Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

One question is, how important is the library of the Tower of Sages? If it is destroyed, where will the Book of the Dead be stored when people in this world die?

Polkenica's answer was that if it's gone, it's gone. In that case, the Book of the Dead would return to the center of the world, Od—in fact, that's where the Book of the Dead should have been. It's abnormal that it was intercepted by Freuger.

This solidified Hachiman Hikigaya's resolve to burn down the library.

Because of future leaks, the methods to enter the Sage's Tower Library have become so commonplace that they're commonplace. Now that Rui is dead, all sorts of people will definitely want to come and browse the books in the future.

It's not uncommon for people to pry into the lives of the dead and comment on their privacy, and Hachiman Hikigaya finds this extremely objectionable.

Reinhard couldn't just stay here and guard it. Polkenica had also said that since Reid, Echidna, and Chaura were all going to the Kingdom of Lugunica, it would go too, and it didn't want to continue sleeping here all alone.

In that case, it would be best to burn down the library to cut off the way the dead could be spied on.

The second question is what Hachiman Hikigaya wants to know: what exactly is his relationship with Flügel?

Polkenica responded that there was no need to overthink it; he and Freugel were two different people, only he possessed the qualities to become a new sage.

The reason why Shaula mistook him for Flügel is because both he and Flügel are sages, and both have Satella's attention and scent on them.

Furthermore, Hachiman Hikigaya did indeed have interactions with Flügel. The large tree outside the capital and the Sage's Tower were both left by Flügel for the new sages.

On the surface, Xia Wula showed no reaction to this explanation and continued to be close to the master she had chosen.

As for why Satella fell in love with Hachiman Hikigaya, even Polkenica couldn't answer that question... Maybe it was fate, maybe it was love at first sight, maybe it was something else, but the reason doesn't matter. What matters is that Satella truly loved him deeply.

Hachiman Hikigaya sighed, "I can't bear this inexplicable love."

Specifically, he'll have to break the seal on Satella himself to find out. But that will have to wait until he develops the power of illusion and creates an effect that can restrict Satella's movements and reseal her.

Otherwise, even if Reinhard, together with Reid and Shenlong, could defeat Satella after she was released, the world might not be completely unharmed.

After burning the library to the ground, the group rode on Polkenica's back and returned to the capital.

Meanwhile, Roswaal has won Emilia's forgiveness and is running towards a bright future.

Of course, despite his righteous indignation, he would never dare to appear before the general public or people like Priscilla and Crusch.

In stark contrast to him, Beatrice and Garfield were the center of attention as soon as they entered the capital, receiving the treatment of superstars, like idols of the 'Watergate City', and were loved and adored by many.

It wasn't until Polkenica arrived and announced that she would be staying in the capital temporarily that people flocked to watch the dragon with fervor, allowing Beatrice and Garfield to finally escape the crowd of enthusiastic fans and breathe a sigh of relief.

Hachiman Hikigaya conveyed to Phyllis, Julius, Beatrice, and Al that he felt ashamed to face Emilia and the others regarding his actions after leaving the capital and the resulting consequences.

嗏

Despite all efforts to hide, he still couldn't escape it.

That was the day after Hachiman Hikigaya returned to the capital.

On the first day, he had a long talk with Garfield, Julius, Beatrice, and Chaura. They felt like they had known each other for ages and spent the whole day together, almost falling asleep side by side.

So much so that he felt a little groggy when he woke up the next day.

Noticing his condition, someone poured him a glass of water, which Hachiman Hikigaya drank in one gulp and felt much better. He guessed that the person who had entered his room without permission was either Beatrice or Chaura.

I was just about to say thank you when I glanced over and was startled.

"Stop looking at me like I'm from Warcraft. I'm not that ugly, am I?"

Anastasia feigned a wronged girlish demeanor, placing her left hand on her chest and sighing, "Or is it that my occasional appearances before you after the Prime Minister has decided to distance himself from us are so repulsive and offensive to you?"

Feeling slighted by these words, Hachiman Hikigaya, though knowing she didn't mean it that way, couldn't bear to see her so aggrieved, and could only say, "...You know it's impossible for me to hate you."

