Chapter 199: So, why does love decrease?

“Echidna has already been resurrected!”

Ryuzu kept the lower half of her face hidden beneath her thick collar, which only drew more attention to her eyes — eyes that seemed capable of pulling in a person’s consciousness, spirit, even soul, as though soaked in raw mana.

“And she didn’t come back alone. She brought the souls of her fellow witches from the Witch’s Grave with her — the Wrath Witch, Minerva; the Gluttony Witch, Daphne; the Pride Witch, Typhon; the Lust Witch, Carmilla; and the Sloth Witch, Sekhmet. Together they broke through Sanctuary’s barrier and left.”

Ryuzu delivered this bombshell as casually as if she were commenting on the weather, and it left everyone present stunned.

Every eye turned to her — confusion, disbelief, shock, all of it mingling in the air.

What in the world was she talking about? The Witch of Greed, resurrected?

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Echidna — that emotionless, merciless monster — and you’re telling me she’s back?!”

Natsuki Subaru’s furious shout suddenly shattered the strange hush that had settled over everyone.

He glared at Ryuzu through gritted teeth, his face twisted with something close to hatred.

It wasn’t an overreaction. His wariness toward Echidna had climbed to its absolute peak.

The first time he’d met her in Sanctuary, he’d thought that despite the name “witch,” she was actually a gentle, beautiful girl — someone he could get along with, even a kindred spirit willing to listen to him pour out the agony of Return by Death.

But that naive impression shattered completely the moment he learned she’d dismissed Betty’s four hundred years of solitude as nothing more than an interesting observation experiment.

Every ounce of warmth and patience Echidna had ever shown him had been a mask.

Underneath it, she was nothing but a cold monster driven purely by curiosity.

That realization was exactly why he’d refused her offer of a contract in the end.

As for how much he hated Echidna — honestly, not that much.

But when it came to wariness, to sheer caution around her, he was without question first among everyone.

As long as her soul had stayed locked inside Sanctuary’s tomb like a caged animal, no matter how badly Echidna wanted to pry into his Return by Death, there had been nothing she could actually do about it.

But now — she’d been resurrected?!

Subaru’s brow furrowed tight. This wasn’t paranoia; deep down he was certain that a resurrection costing this much had to serve some purpose.

For a monster like that, driven by pure thirst for knowledge, being alive or dead made no real difference to her — unless coming back to life meant she could finally walk out of Sanctuary and come looking for him.

Resurrected, she no longer needed a “contract” at all. Knowing how twisted she was, she might just force him into Return by Death purely to satisfy her own sick amusement.

And Echidna hadn’t come back alone — she’d brought the souls of the other witches too. Given enough time, could she bring all of them back as well, to walk the world again?

“What is that robot of a woman planning? What will she do? I have absolutely no idea!”

Subaru clenched his jaw, sinking into a shadow of anxiety.

“Oh my, is that really how you see her these days? Not that you’re wrong, exactly — but if she heard you say that, I imagine it would hurt her feelings.”

Ryuzu, listening to Subaru’s outburst, raised a hand to her mouth in mock surprise, her eyes taking on just the right shade of sorrow, achingly pitiable.

“Ha, that’s rich. Her, hurt? Echidna?”

Subaru nearly burst out laughing at the suggestion and waved a hand dismissively.

“That robot of a woman can only mimic human emotion. She’s never been able to actually understand any of it.”

“So even if she puts on a show of sadness, it’s definitely fake… yeah, exactly like the face you’re making right now!”

“Wow, spot on, Ryuzu. That impression’s uncanny. Don’t tell me you’ve actually met Echidna yourself?”

Subaru rubbed his chin, eyeing Ryuzu with growing curiosity.

“Ah… yes, actually! A while back Garfiel failed his trial and collapsed inside the tomb. I rushed in to pull him out, and ended up taking the trial myself by accident — that’s how I got to meet Echidna in person.”

Ryuzu cleared her throat, her expression looking just slightly off.

“Ah, right, that did happen — I almost forgot. We owed the old ha— we owed her one for that!”

Garfiel, arms crossed, relaxed a little now that Ryuzu had brought up a secret only the two of them should have known, his guard visibly lowering.

“Ha, sounds like Echidna’s been stuck in that tomb so long she’s desperate for company — inviting anyone who wanders by to her little tea party. And that tea of hers is… ugh, gross!”

“Anyway, a woman who loves serving guests her signature ‘Dona Tea’ really is one hell of a pervert!”

