Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Even if you've lost your memory, twenty-odd days of knowing each other is enough for me to understand what kind of person you are: a shrewd businessman who won't do anything without profit, and who doesn't like wasting time. Someone like you wouldn't be chatting idly if you didn't have something to do; you'd rather be counting money, right?"

"Prejudice is so strong... Hmm~ But it's not really prejudice, you're so smart."

Anastasia smiled. It was true that she would rather count money than chat idly, but only when dealing with external matters and when she couldn't glean any useful information from the conversation.

"Chatting with her own prime minister is a different story—just hearing the prime minister's voice can lift her spirits, and that's more profitable than earning a million dollars."

"Hachiman Hikigaya presupposed the worst: 'Given your personality, maximizing your own interests... if you're here to persuade me to give orders to Shaula, then you'll only be disappointed, Anastasia.'"

"It's not that bad yet, try to look at me a little better. My opinion on how to treat the guard is the same as Miss Emilia's, there's no need to force you."

Anastasia, using deliberately exaggerated acting, dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve, wiping away non-existent tears. "Let Julius suffer a little," she said, "and we'll just hand over the heavy responsibility of guarding the young lady to him."

“Poor Julius,” Hachiman Hikigaya sighed with pity.

Anastasia chuckled, looking at the feigning compassion of Hachiman Hikigaya, "No objections, does the Prime Minister agree to this approach?"

"If you want me to feel indebted to Julius, and thus owe your camp a favor, I'm not willing. At most, I can only give you half a favor."

"Hachiman Hikigaya pursed his lips, and Anastasia's light blue eyes flashed with fascination as she was drawn to his bargaining figure."

"When I was tricked in the capital, I was filled with resentment and regret. But once I fell in love with him, even when I was tricked and deceived by this man, I felt extremely satisfied."

"My meticulous and calculating demeanor is quite handsome—can my other half just consider my adorable appearance as a complement?"

Hachiman Hikigaya chuckled, placing his thumb and forefinger slightly apart. "If you were as beautiful as Emilia, I might have been bewitched. But unfortunately, you're just a little bit less so."

"Besides, I'm not handsome at all, I know that. If you're going to say something against your conscience, at least make sure there's some room for maneuver, okay? Saying something that's obviously a lie without even thinking about it, you're completely incapable, Anastasia."

"He held his head high and was proud of his self-awareness."

Anastasia stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded.

"—So, our Prime Minister was originally someone with absolutely no self-awareness? While he may not be as perfect as Reinhard, to say that the Prime Minister isn't handsome would be a bit of a lie, wouldn't it?"

373. Anastasia and the Chancellor

Anastasia still clearly remembers what Hachiman Hikigaya said back in Watergate City: "Garfield is also an excellent man who is no less than me."

"Now it seems that confidence must have come from being with Emilia."

"But it doesn't matter—what Emilia can do, Anastasia can do too. After marriage, she'll definitely be able to use her sweet words to make her prime minister acknowledge his excellence!"

"Before that, let's get down to business."

"Some walls on this floor are fake. You can't tell from the surface, but if you touch them, you'll find that only the part of the wall above half a meter is real; the part below that is an illusion."

"As Anastasia recounted her discovery, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration. Although he already knew she was the smartest, most realistic, and most vigilant among them, he couldn't believe she could even discover such a secret?"

"How did you find that thing?"

"In such a completely unfamiliar place, it's impossible for me to calm down and sleep well; I'd feel very uneasy. So, to feel safer, I started exploring everywhere."

Anastasia spread her hands seemingly nonchalantly, but her tone was light and her light blue eyes were full of laughter.

"But it's too dangerous for someone to search for the mechanism alone. Why not ask Julius... Oh right, he needs to keep watch on Shaula."

"Kursh, who exudes a strong sense of security, flashed through Hachiman Hikigaya's mind as he said, 'Don't do this kind of thing alone next time... Did you even go inside to see what was behind that illusionary wall?'"

Anastasia, putting her knowledge to good use, immediately called on someone and nodded in reply, "Alright, I can't be alone, so, would you please accompany me on this adventure, Your Excellency?"

"I'm talking about Crusch. What use are you to me? Besides, what's the point of exploring..." Hachiman Hikigaya immediately refused, but Anastasia, who was all smiles, grabbed his sleeve.

"Just kidding! I've already been behind that wall, it's safe, don't worry."

