Standing on his feet

She smiled "  Scarlett Aurora Archambeau and iam one of the seven heavenly virtues I represent kindness, And I am here with the pure intention of extending a helping hand to a future companion of ours, if you accept of course, Oh Natsuki Subaru the Sin Bearer." 

So she said, A faint cold breeze passed between them after announcing her identity, and a deafening silence struck the place, each one watching the other, one with tranquility and a smile, and the other with clear tension and confusion on his face.

"...pardon ?." All he could say after recovering from the shock of what he had just heard braking the brief silence that had just hung over the place for a few seconds.

――He just couldn't believe what he had just heard because what he heard was simply unbelievable, the Virtues? How could he not have heard of them before? But there is a more important question than that, which is, do the Virtues have anything to do with witch-worshippers?  His optimistic side tells him that this is impossible because of the kindness she has just shown through consoling him in his sorrows, and also her title, which indicates that she is not a bad person, but his pessimistic side, which of course constitutes the majority, made him doubt the credibility of her kindness and that there is something behind her good behavior with him and that this is just a game or  A plan that the witch-worshipper may include in order to manipulate him, he thought With so many questions and doubts raging in his head as a remote island in the middle of a huge sea basin surrounded by huge waves.

While he was caught up in his thoughts, Scarlett gave him that look as if she knew what was going on in his mind and so.

With the same smile,  "Yes, what you just heard is true, and your ears do not deceive you. I am an agent of the seven heavenly virtues, and they are seven Wish is, ... charity, chastity, diligence, humility, patience ,  temperance just in case you don't know and Finally, kindness which is what I represent ... Yes, and also, before you jump to the conclusion that we belong to the witch's sect, then let me enlighten you and assure you that we do not belong and will never belong to those  infidels ". 

She concluded her sentence with a clrear resentment and hatred laced her voice, which made Subaru tremble with goosebumps and making his blood run cold from fear for a moment from the feeling she sent out in her words.

――What the heck was that ?.  For a moment I thought I was going to have a heart attack, he thought as He rubbed his chest exactly where his heart was with an expression of pain, And as Scarlett seems to notice his distressed expression As her expression turned sad.

Holding her hands to her chest, her eyes pained, booking at Subaru with sincerity that cant be faked As if instilled with all of her emotions at once, And so.

" I promised you safety, but I broke that promise by displaying a thirst for blood when I recalled the witch-worshipers of what they had done in the past, Natsuki Subaru, Sin Bearer.  I am very, very, very sorry, and I apologize that I am wrong, and my mistake is acknowledged, and I hope for your  forgiveness " 

Her voice did not lose an iota of its attractive splendor and strength, as well as its undoubted authority, but her feelings and frankness were clear in her voice.

Subaru's reaction to her apology was... Overwhelming idiot. Truly, truly, a hopeless, irredeemable idiot.  He just couldn't stop his internal self-blaming.

――How can he doubt her credibility after this apology?  He hated himself even for doubting her for a moment. He thought Leaving any shred of doubt and suspicion on her sincerity behind him.

Finished with self-blame, Subaru now knows what he must do to atone for his wrongdoings towards her, and so.

"...Aah. Thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, If it weren't for you, I'd still be crying in my own blood so helplessly.... So I'm so thankful, really  ".

"Also,... you don't need to worry about what happened earlier, it wasn't your fault,.. no one would think of facing witch-worshipper as a positive experience believe me... I know".

Scratching his face looking embarrassed,  from his previous display and his attitude toward her. Unable to stare at her face  directly for too long, Subaru averted his

eyes.

And She just smiled sweetly with sadness evident in her eyes at what he said at the end while nodding her head in understanding.

 "And give thanks, for gratitude is a right for man and a duty. Do not hope for someone who does not thank blindness and is patient with the consequences, There is no duty to thank, O Natsuki Subaru, who bears the sin, As is the reward for goodness is nothing but goodness" 

She said, smiling sincerely, which only made Subaru feel even worse about himself, That same genuine attitude from Scarlett showed to him previously hadn't changed at all. Once again feeling saved by it, Subaru felt disgusted by how his own powerlessness was still no better than before. No matter With whoever he was with, and wherever he was, he still had to rely on others kindness. He was so hopeless weak and despicable he just.... hated himself.

