Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

Both Ram and Rem were well aware of this. Ram's dissatisfaction was directed at Emilia, but the gentler Rem didn't want to target Emilia, whom Hachiman liked. She preferred to target the culprit who caused all of this.

Her boundless hatred was irreconcilable with the Bishop of Gluttony, "...Rem will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely tear you to pieces, Bishop of Gluttony!!"

“Hey, hey, mine…mine…”

On the main street of the capital, Emilia couldn't help but hold her breath and look up at the awarding ceremony with longing.

At this moment, a huge weight was finally lifted from her heart... At least it proved that she was just as important as Rem in Hachiman's heart, and they were evenly matched.

I'm already very happy even though we haven't won yet.

"Although I feel really bad for Rem, um..."

"Lia, you've softened your heart again." Parker helplessly tapped his daughter's head. She had tried her best to raise her astray, but the results were still unsatisfactory.

Inside the karaoke bar, Isshiki Iroha raised her hand, blinked, and asked, "Speaking of which, senpai neither rejected Emilia nor accepted her. Doesn't that seem like the behavior of a scumbag who doesn't want to take responsibility?"

"Who said Hachiman didn't refuse?" Hayato Hachiman snorted. He couldn't stand anyone slandering Hachiman Hikigaya, even if Iroha Isshiki didn't mean it that way.

"Hachigaya just wants to wait until Rem wakes up before acting on his own conscience, so as not to have any regrets. He will then decide whether to marry Rem or Emilia."

"Before Rem wakes up, Hachiman will definitely not have any physical contact with Emilia, nor will he say any intimate words to her."

“He’ll keep it at the level of friendship, and he’ll also make everything clear to Emilia.” Hayama Hayato shook his head. “Although he likes two people at the same time, you could call him a scumbag.”

But anyone who has seen the whole process of this future, who can honestly say that he is a scumbag?

Even if you were to choose a different girl, she would still be torn between Rem and Emilia in the same situation.

Following Hayama Hayato's words, Miura Yumiko put herself in Hayama's shoes and imagined it for a moment. She was stunned and realized that she really couldn't choose, and she couldn't bear to give up either of them.

She murmured, "I think... I understand a little bit about Hachiman Hikigaya's obsession with pursuing the real thing."

Real objects, when you think about it carefully, are really very attractive.

"After the knighting ceremony, Hachiman Hikigaya calmly maintained a certain distance from Emilia... He held this thought in mind and firmly adhered to it."

"But Emilia often forgets what Hachiman Hikigaya told her to keep her distance, and she always naively gets close to her knight and they touch each other."

"At first, Hachiman Hikigaya was able to remind her and deliberately distance himself from her, but seeing her becoming more and more dejected, and even starting to wonder if he had done something to displease her, he couldn't help but waver a little."

"Hachiman Hikigaya's stubborn resistance ultimately only achieved half of its goal."

"On the other side, Otto found Roswaal's Book of Wisdom in the ashes. The book was still in fragments, not completely burned."

"He consulted with Hachiman Hikigaya, who suggested that they could hire someone to repair it. After careful consideration, Hachiman Hikigaya refused and instead burned the remains, along with Betty's Book of Wisdom, to ashes."

"If the book were still kept, Hachiman Hikigaya would have all sorts of worries."

"For example, it would be troublesome if it were stolen. Or if Roswaal finds out, his four-hundred-year-old obsession might be rekindled, and he might become obsessed with turning the pages of the book and following its guidance."

"Even if it is repaired as a tool for foresight, Hachiman Hikigaya is still worried. The guidance of the Book of Wisdom was given by Echidna, and he doesn't think that fake object would be kind enough to give the best and most complete information."

"More likely, it's nine parts true and one part false, or it's vague and ambiguous, which would suit Echidna's amusing, pseudo-spirited nature better. Sometimes, it's better to know nothing than to have a vague understanding."

"Otto felt it was a pity, but he did not disobey orders."

"With that, everything related to the Sanctuary truly fell into obscurity. After that, under Hachiman Hikigaya's command, Emilia's camp had a very fulfilling year."

"Hachiman Hikigaya did all sorts of things this year."

Bounty ended

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284. Letters from Anastasia and Crusch

"Part of Roswaal's oath was to wholeheartedly and actively assist Emilia in winning the royal election. In the past year, he has frequently used his status as a border noble and his connections to win over many neutral nobles."

"Emilia also handled government affairs while studying, and occasionally met with nobles to show her noble status."

"Hachiman Hikigaya signed contracts with the mercenaries he had hired before the Sloth Extermination Campaign, as well as some veterans who were grateful to him for defeating the White Whale, making them Emilia's private soldiers."

