Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

Then, the army set off, and what appeared on the light screen was another campaign against indolence.

213. Crusch Route: The Reluctant Past (Part 2)

"Everything is for love—love!!"

"Accompanied by his lazy last words, a flash of sword light sliced ​​his final body to pieces. The handsome Crusch was the brightest sun on this battlefield, his perfectly timed strike inspiring all the warriors."

"Even though it's Roswaal's territory, the soldiers are shouting Crusch's name all over the place."

"Grateful for Crusch's rescue, Emilia ignored what could be considered a provocation from Crusch's camp. She unleashed a terrifying barrage of ice spikes, wiping out the remaining large group of ordinary witch cultists, before gracefully leaping to Crusch's side."

"Um... thank you so much for your help! But why did Miss Crusch agree to come?"

Although naive, Emilia understood this simple logic of self-interest, and she already had a guess in her mind: "So Hachiman made some kind of promise of reward, didn't he? The reward is so great that Rem is hiding it and doesn't dare to say anything... But it's okay, Miss Crusch has helped so much, whatever you want, I will ask Roswaal for it, so please tell me!"

Crusch looked at the generous Emilia with pity, gently patted Emilia's shoulder, and turned to say, "Regarding this matter... let my strategist explain."

"Eh? Miss Crusch's strategist? Is it Phyllis?"

Emilia followed Crusch's gaze, which had turned its head, with a blank expression. In that direction, only Hachiman Hikigaya was riding a land dragon, looking utterly dejected and lifeless as he approached.

Emilia, her heart skipping a beat, forced a smile. "...Could Miss Crusch's strategist perhaps be invisible? How strange, I didn't see anything."

"Is that so? Then let me show you."

"Tap, tap," Crusch's elegant footsteps landed on Emilia's heart. She reached out and pulled Hachiman Hikigaya off the dragon, turned around, and gazed at the astonished Emilia, introducing him in as calm a tone as possible: "Hachiman Hikigaya, Lord Hachiman, the new strategist of the candidate Crusch's camp."

"Curly's voice was deliberately gentle, but to Emilia's ears it still sounded exceptionally cold and ruthless, instantly shattering her forced smile and plunging her into a state of panic and fear."

""This is--""

"This is not a joke, nor a prank; this is the reality, Emilia."

Before Emilia, who had turned deathly pale and stumbled, could speak, Hachiman Hikigaya, gazing up at the sky, said in his hoarse, deep voice, each word distinct: "As you can see, the lord I serve now is Crusch... sir."

"Her head felt like it was exploding, her legs felt like they were made of lead, and Emilia was completely unable to move, her eyes wide with disbelief."

"How could this be..."

"She suddenly remembered something and cried out in anguish, 'Is this—is this the price of aid? Miss Crusch? Crusch!!'"

However, Crusch ignored her.

"Although I've resigned, I am still your former chief knight," Hachiman Hikigaya tried to smile, straining his stiff facial muscles, but his expression remained deadpan. "Emilia, someone as gentle as you will surely agree to your former knight's request. Withdraw from the royal selection, Emilia."

"One bolt from the blue after another struck. Emilia wanted to say something, but she suddenly realized that she couldn't even do something as simple as raising her hand or calling out her knight's name. All her strength had vanished, and she was like a cold ice sculpture."

"...I'm not joking, I'm completely serious. It was about getting Crusch into the relationship, and it was about getting her to leave Wang Xuan. Those eyes, that tone, it was all serious."

"Rem also agrees with Hachiman's request."

"After the battle, we arrived in this vicinity. Rem, without any mercy, transformed into sharp blades and plunged them into various parts of the dazed Emilia's body."

“Hmm…” Parker scratched his head and remained silent, deliberately ignoring his daughter’s pleading eyes.

"It was persuaded a few days ago, by Rem who obeyed Hachiman Hikigaya's orders."

"Perhaps it is not afraid of the Witch Cult, but the powers of the Archbishops of Sin are rumored to be all sorts of strange things. It is possible for them to ambush and kill Emilia. Like the invisible hand of sloth, if we are not prepared, Parker really cannot guarantee that his daughter will be safe."