Scarlett, took a few steps towards Subaru Perhaps sensing the change in subaru's mood, a look of surprise flashed across Subaru' eyes. As she brought her gaze level with his ', and, She leaned forward  as she took his hand in hers. Somehow it did seem very Comfortable is her touch and warms her hand as it had before; even her eyes seemed more warmer.

 "Take the pardon and order with the custom of how much you commanded, and turn away from hating your poor innocent self O Natsuki Subaru the bearer of sin" 

With her voice Strong and authoritarian as usual but from this distance he feels more overwhelmed than ever from her words, As if she knew exactly what he was thinking about the whole time, which made him embarrassed of himself and also felt vulnerable and exposed in front of her as his eyes was wavering, Subaru didn't try to step away Otherwise, it would only be a denial of the goodness and kindness that was shown to him until now on her part.

 "People are a disease, and people's medicine is to be close to them, And in their isolation is cutting off affection" 

Scarlett on the other hand, tried again and again to reach him with her words, but all her appeals fail, which makes her a little bit sad.

――It seems that his psychological wounds are much deeper than she thought, and his self-hatred is very, very dangerous, as it is the type that pushes its owner to commit suicide, so if words won't reach him, than she have no other choice, she thought.

Within breathing distance between them――Scarlett reached for Subaru's  shoulders, She leaned her face forward closer to Subaru's . Watching Scarlett approach, confusion and panic rose in Subaru's eyes as he tensed his body closing his eyes.

"―― M mh m "

"―― a !"

Subaru held his breath, his face realxed in comfort as When an amazing feeling permeated every pore in his body and soul, silenced all the voices and whispers of remorse and self-blame in his head.

And all this relief started from that warm feeling on his forehead that reminded him of his days as a child when his mother would take all his fear and pain away by kissing him... He couldn't stop the tears that suddenly started falling  out With every doubt and suspicion he held towards this strange girl as his negative and dark emotions all but vanished from every crevices of his mind, drowned out by the intensity of that heat on his forehead.

A quiet noise came from Scarlett as she took a few steps back where she was standing previously, before opening his eyes finally Subaru could tell she was pleased with herself as she smiled at him.

 "Darn it, I didn't know that a kiss on the forehead could have such an effect on me"  he murmured to himslef blushing heavily from embarrassment while wiping his tears.

 "If it's hard for you, you go uphill.  If it's easy for you, you're flying into the abyss.So, Natsuki Subaru the Sin Bearer.  All the hardships and sufferings that you went through were exponentially more difficult than the rest of the crowd of people, so I beg you with all my heart not to blame yourself for every problem, small and big, for constantly torturing yourself is a great sin similar to the oppression and torture of one brother against another" 

Subaru, who was wiping his face from his tears, lifted up his face as he heard those words. He could tell that she knows exactly what she is talking about and that she knows exactly what kind of hardships he faced, and bad psyche he is suffering from as her words struck very deeply inside.

――Just her understanding of my problems and willingness to help me is more than enough, he thought with a genuine smile as he felt the heavy lump in his chest dropping with a thud. The darkness within him cleared, as if all the feelings of gloom had been washed away.

Relieved to see Subaru resolve and trust on her increased, Scarlett sighed with relief, still with that bright smile on her face.

 "Now, Natsuki Subaru the sin bearer.  Let's get back to our main topic. We've delayed enough, thats only if you're ready, of course." 

"No, I'm quite ready to talk about our previous topic, but before that, please just call me Subaru or Natsuki without that sin-bearer thing, because it bothers me a bit."

She smiled  "Well as Subaru wishes, now to our main topic. I came here with the aim of helping you in every possible way, and from what I witnessed it seems that you have a deficiency in you that you want to fill, which is strength in your physical structure or rather your individual strength, But before that, I will answer some of your questions and clarify some things ?" .

Subaru's expression became confused" Questions?, but I didn't ask you any qu- oh! Now I see, So you can read my mind huh... that actually explains a lot of what happened earlier" He said confidently as he snapped his fingers.

She nodded with a smile "Yes, I'm not surprised you find out since, in fact, I wasn't trying to hide that ability.  But still, the fact that you're not even a little bit surprised. Tells to me that this isn't the first time you've met a mind-reader, very interesting." 

"Yeah... I've met quite a few of them though, I don't want to talk about it"He answered her while scratching his cheek with a grim expression, Scarlett noticed his discomfort so she decided to forget about it and move on to the next topic.

