As soon as Subaru gave the go-ahead, Daphne wasted no time. With an eager grin, she grabbed a massive turkey leg and chomped down on it, looking absolutely content.
"Mmmm~! Sooo good!" she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Subaru sighed. "Yep, called it."
The rest of the witches took their seats, each one settling into the celebration in their own way. Echidna elegantly sipped from a cup of tea that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, while Sekhmet lazily leaned against the table, occasionally picking at her food with zero urgency. Pandora smiled as she gracefully cut into a slice of cake, and Typhon happily stuffed her face with a variety of sweets.
Able sat next to Subaru, happily munching on some bread, his little feet swinging under the chair. "Mom makes the best food!" he declared, making Daphne beam with pride.
Minerva, always more focused on Subaru's well-being, frowned as she watched him. "You should eat more. You've been overworking yourself again, haven't you?"
Subaru, mid-bite, nearly choked. "W-What?! No way, I totally take care of myself!"
Minerva squinted at him. "Uh-huh. And you totally didn't collapse from exhaustion last week?"
Satella, still holding his arm, looked at him with concern. "She's right, Subaru. You push yourself too hard sometimes."
Subaru groaned, rubbing his face. "Come on, not today. It's my birthday! No lectures!"
Sekhmet yawned. "Then stop making it so easy to worry about you, hmmm~?"
Echidna smirked. "You are rather reckless, you know. But I suppose that's part of your charm."
Subaru sighed, but seeing all of them genuinely caring about him made his chest feel warm. He had been alone in his old world—no one celebrated his birthday like this. Even after reincarnating, he never expected this kind of love and attention.
For a moment, he just sat there, looking at everyone. "Thanks, guys. Really. I mean it."
Satella leaned in, her voice soft. "We love you, Subaru. Of course, we'd do this for you."
Subaru chuckled, taking a bite of cake. "Man, if I knew getting isekai'd would lead to having this many amazing girls spoiling me, I might've jumped worlds sooner."
Minerva smacked his shoulder. "Don't even joke about that!"
The others either laughed or rolled their eyes at his usual antics, but the warmth in their gazes remained. The night was still young, and the party had just begun.
After the party was over, as Subaru was resting, as Minerva was resting her head on the right shoulders and Satella was resting his head on the left shoulder, Pandora and Echidna were next too him, Carmilla was seating on his lap, Sekhmet was learning into him, and Typhon and Able were next too him playing games.
Pandora then thought as she looked at him. "You getting summoned into this world, would even be called Isekai'd, you didn't die, you didn't meet a god, and you didn't meet truckt-kun, we summond you and you blinked and was here in Lugunica".
Subaru looked at her as he spoke. "That why I don't call it Isekai instead I call Transmigration"
Sekhmet yawn as she spoke. "Difference, because the only one I know is that one is used by Japan and the other the rest of world".
Subaru let out a small chuckle, shifting slightly as he was practically buried under the witches' affection. "Yeah, that's kinda true, but there's more to it than that."
Pandora tilted her head, intrigued. "Oh? Enlighten us, dear."
Subaru glanced at the others, making sure they were all listening. "So, in most isekai stories, the protagonist either dies and gets reincarnated or gets summoned by some god or magical force. But my case? I wasn't granted some divine blessing or sent on a hero's journey. You guys literally yanked me here mid-blink."
Typhon, still mashing buttons on her game, grinned. "So, we kinda kidnapped you, huh?"
Echidna smirked. "I prefer the term 'selective acquisition.'"
Minerva groaned. "That doesn't sound any better!"
Subaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Either way, that's why I call it 'transmigration' instead of 'isekai.' No gods, no truck-kun, just—" he snapped his fingers, "—poof, here I am."
Carmilla, still curled up on his lap, mumbled shyly. "B-but… you don't hate it here, do you?"
Subaru paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah. If anything, I think I lucked out."
The room went quiet for a second. Pandora smiled softly. "We're glad you feel that way."
Sekhmet lazily leaned further into him. "Mmmm~… you're not the only lucky one, you know?"
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?"
Satella, still resting her head on his shoulder, spoke in a near whisper. "We… we're lucky too. Because we have you."
Minerva nodded. "Even if you're reckless and stubborn, we wouldn't trade you for anything."
Subaru felt his heart clench at their sincerity. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "You guys really know how to make a guy feel special, huh?"
Typhon grinned. "Of course! It's 'cause we love you!"
Able nodded rapidly. "Yeah! And you're the best dad!"
Subaru let out a small laugh, feeling a rare sense of peace as he sat there, surrounded by the people—no, the family—that had chosen him.
For once, he wasn't fighting for survival. He wasn't running from death. He was just here, safe, warm, and loved.
And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.