"Hachiman Hikigaya doesn't expect them to do anything like fighting the Archbishops of Sin, but these soldiers are absolutely necessary. They symbolize the growing size and strength of Emilia's forces, and Emilia's rise to power, which has taken over Roswaal's authority."

"The duty of these soldiers is to defend the security of the territory belonging to the Emilia camp, eliminate bandits, act as security guards, and at the same time, serve as a facade to enhance the prestige of the Emilia camp to the outside world."

"On the other hand, if assassins like the Gut Hunters come again, it won't be completely undetected; the soldiers can serve as a patrol and vigilant force."

"...After realizing that Petticius was Jus, Hachiman Hikigaya took him from the royal prison back to Roswaal's mansion. Unfortunately, despite trying many methods, he was unable to restore his sanity and had to remain imprisoned."

"The erudite Betty and Roswaal have jointly proposed a gradual plan. If it continues for three to five years, we might see Petitschius turn back into Jules."

"Even though it's just a chance, seeing that her adoptive father might recover, Emilia is already overjoyed."

"After entrusting Jus's matter to Betty, Hachiman Hikigaya searched for a way to restore Rem's senses. He eventually heard about the Sage's Tower, where the Sage Shaula was said to reside. He might have a way to deal with the Bishop of Gluttony's powers."

"Reinhard also tried to find the Sage and the Tower, but he failed. The Sage's arrangements made it impossible for anyone to get close to the Sage's Tower, and the dunes were inhabited by a large number of magical beasts. These were all difficulties."

"Anxious, Hachiman Hikigaya had no choice but to abandon his plan to set off directly and instead issued a widespread bounty: if anyone could tell him how to enter the Tower of the Sages, he would offer a reward of an official position and money."

"While waiting for the bounty to continue to grow, Hachiman Hikigaya frequently wrote letters to Crusch and Anastasia to stay in touch and nurture their relationship."

"...It's not that he has lingering feelings for Crusch and Anastasia...although he can't say that it's completely unrelated, it's not the main reason."

"Mainly because he saw how terrifying Pandora and Regulus were during the trial, Hachiman Hikigaya is really worried that other Archbishops of the Sin will come to attack in the future—and Pandora's target is the key in Emilia's hands, so she will definitely come in the future, there is no doubt about that."

"With this sense of crisis in mind, even though Emilia's faction is already quite strong, Hachiman Hikigaya still needs to maintain good relations with other factions so that he can borrow troops immediately when it comes to a critical moment."

"He often comforted Crusch, who had lost her memory, in his letters... It wasn't that he wanted to develop any feelings for Crusch beyond friendship."

"Whenever he thought of what he learned about Crusch's confusion and helplessness after losing her memory during the final trial of total annihilation, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but comfort Crusch."

"Because he had spent every day with Crusch after she lost her memory, every word of comfort he gave was just right and hit the nail on the head. Crusch seemed very grateful in her reply, saying that she felt much better."

"One benefit of the close relationship between the two camps is that Garfield went to the Carlsten residence several times to spar with Wilhelm and received guidance."

"...Every time he returned from the Carlsten mansion, he would bring Crusch a message asking why Hachiman Hikigaya didn't come to visit, and that Crusch would welcome him anytime if he had the time."

"This left Hachiman Hikigaya completely unable to reply... It was already difficult to control himself while writing letters to each other, and if he could, he not only didn't want to meet Crusch, but he also didn't want to meet the other candidates."

"Once they meet, he can hardly imagine how he will feel... Although it certainly won't be as intimate as in the second trial, he will definitely have some special and complicated feelings that are difficult to control."

"I want to avoid doing anything that would hurt Rem and Emilia, as much as possible."

"His attitude of avoiding meeting other candidates was so obvious that even Emilia could see it, but the curious Emilia didn't say anything, respecting Hachiman Hikigaya's wishes."

"Besides Crusch, Hachiman Hikigaya also occasionally sends letters to Felt, but relatively infrequently. As for Priscilla, he basically ignores her."

"It's not that I don't want to deal with it. If I could get Priscilla's help and borrow her good fortune, I believe the threat from the Witch Cult would be greatly reduced. The problem is, he knows Priscilla's personality well, and in the current situation, he can't possibly have a passionate argument with her."

"...Of all the candidates, the one he communicated with most frequently was not Crusch, but Anastasia."

"Knowing that Anastasia's Heshin Trading Company was very well-informed, after the Sanctuary incident, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately thought of her. Anastasia helped a lot in gathering the mercenaries and veterans in the capital, saying it was as a final compensation for leaving the alliance."

"After that, in order to maintain the ever-increasing expenses of the Emilia camp, Hachiman Hikigaya took Roswaal's money and started some business collaborations with Anastasia."

"During this period, he contributed some business plans free of charge... In fact, those were all ideas of Anastasia herself in the future."

