Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"...But I still want to thank you for all the kindness you've shown me, Priscilla."

"Are you done talking?"

“I’m done.” Hachiman Hikigaya nodded.

"Now that you've finished talking in your sleep, wake up properly and stop indulging in these pointless, foolish dreams. You stupid idiot, while I have plenty of patience, I don't have the energy to waste on such meaningless things."

Priscilla's voice was expressionless, seemingly unaffected by anything, and leisurely. However, the content of her words instantly chilled Hachiman Hikigaya's expression: "What do you mean?"

"All things are equal, and I am above them."

"The leisurely Priscilla began with her famous quote, then said: 'This world is my private garden everywhere. There's no need to keep butterflies dancing in the air. I can grant any butterfly that admires me the gift of freedom—those who dare to refuse me deserve a reward.'"

"You contradict yourself, which is why I've never understood you."

"Butterflies are granted freedom, but arrogant fools are not included." Priscilla then finished her sentence with a hint of pleasure, addressing Hachiman Hikigaya's question.

"Your thoughts, your will, your resistance—all are worthy of praise, so—you deserve commendation. However, before my will, everything about you is insignificant; simply stay obediently by my side and please me."

"No matter when, where, or what the circumstances, Priscilla will always be Priscilla, proud to the point of arrogance and willful self-will, and that will never change. This is both what makes her annoying and what can, in a fleeting moment, touch someone's heart."

"How dare you say such a thing, Priscilla—"

"I don't know what kind of feelings they are, but there must be a lot of dissatisfaction."

Having spent most of the day in the river, Hachiman Hikigaya's head was starting to feel hot and feverish. Feeling a bit dazed, he frowned, stood up abruptly, and instinctively turned to confront Priscilla, starting the usual argument and shouting match.

"The next moment."

"His eyes were filled with a snow-white body. Priscilla, with her slender figure, was not covered up at all. Her bright body contrasted with her extremely arrogant face, and that contrast stimulated the most basic conquering desires and hormones of a man."

"Smack!"

Priscilla stood up gracefully, her fiery red fan slapping Hachiman Hikigaya on the head. Her red eyes burned with displeasure as she snapped, "Foolish fool, have you seen enough? Or shall I gouge your eyes out?"

""…snort.""

"Completely oblivious, Hachiman Hikigaya snatched the fan and smacked Priscilla on the head. He then turned away from this shameless woman."

"Say what you will...we will definitely go our separate ways one day, Priscilla!"

"In the narrow cave, two equally arrogant people confronted each other and went their separate ways."

"A lifelong argument will never end."

257. Priscilla Route: A Lucky Ending

"It hurts, Anna, it hurts so much!"

Anastasia, her face contorted with murderous intent, unconsciously tightened her grip on Dona the Fox, as if she wanted to strangle Priscilla. This force caused the fox, which had been feigning death, to cry out.

"—"

Anastasia's attention snapped back to reality, and she released the little hand that had made Dona the Fox scream in pain, then clenched it tightly again with a creaking sound.

"Shameless, shameless, adulterous idiot—she's such a nuisance! That's outrageous! That bitch!!"

Anastasia's furious rage silenced everyone as they watched her angrily condemn Priscilla, "Unbelievable! Why didn't this kind of person just die sooner? She should have been paraded through the streets and whipped for good measure by the Holy Flacchia Empire!!"

"Are you saying those traitors are utterly useless? Is it really that hard to bypass our Prime Minister and kill a bastard who cheats on his wife? Honestly! How could this person be so wicked? A shameless widow who sells her filthy body, we could kill her a thousand times over!"

Under a clear blue sky, Anastasia's defiant voice echoed throughout the Hexin Chamber of Commerce.

Her slender little hands pounded on the armrests of the chair.

Whether it's Rem or Emilia, no matter what other people's feelings are, at least they only remain at the spiritual level—being spied on by her own prime minister is clearly her privilege!

It was her most reliable trump card. Once the prime minister arrived, she would immediately start crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, pitifully saying that her future had already been decided and that if she didn't take responsibility now, she would never be able to get married. It was her trump card to bind her prime minister.

