Ei had already rushed to the Mathers mansion overnight yesterday. Though it was said to be overnight, there had not been excessive urgency. According to Frederica, the assassins' attack would happen today, so Ei going ahead early also counted as laying some traps in advance, preparing to catch them all in one net.
As for the Shogun... this afternoon, she once again stood before the ruins. Looking at the now-familiar structure, she felt an extra trace of affinity in her heart. She wondered whether that person was still inside drinking Dona tea. That grassland and that black-clad figure had already surfaced in her mind.
"Haa..."
With a helpless sigh, she stepped into the room inside the ruins, the so-called trial chamber. Her footsteps echoed deeply through the empty interior. It was as dark and dim as ever. She did not know how Emilia had always entered the trial.
Just as she paced back and forth nearby—
"Um... excuse me..."
A strange female voice suddenly sounded behind her...
"...!"
By reflex, she drew her naginata and instantly turned, pressing the blade to the neck of the person behind her.
"Wah~! Wait—not that~! I-I wasn't trying to hurt you... haa..."
The girl who had suddenly appeared immediately panicked, waving her hands as she retreated several steps, weakly explaining herself.
"...?"
Only then did the Shogun clearly see her appearance.
She was an unfamiliar young woman. Her features were not exquisite, rather plain and ordinary. Yet her face carried a natural meekness and honesty. Her light crimson waist-length hair was tucked beneath a pale green scarf that draped to the floor around her neck. She wore a simple robe, and beneath it a cherry-colored patterned long dress. A pair of beautiful cherry-red calf boots extended beneath the skirt.
As if noticing the Shogun's scrutinizing gaze, the girl blushed shyly. Her hands hidden inside her sleeves unconsciously clasped together before her chest. Summoning courage, she raised her eyes and met the Shogun's gaze.
"Um... sorry... d-did I scare you?"
Her voice was extremely soft, the kind that would awaken protective instincts in anyone who heard it.
"...Not exactly. It is merely habit."
Seeing no hostility, the Shogun withdrew her weapon and answered.
"I see... um..."
The girl visibly relaxed, burying her small mouth beneath the scarf around her neck. The tiny gesture was rather cute.
"Who are you?"
She asked.
"Ah, sorry... I haven't introduced myself. My name is... Carmilla. Um... I am the Witch of Lust."
The girl hurriedly showed an honest smile and answered in that naturally gentle voice.
"Lust?"
The Shogun repeated the word, then looked her over once more.
Strange... the other party had no aura of lust whatsoever. On the contrary, she seemed pure and honest. If anything, Echidna seemed to fit the title more.
"Y-yes... um... please don't look at me like that. I'm not lustful at all~! ///"
Carmilla shook her head with a flushed face, as though tears might fly out.
"Haa... You came to find me?"
She returned to the topic. Why would the Witch of Lust appear inside the ruins? And had she not already...?
"Mm... Are you going to little Dona's place?"
She asked.
That nickname was the same one Pandora had once used for Echidna.
"Indeed."
She nodded.
"Ah... then please follow me... I'll take you there."
Carmilla gestured toward the portal in the distant corner.
"My thanks."
The Shogun nodded and followed the meek witch through the familiar portal.
Humm~
White light filled her vision. When it faded, what entered her sight was the even more familiar green hills of the sanctuary, and the witch seated beneath the parasol.
"...You've come~?"
Echidna, sitting beneath the parasol, smiled when she saw her and waved. Thus the two met once again.
"Welcome to the Witch's Tea Party. I believe this should be your—"
"Fourth time."
She answered directly and skillfully sat on the other side of the tea table. Of course, this time there was not only one seat. A chair had also been placed to the left side of the table. She knew it belonged to Carmilla.
"Ara~? Fourth time? Ah—I understand now."
Echidna was no fool. She understood at once after that hint. Then she summoned her Book of Wisdom, opened to a certain page, and swept her eyes across it several times. As if finding the answer, she contentedly put it away.
Carmilla also sat to the Shogun's left... and habitually picked up her tea.
"Ah... I have not introduced her yet, have I? This is—"
"I know. She already told me just now."
"I see... then that saves much trouble. Carmilla grew curious about your appearance after hearing me mention you, so she came out today to meet you and join the fun."
Echidna smiled.
"Little Dona~! Don't make me sound so shallow~"
Carmilla puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"You are called... Carmilla?"
