Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

Compared to the potential future confrontation between Regulus and Reinhard, Felt's recruitment of the trio of thugs from the capital is a trivial matter that few people care about, nor will it change their opinion of the trio.

"Oh…"

At Advanced Nurturing High School, looking at the excitement and enthusiasm of his classmates in the classroom, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji shook his head in great disappointment.

He understood that the whole world was cheering, not because they thought only Reinhard could defeat Regulus, but because with Reinhard, Hachiman Hikigaya would at least die a few fewer times.

These people have watched Hachiman Hikigaya for so long that they have developed a very high level of affection for him and do not want him to suffer any more misfortune.

"That's too superficial." Kiyotaka Ayanokouji scoffed. His fondness for Hachiman Hikigaya was definitely higher than anyone else's, so he wanted to see Hachiman Hikigaya die a few more times.

Rather than seeing Reinhard's overwhelming combat power, he preferred to see his sworn enemy, whom he acknowledged, exert all his strength in despair, bringing him more interest and pressure.

He is probably the only person on Earth right now who is annoyed by Reinhard's appearance.

"How unpleasant, Sword Saint, ha!"

"After Wilhelm arrived first as the vanguard, the amnesiac, frail version of Crusch and Phyllis, as well as the carefree Phyllis, also arrived at the inn's entrance around the same time."

Crusch's gaze instantly locked onto her pen pal in the crowd, with whom she often confided in each other through letters. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately greeted him eagerly, "Lord Hachiman!"

"Felic immediately clutched her heart with a sorrowful expression, 'Lord Crusch calls Hachiman even closer than I do, meow! Felic-chan is heartbroken, meow!'"

"His tantrum left Crusch stunned and at a loss. Although they had been together for a year, Phyllis, who had no memory of anything, had been so intimate with her from the very beginning, which made it difficult for Crusch to open up... On the other hand, although Lord Hachiman's words were also very affectionate, she could handle it properly because it was a correspondence, until she got used to it."

"Don't joke like that, Phyllis. Can't you see? Crusch now takes these jokes seriously."

While Crusch was hesitating about whether she should go and comfort her, Hachiman Hikigaya's words immediately brought Phyllis back to her senses.

Seeing that the mess was finally over, Felt grinned, revealing her fangs, and greeted, "Hey, young man, and half-elf sister, long time no see! You all look a little different."

“Thanks to you.” Hachiman Hikigaya smiled.

"He wasn't just being polite. If it weren't for the regret of losing Emilia completely in Felt's timeline, which made him realize that he might have lost a lot, at least Emilia is still alive and well by his side now. For that, it's worth facing each day with a positive attitude."

"If he hadn't gained that insight from Felt's timeline, he would probably be wallowing in Rem's half-dead sorrow right now, sighing and lamenting all day long."

"Fairu, taking it as a compliment, gave me a thumbs up. 'Oh? You really know how to sweet-talk, buddy. If this were the slums, with your eloquence, you'd definitely be at the top. But I should be thanking you, hmm.'"

"She later did some research on the reputation and character of that Bowel Hunter, Elsa, and knew that if Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't come to her and asked her to join the attack on the Bowel Hunter, perhaps she and Rom would have ended up having their badges stolen and their intestines cut open."

"Hmm~ You guys seem to get along really well, having a great time chatting, huh?"

Anastasia, who came out of the hotel, attracted everyone's attention. She glanced at Hachiman Hikigaya, then looked away, playfully closing one eye and opening the other, and reached out her hand.

"While I did invite everyone, it's quite a coincidence that we all ended up here together. What a coincidence! So before we chat, why don't you come in and rest?"

295. The Day Anastasia Was Captured

"Hidden within Anastasia was all the turmoil caused by Hachiman Hikigaya's marriage proposal; on the surface, everything remained the same."

"She explained her reasons for inviting the various candidate camps: she wanted to get together after a long time, catch up on each other's situations, and frankly, she wanted to gather information about each camp at the gathering to prepare for her next plan."

"However, because of her good attitude, no one disliked her little scheme."

"Anastasia has put a lot of thought into the treatment she has prepared for Crusch and the others, including hot springs, kimonos, and cuisine with a completely different flavor from what they have there."

"As expected, it's you again, a shrewd businessman whose flaws are impeccable."

"Hachiman Hikigaya's usual compliments had a different flavor to Anastasia's ears."

"I heard you've defeated the Dodos, acquired a very capable internal affairs officer, and strengthened your military presence with that kid, Garfield... With such good development, you should be confident of victory, right?"

