Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11/Synopsis

Chapter 5: The Witch's Tea Party
The next thing Subaru knew, he was sitting once again in a white chair atop a small hill with a verdant plain, and sitting across the table is Echidna. He is surprised to see how young she looks but she tells him this is how she looked when she died. Changing the topic Echidna tells Subaru that it is rare for the same guest to be invited to the same tea party twice, so he should be proud, but he tells her to not be so blunt. Subaru thinks about how he was previously in the tomb, but as of now, he felt strangely normal when previously he was having a mental breakdown over his most recent death. Echidna tells Subaru that she specifically invited Subaru to this tea party because of his deteriorating mental state, prompting her to ask him for thanks. Subaru, however, asks if the reason he has calmed down is by drinking her tea previously, but she says that it set his Witch Factor into motion to promote stabilization and the effects aren't lost when entering and leaving the tea party. He asks if this will continue after he leaves, and she says that it will if he does. As a result, he asks if Echidna can rewrite the vow so he can leave the tea party without forgetting her, not just to preserve his mind, but also to remember her in general. He offers compensation as he begs not to have his memories of the place repressed, and she accepts.

Echidna tells Subaru that she wants to talk to him but when he tries to get out of it, she reminds him that he is a guest in her territory, so he needs to remember to be respectful with her, especially when telling her to rewrite their vow. To prove as such, she pushes a cup of tea forward for him to drink, which he reluctantly does, asking if it finally makes him a true guest at her tea party. He does remember that the tea is made of her bodily fluids which causes him to gag a bit, and Echidna, as she had before, demands a word of thanks from him for saving his mind. Subaru instead thanks her for the tea and calls her a damned Witch.

After calming down, Subaru asks Echidna how much she knows about his circumstances, and she says all she knows is how much she wants to know, which is everything in the world. He insists she knows how weird it is for him to be back so soon after overcoming his past in the Trial, and since she is so smart, she must know about them, since she has been seeing his memories. He starts developing the urge to tell her about Return by Death, but his past experiences with breaking the taboo held him back. Echidna insists he try to speak to her since to test in hope of a result is praisworthy. He says that she may regret it but she still insists. Finally, Subaru tells Echidna that he can Return by Death, closing his eyes as he says it. When he opens them though, he sees that nothing has happened to him nor has anything happened to Echidna. Stunned, he repeats what he said as Echidna tells him that she heard him. However, Subaru starts repeatedly telling her that he Returns by Death despite her telling him he can stop. He falls to his knees crying, happy he could finally share his secret with someone. Echidna comforts him, telling him that she has seen it all and asks for him to share his experience with herself, since she is the Witch of Greed after all.

Subaru tells Echidna about all his previous loops, and she calls his experiences awful, not because of them in general but because of the one who put him on this path of suffering: the Witch of Envy. Echidna tells Subaru that he must have figured out that this power, which she calls the denial of the peace of death, could have only come from her. He responds that he has only ever heard stories of her, but he has never met her face-to-face. He asks why she is obsessed with him and she reveals she doesn't know, nor does she want to know, and Subaru, seeing the discontent of talking about her, says that it would only be natural she would dislike her since she was responsible for her own death. Echidna changes topics to asking if Subaru is interested in trying to lose the power, but he says he isn't interested, saying that he needs it because of all the results he couldn't have gotten without it and the people he wouldn't have been able to save without it. As nasty as it was, he couldn't deny its usefulness for the people he loves.

Subaru then asks if there is a limit to how many times he can Return by Death. She says that all she can give is her own theory, but considering how she considers the power to be an Authority, her own knowledge of it is vague at best yet since it triggers according to specific conditions, she believes it has no limits. He asks about said specific conditions but Echidna says it is rooted in the Witch of Envy's delusions, whatever they may be. Subaru asks Echidna what she thinks is the reason he has this power, and she says it prevents him from dying permanently. His insistent questions suggest to Echidna he is afraid, which he confirms, but also reveals it is because of its limits, especially since he wasn't able to save Rem from her coma. He asks why he couldn't save her by putting him in a place beyond helping her. Sensing his reasons, Echidna answers that Return by Death doesn't take into consideration other people's fates, just his, and if he wants to save others, that is up to his own power.