Let alone disgust and aversion?

Before the unscrupulous merchant could excitedly give chase, Hachiman Hikigaya, his face beginning to flush, changed the subject: "How did you get in? I should have told Garfield not to let you in if you came to visit."

"Well, this is a hole that the Prime Minister dug for himself, isn't it?" Anastasia smiled, her still-childish face showing a hint of innocence, and pointed to the chair next to her.

A brand new cognitive impairment cape was placed on the chair.

The meaning is self-evident: Roswaal agreed to Anastasia and the others' request and made this thing in order to gain more people's understanding.

But even if the Disability Cognition Cloak was made, it should have been given to Emilia or Rem, not her.

Seeing the obvious doubt on her prime minister's face, Anastasia puffed out her chest cutely and said proudly, "Actually, it's all thanks to my eloquence honed from being a businessman since childhood, otherwise I really wouldn't have had the chance to snatch this opportunity."

"Although Miss Crusch and the others were quite unwilling, they had to admit that it was still safest to leave it to us."

"Eloquence? What does that mean..." Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly understood. "You've teamed up, and you're representing everyone to persuade me?"

"Miss Priscilla isn't here. That's a lone wolf over there; there's no reasoning with him."

Anastasia waved her hand and tilted her head. "So, what do you say? Would the Prime Minister like to have a chat with me?"

"You've been in here for a while now, and you're still asking this?"

"As I said before, we all respect the Prime Minister's own wishes, right? Liking someone isn't that selfish. Even if I used some tricks, I don't intend to break this principle."

These words, sharp and veiled insinuations, left Hachiman Hikigaya feeling both ashamed and moved.

"...They really think you're the best person to come, Anastasia. No one else has the ability to do this."

Anastasia smiled and didn't respond, deciding to stop while she was ahead.

She took back her prime minister's cup, poured in warm water, and drank it all in one gulp.

429. The Unsolvable Priscilla

Hachiman Hikigaya sighed, feeling a sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of his time in the capital before the White Whale, when he and Anastasia were rivals, each employing their own methods in their confrontation.

"Please speak your mind; I'm all ears."

Anastasia was not going to be polite; persuading her prime minister to change his mind would be no easy task, and she would have to do everything in her power.

As her opening statement, she used a seemingly alarmist statement: "Whether Miss Yukinoshita will die young now depends on the Prime Minister's decision."

Hachiman Hikigaya didn't think this shrewd businessman would spout such empty boasts, so he didn't interrupt her and gave her a serious "go on" look.

"I've heard about the dragon's previous muddled state, but over the past few decades, the Dragon Chronicle Stone has given many revelations and prophecies. It seems that the dragon's state won't affect it. And it's said that it has never made a mistake."

After laying the groundwork for reliability with a series of arguments, Anastasia finally pointed out the most important key: "The latest revelation that has emerged in the past few days is that this world is about to merge with the other side."

"That's... Earth!?"

At this moment, Hachiman Hikigaya finally understood why the two worlds were inexplicably playing the future simultaneously. Undoubtedly, this was a harbinger of world merging.

In other words, even if he hadn't traveled through time, it wouldn't have changed the fact that he would have encountered Emilia and the others. But now, there's something even more important than that.

"The Dragon Calendar Stone says that the fusion of the world will not cause any natural disasters or anomalies, so there is no need to worry, right? -- But that is only in terms of official matters. In terms of private matters, the Prime Minister is certainly very worried."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent, fully aware of Anastasia's implied meaning.

He had previously chosen to escape, to leave this world to fulfill his promise to Yukinoshita. On one hand, he wanted to be a person who kept his promises, and on the other hand, the circumstances at the time allowed him to do so.

But things are different now. Global integration means that people on this side can contact people on the other side of the world.

In other words, Yukino Yukinoshita no longer has the safety shackles.

"The self-centered Miss Priscilla will definitely take action, followed by Mimi, Phyllis, Garfield, and others. Regardless of their inclinations, they all dislike Miss Yukinoshita."