"That's hard to say." Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head slightly.

"If he's willing to be ruthless, then winning is certainly easy. Even without using the Death Return to obtain various prophetic intelligence, it's practically a sure thing."

"For example, let the amnesiac Crusch live in fear and anxiety, take over Anastasia's future business plans for herself, and make an exorbitant deal with Priscilla using the list of rebels who will be overthrown for Vincent. In that case, the accumulated benefits will skyrocket like a rocket."

"But he couldn't possibly do that. Even without the experience of the 'if' scenario, he wouldn't do something so unscrupulous and disgusting."

"Having comforted Crusch for a whole year, and with Vincent and the business plan being given away for free, these measures have increased the advantage of the other factions. Therefore, now, even Hachiman Hikigaya is finding it hard to say whether Emilia, Anastasia, or Priscilla will ultimately win the royal selection."

"Although Emilia has my help, you are no less capable than me, so the outcome is hard to predict... Therefore, I need to make an appointment with you for something, Anastasia."

Anastasia rested her chin on her hand. "An appointment? Is that something I don't have?"

"Yes, it's dragon blood."

"The candidate who wins the royal election and becomes emperor will have the right to dispose of the dragon's blood treasured by the Kingdom of Lugnica. That bottle of dragon blood has miraculous effects; it can cure all kinds of intractable diseases that even Phyllis is helpless against, and even resurrect the dead."

"Anastatia's body is actually very weak. The gate through which she stores mana is inherently flawed, so she won't live very long. In the timeline where she won, she relied on drinking dragon blood to maintain her health and longevity."

"However, the amount used to heal Anastasia's body was very small, and there was some left over."

"The essence of Emilia's desire to win the royal selection is that she needs dragon blood to unseal her homeland and save her loved ones who have been frozen for over a hundred years," Hachiman Hikigaya revealed. "If you win, I hope you will sell the dragon blood to Emilia."

"As long as she has dragon blood, Emilia's obsession with becoming queen isn't actually that deep—but that was before she entered the Sanctuary. After growing up in the Sanctuary, she has a genuine desire to become queen."

Anastasia paused in surprise, "...Is it really okay to tell these secrets to someone who's a rival? Even if you have those thoughts, I'm not planning to agree to it yet."

"Negotiations have crucial moments, Hachiman, you're too hasty."

She tentatively asked, "What would you do, Hachiman, if I said, 'Unless you convince Emilia to withdraw from the ** now, I will absolutely not give you the dragon blood after I win'?"

Hachiman Hikigaya remained completely calm, slowly uttering four words: "Equivalent exchange."

""uh-huh?""

"If you win, you'll sell the dragon blood to Emilia. Similarly, if Emilia wins, I'll have her sell you some of her dragon blood."

Anastasia smiled, feigning ignorance, "What would I need it for? There's nowhere I need dragon blood."

"I've made myself so certain, do you still think I don't know about your health problems? If you want to squeeze money out of you, fine, but don't gamble with your life. You're too shrewd, you stupid, unscrupulous businessman."

He sighed and subconsciously reached out to stroke Anastasia's pale purple hair. Just like in his memory, it was fluffy and smooth, with a fine texture, like the fur of an animal cub. It felt so comfortable to touch that he couldn't bear to put it down.

"Ugh—"

The sudden turn of events left both of them stunned.

"Hachiman Hikigaya, as if he had burned his hand, quickly withdrew it. Anastasia's cute, light blue eyes widened slightly, and she froze for a second or two, at a loss."

"So cute... no, no..."

"Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head, trying to shake off those sweet memories that were affecting him. He stopped his lewd mutterings and stood up stiffly... This purple-haired swindler was too cute; he had to stay away from him."

Anastasia wasn't sure how to evaluate his actions for the moment, so she quickly changed the subject: "Hmm...deal. The dragonblood alliance with Emilia isn't so bad for me."

"Ah, um... thank you." Hachiman Hikigaya nodded stiffly.

After finishing their business, the two looked at each other, suddenly feeling a little awkward... Hachiman Hikigaya quickly made up an excuse and left.

Anastasia suddenly felt a little regretful, regretting why she was alone here with Hachiman Hikigaya. She should be soaking in the hot spring with Crusch and the others right now.

"It's because Hachiman Hikigaya said he had something he wanted to discuss with her, and that it was a very simple matter so it wouldn't take much time, that she stayed to listen and would go later."

"Furthermore, Julius and Reinhard have gone to other rooms. Otherwise, Hachiman Hikigaya would definitely have been more restrained and wouldn't have made such a move so easily."