 "Well than" 

Scarlett expression shifted from a simle to a serious one, seeing her serious expression, Subaru straightened up and opened his ears, waiting and concentrating on what she was going to say next, as she snapped her fingers, and pointed straight at Subaru.

 "There is determination in your soul, and hope in your depths. Your steps are not afflicted with despair or boredom And if life is hardships, you will fight it hard, and if the mountains are your way, your ambition will be peaks," 

When Subaru thought that her voice would not grow stronger, well, it seems that he was wrong, as her voice and words shook his soul and heart, especially the fact that her words were only directed at him as if she was praising him, which overwhelmed him and made him speechless unable to respond nor take his eyes off her as if he was waiting for more.

 "And this is just one of the many reasons why our organization wants you with them, and before you start to doubt your ability to join us let me tell you the other reason." 

She said, before gently lowering her hand, as she took a few steps towards Subaru, with elegance and lightness, soundless, as usual. Subaru could not and did not want to move, so he waited.

Now looking him straight in the eyes, only a few inches away from him she stands.

 "You are one of the very, very rare people to step through and defeat all the seven deadly sins within themselves or in your case just six for now"  She said gently, her voice undiminished, but now more tender.

"How ex――! " how exactly did I even did it ? He wanted to say but unfortunately he was interrupted by a warm, silky touch on his face it made his body shiver from what seemed like a magical feeling, not bad, but quite the opposite.

――How could one touch of her make him feel like this?, he thought.

 "okay then". 

"――――"

letting go of his face gently while taking a step back still keeping her gaze on his unflinching, but his wavering, Subaru almost felt empty at the end of that feeling, an urgent need that he wanted to ask for more woke up inside him.

 "You trampled your pride with a cry for help, You quenched your anger by forgiving the unworthy of forgiveness, You ended your laziness by burning it, You made lust weep, Greed rejected with crowds, You turned gluttony upon itself Needless to mention all your accomplishments after all I have said before, So yes you are more than qualified to become  one of us and be given power by us ,  Now do you have any other doubts about your eligibility ?". 

She finished her words back to her gentle smiling expression as she extended her snow white hand towards him as if urging him to hold it.

Subaru was overwhelmed by her words, and everything she said started to make sense, as he, with his strong memory, began to remember things similar to what she said. Ask for help?  It must be about the time he called out for help against the bandits.  anger?  and forgiveness?  He's not quite sure, but she must be talking about Ram and Rem.  Burning laziness and greed gluttony ??? Yes, Subaru is absolutely sure who they are, finally lust, Subaru isn't quite sure about this, he clearly remembers that Cappella never cried once, so this leads him to think of another lust he had met before, the witch of lust Carmilla, but he's not at all sure that her attempt to manipulate him might count as a test.  Or is it?  Subaru felt depressed at the idea that his entire life in this world is nothing but a test of his will and choices.

――But there is still one question that I want to know the answer to, he thought as he glanced at her outstretched hand And next he looked into her captivating eyes, unsure but nonetheless he have to ask.

"Before I take your hand, I want to know one thing" He swallowed hard not sure how to say what he wanted while looking at her reaction but fortunately, she just nodded her head with her smile urging him to say what he had which finally gave him strength, courage and enough push to talk, and so.

"Ever since I met you, you have been referring to me as the bearer of sin, but what confuses me the most is, why choose me as the bearer of one of the seven sins to work with you the seven virtues ?, for it is clear that sins and virtues are contradictory to each oth-...".

 "Subaru" 

As Subaru voiced his doubts and thoughts , Scarlett quietly and gently called his name Cut off by that call, and faced with Scarlett warm gaze, Subaru's  eyes slightly relaxed as his tension gone . Then, Scarlett  carried on with that same tone of voice unchanged albeit higher this time.

 "You are not damned Subaru, even though you have multiple authority's of sin. We the Members of the Seven Heavenly Virtues does not damn you for what you are or what you have, but for what you do. Even a witch of sin may fight for the good of all if so she chooses, though none ever have." .

