Somehow, Living Life in Another World is Wrong, as I Expected Ch. 12.3 (Patreon)

Devils. The devil I know. Daredevil. The devil that comes in the room when you talk about them. I’m quite familiar with this lot. All throughout my life, I’ve dealt with devils I had no business interacting with. The most prominent one would have had to be Granhiert herself. A devil I should not have had business with, but who forced my hand anyway.

Yet, the Bowel Hunter was the exception. Where my devils were of my own viewpoint, the same could not normally be said for the rest of society. Devils, see, were in the eyes of the beholder. That is to say, one saint may well be another person’s devil. 

Hiratsuka-sensei, for example, was a she-devil that would use physical violence to coerce me into doing what she wanted. Underneath that though, society would see her as a well-meaning teacher that wanted the best for her loner of a student.

Well, I can’t say they were wrong, per se. That doesn’t change the fact that I still physically recoil whenever I remember her lab coat.

This society’s devil, meanwhile, was one that most, if not everyone, knew to be one. The Witch of Envy. The one that caused so much destruction to the entire world.

But she wasn’t the only Witch out there, was she?

Witch of Envy. There should not have been a title like that, if the distinction wasn’t needed. That’s why I figured, when I started to look into things in the past. Sure, most people just call her ‘the Witch’, but isn't that the same thing as calling World War I as ‘the Great War’? 

There were other wars over the centuries, wars that happened for an even longer amount of time. Yet the distinction of being the war only occurred when World War I did. The same, perhaps, could be said of the Witch of Envy.

That her title of being the Witch was because she was above every other Witch that had existed.

That led to a rabbit hole of finding more and more evidence that there were other Witches that had existed. The Witch of Gluttony. The Witch of Wrath. The Witch of Sloth. Lust. Pride.

Greed.

The seven sins of Christianity. I’m not too familiar with the religion, but Japanese media had a weird obsession with using them as references or bases for whatever they were doing. You know, like that one Japanese-made anime that’s more lore-accurate to watch with an English dub because all the characters are from England. The one with the vampire.

…Wait, weren’t there two of those?

Anyway, I’m digressing. I shouldn’t be thinking about other Witches when the one that kidnapped me is sitting right in front of me.

…

The porcelain cup clattered against its matching saucer as Echidna slid the teacup toward the center of the table. The steam coiled upward, carrying a sickly sweet scent. It smelled like steeped grass and something distinctly metallic, clinging to the back of my throat.

It was not the tea I was used to, that much was for sure. I think Yukinoshita would be willing to commit murder if this was served to her.

"Hm." I kept my eye on Echidna as she smiled without a care in the world, "So you're the bi-I mean Witch that Mathers wants to resurrect?"

The Witch sighed, the action reminding me of a mother a bit too much, “Must you be so crass, Hikigaya-kun?”

“I wouldn’t need to be if I wasn’t here.” I glared at her, “So do us both a favor and let me out of here.”

“Mmmmm” The pale entity - because either she was a ghost, immortal, or some other supernatural being worthy of being called a Witch - hummed in amusement, “No”

The syllable dragged out, sweet and sticky, like warm taffy. It was the exact tone Komachi used when she wanted me to buy her a luxury crepe, or worse, the breezy dismissal Haruno Yukinoshita employed right before upending my entire week.

"That wasn't a multiple-choice question." I said. My palms pressed flat against the wood of the table. It felt entirely too smooth, like glass that had never known dirt, "There's a horde of killer rabbits heading toward the people outside. I'm on the clock."

Not that I really wanted to fight against the Great Rabbit. I would rather just take that over meeting a Witch that had some sort of plan for me.

"The world outside can wait a brief moment." Echidna said. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her white hair shifting like silk over her shoulder. Those obsidian eyes dilated slightly, catching the artificial glare of the sky, "Besides, time here behaves...differently. You aren't missing anything of import. Except, perhaps, a very rare opportunity to converse with me."

A dream? A train station where it happens in my head, but is very much real? A hyperbolic time chamber? Take your pick on what she meant. Either way, there’s no outside help that’d be able to get to me, then. Fucking Witches.

"I'd rather talk to a wall. Walls don't give off food poisoning vibes." I glared at the green, metallic liquid in the cup. The scent was prickling the small hairs inside my nose now.

She let out a soft, melodic laugh, "How terribly defensive. But then, you've always had to guard what's yours, haven't you? It's the nature of a hoarder."

"And the Witch of Greed would know that better than anyone, right?" I snorted derisively.

“Of course.” She said matter-of-factly, “Not that that understanding would be any less than the Archbishop of Greed.”

A splash of cold water over my body.

“What?” I ground out. This was bad. How did she know? No, that was wrong. I already suspected that she knew. Romanée-Conti already knew the moment he met me, so it was no wonder that the Witch of Greed herself would know.

I just never expected to be talking to her in the first place.

"A reaction. Good." Echidna purred, leaning closer until the faint, grass-like scent of her tea overwhelmed the synthetic breeze. She tapped a single, porcelain-pale fingernail against her cheek, the rhythm steady and sharp, "Though, calling you an Archbishop doesn't really make sense, doesn't it? You're certainly no Regulus Corneas."