"This is bad..."

"Because we've been corresponding for a whole year, I've long thought he's a really nice person."

"Whether it's having my hair touched or being told I'm cute, I surprisingly don't dislike it..."

"He humiliated me so much back in the capital last year, how come he's suddenly interested in me? ...What a weirdo."

"A shrewd and cunning businesswoman with long, light purple hair, her face clouded with worry."

296. An Unresolved Misunderstanding

"It seems this misunderstanding can't be cleared up. Anastasia's words, 'Even if you have that kind of thought, I'm not planning to agree yet,' mean that Hachiman Hikigaya wants to be with her, but Hikigaya thinks it's a dragon blood deal."

Kyosuke Kosaka analyzed, "Given Anastasia's personality and her caution, she certainly wouldn't have said it directly before deciding whether or not to marry Hachiman, in order to avoid being overheard. She figured Hachiman would understand, so she would have just used a metaphor."

"If she hadn't said it directly, Hachiman would never have known that she had actually connected it to a marriage proposal."

"Mmm!" Kirino Kousaka's eyes lit up, exclaiming how wonderful it was. "With this misunderstanding, Anna-neechan can feel at ease letting Hachiman-senpai take advantage of her. It's the best misunderstanding ever!"

Kyosuke Kousaka looked at his sister strangely, his face full of question marks. "Weren't you always supporting Rem before?"

"Well..." Kirino Kousaka paused for a moment, a little embarrassed, "Of course I still support Rem, it's just that Anna is taking a tiny bit more priority right now—I'm serious, I still really support Rem!"

The more she tried to deny it, the more strangely Kousaka Kyosuke's eyes became.

Anyway, he's a staunch Emilia supporter, he was before and he still is now, and he looks down on the fickle little sister.

With Reinhard's presence, the pressure from Regulus was relieved, and everyone was in the mood to focus on the romance faction again.

"Very good, very good. Today went well with the Prime Minister as well. I'm very satisfied!"

At the Hexin Chamber of Commerce, Anastasia, with a sly smile like a fox and her eyes crinkling, lifted Mimi high in the air, looking very happy and spirited.

"Oh my! Miss is the cutest! Mimi likes her too! But she also really likes Jiafei's 'da da da'!"

Watching the interaction between the two, the big one and the little one, Ricardo and Julius exchanged a glance, both quite satisfied. However, Julius still had some conscience and silently apologized to Lady Emilia, whose home had been raided and who had been kept in the dark.

"—"

On the main street of the capital, Emilia and Parker, who had been approaching the Hexin Merchant Guild like defeated roosters, came with great momentum, but before they even entered, they turned back dejectedly.

Compared to Anastasia's contribution in summoning Reinhard, Emilia felt too ashamed to confront Anastasia, especially considering that she had clearly seen Regulus but hadn't mentioned it because she couldn't remember him.

"While the girls were soaking in the hot spring, Hachiman Hikigaya, having regained his composure, saw Garfield being led back by Mimi. He immediately spotted Reinhard, and his instincts kicked in as he sensed a great threat, igniting his fighting spirit. He almost immediately wanted to make a move."

"Let me go, General!"

"Unable to resist Garfiel's eagerness, Hachiman Hikigaya had no choice but to invite Reinhard to fight him. But that crushing battle, which could barely be called a fight, ended in less than a minute."

Reinhard looked at Garfield, who was clearly stunned and shocked, and hesitated before saying, "I'm sorry, shouldn't I..."

“Tch,” Jiafei gritted his teeth, “If you dare to hold back, that would be an insult to me!”

Mimi bounced around and hugged Jiafei's arm, her enthusiasm for him undiminished despite his bruised and battered face. She exclaimed, "Wow, that's quite a show of spirit, Jiafei!"

"Of course! The general has emphasized to me over a hundred times how powerful this damned sword saint is, telling me to be mentally prepared. I have a bright future ahead of me, and a temporary setback is nothing. As long as I keep trying... well, although the monster-like strength of this person still far exceeds expectations."

"Garfield looked at Hachiman Hikigaya gratefully. If it weren't for the general's numerous preparations and guidance beforehand, this defeat might have crushed him."

"...Hmph, she is indeed a very nice woman, but I still prefer Ram...Ouch!"

In the Sanctuary, Garfield grinned, revealing his shark teeth. Just as he had solidified his resolve for Ram, Granny Ryuzu struck him on the thigh with her cane.

Ryuzushima glared at him. "I think this Mimi is quite good. Jiazi, are you going to disobey the wishes of me and your general?"