Ayanokouji observed her carefully. A girl with her eyes covered was tied with chains to an instrument resembling a coffin. Under the coffin, there were some insect-like body parts moving.
He did not know the purpose of Daphne's restraint, but he was not ready to go against Echidna's advice and release the restraint.
"So, what do you want to ask me, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?" Daphne spoke, but there was a trace of saliva at the corner of her mouth, "Donna asked me to come out, and I came out. I don't want to stay awake for too long, don't say boring things. It may not be good for my health, and my body will be in great pain..."
The coffin holding Daphne trembled violently: "Ayanokouji has a very pleasing scent to me, so I want to devour you."
Uttering terrifying words with a calm face, this was a witch.
"It seems like the scent of the witch is still on my body." Ayanokouji thought to himself, then asked, "Is the Great Rabbit your creation?"
"You're talking about the rabbit! Yes, whales, rabbits, and snakes are all created by me!" Although she wore a blindfold, Daphne's face was still filled with pride.
"Can so many rabbits be killed?" Ayanokouji asked.
"Huh? Do you want to kill the Great Rabbit?" Daphne suddenly approached.
"Mm."
"The Great Rabbit finds its prey based on magical power! Find a mage with great magical power to capture them all in one move!" Daphne said with a smile, "No matter how many, there is only one consciousness. Wisdom to prevent destruction is nonexistent."
"Thank you very much then." Ayanokouji nodded. Daphne was easier to talk to than he expected, and the habits of the Great Rabbit were similar to what he expected.
"But, do you want to exterminate the Great Rabbit? Do you think you can do it with just humans?" A greedy smile appeared on Daphne's face.
"It would be better if I could avoid it, but if it's really impossible to avoid, I must find a way to eliminate it." Ayanokouji said, facing Daphne, he did not experience any emotional turmoil.
"That's excellent. If you don't want to become someone else's food, you need to develop the ability to protect yourself, or devour others before they devour you!" The smile on Daphne's face brightened. "Any other questions?"
"No more for now." Ayanokouji had already asked that question in his mind, and Daphne also said that she did not want to waste too much time, so he would not ask any more questions.
"Aren't you curious why Daphne created it?"
"Sorry, your reasons for creating it have nothing to do with my current situation. Just knowing how to eliminate it is enough." Ayanokouji said lightly.
"Such an interesting man, I can't resist it!" Daphne swallowed her saliva, then quickly retreated, as if she was afraid she would eat him out of hunger.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you could stop eating me."
"Oh, this is truly a rare reunion. There are quite a few people attending this tea party." Echidna's voice was heard again.
She stretched and glanced at the witches. However, there was no joy in seeing a friend, but a cold feeling that did not match the others. "When I said you could meet Ayanokouji, everyone couldn't resist and rushed out."
"It seems like everyone is very enthusiastic." Ayanokouji turned and looked at Echidna.
"You have to stop the heavy snowfall, stop the appearance of the Great Rabbit, be wary of Roswaal, help Emilia pass the trials, and worry about various actions of Garfiel... Ayanokouji, you have worked hard." A meaningful smile appeared on Echidna's face, and her dark eyes radiated endless greed.
"Ayanokouji, you are someone who is very afraid of problems."
"That's right."
"I have a method that can save you from many problems." Echidna raised the corner of her mouth in an exaggerated arch, "Do you want to hear it?"
"Tell me about it." Ayanokouji's eyes were also focused on her.
"Let's sign a contract!" Echidna immediately said, "You have extraordinary abilities, and I am also very confident in my own knowledge reserves. If we sign a contract, you can share it with me. With the Return by Death ability, I can help you make choices and lead you to ultimate victory – didn't you say that regardless of the result or cost, as long as you win, that's enough?"
She was not ready to pause for a moment: "We two get along really well! As long as we sign a contract, I will be able to handle annoying problems. As for Ayanokouji, all you have to do is taste the last fruit of victory. How about it, it's very valuable! Just leave it to me and I can give you the most perfect result!"
"That sounds very good." Ayanokouji said calmly.
"Yes, yes!" Echidna leaned forward, "Let's sign the contract..."
After hearing Echidna's words, Minerva's eyes widened, but as she was about to say something, Ayanokouji spoke slowly:
"So Echidna, what is the price?"
"Oh?"
"A contract is a deal between both parties. I don't believe that as the Witch of Greed, you would help me out of goodwill." Ayanokouji said, observing her facial expression. "You didn't mention the price that was mentioned earlier. It seems like you deliberately hid it."
"Of course, a contract has a price, but I think the price of signing a contract with me is not a loss!" Echidna smiled, "The price is very simple. I hope you can tell me how you feel and what you think. The things left in your heart, the future you know, the possibilities you can create... let me taste it all, it sounds good."
