I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

“Echidna, is there a way to change the vow between us? I want to remember what this tea party looked like even after I leave this world,” he said earnestly.

"Hmm? Why?" The witch held up a finger and placed it on her cheek, smiling slightly.

“There aren’t that many reasons. I just want to remember you after I get out.” Natsuki Subaru’s expression was sincere and genuine.

Although every time I pick up my phone and enter a chat group, I can think of the vows we made, the memory of those vows disappears after I put my phone down, and this sense of emptiness is really uncomfortable.

"Eh~~!" The white-haired witch blushed slightly, seemingly not expecting Natsuki Subaru to say such a thing.

Subaru Natsuki then took two steps forward, walked up to Echidna, stretched out his hands, and suddenly pressed them down on the tea table at the tea party.

"Whatever price you need, I will meet it. So please don't hide in my memory anymore, I want to remember you."

"Ah~~!" The witch placed her hands shyly on her knees, her eyes unsure of where to look. "Hmm!~! Okay...okay."

"You agreed??" Natsuki Subaru was somewhat surprised, but also quite happy.

For a moment, he even felt that the witch in front of him wasn't so heartless after all.

"Even I wouldn't do something so heartless as to go back on my word." The white-haired witch closed her eyes, shook her head slightly, and seemed quite happy.

Looking at her, Natsuki Subaru's expression suddenly turned serious, and some strange thoughts popped into his mind.

---No, something's not right. There's something wrong, but I haven't noticed it.

---My conversation with this witch in front of me...a mental breakdown....

---Wait, how did she know I was on the verge of a mental breakdown? Isn't that the key point?

----Does she know about my cycle of death and reincarnation? ?

Surprised, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but blurt out, "Just how much do you know about me?"

The witch, with her eyes closed, still retained a faint smile at the corners of her mouth.

Like a gentle spring breeze, it slowly approached: "I only know what I know. If you ask me how much I want to know, I want to know everything in the world."

"Echidna, do you know my situation?" Subaru Natsuki's expression revealed joy.

Although he had long suspected that Echidna, as the Witch of Greed, might not be afraid of the death cycle curse set up by Satella, the Witch of Envy, Subaru was still exceptionally happy to be able to confirm it now.

After all, although he could confide in his friends about his return from death, he would be extremely happy if someone from the Witch World could understand him and acknowledge him.

But Natsuki Subaru's delighted expression slowly changed the Witch of Greed's expression.

Her smile gradually faded, replaced by a calm expression.

She stared at Subaru Natsuki, as if she had seen something incredible.

Then, she spoke slowly.

"Subaru, why don't you cry tears of joy? Why don't you completely let down your guard?"

"Hmm?" Subaru Natsuki's eyes widened as he looked at the witch in front of him with some confusion: "Although I am overjoyed, why should I cry tears of joy?"

The Witch of Greed, her smile fading, crossed her arms and placed them on the table at her tea party.

He slowly closed his eyes again.

This time, she looked like a pure white doll, devoid of any emotion, exuding a delicate sense of horror.

Her voice was still like a wind chime, but her words were swift and ruthless.

"That's very strange, very strange."

"That's strange."

"Subaru, you're behaving strangely right now."

"Clearly, the person before you is the only one in this world who can confide your secrets to you. Having experienced so much painful death, why do you not have an urgent desire to confide in others?"

"That's strange."

“Mingming, you were just bitten to death by the rabbit, yet you are not desperate about what you are about to experience. Your resistance to death exceeds the will you should have.”

"That's strange."

“Mingming, you should kneel on the ground and tell me about your pain, about the devastation caused by [Return to Death], about the sorrow that no one understands. But why are you able to laugh with joy now?”

“I saw everything you went through after your death, and I also understood your personality.”

"The books that record the world do not contain the stories that are happening now."

"Ah~~~~!"

The witch slowly cupped her cheeks.

A wide smile gradually appeared on his expressionless lips.

An alluring rosy glow began to spread across her fair skin.

Drops of damp sweat seeped down from the corners of her eyes, slid across her delicate skin covering her collarbone, and into the depths of her valley.

"Ha~~~! Ha~~~~!"

"Ha~~~~! Ha~~~~!"

The alluring witch, panting heavily, slowly extended her hands, cupping her rosy cheeks, toward Natsuki Subaru.