Subaru smirked as he aired out Echidna’s dirty laundry, thoroughly enjoying the dig.

“She is NOT a pervert! Echidna’s only ever served that tea to you, you know!”

Ryuzu snapped back, clearly annoyed.

“Oh? You’re saying she’s not a pervert?”

Subaru gave her a knowing half-smile, eyeing her ears, which had gone bright red.

“Well I say she absolutely is. Serving guests with her own bodily fluids — if that’s not perverted, what is? And that’s how she acted dead. She was probably even worse when she was alive!”

That line landed like a direct hit.

Ryuzu’s whole face flushed red in an instant.

But before she could get a word of protest out, Subaru cut her off.

“Wait, hang on — Echidna-Ryuzu, why so worked up? As a copy of Ryuzu, you shouldn’t have any deep feelings for Echidna, should you?”

That single line slammed the brakes on “Ryuzu,” forcing her to compose herself and explain with an awkward laugh.

“I— I mean, from what I personally experienced, she never actually served me that tea. When I got to the witches’ tea party, she just glanced at me once and had me tossed out.”

“So it seems she’s pretty picky about her guests, then!”

This time Subaru didn’t argue. He just shrugged, gave Ryuzu a meaningful smile, and let it drop.

“Ha, honestly, whenever I’m around you, I feel like my own emotions stop being mine to control.”

Ryuzu, holding Subaru’s gaze for a few seconds, let out a soft laugh, shedding her flustered explanation for a wry, helpless smile as she said something that left him utterly baffled.

“But you really shouldn’t go grabbing a girl’s attention like that anymore. Otherwise — even love has a way of running out.”

“Ryuzu” tilted her head, looking straight at Subaru as she said it.

Faced with such a cryptic, downright strange remark, Subaru raised an eyebrow, about to say something in response.

But right then, a deafening boom erupted somewhere far off in the sky — like something was tearing toward them faster than the speed of sound.

Bang!

The sound of something heavy slamming into the ground followed, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke thick enough to block everyone’s view.

Clang!

While most people were still bracing themselves, or moving to shield Subaru, the sharp ring of clashing blades suddenly rang out from within the dust cloud.

It was Halibel — already engaging!

Subaru scanned the area and saw every woman had clustered around him, while his fiercest companion, Halibel, judging that whoever had arrived posed a serious threat, had gone straight in to test them.

“Did I get here too late, Subaru?”

A moment later, a fierce gust blew the dust away, revealing two figures locked in a standoff.

One, without question, was Halibel, who had rushed forward to probe the newcomer.

The other was a red-haired figure — hair like leaping flames, cropped short — calmly blocking Halibel’s strike bare-handed with a single wrist, all while turning to flash Subaru a bright, sunny grin.

As the smoke cleared alongside them, so too faded a crimson glow that had just shattered across the red-haired man’s body — the visible aftereffect of a blessing activating.

— “Blessing of First Encounter”: an opponent’s very first attack, whether an ambush, a blindside strike, or a move never seen before, is completely blocked and nullified, without fail.

“Reinhard?!”

Subaru cried out, calling the red-haired man’s name.

If Reinhard had made his heroic entrance while surrounded by real enemies, Subaru probably would have thrown him a thumbs-up and told him his timing was perfect.

But…

Subaru glanced around, half laughing, half exasperated. There was no danger here at all — this whole thing was just an awkward misunderstanding.

He hurried forward to stop Halibel and Reinhard, explaining that there was no threat to speak of.

Since Subaru, the current center of the group, had spoken up, Halibel promptly retreated behind him, still sizing Reinhard up all the while.

The two of them were each the strongest fighter of their respective nations, but since they hailed from different places, they’d never actually crossed paths before.

Still, as a ninja skilled in gathering information, Halibel had noticed the moment the smoke cleared — Reinhard’s fiery red hair and the dragon sword at his waist — and used that alone to place his identity.

“Su-san, you actually know the Sword Saint of Lugunica?”

Halibel asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

“Of course I do. Not just know him — we’re friends!”

Subaru clapped Halibel on the shoulder with a laugh, though he couldn’t resist muttering under his breath:

“Even if this particular friend of mine did try to kill me the first time we met, over a misunderstanding.”

With Reinhard’s hearing, he naturally caught Subaru’s quiet grumbling, but he was too embarrassed to say anything — he just gave a sheepish smile.

“Come to think of it, Reinhard, why do you always make such dramatic entrances? Same thing happened in the Slums — dropping out of the sky like some kind of hero.”