Subaru closed his resting, as he did the pathway of the Fool fully actived, even if was Sequence 9 he could see the dream layer and the world of Isekai Quartet, as he looked at he remeber that when he unlock this pathway he accidentally summoned Kazuma, Tanya and Ainz, what are the chances of him accidentally doing that
As he opened his eyes as he saw Kazuma seating with a half eaten ramen, as he was now here in the hanging Garde. "Oops".
Kazuma blinked, looking around in confusion, the half-eaten ramen still in his hands. His eyes darted from Subaru to the extravagant Hanging Garden, then to the group of witches surrounding him.
"Oi, oi, what the hell—?!" Kazuma nearly choked on his food before pointing his chopsticks at Subaru. "You did it again, didn't you?!"
Subaru rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly chuckling. "Uhh… yeah, oops?"
Minerva, who had been resting peacefully just moments ago, instantly shot up, glaring at Subaru. "Oops?! What do you mean oops?! You just summoned another person from another world!"
Echidna adjusted her glasses, observing Kazuma with curiosity. "Hmm… an irregularity, just like last time. You're from a different world than Subaru's origin, correct?"
Kazuma, still looking around in disbelief, sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah. I already know the drill. Let me guess, Subaru did something dumb, and now I'm here?"
Subaru held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I didn't do anything on purpose! I just—" He hesitated. "—okay, maybe I did do something, but I didn't think it would actually work!"
Kazuma groaned, setting his ramen down. "Great. First, you dragged me into this world by accident before, and now you're doing it again. What's next? You gonna summon Aqua too?"
At that moment, a faint plop echoed through the Hanging Garden.
Subaru and Kazuma turned to see a very familiar blue-haired goddess, soaking wet and pouting.
"KAZUMA!!!" Aqua wailed. "What did you do this time?!"
Kazuma's face immediately twisted in pure horror. "No. No, no, no, NO! Subaru, send her back right now!"
Subaru, sweating bullets, quickly looked at Pandora. "Uh, little help?"
Pandora smirked. "Oh, no, dear. This is far too entertaining."
Aqua, completely ignoring Kazuma, turned to Subaru. "Wait… I know you! You're the guy from Isekai Quartet! The one who got mad at us for eating all the food!"
Subaru groaned. "That was one time!"
Kazuma, grabbing Subaru's shoulders, shook him desperately. "Subaru! You don't understand! If she stays here, she'll cause disasters! You have to fix this!"
Aqua crossed her arms. "Excuse you, Kazuma! I am a goddess!"
Sekhmet lazily opened one eye. "Ugh… too loud…"
Carmilla hid behind Subaru, whispering. "S-she's scary…"
Typhon, on the other hand, laughed. "I like her! She's funny!"
Able blinked at Aqua. "Why is she glowing?"
Aqua puffed out her chest proudly. "Because I'm a goddess, little one! You may bask in my divinity!"
Subaru and Kazuma exchanged glances.
"We're doomed," they both muttered in unison.
Subaru looked at Kazuma as he spoke. "So you told her about the time when I took over you guy's World's Subaru".
Kazuma looked at him as he spoke. "Yeah, the girls wanted too known why you were acting different that day, so I told Aqua, Meguni and Darkness".
Subaru looked as he spoke. "Did Ainz and Tanya say something".
Kazuma chuckled as he spoke. "They don't get into purepressure unlike me".
Subaru looked as he spoken. "And your world Sunaur".
Kazuma looked at him as he spoken. "Because for his mental sanity we decided not too tell him about the body possession incident, yes Me, Ainz and Tanya are calling it that"
Satella looked at him as she spoke. "But how did you summond her".
Subaru tapped at the ground as he spoke. "Simple we all now that dream layer is one layer below the Hanging Garden, which is one layer below the walking world aka Lugunica, which means I can't summon people from that layers too the hanging Garden, but I can summon people from Isekai Quartet, aka it is much easier too summon someone one layer below then up".
Echidna then spoke Looking at him. "This probably happened because of the Fool Pathway if you can do this with only Sequence 9, I wonder what you do once you up too the higher Sequence maybe even be able too summon your parents".
Aqua frozen as she looked at them. "Did you just saw Pathway of the fool and Sequence".
Subaru looked as he spoken. "Yeah, why?
Aqua then screams in fright as she goes behind Kazuma. "Keep him away from me, I don't want him to turn me into an Elders Horror".
Subaru looked as he spoke. "Hey I am not something for HP Lovecraft Work".
Aqua point at him as she spoke. "Yeah, I know what your damm Mythical Creature from looks like, and you are sequence 9 you are starting".
Kazuma looked at her as he was a bit supirse. "Wait you know about Pathways".
Aqua looked at him as she spoke still scared. "Yes I do, all the god's in the multiverse Do, we know what happens in that side of the Multiverse, still as long there is no more sequence us-"
Daphne then spoke too her. "Will All the Witch's here are sequence user's like Subaru and we all are sequence 1".