Her seductive voice was breathless: "Subaru, what secrets do you hold that I don't know about?"

Chapter 40: Subaru Natsuki and the Witch of Greed's Battle of Wits in Love

The witch of lust, the witch who yearns to know everything, finally reveals her true form before Subaru Natsuki.

Her eyes held a faint smile, and her cheeks were flushed, as if she were drunk.

Although his expression didn't appear distorted, the words he spoke instilled fear in those who spoke.

Forced by this imposing aura, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but take two steps back, tripped over his own feet, and fell to the ground.

Looking at the white-haired witch before him, he suddenly found himself speechless.

"what happened?"

The witch stood up with a faint smile.

"Subaru, what secret are you hiding? Can you tell me?"

"If you're willing, I'd give you everything I have in return."

She took two steps forward, came to Natsuki Subaru, gracefully rolled up the hem of her clothes, and squatted down.

Pure white eyelashes approached Subaru Natsuki's eyes.

Her bright pupils stared directly into his eyes.

"You're shocked, but you're not afraid. Subaru, so many deaths haven't truly frightened you, such painful things haven't bent your spirit. But even someone like you wouldn't want to see Emilia's death, and... Rem's slumber, would you..."

"Sign a contract with me."

She extended her slender hand to him.

The hand, partially covered by a black dress glove, gently touched Subaru's hand.

The icy sensation made Subaru Natsuki shiver.

"As long as you sign a contract with me, making me belong to you and you belong to me, and you tell me everything about yourself, and I tell you everything about mine, then Emilia's ascension to the throne of the Dragon King will be so simple. This time, the trials and tribulations you face will also be easily overcome under my guidance."

The Witch of Greed's voice was soft, like the sound of a wind chime, carrying a bewitching power, gently drifting past Natsuki Subaru's ears.

"Come on, Subaru, sign a contract with me."

"Huff~~~! Huff~~~~!"

Slowly exhaling two long breaths, Natsuki Subaru managed to relax his fear by controlling the frequency of his breathing.

He opened his mouth slightly, his thoughts racing through his mind.

Finally, a sentence was uttered almost without thinking.

“Let’s sign the contract, Echidna.”

"Hmm??" The witch's eyes changed instantly. Her originally deep gaze softened for a moment, and a faint smile remained on her lips.

She stood up, extended her palm, and invited Subaru Natsuki, who was sitting on the ground.

"Then, Subaru, take my hand. From this day forward, everything about you is open to me, and my knowledge belongs entirely to you. You can rely on me as much as you want, and you can be as spoiled as you like. No matter what, I will lead you to the beautiful future you desire, a future where everyone can survive."

No, I'm sorry.

Natsuki Subaru ignored the witch's wrist and stood up by himself.

Then, he extended his palm toward the witch.

"No, Echidna, the Witch of Greed. I just said that I want to keep your image and your name in my memory."

"This is based on my own consciousness."

"Therefore, my desire to sign a contract is primarily based on my own will."

Natsuki Subaru's expression grew increasingly resolute as he spoke: "I am Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary person who possesses the ability to return by death and another secret."

"I want to sign a contract with the lovely beauty in front of me."

"I will give her a new body and endless knowledge. I will do my best to satisfy her curiosity. I will be her co-bearer of secrets. I will confide my thoughts and desires to her."

"Therefore, she will become my companion, my keeper of secrets, and an indispensable and important person on my path forward."

"I will bear her pain, I will meet her expectations, I will fulfill her wishes."

"So she will think of me, she will listen to my sorrows, she will give me the best wishes and advice that can overcome any difficulty."

Subaru Natsuki stretched out his palm, which was on the same plane as the white-haired witch's outstretched palm, but they seemed to never be able to intersect.

"Ah~~!"

Echidna withdrew her hand, blinking her pure white eyes as if she were seeing Subaru Natsuki for the first time.

The faint smile on her lips remained unchanged, and her voice was still as melodious as a wind chime.

“Subaru, you truly live up to my reputation for ‘greed.’ Neither the element of sloth nor the affection of jealousy can be as evident as your ‘greed.’”

"If I understood what you just said correctly..."

"You want me, as one of the seven great witches of this world, representing the aspect of desire, to belong solely to you, to love only you? And even to be bound by you??"