Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Hmm..."

"Your parents... I'm your father's sister, but I'm your surrogate mother. So, I have an even greater responsibility to take good care of you. You can't run off, understand?"

"Yes, Mother Fortuna."

"Good girl." Fortuna knelt down and hugged young Emilia with a happy expression.

"Ugh..."

Almost instantly, Emilia couldn't help but shiver.

She recognized them; she knew them all. In her awakened great forest, those ice statues she used to clean every day were now living, breathing inhabitants appearing on the light screen.

"When everyone... was still safe and sound..."

The disorientation she felt towards the unfamiliar past vanished in an instant. Everyone she knew was there, even her mother Fortuna, whom she barely remembered, now wore the same hair ornament that Fortuna had once worn.

Emilia's heart pounded, and a warm feeling spread through her body. "Everyone... likes me... Mother Fortuna likes me so much... half-elf, witch... no one discriminates against me."

Faintly, fragmented memories gradually broke through the blockage and returned to her mind.

In a village in Roswaal's territory, Ram sneered, her voice filled with disdain: "So this is young Emilia? Hmph. Ram and Rem were much cuter when they were little."

Rem was at her wit's end with her older sister, a helpless expression on her face… Her childhood memories were filled with long-standing inferiority complex, and she simply didn't find Emilia as cute. But, her sister was undeniably adorable!

"A surrogate mother?... It seems her biological parents might already be..."

In the convenience store, Yukino felt genuinely sorry for Emilia. Fortunately, compared to the situation she faced as an adult, being condemned by everyone, at least she seemed quite happy as a child, which offered some solace in comparison.

"Young Emilia..."

"Young, huh? Yes, you are young, but you're already over a hundred years old. I hope you'll face reality."

"Echidna hates Emilia so much that she doesn't miss any opportunity to indirectly insult her, and she's trying to sabotage Hachiman Hikigaya."

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at her, then ignored her, pretending he hadn't heard her.

"I was told not to lie or hide things, but Mom does it herself, ugh... Everyone always goes out to play behind the kids' backs, I really want to go out too..."

Inside the treehouse, Emilia, all alone, muttered to herself in boredom. As she complained, a blue phosphorescent light suddenly appeared in the corner of the room, disappearing into the wall before her very eyes. Emilia was startled, then curiously dug around and discovered that behind it was a hole that led out.

"...I promised not to go out. But Mother Fortuna and the others also kept it from me, so we're even."

"Emilia, making excuses, squeezed through the hole, got all dirty, and then left with a triumphant air. She sneaked off and ran to the vicinity of the square, where she hid and watched the adults gathered there."

"Everyone in the forest, Mother Fortuna, and a group of strangers, um, and..."

"I'm always grateful for your kindness and care."

"You flatter us. It's our regret that we can only offer our support in this way. We always cause Lady Fortuna trouble."

"Same to you, Jude."

"Fortuna was talking intimately with a tall man dressed in a black robe, who was called Jus."

"Jules had short green hair, a gentle voice, a kind expression, and a relatively thin build. His cheeks, his features, his appearance..."

“Pettyius?!”

"Hachiman Hikigaya's expression changed drastically, and he cried out."

154. Jules's Reversal of the Verdict

"Pettyius?!"

At the same time, almost all the audience members in both worlds had their pupils shrink, heard the creaking of sliding chairs, the crashing of things to the ground, their hearts pounding, and their expressions and eyes filled with disbelief.

A bewildering confusion, as immense as a tsunami or a landslide, enveloped everyone, along with doubt, shock, bewilderment, and the most intense hostility.

"It's Petritchus..."

There's no mistake. Although Fortuna called him Jus, how could anyone mistake his voice and appearance? Even twin brothers rarely look that similar.

"According to Emilia's self-introduction, her actual physical age is over a hundred years old. Does that mean Petritchius is also an immortal being?"

“But, although it looks very similar… look at his face, if it weren’t for the fact that they look exactly alike, I really would find it hard to believe that this is Petruccius… could he be Petruccius’s elder?”

Looking at Miura Yumiko and the others discussing, Hayama frowned. He wasn't sure either: "Maybe he's just putting on a good act. Before Roswaal was exposed, we didn't think he had any problems, did we?"

“That’s right!” Iroha Isshiki agreed wholeheartedly. With Roswaal’s example, it was easy to understand. “In other words, Petitschius had already begun to covet Emilia-senpai a hundred years ago… That’s just too tragic!”

This speculation is a common consensus; Petritchius's perversion and horror, as well as his obsession with Emilia, have long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.

“Pettyus approached the place a hundred years ago in order to undergo trials and obtain the gospel. He then gained Emilia’s trust and ambushed and killed everyone except Emilia.”

"If things develop this way, it's only natural that Emilia would burst into tears... But is it really that simple?"

Shirogane Miyuki wasn't sure, so he decided against making a conclusion for the time being.

"wrong."

Crusch initially mistook Jus for Petritchius. However, being someone who wasn't ordinary, she could easily distinguish the difference. "It's not the same feeling... What's going on?"

The history of a hundred years ago, starting with the appearance of Jules, is so captivating that one cannot look away.

"Fortuna, Lady Fortuna?...The Great Forest of Elliot?...No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no—no recollection, no memory, false, illusory, blank, utterly incomprehensible!!"

The witch cultists serving him were instantly crushed by the sudden, invisible hand, twisted and exploded into bloody fragments. Petitchius, clutching his head with both hands and his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, felt a buzzing pain in his head.

Fortuna. This name, this appearance, this voice, and this scene—they constantly assaulted his soul and his memory.

"No, no, no, how could this be, how could this be, how could this be, how could this be, how could this be, how could this be! No, no, no, no, no—I've never been to a place like that… Who is Jules? Who is Jules?… Petitchius Romani-Conti! Ahhhhhh!!"