"I've seen Yukinoshita's temper too; she's not the type to back down. I bet she'll easily provoke Mimi and the others' dissatisfaction. At that point, it'll probably escalate into endless arguments and mutual hostility, right?"

Anastasia had no intention of using this to blackmail or take advantage of someone's misfortune; she was simply stating the facts. The future she described was one that Hachiman Hikigaya, who had also foreseen it, could hardly refute.

“I will keep Mimi and Rigado in check, so there’s no need to worry. But no matter how obedient Phyllis and Garfield are, they are both stubborn people with their own opinions. Sooner or later they will reach that point with Miss Yukinoshita.”

"As for Miss Priscilla..."

Anastasia paused for a moment, then gave a sly, fox-like smile, feeling a slight sense of gratitude towards that incredibly arrogant princess.

It is precisely because of Priscilla's existence that Yukinoshita's life safety and mental and physical health are seriously shaken. Based on this, her own prime minister has the possibility of giving up his exclusive love for Yukinoshita.

Hachiman Hikigaya's expression was not good. He muttered to himself, "Priscilla will keep a close eye on Yukinoshita until she thinks she has punished her enough... Until then, she will use her good fortune to seize any opportunity to punish Yukinoshita."

He understood Priscilla far better than Anastasia.

With the world merging, Reinhard has too many things to do and can't afford to waste time protecting Yukinoshita; he has gained so much power from Hachiman Hikigaya that he can certainly defeat Priscilla, but he can't stay with Yukinoshita forever.

Even though Beatrice and Chaura were ordered by him to protect Yukinoshita when he was away, and they were strong enough to defeat Priscilla, they couldn't defend against Priscilla's sudden attack on Yukinoshita when she was under the influence of her good fortune.

If he were as ruthless as Hachiman Hikigaya and killed Priscilla outright, or kept her injured until her legs were broken and she couldn't walk, preventing her from harassing Yukinoshita, then there would be nothing to worry about.

…but he would never do that.

The reason is simple: Priscilla won't kill Yukinoshita.

Selfish, self-centered, willful, and arrogant—besides these traits, Priscilla is also an extremely intelligent woman. She knows very well that once Yukinoshita is killed, Hachiman Hikigaya will definitely turn against her.

So she would scold Yukinoshita, occasionally kick her in the stomach, or splash her with swamp mud, cut off her long hair, and at worst, beat her until she was injured, but never seriously.

— Beat them until they are injured, then immediately treat them until they are completely healed, but while treating them, you must also insult Yukinoshita as a shameless and undignified bitch, and keep cursing her.

Yes.

Hachiman Hikigaya could easily imagine what Priscilla would do.

That guy is just like Anastasia; he's inherently very intelligent, but she's always too lazy to use that wisdom. However, when it comes to dealing with Yukino, she will definitely use her wisdom to do it just right.

She could make Hachiman Hikigaya angry, but not so angry that he would want to kill her or break her bones repeatedly.

Priscilla is such a wicked woman... but Hachiman Hikigaya has to admit that he really doesn't have a good way to deal with this cunning and resourceful guy.

When he was bullied by Yukina, he would naturally go and settle the score with Priscilla, getting his revenge on her.

But what good is that? As long as he doesn't have the heart to kill Priscilla, things will just continue to develop in the chain of... him bullying Priscilla, Priscilla bullying Yukinoshita...

Priscilla was certainly not happy, but she would not stop insulting Yukinoshita, even if it meant she would suffer more retribution from Hachiman Hikigaya.

Stubbornness is one of this woman's major traits.

In the end, life under the snow was simply unbearable.

This didn't have a negative impact on Hachiman Hikigaya himself; on the contrary, it gave him a legitimate excuse to take revenge on Priscilla, which could be said to be very beneficial to him... if he didn't care about Yukinoshita's feelings.

Hachiman Hikigaya looked towards Anastasia.

"So... you're planning to use this to convince me?"

430. Snow is just an excuse.

"If I did that, I would look down on myself."

Anastasia shook her head slightly. "That would be too stupid, and it doesn't suit my style... Although I'm known as a shrewd businessman, I value personal relationships more than actual profits."