I furrowed my eyebrows in genuine confusion, "Who?" The name sounded somewhat familiar, as if I had heard it in passing once or twice before. Nothing concrete, however.

Echidna smiled in seeming patience. I did not buy it in the slightest, "Why, the actual holder of the Witch Factor of Greed! Well, before you came along, at least." 

“And that still means nothing to me.” I snapped back, “If all you have is talking about people that mean nothing to me, then might as well let me out of here.” And I meant it. I had a habit of keeping tabs on fairly important people, especially after what happened to Fourier and his family. If I didn’t know anything about this Regulus Corneas, then he either didn’t matter, or was hidden enough that trying to find information on him would be too dangerous for anyone involved.

Either way, I knew nothing about him and it would stay that way. If the Witch of Greed wanted more information, then she would get nothing from me.

Unexpectedly, though, the Witch laughed.

“My! I really have to thank Subaru for this!” The mention of Natsuki brought me back into focus.

"Natsuki?" The name tasted sour on my tongue. I leaned back and the wooden chair creaked, a harsh, grounding noise against the sickeningly perfect rhythm of the swaying grass. I didn't notice before, but even the swaying of the grass was odd, as they all did so in perfect synchronicity. Eerie as all hell.

"Since when do you know him?" I wouldn't be leaving without Echidna allowing it, not if her claims of time running differently here were true. Not even Astrea would be able to find me if time itself didn't move. So, I'll have to make her want to do so.

Echidna took a delicate sip of her metallic tea, "We have had our little conversations. He is a boy constantly running out of breath, forever chasing tragedies he cannot quite reach." She gave a smile that, dare I say it, almost made her look human.

Creepy as fuck.

“It is because of him that I knew who you were, and the actions you took.” Echidna gave a wistful sigh, “If only you knew.”

My molars ground together, sending a dull ache up my jaw line, "If only I knew what?" I kept my voice flat, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing my pulse hammer against my throat.

Echidna hummed disapprovingly, “Can you really not remember? Dear Subaru even told you what had happened! I would have expected one as organized as you would at least keep it in mind.”

I wracked my head to try and recall the name. Perhaps it was foolish to trust the words of a Witch, but I didn’t have a choice with being trapped like this. And, like I mentioned, the name was tangentially familiar, but wit-

Ah.

“The Archbishop that was supposed to kill me. The one I apparently killed via the Whale.”

“There you go!” Echidna clapped happily, “I will admit, when I watched Subaru’s memories of it, I couldn’t help but be impressed by you. I-”

“You watched his memories?” I interrupted as the implications fell into place. I hadn’t told anyone that I was from another world. The Witch had watched Natsuki’s memories. I was dragged into wherever this was as soon as I stepped into the stone temple. Time didn’t function the same way here as back in the Sanctuary.

Think Hachiman, think! This world had been functioning under light novel rules, so what would be the most light novel explanation for all of this?

The answer-

“Oh, it seems you’ve drawn your own conclusions.” Echidna chimed in, “Let’s nip that in the bud, shall we? A bit late for introductions, but please, welcome to my Castle of Dreams.” She ended with a flourish.

I’m going to take the name seriously, which means that this place is operating as if it were a dream. A person can experience a bunch of dreams in a single night, with time being a non-factor. This, of course, implies that the Witch had to do something regarding the mind. If she did so, then it’s very much possible that-

“Ding ding ding!” Echidna sing-songed, “You got it right, Hikigaya-kun! I read your mind when I invited you here, just like I did with Subaru!”

That’s how she knew who I was, and where I was from.

“Yes, indeed.” She nodded. Dammit, she was still reading my mind now, wasn’t she, “No, I’m not.” She chuckled.

And how was I supposed to believe that when she’s clearly responding to my thoughts, right now?

“Hikigaya-kun, it’s not that I need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking.” She calmly explained, sipping her tea. How had it not emptied by now? Ah, dream rules. “It’s just that I’ve read your mind enough to know that we’re cut from the same cloth.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“It’s true!” Echidna put a hand to her chest as her eyes lidded slightly, “The two of us…we’ve thirsted for knowledge for the sake of knowing before. We’ve been misunderstood for our entire lives, considered as nothing more than monsters by our peers. Monsters of logic, as you would say. There are more, many more similarities that the two of us have in common, more than I can even put into words. If I had met you when I was alive…” She gave me a small smile.

“When I saw you in Subaru’s memories, I knew that you were the one.” She leaned forward, eyes sparkling in their darkness, “Subaru, he has the ability to perform experiment after experiment. The possibilities with him are endless. But he doesn’t have the drive to do so.

“You, Hachiman, are the opposite. You have the same drive I had, to unravel every mystery you come across. That joy of knowing is something Subaru could never feel. No, Hachiman. The moment I laid my eyes on you, the moment I saw the greed you had was the one I held in my heart, I knew that it could only be you.

“Be my champion, Hachiman. Be my champion, and I can promise you everything.”

I could have called it genuine.

I could have said she was telling the truth.

I could have believed her.

I could have accepted her.

But that’s all it was. Could haves. Because I wouldn’t. Not another deal with a devil.

“I refuse.”

…

A/N: The word devil doesn’t feel like a word to me anymore after rereading the first part.