"Do you want to peek into my mind?" Ayanokouji stared directly into her eyes, "As expected of the Witch of Greed, you really have a strange hobby."
Although he had knowledge far beyond ordinary people, he also knew that at this moment, especially in this world, he was no match for Echidna at all, who knew almost all knowledge.
And his greatest and only advantage was that his thoughts could not be penetrated by her.
"Too exaggerated to say this to a young girl." Said Echidna very ambiguously, "But actually, the price is very common, it's not a big deal, I can let you taste the best future..."
"Is this only the best future? Although it may be a bit arrogant, but I also know a little about wordplay – you deliberately avoided the topic like that." Ayanokouji said calmly, "So what will you do before you achieve your goal?"
"The process must be accompanied by sacrifice! Your Return by Death is a very powerful ability. You can reset the world without limits and explore various possibilities. It is the expression of the highest aspirations! You can do it to meet expectations and make different choices, and I am very much looking forward to various possibilities! It can satisfy my curiosity greatly, and we can think and fight together and finally find the answer."
"As long as you use me as a tool like everyone else, that's enough! I can teach you any knowledge you want. Even if it requires my body, I will sacrifice myself for you willingly."
Echidna became more excited as she spoke, and even raised her hand to the air with an impatient smile on her face.
"Let me ask, who did you designate for Beatrice?" Ayanokouji suddenly asked.
This was one of the most common methods used. When faced with unexpected questions, a person's subconscious behavior was the most authentic answer.
"This question has nothing to do with the contract, right?" Echidna was a little confused by his question, "But I don't know who this 'person' is?"
"As I suspected, it seems like my guess about you was not wrong." Ayanokouji raised his head, his eyes gradually becoming sharper.
Echidna took a step back. Although the expression of the other party remained unchanged, her eyes made her feel a little cold for a moment, which had never happened before.
She realized that a fire seemed to be ignited in Ayanokouji's originally emotionless heart, but he seemed unaware of it.
"We must continue to discuss the contract..." The smile returned to Echidna's face.
"Please wait a moment." Ayanokouji immediately interrupted, "Echidna, I know your character, why you chose me, because the Return by Death ability can achieve all possibilities without limits, right?"
"That's right."
"With your personality, will you miss out on even one possibility? I'm afraid you will push me to use Return by Death continuously to see every future possibility, right?" Ayanokouji said calmly. His tone was questioning, and during the several conversations with Echidna, he constantly tested her to probe her heart.
Although her facial expression seemed perfect and the words she spoke seemed to help himself, Ayanokouji had seen through Echidna's shortcomings – the strong desire brought about by her curiosity was what made her reveal the truth.
No matter how great Echidna's acting abilities were or how much information she hid, as long as Ayanokouji knew that all her actions were based on curiosity, he could find loopholes in her words first.
This was his advantage.
"You actually act as if you know me very well." The smile on Echidna's face gradually hardened, and she did not respond directly to his question.
"And you made a mistake." Ayanokouji continued.
The other witches saw the scene in front of them and fell silent. This was the first time they had seen a human interact with Echidna on his own initiative and understood Echidna's goals at a glance.
"I will never consider Return by Death as a solution to a problem. This is a crucial difference between us." Ayanokouji said.
"You're an odd man." Echidna's expression gradually became more serious, "I thought we were similar."
"I don't think so."
After hearing Ayanokouji's words, Minerva nodded in agreement. Being kind-hearted, she certainly did not want to see him being taken advantage of by Echidna.
"So you mean you want to reject the heart of a girl?" Echidna narrowed her eyes again, "Do you want to handle the Sanctuary problem alone? Even if you can solve the Sanctuary problem, what do you have to do in the future? You can't solve all problems alone, can you?"
"You're right." Ayanokouji said, "I'm just an ordinary person, I don't have extraordinary abilities like you."
"An ordinary person?" Echidna laughed.
"I greatly need your abilities and strength." Ayanokouji slightly raised his chin, "I will sign a contract with you..."
"What?" Minerva exclaimed, and Echidna herself was slightly surprised, thinking she misheard.
"You told me before, you scared me..." Echidna breathed a sigh of relief and reached out her hand, "Then let's sign the contract."
"You're mistaken, Echidna." Ayanokouji paused. At this moment, his gaze was like a sharp knife, as if he was trying to peel Echidna's heart layer by layer -. Their situation seemed completely reversed.
"I want to sign a contract with you, but the content of the contract is up to me."
"Witch of Greed Echidna, I will not give you the right to read the contents of my heart."
"And you must be my tool and obey my commands completely."