"Our innocent prime minister is so soft-hearted, he'll definitely be firmly bound by this scheme—that's how it should be!!"

However, if it's not just you who has been subjected to actual actions, then this argument becomes incredibly weak and its effectiveness plummets!

"I'll blind you, beat you to death, and cut off the bastard part of you that seduced my prime minister. I mean what I say, keeping my promises is a merchant's basic tenet—oh, oh, it hurts so much, my heart aches so much."

Although that night, the only thing visible in the cave was Hachiman Hikigaya's head and the burning pile of firewood, everyone knows exactly what Hachiman Hikigaya saw.

He was so excited that he jumped up and looked up at Priscilla on the light screen, that damn Priscilla.

Anastasia pointed angrily at the sky.

This level of emotional fluctuation only occurred when she was young, before she was fourteen years old. Later, as the chamber of commerce grew larger and larger, she became more and more composed, and she basically stopped showing obvious outward emotions.

Ricardo and Julius exchanged a glance and gave a helpless, bitter smile. From this, they could once again feel how deeply Anastasia had fallen for them.

However, she is inherently driven by greed; she will definitely want to get what she wants, and she is even willing to sell herself for it.

“Although that’s the case… Lady Anastasia,” Julius hesitated for a moment, then said, “it seems that Lady Priscilla and Hachiman don’t have those feelings for each other? Please rest assured.”

“You don’t understand, Julius.”

Anastasia pouted, looking aggrieved. "Yes, I do. As a girl, I naturally know more about these things than you do."

Although their relationship is quite twisted in this timeline. Rather than loving each other, it's more accurate to say that Priscilla's willfulness is at play. As long as Hachiman Hikigaya doesn't compromise, she won't let him leave, driven by a severe desire to conquer.

But besides that, there must be something else hidden.

Despite her arrogant personality, she repeatedly said "I want to praise you" and "you deserve praise," which shows that her mindset has changed.

Her unchanging arrogance, her willfulness, and her desire to conquer, were seen by Hachiman Hikigaya as something different and real. Though different, anything real easily stirred Hachiman Hikigaya's emotions.

"One Anastasia, two Priscillas..."

Inside the convenience store, Yukinoshita, who was grinding her teeth and gnashing her teeth, couldn't hold back any longer and slammed her head upwards, bumping into Hachiman Hikigaya's jaw, which hurt a little.

Hachiman Hikigaya could only sigh, lamenting that his present self was suffering for his future self. But no, because he certainly wouldn't do those things now; it was truly unfair.

"Well, so..."

At the Carlsten mansion, Crusch, with a toothy grin, rubbed his forehead, looking utterly exhausted. "Even Priscilla, it was only because of a life-saving favor that Lord Hachiman stayed by her side for life?"

Of the five candidates, after all the calculations, she ultimately ended up with nothing.

Even if she was the poorest of all possibilities... this fact left Phyllis speechless, unable to offer any words of comfort.

"Humph."

Inside the mansion, the bright sunlight shone through the ceiling damaged by the Yang Sword, illuminating the arrogant Priscilla, who was dressed in fiery red, radiating brilliance.

Priscilla scoffed dismissively, waving her fan in front of her face. "It's all nonsense after all. If I were to end up like that, it would be a fallacy for the whole world—but fools are adorable and deserve praise."

“Give him all mercy and all blessings—find him, punish him, and then reward him.”

It deserves praise, but first it needs to be punished.

This decision will not change.

Because she is the arrogant princess, the destiny of the world, Priscilla.

At the same time, in the Holy Flacchia Empire, Emperor Vincent was temporarily preoccupied with the future of his sister. Having received intelligence, he was busy purging rebels within the empire with the help of some of his loyal ministers.

Although he longed to continue looking to the future, the suppression of the rebel party had to be done immediately, otherwise he might have to step down again. Having finally gained such a significant advantage, he had to make the most of it; every second was tense and exciting.