Aqua's face turned pale. "W-What?"
She slowly turned her head toward the Witches, her eyes filled with pure dread. "Sequence… one? As in… the top of the Pathway?"
Daphne simply grinned, her golden eyes gleaming in amusement. "Yup~! We're all at the peak! Subaru's just starting, but don't worry—he's got plenty of time!"
Aqua let out a horrified scream and latched onto Kazuma's back. "Kazuma! KAZUMA!! We need to get out of here! We are literally surrounded by Elder Gods right now!"
Kazuma, still trying to process this information, sighed. "Aqua… why do you know about this, and why didn't you tell me before?"
Aqua gulped. "Because we gods don't mess with those kinds of beings! The Sequences come from that side of the multiverse—the side where reality-warping horrors play their little games! We pretend they don't exist, and they pretend we don't exist! That's the unspoken rule!"
Subaru, arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a 'you' problem. Not mine."
Aqua looked at him with sheer terror. "Subaru… do you even realize what you're becoming?! If you keep ascending, you won't just be 'Subaru Natsuki' anymore—you'll be something beyond human comprehension!"
Satella, leaning into Subaru, smiled softly. "And what's wrong with that? We're here for him, no matter what."
Echidna smirked. "Exactly. He's our Subaru. Our adorable little Fool~"
Aqua's grip on Kazuma tightened. "Oh, we are so doomed."
Kazuma sighed again. "Yeah… sounds about right."
Typhon then humbed as she spoke. "But I do wonder once we all reach Sequence 0, what our Mystical Creature From will look like".
Kazuma then looked at Aqua as he spoke. "Wait if you knew about this all the time why didn't you tell about back in the world you summoned me".
Aqua chuckles as she looked at Kazuma who was angry and frustrated. "It's nro like I forgot, but everyone safety I decided not too tell you about the Pathways ans Sequence".
Kazuma groaned, rubbing his temples. "You decided not to tell me?! Aqua, you knew about this entire reality-breaking system, and you just conveniently left it out?"
Aqua awkwardly laughed. "W-Well, if I told you, you probably would've freaked out! Plus, I didn't think you'd ever run into it!"
Kazuma stared at her blankly. "Yeah, well, surprise! Now I'm sitting in a room full of Sequence 1 monsters, and Subaru is apparently climbing the ranks to become some Eldritch Fool God. Great job, Aqua."
Typhon grinned as she swung her legs. "I really do wonder what our Mystical Creature Forms will be like once we reach Sequence 0. Subaru, what do you think you'll look like?"
Subaru blinked. "Uhhh… honestly? No idea. I mean, I barely even know what happens at Sequence 8, let alone Sequence 0."
Echidna smirked. "That just means you'll have to keep advancing and find out."
Aqua, still clinging to Kazuma, shivered. "If Subaru ever reaches Sequence 0, I am praying I'm nowhere near him. That's the kind of existence that warps reality just by existing!"
Kazuma sighed. "Yeah, well, if Subaru's gonna become some cosmic horror, I just hope he stays on our side."
Subaru chuckled, leaning back. "Oh, don't worry, Kazuma. If I become a god beyond comprehension... I promise I'll only mess with you a little."
Aqua let out another horrified scream.
Subaru looked as he spoke. "Anyway let me sent you two back too Isekai Quartet".
Kazuma quickly raised his hands. "Wait, wait, hold on a second! Before you just zap us back, I have questions! Like—"
Subaru sighed. "Kazuma, I don't have all the answers. I barely even know how I brought you here in the first place."
Aqua, still trembling, clung to Kazuma. "You're not gonna accidentally mutate us or something when you send us back, right? I really don't want to turn into some Lovecraftian fish horror!"
Subaru rolled his eyes. "You'll be fine. Probably."
Kazuma squinted. "What do you mean probably?!?"
Ignoring him, Subaru clapped his hands together, channeling the power of the Fool Pathway. A strange ripple passed through the Hanging Garden, the dream-like reality shifting.
A portal opened beneath Kazuma and Aqua.
"Waaah—!"
Kazuma flailed as he fell through, barely managing to grab onto Aqua's robe. "Subaru, you bastard! If I grow extra limbs or start seeing non-Euclidean geometry, I'm suing you!"
Aqua screamed the entire way down before the portal snapped shut with a pop.
Silence filled the Hanging Garden.
Echidna sipped her tea. "Well, that was entertaining."
Satella smiled softly at Subaru. "You really are getting stronger."
Subaru rubbed his temples. "Yeah, yeah… but I swear, Kazuma is like 90% of my headaches at this point."
Typhon grinned. "At least he's funny!"
Daphne, who had been munching on a plate of food the entire time, suddenly spoke. "Sooo, who's next? Should we try summoning more people?"
Subaru paled. "Absolutely not."
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me power stones and enjoy