Subaru asked, curious.

“Probably because it makes me look more like a righteous knight, in other people’s eyes?”

Reinhard thought it over for a moment before answering with a faint smile.

What he didn’t say was that the first time he’d entered the viewing space, he’d seen himself in that scene — fighting the Bowel Hunter alone to save Subaru in the Slums, before it had even happened to him.

In truth, he’d already reached the area near the Loot House after hearing Felt’s call for help — he’d just stayed hidden on a rooftop the whole time.

He’d wanted to see, with his own eyes, just what this man — a man the dragon sword itself had deemed worthy of drawing — was really capable of. Whether he might be some Archbishop of Sin, wielding some terrifying, uncanny Authority.

So he chose to watch and wait.

The real reason he’d delayed stepping in to help Subaru was that he simply hadn’t expected this man — someone powerful enough to sway the world’s fate, someone the dragon sword itself had recognized — to put on such a convincing act of helplessness.

The Bowel Hunter had very nearly gutted him, and still he’d stubbornly refused to use his power.

So Reinhard had no choice but to drop from the sky, pretending he’d just arrived, in order to preserve his dignity as a knight.

Naturally, that particular “truth” was not something he could ever share.

Even between friends, some secrets simply weren’t meant to be told.

“By the way, Subaru — I was actually on my way to the manor, escorting Lady Felt. But just as we were nearing the border, we suddenly heard a loud boom and saw a blinding flash of white light coming from this direction.”

“Worried for your safety, Lady Felt and I decided I should go on ahead, to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

Reinhard said with a smile, looking at Subaru.

Though he appeared perfectly calm now, the moment he’d first heard that the manor might be under attack, he’d been every bit as frantic as Felt.

Because while he knew Subaru possessed the power of Return by Death, he’d also come to understand its fatal flaw —

when facing an absolute force, one that no amount of resets could overcome without some variable to change the outcome, Return by Death simply became an endless loop with no way out.

He couldn’t bear to imagine what might happen if Subaru’s side came under attack while lacking any real combat strength, and he himself arrived even a moment too late.

To him, being late might mean a matter of seconds or minutes. But to Subaru, it could mean countless loops of suffering, waiting for help that never came.

So, after excusing himself to Felt, he hadn’t wasted a single second before streaking toward this place like a bolt of light.

For his part, Subaru, hearing Reinhard’s explanation and catching that perfectly-timed note of gloom in his voice, mistook it for Reinhard’s usual excessive modesty once again.

“Oh, come on, Reinhard — when are you going to break that old habit of being so modest?”

Subaru walked up and slung an arm familiarly around Reinhard’s shoulder, shaking his head with a rueful laugh.

“Same thing happened back in Watergate City too— ahem, I mean! If you keep acting all humble like this, I’m going to start feeling bad asking you for help.”

“Acting like you’ve got all this incredible strength, when really you’re just a total nobody, huh?”

Subaru let out a sigh, privately thinking, phew, that was close.

He’d almost let slip, without thinking, an event from Watergate City that hadn’t even happened yet. He got the distinct feeling that ever since then, Reinhard had come to see him as someone genuinely powerful.

Was it because he’d once taken down the White Whale and Sloth’s Archbishop?

Surely it wasn’t because of that reckless outburst he’d made defending Emilia in the Royal Capital?!

“I see…”

Reinhard let out a laugh at that, thought for a moment, and then rephrased what he wanted to say.

If this had been the old him, he probably would have assumed Subaru was just joking around the way friends do, calling himself weak.

But after sitting through two sessions in the viewing space, he’d suddenly come to a realization — maybe, just maybe,

Subaru hadn’t been joking with him at all.

“So, let me be your sword. Let me make up for whatever you lack.”

“That settles it, doesn’t it, Subaru?”

Reinhard pressed a hand to his chest with a smile, speaking to Subaru with complete sincerity.

Rumble—

Right then, a sudden tremor shook the ground, cutting off Subaru just as he opened his mouth to reply.

Subaru and everyone else turned toward the source of the sound, and saw an earth dragon carriage barreling toward the manor at a terrifying speed.

“It seems I wasn’t the only one drawn here by that flash of white light and the boom.”

Reinhard remarked thoughtfully, watching the carriage approach.

There was no surprise on his face — after the viewing space had ended, quite a few others from the various candidate camps had set out for the manor at almost the same time as him and Lady Felt.

It looked like they, too, had picked up their pace to get here.

It seemed they’d all be arriving very soon.