She leaned forward suddenly and kissed him again on his forehead very tenderly and gently, and Subaru once again felt that beautiful warm feeling, every time he felt that, his heart would start crying out to her to contain him and to bring him closer to her. He wanted to feel that warmth emanating from her kiss, he never felt anything like it before, Emilia Rem or even Beatrice had never made him feel so comfortable and warm before, he didn't know how he managed to live with all those dark feelings weighing on his shoulders he really didn't know.

and when she finished all he could think of to say to her was, "I must confess I have not felt this at ease in ages. All the shadows and negative thoughts in my mind as if afraid of you, all of them either disappeared or retreats into the darkness of my mind, leaving me at peace and more able to be myself. I thank you for this I really thank you Scarlett-tan ."

 "Tan ?" 

Unsure of what "tan" means, Scarlett only  tilted her head still looking beautifully captivating even while doing so.

Seeing this, Subaru rubbed his redend face, embarrassed.

"Well since you call me by my first name an――!"

 "I know what tan is, I was just kidding hehehe" 

She laughed lightly for the first time since he met her, wish made Subaru blush deepened with such shame that he felt like an idiot trying to explain something like that to a mind reader like her.

 "Well the time has come" 

She declared as she stood in front of Subaru with such a grace only a real queen can accomplish, and held out her hand to him, Having confirmed that He is sure and relaxed and knows everything he needs to know and wasn't outright rejecting her proposal.

"Well I trust you please take care of me Scarlett-tan"

And as she expected he took it, and than.

"――huh!!"

 "Hold my hand tight and never let go." 

Suddenly a crimson circle about two meters in diameter appeared under their feet radiated with a luster that covered all the trees around them everything until everything turned crimson which surprised Subaru so much that he nearly fell on his butt, but luckily Scarlett was there to pull him out of his shock.

"W-what is h-appening ?" 

His question came shaky, as he looked at the bright scarlet circle full of symbols and writings with astonishment and also some fear in his eyes. Scarlett did not turn her face towards him as it seemed that she was trying to focus on something with her eyes closed, but despite that, with the same strength and authority in her voice unchanged, she answered.

 "This is a magical incantation, it's called the key to the veil between the worlds, in short, it allows me to move anywhere I want." 

"So, it's a ... teleportation spell"

 "Yes" 

Subaru wasn't too comfortable knowing that this spell was a teleportation spell since it triggered some of not-so-good memories like his transfer from the tower to the kingdom of the damned wolves, and then again to the prison of gladiators and it's safe to say that each one of these events led to catastrophic events afterwards.

 "Don't worry, it's a very safe spell and I have one hundred percent control over it, so you're safe as long as you're holding my hand". 

Knowing full well what Subaru was feeling, Scarlett answered his concerns with reassuring words, and he of course didn't feel entirely at ease despite her words, given that the trauma in the past left a deep wound that would be difficult to heal overnight, anyway he'll try to hope that everything will be fine as she said.

 "here we are" 

Scarlett said suddenly and what happened next made Subaru hold his breath in astonishment.

The world around them, the trees, the sky and the earth were spinning around them so fast and so rapidly, that everything became blurry and the most astonishing this of all this is the fact that no voice can be heard. And The only thing Subaru could think of as a comparison is when you get into a speeding car and you look out the window and everything goes by so fast, but this time it seems faster than any car he's ever ridden in by the hundreds. folds.

 "It's not the world that turns, it's us." 

Scarlett answered his thoughts, which made Subaru's comparison more accurate. But What really baffled Subaru the most was that he never felt dizzy, but rather he felt perfectly fine knowing that such a fast spin would cause the strongest to regurgitate his food out.

――This is nothing short of amazing, frankly, he thought.

 "As I told you before, this spell is the safest of all teleportation spells in the universe, all you have to do is keep your hand attached to mine." 

"Yeah, I can clearly see that... I'm just wondering where we're going".

upon hearing his question she turned to him and now her eyes were open with a very bright crimson gleam on her pupils as she smiled brightly.

 " I promised to give you your unique power right?, so that's where we're going to get you one" 

As she said that, suddenly everything turned bright crimson and the world outside could not be seen. He tried to look down, but to no avail, as he could see nothing but the brilliant scarlet light. Next, he turned to Scarlett's direction, but again to no avail, there was nothing but the Gorgeous Scarlet light, usually someone in such a situation might panic or even worse lose their minds but.

"I can still feel her warm silky hand in mine".

With a smile he closed his eyes focusing all his consciousness on that warm feeling, making sure he did what she said and never let go.