The Shogun looked at the light crimson-haired girl drinking tea beside her.
"Y-yes... p-please take care of me... um..."
She set down her cup and spoke.
"Just call me Shogun."
"Mm... Miss Shogun..."
She nodded.
It felt strange...
"You may call me Raiden instead..."
She said helplessly.
"R-Raiden... Miss Raiden..."
Carmilla obediently corrected herself.
"Well? Carmilla? She's quite good, isn't she~?"
Echidna asked as though showing something off.
"..."
The Shogun rolled her eyes at her speechlessly.
"Mm... just as little Dona said. You are unlike everyone else, whether in temperament or... within. Did you truly come from the outside world?"
Carmilla asked curiously.
"More or less... though not the 'outside world.' Rather, another world."
She explained.
"I see..."
"May I ask an impolite question?"
After some thought, she still spoke.
"Eh? Ah... please ask."
Carmilla froze briefly, then honestly invited the question.
"Are you truly the Witch of Lust?"
She asked.
"...Yes, I am. Genuine in every way."
Carmilla answered awkwardly.
"Then why do you not possess even the slightest aura fitting that title?"
She asked bluntly.
"Pfft..."
For some reason, Echidna suddenly burst into laughter.
"...///"
Hearing that laughter, Carmilla's face reddened as expected. She looked at Echidna resentfully.
"By comparison, the one drinking tea opposite me fits the title far better."
She mercilessly looked toward the Echidna who was suppressing laughter.
"Pfft!! Hey~! Even if you're insulting me, don't say it like that~ honestly~!"
Echidna spat tea onto the flat grass and retorted with a flushed face.
"Pfft... hehe... that's true. Little Dona really is like that sometimes. She gives people a seductive feeling."
Beside them, Carmilla could not help covering her mouth and laughing softly as she explained.
"Mm... sometimes she even does vulgar little things—like last time, when she touched my thigh."
"When did I ever touch your thigh..."
"Last time."
She answered.
"Um... ahem, that 'me' surely had a reason, right? It's not like I touched it for no reason. Besides... I'm not ugly at all. I'm even quite beautiful, aren't I? Do you really think you suffered a loss~?"
Echidna asked in a teasing tone.
"...Why don't you try it yourself?"
She narrowed her eyes and revealed a sly, dark smile.
Pinch~
The next second, her hand reached to the other's thigh and gave it a direct squeeze.
"Ah~!!"
Echidna's body visibly trembled, letting out a soft cry.
"Pfft... you two really get along so well... hehe."
Carmilla smiled.
"Not at all!" ×2
The two spoke in unison.
"...I thought you'd say 'very well.'"
Echidna said.
"What a coincidence. I thought you would say the same."
She sniffed the liquid in the teacup. After confirming it was ordinary tea, she took a sip.
"..." ×2
The two of them both showed helpless smiles upon hearing that, then fell silent.
"So then, why is Carmilla called the Witch of Lust?"
She returned to the topic.
"That would be because of... her Authority."
Echidna shrugged.
"Authority?"
She looked at Carmilla.
"...Mm, that's right..."
Carmilla lowered her eyes, her expression gaining a trace of complexity and sorrow.
"I... never wanted this myself. I was only an ordinary village girl."
"..."
Seeing the sadness on her face, she did not press further. Perhaps there was some dark past behind it, or a painful history she did not wish others to know.
"Haa... Carmilla's Authority—'Faceless Bride.' Put simply, it means being loved."
Echidna answered in her place.
"..."
Carmilla did not mind hearing it, merely nodding silently.
"Being loved? What do you mean?"
"People see her as the lover of their dreams, and once they look at her, they can never look away. They may even forget to breathe. Even if they are about to be killed, they will not move an inch. In the truest sense, they become unable to take a single step for the sake of 'love.'"
"..."
After hearing it, she understood the meaning behind it. A trace of complexity entered her gaze toward the girl.
"I... I never wanted that. I never wanted them to love me. They never cared how I felt. They just forced themselves to 'love' me, and it frightened me. At first it was one person, then two, then three... until in the end, the whole village was like that. Every night they stood outside my room, unable to move, staring at me as though cursed."
Carmilla unconsciously clasped her hands over her heart, her cheeks sinking into the scarf. A faint glimmer of tears appeared in her eyes.