"With these business plans in hand, he could certainly keep them all to himself, but these plans were originally Anastasia's own ideas, and Hachiman Hikigaya would never be so heartless."

He preferred to return it to its rightful owner.

"After seeing those business plans, Anastasia gave him a lot of information in return. The information about the Sage's Tower was given to him by Anastasia."

"As a stepping stone for cooperation between the two sides, Otto often had to travel between the Roswaal mansion and the Hoshin Trading Company, and he would bring back messages that were exactly the same as Crusch's every time."

"It was indeed wrong of me to withdraw from the alliance, and I'm truly sorry, right? But the fact that you've refused to discuss things face-to-face even once is really worrying. Could it be that you're not as forgiving as you claim in your letter, and are still holding a grudge?"

285. The Pain of Being Hijacked

"Although I don't remember every single detail of my experiences in the IF line, I'm sure I remember the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, as well as their secrets, not to mention Anastasia's business plan."

At the Shirogane residence, Shirogane Miyuki meticulously and objectively analyzed, "If he were ruthless enough, it would be extremely easy for him to defeat other candidates with these resources. The difficulty level is practically the lowest in history."

"However, anyone could do that, except for Hikigaya-senpai."

Shirogane Kei proudly puffed out her chest. The Hikigaya-senpai she respected and admired was not the kind of person without morals or conscience.

“Yes.” Miyuki Shirogane nodded, filled with emotion. “If it were an enemy like a Archbishop of Sin, Hachiman would definitely be as shameless as possible, as long as he could win.”

However, since they are on his own side now, he will definitely go easy on them—the five candidates are in healthy competition, and even the most wicked Priscilla will not resort to underhanded tactics against others, but will instead develop herself and defeat each other fair and square.

One has to admire the character of the other four candidates, who all adopted a healthy approach of competition that stopped short of conflict, which has now saved their own lives.

Anyone who lacks martial ethics will be easily eliminated by Hachiman Hikigaya this year.

"Hachiman Hikigaya went easy on me, and even sponsored me. Anastasia could see that perfectly well. She was suspicious at first and carefully investigated whether there was any trap. Then a year passed and it turned out that there was no trap. Hachiman Hikigaya was just doing a good deed."

"Upon realizing this fact, Anastasia's curiosity, wariness, and doubts naturally turned into goodwill and sighs."

"She's a businesswoman, and what businessmen fear most is being in debt. Hachiman Hikigaya's provision of such a complete business plan is a huge favor, practically priceless. So, if she keeps owing money, she'll be very uneasy."

After some thought, Anastasia made a decision... Her Dona Fox could actually see through the secret that the Sage's Tower was inaccessible. Since Hachiman Hikigaya wanted to enter the Sage's Tower so much, then let's help him fulfill that wish.

"Furthermore, the great elf Puck has also fallen into a deep sleep and needs a magic crystal with enormous energy storage to awaken. Anastasia just happened to find out the whereabouts of that magic crystal, as well as some information about the Bishop of Gluttony."

"If Anastasia were to give all three of these items to Hachiman Hikigaya for free, she would feel that she would have repaid most of the favor, which would be quite a pleasant thing."

"However, there is one condition."

"Inviting us to the water-gate city of Pristiela?"

"In the mansion's drawing room, Emilia's core members gathered, looking at the envoy before them. He was a frail, refined man named Joshua, Julius's younger brother, who, like his brother, was loyal to Anastasia."

"Yes, Lady Emilia," Joshua said. "Please make sure you attend. Also, Lord Hachiman, a guest specifically requested by Lady Anastasia, is there. We hope you will do us the honor of meeting him."

"Hachiman Hikigaya opened his mouth in disbelief. Could he say no?... Anastasia was clearly curious about his business plans and wanted to meet him in person, offering so much bait for it. He had to go to get that valuable information."

“I understand… Tell her I will go.”

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Hachiman. Well then, I will return and await good news." Joshua, who was very polite to his brother at the hospital, stood up.

"On the eve of his departure, having completed the task assigned by his lord, he suddenly paused. Now, he was not acting as an envoy of Anna's camp, but as a brother who doted on his brother, sizing up Hachiman Hikigaya with unfriendly eyes."

"...But I don't think you can compare to my brother at all. He always praises you so much, saying that you are the best, whether as a strategist or a knight—my brother is the number one in the world, invincible, the best, the strongest, the most excellent, the most powerful!"

"Jiafeier immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Huh? You brat, looking for trouble? I'm all for it! How dare you belittle a general in front of me? Are you prepared to die, kid!"

"Half-asleep, Hachiman Hikigaya gently shook his head and stopped the aggressive Garfield before things escalated, looking at Joshua with a gentle expression."

“You’re right, I am indeed inferior to Julius. However, Joshua, you must understand that humility and politeness are also among Julius’s best qualities.”