Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

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Minerva swallowed her breath and narrowed her blue eyes.

[Minerva: If Volcanica and Flugel never sealed their pact, Reid couldn"t have stopped her by himself…… and the world would’ve been swallowed]

[Echidona: If it had been swallowed, what then, I wonder. Of all the world, only the Witch of Envy would remain. Perhaps, a Parallel Universe in which this is the case even exists. And, if it does, won"t you find it incredibly interesting?]

[Minerva: Your eyes always get so gross whenever you talk about her, Echidona. ――I’m really not that mad at her. I just can"t share your wrath on that one]

[Echidona: Well, that"s one way to approach it, I suppose. ――Your wrath is the delightful kind. That’s why you were the most lovable of all the Witches]

Echidona said in past tense, while Minerva looked away with a small snort and crossed her arms, emphasizing her abundant b.r.e.a.s.t.s with a jolt of her back.

[Minerva: I’m not looking to be loved. All I want is for conflict to be wiped from this world, for all the suffering, grief, and cries and wails of pain to be exterminated by my fists. I don’t need anything else on my path. My rage, my wrath, and my healing fists――are my everything]

Minerva proclaimed her life"s purpose without a shadow of a doubt.
Without reserve or hesitation, it was conviction from which nothing could lead her astray.
Truly, this was Wrath―― directed at the world, an inexhaustible fury forming the roots of her existence from which all else was built.

[???: Well, you"re free to say that as you want~. But you get so happy when people praise you you can"t help but grin so big~, that"s what"s so cute about you, Neru-Neru~]

Dragging the ends of her sentences, a rather dopey voice cut into the conversation.
It came from opposite Sekhmet, and from Minerva"s left.

[???: Neru-Neru~, you really are Witch-tier when it comes to not being honest with your feelings~. I like that about you so much I just want to eat it~]

[Minerva: Shut up, Daphne. You were sleeping until now, why did you have to wake up all of a sudden?]

[Daphne: But I’ve been awake ever since Neru-Neru made a ruckus and started flas.h.i.+ng your undies. You go around wearing a tiny skirt that flies up whenever you move, and still you wear those flashy undies~, tsk tsk~, Neru-Neru~]

[Minerva: Y-you’re one to talk! You’re younger than me, and yours are simply obscene! The h.e.l.l is that? That"s not underwear, that"s a string, dumba.s.s! What"re you, a dumba.s.s!? Stupid dumba.s.s! Seriously, you"re just a hopeless dumba.s.s, you know that? Dumba.s.s dumba.s.s!]

Red in the face and teary-eyed from emotion, Minerva squeaked back―― while the one happily ignoring her would be the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne.
With her body completely restrained and her eyes covered by criss-crossing blindfolds, her small body was settled inside a strange black coffin. Though this thing was just casually hanging out at the table like it was natural, to an outsider, this tea party must have seemed utterly surreal.

Running out of insults to throw at Daphne (though it was just saying "Dumba.s.s" over and over), Minerva plopped back into her chair, buried her face in her palms, and slumped over the table.

[Minerva: Whatsthiswhatsthiswhatsthis! Like, is this supposed to be my fault? It"s not like I"m doing it to get praised, but of course you"re gonna be happy when someone praises you. When someone says "Thank you", of course you"re gonna think "I"m so glad I did that". Is that so wrong? Am I in the wrong here? I want to heal everyone but I want to be healed too……]

[Echidona:The fact that you didn"t explode into a state of self-abandon just now is just a part of your charm, I suppose. ――Now]

Leaving aside Minerva, who had checked out of the conversation by sinking into a sea of her own brooding, Echidona set her sights on Daphne.
With both eyes covered, Daphne shouldn"t have been able to sense Echidona"s gaze, but her small nose nonetheless twitched adorably with a few little sniffs,

[Daphne: DonDona, what"re you staring at Daphne for~? Unlike Neru-Neru and Met-Met~, Daphne can"t stand a whole conversation with you, you know~. Besides……haa.. haaa~…… I"m already running out of calories~]

[Echidona: There"s nothing more foolish than asking cooperation from a Witch… I"ve already learned that far too well while I was alive…… but I never thought this conversation would go this badly, you"ve all outdone yourselves, I almost want to congratulate you]

Mumbling this, Echidona lifted her right hand and gave her fingers a snap.
Instantly, a steaming cup of tea and a plate full of cookies appeared in front of Daphne. Her blindfolded eyes widening, Daphne immediately lit up at the appearance of food.

[Echidona: Of course, I don"t intend to keep you waiting, so if you want to eat befor……]

[Daphne: Gafugafu~ Omuomu~ Muchumuchu~]

[Echidona: Forget I said anything… though I"d rather hoped you would practice better table manners]

Echidona shrugged, while in front of her, Daphne threw her whole upper body onto the table as she ate. ――Quite literally, she was putting her whole body into it.
Even though she was making eating noises with her mouth, the tea and pastries were sucked in directly upon contact with her skin. The offered tea and pastries, along with the potteryware, all disappeared inside Daphne, instantly becoming Gluttony"s feed.

[Daphne: Aaa~, so tasty~, so sweet~. ……Oh~, sorry~. I went a little overboard and gobbled the table too~]

[Echidona: "Don"t worry about it"…… or well, I wouldn"t go so far as to say that, but I more or less realized this would happen the moment I invited you. Other than please be more careful, I"ve nothing more to ask of you]

[Daphne: DonDona~, would you tell birds not to fly and fishes not to swim too~?]

Hearing Daphne"s roundabout refusal, Echidona sighed, while, having finished her treat, Daphne wriggled her body and continued with [Alright~],

[Daphne: My tummy"s got food in it~, so I"ll keep DonDona company a bit longer~. ――You were saying something about Parallel Universes~?]

[Echidona: That"s right. Daphne, do you have any thoughts on it?]

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I just cleared 2200km by train the day before yesterday! We changed our plans a bit and now I’m on the other side of the country now instead of a couple of weeks from now. It’s incredible fun here but now Arc 6 just got its latest chapter in j.a.panese! I’ll need to semi-drop everything and get on it right away.

I’ll be back in a few days! ❤

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