? Seeing it laid before one’s eyes, who could go without first trying absolutely everything? Of course, I have no intention of taking it by force. In the end, you will be making full use of Return by Death for your purposes. I will ensure that you reach your desired future to the absolute best of my ability. And, in the process, if possible, I would like to sate my curiosity to the fullest possible extent. Surely, you won’t fault me for such a measly request? You will get your answers. I will sate my curiosity. Our interests are entirely aligned. Since I don’t know the answers myself, I certainly won’t misguide you on purpose towards the most wretched endings possible. When first encountering a problem, I’ll be just as ignorant as you are to what the optimal solution may be. So together, we will ponder, agonize and find the answers as comrades. I can say this without the slightest embarrassment. I am immensely fond of you, that is, for your capacity to increase my means of inquiry, and I swear I will never do anything to impede you. Of course, when initially without answers, I cannot guarantee a smooth resolution to every problem even with my help. While I can aid you with the strength of my knowledge, I can never directly interfere with reality. Should the obstacle before you require physical, material strength, I cannot help you. Time after time, perhaps in the hundreds and thousands, your mind and body may be shattered and torn. But if and when it is, I will faithfully tend to your heart. I must admit that not wanting to lose something as useful as you has a part to do with it. But, my fondness for you, and my intention to lend you my strength is genuine. I hope you won’t think badly of me. Though I’ve said this over and over, I am confident that I will prove valuable to achieving your purposes. Indeed, just as I will be, in a sense, using you to satisfy the Greed of my curiosity, you can also use me to “Attain Your Perfect Future”. It is precisely my wish to become that convenient girl you can always call on. If it means spurring you onward, then I will gladly offer you my very existence. Although, paltry as it is, seeing how I’m already dead, whether you will have me is another question. Alas, I suppose that would be unfair to those girls within your thoughts. The subjects of your longing―― the silver-haired Half-Elf, and the blue-haired Demon: the girls that your heart has sworn to save and protect. I won’t go into what I think about the intense emotions you feel towards them, but I will simply say this: The barricade standing before you is far greater than you could possibly imagine. Just the obstacles you are aware of now already have you struggling at your wit’s end. While your resolve to overcome them alone is admirable, it would be far too desperate a fight. There is not the slightest falsehood in my desire to lend you my help. And you have every reason to make use of my willingness. You must use everything you have, use everything you can, and only then can you save the ones you hold dear. Isn’t that the oath you have sworn, and the conviction you took onto the painful path you have chosen? That is why I challenge you, repeat with you, and feel for you. The path you have sacrificed your lives to forge, as ironic as it is, has now been validated in the form of the Second Trial. Perhaps, the Trial might offer the illusion that it existed to make you understand the nature of the path you have walked, and as such, was necessary. Yet the truth is it wasn’t necessary, and those scenes in fact only served to wear down your heart. However, between a state of ignorance and a state of knowing, no matter how appalling the truth may be, I will always value the latter. You have, and will continue to use your life as the price for Returning by Death and for inching ever closer to the future. As you do so, you will constantly keep in the back of your mind the possibility that the sacrifices you have made and those worlds themselves “Might Still Exist” in some form or another. Until one day, you will cease to feel anything about paying with your life, your human emotions will have faded away, the deaths of the people precious to you will no longer strike upon your heart, and so drowning your days in unmovable, emotionless apathy, even if you eventually reach that perfect future, there would be nothing left of you to hold it―― therefore, in order to avoid drifting into a future in which only that tediousness remains, this is necessary. Indeed, there is not a single useless thing in this world, every path is necessary, everything is an indispensable piece of the puzzle: It was for you to understand this that the Trial existed. If you need to make sense of the reasons why you have now stopped in your tracks, then you can think of it this way. And I will affirm your thoughts. If my words can give you the strength to move forward, then I will endeavor to give them. Be it consolation, incitement, whispers of love, or evocations of contempt, if it can become your strength then I will not hesitate to use it. You might hate it, but you will certainly need me on your path ahead. If you are to proceed along this road of unavoidable pain and solitude, then you will need someone to walk alongside you who will never veer their sight from the path. If you leave this role to me and to no one else, then I am willing to walk this road alongside you without question. I will repeat it, I will restate it, I will convey it as many times as necessary until it reaches you. ――You need me. And I need you. I need you immensely. My curiosity can no longer be quenched by anything except you. You are the only one in existence who can satisfy me. My insatiable Greed would be fulfilled by you alone. Your existence is already indispensable to me in this closed-off world. If you wish to be someone else’s hope and use your power to slice open their world, could you not take pity on my miserable self so that I may partake in the fallen scraps as well? If you will bequeath me this kindness, then without a moment’s hesitation, I will offer up my body, my knowledge and my soul. And so I beg of you. Please trust me. That I haven’t told you my true feelings until now was never because I wanted to deceive you. I was merely waiting for the right moment to do so. At this stage, the instant I appealed to you with even a fragment of my true intentions, you surely would have left me. That would have been an unbearable loss to me. And of course, for you as well, as it would certainly be a loss in the sense that you’d be distancing yourself from the future you seek. Although, with the power of Return by Death, you will inevitably reach your desired future. Nevertheless, it will certainly be preferable to reach that future while paying as little in compensation as possible. With me, with me you can lighten that price. I do not want you to make the mistake of thinking that this means as long as you reach the desired future, the greater good can overrule the lesser and the details can be held in contempt. Indeed, falling into temptation and failing to advise you of the optimal path just so I can see the end of a thread―― is not something which I am so confident in my control over my desires that I can guarantee will never happen. This I will admit. But, I will never mislead you. If on the off-chance I do betray your trust in this way, I will under no circumstances try to hide it from you. I will certainly disclose it. And then, do everything in my power to repair that damaged trust. No matter what happens, I will deliver you to the perfect future you desire. Absolutely, absolutely. And now, if you agree that this is necessary, then won’t you choose me? All I want from you, all I ask of you is as I have mentioned in the contract. After that, it is simply a matter of how much suffering you are willing to endure for your desired, coveted wish. I have told you my resolve. Now I would like to hear yours. Prove it to me, seal this contract with me, enlist my assistance, and muster the will to reach your destined future. Do so, and you may for the first time boast that you have conquered the Second Trial. From there, proceed to the Third Trial, and overcoming that, liberate the Sanctuary. Then, considering the disaster that will befall the Sanctuary, those you love, and those you hold dear, that shall be greatest Trial of all. Show me that you have the strength and resolve to surmount it. Once you do, plunder me, use my knowledge, and take hold of the future ahead. What I desire from you, what I request from you, and what I offer you in return is as I have stated. All is as I have sincerely, honestly, willingly confessed it. So now, I want you to tell me―― what is your decision? That, in itself, would satisfy a portion of my curiosity”

――A lovely… yet poisonous smile rose onto Echidna’s face.

With her white, snow-like hair swaying and her cheeks flushed red from the heat of passion, she turned up her eyes to me, awaiting his answer.

I gulped, and started to sweat. I had no clue what to say…