Stumbling and staggering, Petitchius roared from the shadows, sweeping away the surrounding trees. He looked up at the curtain of light in the sky, an invisible hand reaching out to fly up and tear the scene apart.

Fortuna called him Jules, while others called him Bishop Romanée-Conti.

"The witch cultists, including the great sin bishop Juce, interacted amicably with the half-elves in the forest, and both sides genuinely respected each other."

"Jules Romani-Conti, the man who brought supplies to everyone in the forest, made no attempt to conceal his identity."

"Would the Witch Cult have looked like this a hundred years ago?"

The previous speculation was quickly overturned, and Anastasia and her knight Julius looked at each other in bewilderment.

Aside from knowledgeable elders like Sword Demon who had heard about the past, most people in the entire Kingdom of Lugnica, and in the Flacchia Empire, which had suffered an invasion by the Bishop of Greed and whose warriors, including the Eight Arms of War, had perished, were extremely confused.

"If none of this was an act, then what was it, and what caused it to become like that a hundred years later?"

"Jus and his men would deliver supplies every so often, at very fixed times. Emilia, who discovered this secret, would sneak out on those days to spy on the square, and that's how she learned so much."

"Although there are many things she doesn't understand... For example, why Fortuna's mother, who has always been so affectionate towards her, treats Juss the same way, why she blushes when Juss praises her, and why Fortuna's mother suddenly gets angry when Juss casually remarks that he treats her like a child."

"What guardians? Chia is the next guardian... I don't understand at all."

"The strangest thing is that Juss, who has never seen himself, asked Fortuna's mother about his safety and well-being."

"The strangest thing is, what exactly is a seal?"

"Eh, shall you take me to see it? 'The seal'... This way, perhaps? I understand, Mr. Fairy!"

"It was a huge, unyielding gate, locked, surrounded by frost that would never melt, standing out starkly from the normal forest."

Young Emilia saw the seal, satisfied her curiosity, and happily ran back.

Seeing this, Emilia, whose heart was pounding with tension, felt somewhat relieved.

This was something you shouldn't touch, but as a child, I didn't understand anything.

Emilia gave a wry smile. Before this, she really hadn't expected that she had been so naughty and willful as a child, and she always felt a little embarrassed... But to be able to see these things with her own eyes was really great.

Driven by her curiosity to examine the seal, Emilia miscalculated her timing today. In a panic, she ran halfway before suddenly disappearing into the bushes. She heard footsteps; someone was nearby.

"Oh my? Whose cute little bottom is this?"

"It's Jules' voice."

"As a prisoner, I demand fair treatment." Having been caught playing around, Emilia, trembling with fear, had no choice but to crawl out.

"Jus, who was speaking in a gentle tone and teasing the child, suddenly froze when he saw Emilia's face."

"Little girl, you...no, you wouldn't be..."

"His voice trembled, as if he had seen an incredible sight and shook his head, like a lost child finding a relative, or a traveler who had been walking in the dark finding the light, with fear and anticipation intertwined."

Emilia tilted her head slightly and said softly, "Jules, are you alright?"

"—!? Oh, uh, umm, ahhhhh…!"

"Her concern completely broke Jules in an instant."

"It's okay, it's okay, really it's okay... yes, there's nothing wrong. Because I... I just, just now, was saved... I received an unprecedented salvation, ahh..."

Tears streamed down his face, his back trembled, and Juss knelt down, bending over so that his gaze was level with that of young Emilia. Juss sobbed, his eyes shining with the most brilliant light.

155. Beating Echidna

"what?"

Priscilla was stunned. She was increasingly confused about the relationship between Jus and Emilia.

Not only her, but when she thought about the grudges and affections a hundred years later, and then looked at the situation a hundred years ago, Romani-Conti treated Emilia Adams like the most radiant sun in the world, with the fanaticism of a believer looking at his worshipped faith, it was hard not to be shocked and feel a strange sense of confusion.

On the main street of the capital, Emilia pursed her lips, feeling uneasy, her heart skipped a beat.

“Parker, Jules, Jules…”

Parker, embarrassed by his daughter's pleading gaze, didn't dare answer. He knew Joss, who had once been invited by Echidna to be Betty's tutor, but the current situation... Romanée-Conti, now under a different name, had undeniably caused Hachiman Hikigaya's downfall, and more than once.

If Jules is truly a good person, a good person who was once so close to Emilia, then Emilia, as the middleman, faces immense pressure and agonizing choices regarding how to treat Romanée-Conti in the future.

"Tsk tsk, look at her, so young and already knows how to seduce men, oh my, the real deal, the real deal, mmm." Echidna pinched her nose in disgust. Even though young Emilia was perfectly innocent, she just had to slander her. She was certain that Hachiman Hikigaya wouldn't do anything to her now, after all, that's the kind of person Hachiman Hikigaya is.

"Of course, if he really can't stand it and berates Echidna, then Echidna will certainly be so happy that she'll pick up her skirt and twirl around... After all, this is one of the novel possibilities, which is quite interesting."

"Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at the old woman and said nothing. He neither defended Emilia nor angrily berated Echidna. He appeared to be ignoring her, but in reality... his contempt for Echidna's age was written all over his face."

"The price was that he was not allowed to mock Echidna's age, but physical expressions were not prohibited."

Hachiman Hikigaya shrugged, looking at the younger version of Emilia comforting Jus, and smiled. "Emilia was so cute as a child, and she's still beautiful now. Well, you could say she's grown up, though, since she looks about eighteen now, both cute and pretty."

He praised sincerely, "Fortuna... Madam, Emilia has been so lovely and kind since she was little, and it's largely thanks to her. Unlike some people, she's truly a wonderful mother."

"Crunch, crunch..."