"The root of the conflict is that Lia participated in the royal selection... Rather than risking her death, Puck weighed the options and chose to remain silent, becoming Hachiman Hikigaya's accomplice."

"I understand. I understand everything."

"A bitter Emilia looked at the silent Puck and understood everything... If even Puck, who had always put her first, had agreed to Hachiman's request."

"You no longer have a knight."

"Hachiman Hikigaya himself didn't know how he could be so heartless... He didn't even know what kind of expression he had. He could only see Emilia on the verge of tears, and then tears dripping down her face. Her shock at being betrayed, her disbelief, made Hachiman Hikigaya forget to breathe, and he almost suffocated to death."

"...along with Puck, who cared for her, and with Rem, who obeyed Hachiman Hikigaya's orders, Emilia, without saying another word, turned and walked away, swaying precariously."

"Until the very end, Emilia, trembling and sobbing, never once showed even half a second of hatred or disgust towards Hachiman Hikigaya."

"The direction she went is the starting point of awakening, the frozen Elior Great Forest."

"The beluga whale lives a carefree life, still able to wreak havoc on the world..."

"Pettyius is dead, Emilia, who has fled to her homeland, will not go to the Sanctuary, and the truth about her adoptive father is completely submerged in the torrent of history..."

"Although Rem is alive and well, she has been taking care of Emilia, who is always in tears, in the forest for the past three years because of Hachiman Hikigaya's orders. She is unable to be with the man she loves."

"Roswaal, who was too clever for his own good, imprisoned himself in the Sanctuary, and Ram was also bound to the Sanctuary, separated from his beloved sister."

"Reluctant Hachiman, reluctant Crusch, two reluctant people."

"The defeated Anastasia also failed to find love."

Counting them off on his fingers, one by one, Uesugi Fuutarou gave a wry smile and exchanged glances with the five Nakano sisters, whose faces were full of worry and who were suffering from stomach aches.

"The Crusch timeline... what kind of human suffering is this? It's so painful!"

214. Crusch Route: Anastasia the Scoundrel

"Pfft!"

Anastasia covered her mouth, but a smirk still kept spilling out. "Oh no, waaaah—I'm so sorry, I really couldn't help it!"

Although she felt really sorry for her prime minister, she couldn't bear to see her own timeline so happy and fulfilling, while Crusch's timeline was not only worse than hers, but even worse than the official history and Felt's timeline.

Comparing the two, anyone in the world who isn't blind and has a good impression of her prime minister would obviously be more inclined to let her win him back, right?

Nobody's going to support Crusch, right? Heh~

"Yeah~"

Mimi, beaming with pride at having won another victory, cheered and gave Anastasia a high-five.

Julius thought of his friend, "In this timeline, the happiest person is probably Phyllis. At least Lady Crusch didn't suffer an attack and lose her memory like in the main story."

"Phew...that's great, uh, no, it's not really great."

On the main street of the capital, Emilia, who had been on edge, felt a sense of relief, but then immediately realized that although the future wasn't as bad as she had imagined, it was still utterly rotten.

“Jules…”

Seeing Petitchius in his frenzy after regaining his memories is a completely different experience from his first encounter with him in the official history, and it's really hard to accept.

However, because there were so many tragic characters in Crusch's route, Emilia didn't know which one to sympathize with first, or which one to sympathize with more.

Ram, who was taking a break on her way to the capital, glanced at the future and nodded slightly. "It's confirmed that Rem is alive. This is truly the best timeline ever."

"Um, my sister is the best, but Rem still thinks Anastasia-sama is the best—"

Rem's voice abruptly stopped as she considered the happiness of her beloved, and she retreated under her sister's cunning embrace.

"Oh dear, Beatrice, you look really unhappy?"

On the rooftop of the mansion, Roswaal, who had regained some of his vitality, asked the question knowingly. He said with certainty, "Don't worry, even if there isn't a dedicated 'Beatrice timeline' later, at least in the canon, he will definitely save you. No matter what these possibilities are, good or bad, they won't stop him from saving reality and saving the canon."