"...That's how it was. And this Authority was not something she did willingly. She herself could hardly control it. In the end, she was dragged into that war. To obtain her, they even drew kingdoms into conflict, slaughtering one another. Everywhere Carmilla went, there were only bloody traces left by those who 'deeply loved' her..."
"I... at that time, I felt I should not continue like that. I should not let them kill each other because of me. If I was the root of it all, then if I disappeared, it would end, wouldn't it?"
Carmilla wore a faint, distant smile of bitterness as she spoke to her.
"Could it be..."
She had already guessed the ending.
"Mm... Carmilla... killed herself. She walked alone into a sea of fire and was swallowed alive by the flames."
Echidna took a sip of tea.
"When I was little, I once read in storybooks about the fate of witches... many of them were tied up and burned in flames that consumed everything, losing their lives. Hehe... thinking back now, it was rather childish."
Carmilla smiled shyly at her, habitually kneading her hands inside her sleeves.
A girl loved by everyone, yet from beginning to end never found her own love.
In the eyes of ordinary girls, being loved was something to be desired. Yet for the girl beside her, love was merely a burden. A curse. A poisonous curse.
"..."
She kept looking at Carmilla without speaking.
"Um... Miss Raiden... p-please don't look at me like that... /// I don't want you to... 'fall in love' with me too. Please."
Carmilla avoided her gaze, cheeks flushed red as she pleaded softly.
"Ah... don't misunderstand... I didn't mean it as dislike or contempt—"
"I know... there is no need to panic."
She spoke with understanding.
"Mm... thank you... haa. I thought she'd look at me with different eyes. You scared me to death."
Carmilla nodded to her with a gentle smile, then turned to Echidna and whispered softly.
"Ordinary people might look at witches in an unusual way. But she is not an ordinary person, is she? Right, Shogun~?"
Echidna set her teacup back onto the tray and shot her a meaningful glance.
"Mm..."
She nodded lightly.
"Eh? Is that so? Ah... I know Miss Raiden is very strong, but..."
Carmilla looked puzzled.
"Haa... speaking of that, Echidna, I have something to tell you."
The Shogun remembered the promise she had made to the previous Echidna, so she spoke.
"Mm? What is it? I'm listening."
Echidna shrugged.
"About my story. Weren't you always wanting to know before? I will tell you now."
She said.
"...Before? Ah—I see. You mean the previous 'me,' right?"
"Mm."
"Pfft..."
Yet Echidna merely smiled.
"...Why are you laughing?"
She asked in confusion.
"No, I just think that if you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have remembered it at all. If you don't wish to speak, then don't force yourself, alright?"
Echidna shook her head in understanding.
"..."
Looking into those eyes, she showed a trace of awkwardness. Her gaze unconsciously shifted aside toward the grasslands.
"I... am not someone who breaks her word. Since I once promised you, I will not go back on it. Anything I agreed to tell you, I will tell you."
Her eyes returned to Echidna as she spoke in a firm voice.
"...!"
Beside them, Carmilla was affected by the charm radiating from her and unconsciously fell into a daze.
"...Hehe, you know~? Shogun... that's exactly what I like about you..."
Echidna smiled with satisfaction, propping her chin on one hand as she threw her a flirtatious wink.
"Is that so? Then suddenly I feel there is no need to say anything after all. Breaking my promise to you would not be such a big deal~?"
Hearing those seductive words, a mischievous little devil stirred within her heart. Crossing her arms, she turned her gaze aside and lightly reversed the situation with a playful tone.
"Eh?! Wait—! That's not what we agreed on~! The character setting you just had completely collapsed~!! And do you dislike me that much~?!"
Echidna instantly waved her hands around in panic. Sometimes she was just like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"Pfft~"
Carmilla could not help laughing softly.
These two truly had a good relationship. This kind of natural bickering could never be acted out.
"Just joking... I was teasing you."
The Shogun glanced at the overly cautious Echidna and shrugged.
"Mmph~"
Echidna puffed out her cheeks and looked at her resentfully.
After that, the Shogun told the Witch of Greed before her about her own affairs, including her world, Teyvat, Inazuma, and many other things one by one. Of course, it was only the surface of it all, yet Echidna still listened with relish, face full of excitement like a child seeing sweets.
After all, she was the Witch of Greed, one who held a ravenous desire for knowledge.