Echidna tells Subaru that he has the power to defy fate, but there will be a number of sacrifices to it, and any chance to get those sacrifices back will not happen. Subaru accepts this answer and declares he will use Return by Death until it breaks, and anyone he wants to save, he will do it himself. He thanks Echidna with helping him strengthen his resolve and asks to continue talking, offering any price to pay which she accepts. The first thing he asks is what is occurring outside her Castle of Dreams, and she answers that time has most likely not passed too much, so he won't miss too much either. Reassured that he hasn't left Emilia alone, Subaru proceeds to ask Echidna about his most recent death and the rabbits that ate him. Echidna reveals to Subaru that the creature is called the Oousagi, one of the three Great Demon Beasts; the negative legacies left behind by Daphne, the Witch of Gluttony.

Annoyed that he has to fight another one after the Hakugei, Echidna continues saying the Oousagi is even worse, but while the Hakugei is strongest in terms of brute strength, the Oousagi is the hardest to completely destroy. Echidna explains that the Oousagi operates as a horde of rabbits and any living being it comes across is food which it will consume to no end, leaving nothing but an empty wasteland. Subaru thinks back to how the Sanctuary was empty when he woke up and grew nauseous at the thought that they ate everyone prior, similar to a swarm of locusts. Echidna says that one Oousagi is not hard to destroy but it can multiply without limit, dividing from a single individual who share the same sense of hunger. They will also eat each other in case there is no prey to be found. Finally, Echidna tells Subaru that in order to destroy the Oousagi, the entire thing must be destroyed, but that is the equivalent of vaporizing an entire rainstorm without a single leftover droplet.

Understanding the threat of the Oousagi, Subaru says that the best thing to do is run, but with the barrier in the Sanctuary all the people will be trapped, and in addition to Elsa's presence in the mansion, things have become even harder. He tries to come up with an idea but Echidna proposes giving him a chance to talk to Daphne herself. Subaru is confused because all the Witches are dead, but Echidna reveals that she retrieved their souls before her own death and they reside with her in her Castle of Dreams. She also reveals that she would have to swap places with them by allowing herself to serve as their avatar. Though Subaru is ecstatic at being able to talk to Daphne herself, Echidna warns that the other Witches may not be as friendly with him as she is being now, and Daphne is extremely dangerous. Subaru asks what will happen if he dies in this realm and she says that only his spirit would be damaged. Nevertheless, Subaru asks Echidna to call Daphne, and she disappears.

To Subaru's surprise, however, who comes before him isn't Daphne, but Typhon, the Witch of Pride. Though caught off guard by how pure and innocent Typhon appeared to be, he asks if she is a Witch, which she confirms. He also asks if she knows anything about his and Echidna's conversation and Typhon says only a little bit. Before Subaru can ask her about the Oousagi, Typhon asks if Subaru is an evildoer, which he reacts with confusion. She approaches him and offers her hand to him, which he takes albeit awkwardly. In a split second, however, he realizes that she had removed his entire right arm, calling it compensation for his sins. She also says that since he didn't feel any pain from it then to her, he is a good guy. Subaru, however, starts panicking over this situation as Typhon tells him to be quiet. Subaru demands his arm back but Typhon says that he is not among the condemned as his legs break and he falls to the ground, completely shattering. Typhon tells Subaru that he is not a bad person despite having a guilty conscience. She says that her job is complete and disappears.

After Typhon leaves, Subaru hears a voice coming from the sky, yelling that the evils of humankind must be punched, nefarious deeds can go to Hell, and that everything is part of the transient world. Something then lands near him and starts pummeling him repeatedly, all the while the voice says that through their anger the world will be cured. The next thing Subaru knows, he has been healed and restored to normal. He then notices the owner of the voice he heard being another woman, who starts crying. He asks why and she claims she isn't, but she is angry at Typhon for hurting him and making her come out to help him, then yelling that she hates the world for allowing such travesties while destroying the landscape around her. The woman identifies herself as Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, who tells Subaru that now that he is healed, she will leave, but not before telling him to be more careful or she will heal everyone, a statement that confuses Subaru since she said it like it was a threat. Minerva leaves and Echidna reappears before him.