"After all, he is Hachiman Hikigaya."

Betty, who was quite envious of Emilia, Felt, Anastasia, and the others, scoffed, "Betty has never doubted that. It's you who's so miserable in every timeline."

"That is the sin I deserve."

Roswaal spread his hands and frankly admitted that he thought the more miserable he was in each timeline, the better. Now that he had come to his senses, he actually found it quite satisfying to watch.

Roswaal, manipulated by the Witch of Greed and driven mad, deserved a miserable death.

"whispering sound!"

At the same time, Priscilla on the other side clicked her tongue in annoyance, her anger almost reaching its limit. "One by one, they all dare to say they've won. What do they take me for?"

She's lost the royal selection three times already! This is simply unacceptable.

"Even if it is someone I intend to take into my possession, this is far too presumptuous. Relying on my favor, he dares to go this far. I am not one to remain silent."

Moreover, she cares a lot about it; both the Anastasia route and the Crusch route mention the rebellion of the Holy Flacian Empire.

Perhaps, her brother will really be overthrown and destroyed in the future.

Emperor Abel of the Holy Empire was just as concerned about this as she was.

"Couldn't you have given me more details? Sigh, you won't reveal any information at all..."

He now sees every minister as a potential traitor, which gives him a terrible headache. "If only I had a retainer like Hachiman Hikigaya, who, once he decides who to serve, is wholeheartedly loyal and the most trustworthy confidant."

In the convenience store, Hachiman Hikigaya stroked Yukinoshita's smooth, long black hair and said very openly, "Laugh if you want to. You can be happy. I don't mind, Yukinoshita."

Finally, after so long, there is an outstanding woman whose desire for him is not love, but rather the affection of a subject to a ruler, and he has not grieved for her... Although Crusch made a clear confession in Anastasia's timeline, that doesn't matter.

In short, seeing Crusch's situation, being buried under snow by so many girls from another world, it's only natural that she would feel relieved.

"No." But Yukinoshita refused.

Her subconscious sigh of relief stemmed from her possessiveness towards Hikigaya-kun, but now that she had come to her senses, she certainly couldn't bring herself to laugh heartlessly while Hikigaya-kun was in such a miserable state.

"Hey, Kei, don't you think Crusch's fate is a bit too tragic? In the main timeline, both of them went to help Hachiman, but Anastasia escaped unscathed while Crusch lost an arm and suffered amnesia; in her own timeline, she even continued the main timeline's fate."

Shirogane Miyuki pursed his lips. Compared to Anastasia, that scumbag merchant who caused his faith to crumble, he was definitely more supportive of Crusch killing Anastasia.

"Well, I'm thinking about something else, bro."

"what?"

Faced with his brother's surprise, Baek Eun-kyu, who had previously covered his ears with a pillow but could still hear the video, bravely faced the video and said, "I have a guess."

“Look, Hachiman Hikigaya-senpai said that Priscilla’s blessing made her the luckiest person in the world. But in the official history, Emilia was so unlucky, Crusch was so pitiful, and Anastasia, who worked so hard, didn’t suffer any losses, but she didn’t gain anything either—”

"Are you saying that the misfortunes of the other candidates were somehow pushed forward by Priscilla's blessing?"

Shirogane Miyuki's eyes widened, and he gasped. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that it wasn't entirely impossible.

"Now that you mention it, I think Priscilla is comparable to a witch and a high archbishop of sin. She's so vicious."

In the Sanctuary, after racking his brains, Jiafeier finally realized the truth.

"Oh! If the princess and the general won't come to the Sanctuary, that means the prerequisite for Roswaal to use the blizzard to attract the rabbits is not met, so of course he won't do it. Therefore, everyone in the Sanctuary can survive in so many timelines. Haha, not bad!"

Immediately afterwards, he punched his fists together.

"However, I'm already fired up! I want to follow the general and help him! So—these timelines are not as good as the official history. I'm the man who will follow the general!"