"Having refuted Hachiman Hikigaya's second reason for refusing, and without giving him time to reiterate his first reason, Anastasia dragged and pushed her chosen prime minister to the wall of the illusion."

"Don't be afraid, I'll go over there first. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

""Hello!""

"I can't let Anastasia go into the unknown alone, so Hachiman Hikigaya had no choice but to crouch down and slip over the fake wall."

"The next moment, a cold wind blew over, and the pitch-black vision when entering the false wall was quickly replaced. What came into view was the view of the sand dunes at night from above, and the night sky illuminated by twinkling stars."

"—This is the balcony, the balcony of the Sage's Tower."

"An unexpected surprise, isn't it? It's not exactly a major discovery, but I think this beautiful scenery should help you relax a bit, right?"

"Standing on the balcony, Anastasia, with her long, beautiful, pale purple hair fluttering in the wind and a sly, fox-like smile on her face, turned around and opened her arms."

"At that moment, Hachiman Hikigaya felt his heart pounding."

His mouth was dry, so he naturally raised his hand to shield his eyes. "...The wind has blown sand over here too. That's dangerous; it'll be bad if it gets in my eyes."

"These incredibly tactless words left Anastasia stunned for several seconds, and she almost lost her temper."

"And these birds, they flew in too?" To cover his embarrassment, Hachiman Hikigaya looked around and saw a flock of white birds fluttering on the balcony.

"These birds are the ones that Ram used to connect with the clairvoyance and break through the spatial distortion to enter the real Sage's Tower area. They were not frightened at all when they saw Anastasia and Hachiman Hikigaya. They were not afraid of people at all and just acted as usual."

Anastasia, her attention diverted, nodded and uttered something terrifying: "We only have enough rations for a month. If we can't conquer the Sage's Tower within a month, slaughtering these birds for food won't be bad."

"It doesn't sound like something a girl would say, but since it's you, it's not surprising at all. I agree with the proposal."

"Ugh, I actually really love cute little animals too, but I feel like you're making me seem more and more heartless in your eyes."

Adopting a pitiful expression, Anastasia looked at Hachiman Hikigaya with teary eyes, her hands covering her slightly flat chest. "My heart is aching, aren't you going to say something to make it up to me?"

Ignoring the sarcastic merchant who was making fun of him, Hachiman Hikigaya walked to the edge of the balcony and gazed at the distant sand dunes.

"At night, enormous monsters still occasionally roam the dunes, sending chills down one's spine. This hellish landscape of monsters contrasts sharply with the brilliant starlight above, making the night sky even more beautiful."

"You should talk to everyone about this balcony tomorrow," Hachiman Hikigaya said softly. "If Merry runs around recklessly, she could just crash right through it and be done for."

"It's true that we want to prevent such a tragedy from happening, but why insist that I be the one to say it?" Anastasia walked to his side, turning her head to look at him with a mischievous grin. "If you were to say it, you'd feel like you're stealing my credit, wouldn't you?"

"Hachiman Hikigaya, with his head held high and not looking at Anastasia, abruptly asked, 'Do you have any clues about the third level of the trial?'"

Anastasia blinked and repeated, "Let's put that aside for now... because you don't want to steal my credit, right?"

"Hachiman Hikigaya, still looking straight ahead, repeated, 'Do you have any clue about the third trial?'"

Anastasia looked at him meaningfully, and almost laughed at his attempt to hide his shyness with serious matters. She rested her chin on her slender hand and smiled.

"When she had made her own prime minister so uncomfortable that he was about to flee, she then switched to business: 'To witness the most glorious moment of the hero annihilated by Xia Wula... such a request is something I have absolutely no idea how to make.'"

"...Yes, me too, the most dazzling moment when I came into contact with the heroes who were destroyed by Shaula... Hmm, hmm?!"

"While pondering this requirement, Hachiman Hikigaya, who was looking up at the night sky, suddenly widened his eyes. The shining stars in the sky suddenly combined with the requirements of the trial, and an answer without any reason suddenly popped into his head."

"—! !"

374. Trials and Costs

"Once the delusion takes root in his mind, it immediately swells to the point where he has no choice but to try it. Shocked, Hachiman Hikigaya turned around and went back to the tower without thinking."

"That expression...does it mean you've found a way to pass the trial?"

"The astute Anastasia immediately saw through it. Instead of stopping Hachiman Hikigaya, she followed closely behind him, and the two of them headed towards the third floor together."