Echidna apologizes for what transpired, clarifying to him that the person he first met was not Daphne, and that she immediately took over the minute she had an opening. She also clarifies Minerva's presence as the 'safest' Witch to be with, which he somewhat confirms. Echidna asks if he still wants to talk to Daphne, who she says is even worse than Typhon, and he says yes. She accepts his decision but warns him to not to undo her restraints, touch her, or look her in the eyes. Before he can ask what that means, Echidna swaps places with Daphne, but the first thing he sees is a large coffin, which opens and reveals Daphne inside.

Subaru tries to confirm if Daphne is the Witch of Gluttony but Daphne's attention is directed to Subaru's smell, prompting her coffin to sprout legs to walk closer to him. Subaru asks about the coffin, which she calls a 'Centipede Coffin' and that its purpose is to move her since she can't move freely. She also adds that it feeds on her sweat and urine, which unnerves him. Daphne continues saying that Subaru smells so good that she wants to eat him herself, so Subaru moves the conversation towards the Three Great Demon Beasts. Though confused at first, Subaru clarifies and she tells him that their names are weird to her, but he continues asking why she unleashed those monsters onto the world. Daphne answers that the Hakugei is large enough to fill many mouths while the Oousagi can act as a never-ending source of food for anyone because it multiplies. Though Subaru sees that she created the Demon Beasts to end the problem of hunger, he angrily tells her that they are killing more people then are being fed by them. Daphne, however tells Subaru that it wouldn't be fair if you could eat something without the possibility of being eaten yourself. Subaru realizes that Daphne isn't someone he can reason with.

Daphne tells Subaru that Gluttony is the most important craving of all because if it can't be satisfied, then people die. Subaru admitted she had a point but he still couldn't accept her mind-frame, but she tells him that should experience hunger to his very limit, and then he will know what world she and the Oousagi live in. Subaru understands he has no words and asks if the Oousagi reflects her own hunger, which she confirms with all her other creations. He asks if she feels bad that the Oousagi has never-ending hunger, but she doesn't mind, so he gives up reasoning with her. Subaru asks if Daphne has any advice to destroying the Oousagi, telling her that killing to survive is basic instinct. Daphne, in response, says that the Oousagi uses mana to find its prey, telling Subaru that it is attracted to large amounts of mana which can be used to lure them together, allowing them to be destroyed. Subaru asks if one will stray from the horde, but Daphne says that the Oousagi doesn't have the ability to think for its own safety, so one fleeing isn't possible. Daphne asks if he is finished because she is tired, and Subaru agrees, but not before telling her that he will destroy the Oousagi just like he destroyed the Hakugei, and that he will erase all of her Demon Beasts permanently. Impressed by this resolve, Daphne tells Subaru to do it if he can as she leaves.

After Echidna returns, Subaru apologizes for troubling her but she doesn't mind. He tells her that among the Witches he met, she is the only sane one, which puts her in a good mood. She tells Subaru that he has little self-awareness as the way he is speaking suggests he would talk to Typhon again after what she did to him. Realizing this, he tells her that he won't speak with her again until she apologizes, which she agrees to talk to her about. He then starts feeling weird and Echidna realizes that he is starting to wake up, which is odd because she hasn't given him permission to leave, suggesting that Emilia is trying to wake him up. He asks how she can be here if she was also the examiner for Emilia's trial, but she says that she has seen the results already and she doesn't expect her to pass them in three days. She asks if Subaru could do it and he says that he can, for the sake of making sure Emilia won't cry. The only problem he has is Garfiel, still remembering what he did to everyone in the last loop. He asks what he has to do to see her again since he believes he will need her wisdom again, but she tells him that requirements for another invitation become more difficult, so his reason for seeking her would have to be greater than this previous one, but if he plans on taking the Trials, he might speak with her again that way.

Before waking up, Subaru asks Echidna about what he has to pay, and after a brief moment, he asks for the handkerchief Petra gave him. He is unsure about giving it since it is a physical object but she says that since this is a mental world, it will still be on his person when he wakes up. She also says that the handkerchief has been infused with a wish and she wants those feelings to be sure they exist and maybe interfere. As her Castle of Dreams starts falling apart, Echidna tells Subaru that the next time they meet for a tea party, she wants to ask him something, but he says next time there will be no mistakes.