Arakia, who had initially opposed him, changed his stance and became one of the Nine Gods who supported Vincent after seeing that the princess he longed for actually showed him familial affection.

On her way to the capital, Rem was filled with murderous intent. Emilia was barely acceptable, Yukinoshita wasn't entirely out of the question, Anastasia was hard to say, and Crusch was not a concern. However, Priscilla was absolutely out of the question.

"Rem absolutely must kill the person who treated Hachiman that way!"

She accelerated, wishing she could fly to the capital immediately and smash Priscilla to death with her meteor hammer.

But in the next second, Rem suddenly widened her astonished eyes and, together with the astonished Ram, stopped in a daze, staring incredulously at the new future.

258. Ram Line - The Darkest Possibility

"The day after that night in the cave, the two who set off encountered the seriously injured Al and Arachia, and also picked up the injured Celsis. His sword had been blown away by the explosion, and he was no match for Priscilla, who had recovered to full strength after a day of rest. He was quickly tied up."

"After the attack by Celsis, Priscilla outwardly remained nonchalant, but secretly she became completely serious and devoted herself to the cause. Using her wisdom and good fortune, she spent several years organizing a large number of supporters, and during this time, she retrieved Celsis's sword, obtained Celsis's loyalty through certain conditions, and ultimately overthrew the rebels."

"When news of Priscilla's conquest of the Holy Flacian Empire reached the Kingdom of Lugnica, it caused a great uproar. This achievement secured her victory as the kingdom's candidate."

"The Kingdom of Lugnica and the Holy Flacchia Empire both came under Priscilla's control; she united the two nations, making them one."

"During this time, Hachiman Hikigaya tried countless times to offer a plan to repay a debt of gratitude and then leave. To prevent this, Priscilla also used her brain to the fullest extent and devised a reliable plan with her equally brilliant wisdom, leaving Hachiman Hikigaya with no chance at all."

"The next day, before Hachiman Hikigaya could speak, she arrogantly presented a slightly different plan, looking at him with a disdainful expression and a mocking gaze."

"Until Priscilla united the two countries, Hachiman Hikigaya was still worried about repaying her debt of gratitude."

"It's laughable that a fool would try to go against my wishes—but, not bad, I must praise you."

"This is the most he has said to Hachiman Hikigaya since Priscilla."

"Although their attitudes have improved a lot, the differences between the two still exist. During this period, there were also some very intense conflicts, but overall there was a kind of unusual harmony."

"—You deserve praise."

Back in reality, Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head. He was as if he had been brainwashed, his mind constantly replaying Priscilla's words. The gentle praise coming from the arrogant Priscilla had a unique charm after a while.

"...That big-breasted bastard..."

"Hachiman Hikigaya cursed bitterly. The person he was responsible for was Rem, and Priscilla had actually let him see it. This kind of thing that betrayed Rem really made Hachiman Hikigaya feel terrible."

"Hachiman Hikigaya, who openly expressed his displeasure with Priscilla, intentionally or unintentionally glossed over Anastasia. He did not mention Anastasia and did not want to think about it."

"Anyway, let's focus on—"

"Having visited all five candidates' camps, Hachiman Hikigaya believed the second trial should be over. He was about to get up to wake Emilia when his consciousness began to fade again, and he was trapped in a new world."

"Take a good look at this non-existent present..."

"Squeak."

The door was pushed open, and the dark bedroom became slightly brighter, but the gloomy atmosphere was not dispelled. Instead, the person who stepped in added to the gloom.

"...Ram."

"His eyes were lifeless, devoid of all luster, and utterly numb, as if he had completely despaired of the world. Even so, Hachiman Hikigaya mustered his strength the moment he entered and gave a cautious, ingratiating smile."

"Dinner's ready," said Hachiman Hikigaya, holding a bowl of food in his hands.

"In a corner of the bedroom, Ram lay motionless on the bed. She had lost all her former charm, her pupils unfocused as she stared at the ceiling, as if she had no idea that Hachiman Hikigaya was there at all."

"...Today too, I'll feed you. Cooperate, Ram."