"It's just a baseless guess—don't get your hopes up, it's just wishful thinking on my part."

"Even as he said that, Hachiman Hikigaya's excited tone proved that he himself clearly had high expectations for it."

"Anastasia has managed to calm herself down quite well. Since her prime minister didn't speak with certainty, it means there's a possibility of error. If she had too high expectations, she would inevitably blame the prime minister after failure, and she didn't want that."

"The third floor, even at night, remains a completely white space. Anastasia nervously placed her hand on her prime minister's shoulder."

"Hachiman Hikigaya took a deep breath and touched the black stone tablet like Julius did. The black stone tablet began to multiply, and the request echoed in his mind."

"Let's witness the most glorious moment of the hero annihilated by Shaula."

"In Earth's mythology, there is a story about how the hero Orion became so arrogant that he was killed by Shaula, who was sent by the gods. After Orion died, he turned into a star and rose into the sky, and Shaula also turned into a star because of this achievement."

"And in astronomy, Orion is the name of a constellation with two of the brightest stars, Ragil and Petritchius."

"Aside from the famous Big Dipper, this is almost half of what Hachiman Hikiya had in his vast knowledge of astronomy."

"The reason I know this is because there was a volume in a light novel I read that explained this knowledge. At the time, in order to find out whether it was a star made up by the author or a real star, I specifically went online to look it up."

"When I was searching online, I even saw a star distribution map of the Orion constellation."

"If what I think is true, then these seemingly scattered, multiplying black stone slabs should be—"

"Each black slab should be a star distribution area of ​​the constellation Orion."

"Then the most dazzling moment is the most dazzling star, which means..." Hachiman Hikigaya murmured, scanning his surroundings as he tried to recall the star distribution map of Orion. He walked to the black stone slab symbolizing Ragil.

"Since it matches the constellation chart I remember, then you'd better live up to my expectations, my light novel!"

"Whoosh!"

"When Hachiman Hikigaya's palm touched Rachel, the next second, a dazzling white light filled the entire space, forcing the two of them to close their eyes. When the light disappeared, he and Anastasia opened their eyes."

"What I saw was myself standing in a room that was no longer white all around, but a very normal color, with countless bookshelves standing tall and so high that they were impossible to see."

"Each bookshelf is level with the ceiling, which is beyond visual perception, and must be at least a thousand meters high. The bookshelves are filled with books."

"...The treasure trove of knowledge, the library Pridis, that's how the guard described it, so—"

Anastasia, completely stunned, stared blankly at Hachiman Hikigaya. "So, I passed the trial?"

"It wasn't me, it was us." Hachiman Hikigaya, no less shocked than her, quickly recovered and corrected her, "That half-favor is now cut in half, you know?"

"Just thinking about the atmosphere tomorrow when Emilia and the others wake up and hear that he has solved the trial, and they surround him and keep praising him, makes Hachiman Hikigaya's scalp tingle."

"If we don't give Anastasia a large share of the credit, he'll definitely be dead tomorrow, and he'll even associate it with the constellations. It's true that Anastasia discovered the balcony."

"If Anastasia hadn't invited him to see the night view, even with his astronomical knowledge, how could he have possibly realized that it was the key to passing the trial in this other world?"

"However, since the trial involves Earth astronomical knowledge, it means that the great sage Freugel from four hundred years ago was undoubtedly a time traveler from Earth."

"That's not so unbelievable... Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at Anastasia. This shrewd merchant always spoke with a cute accent that was almost like the Kansai dialect. He had asked her about it before and thought about it. That wasteland gorilla from four hundred years ago was definitely a time traveler as well."

"It can be said that his ability to connect with Earth's astronomical knowledge is partly due to Anastasia's accent, which constantly reminds him, taps into his subconscious, and tells him that he can speculate based on Earth's knowledge."

“I don’t object to you saying it that way, but I’ll tell you the truth.” Anastasia’s eyes sparkled as she happily tugged at his sleeve. “How did you manage that, Prime Minister?”

"Hachiman Hikigaya omitted the mention of Earth, spoke of mythology and constellations, and concluded with the words: 'Do you understand now? You are of paramount importance; this is certainly not solely my achievement.'"

"I'm of utmost importance—yes, I understand, that's fine too."

Anastasia pursed her lips cutely, her slender little hands playing with her hair, the loose purple hair covering her earlobes, which were reddened with a mixture of joy and shyness.