Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"I don't love you... I don't want to love you, but I'm grateful, truly grateful." The time he could linger dwindled, his words flying. "You brought me into this world, and because of you, I was able to meet Rem, Emilia, Reinhard, Julius, Otto, Crusch, and so many other worthy companions... So, I won't grant your request, your plea, but I will fulfill it, fulfill the part I can fulfill, the part I'm willing to fulfill."

"Satella... hiss... cough cough... if you ever regain your senses, I want to talk to you! I hope you'll come to me! I have so many questions, countless questions that only you can answer, Satella!!"

"I love you... so..."

"At the very end, Satella, who had finally re-entered the game, murmured something that seemed to say something other than 'I love you,' but her voice was drowned out by Echidna's suddenly louder voice, 'Just a heads-up, your second trial isn't completely finished yet~'"

"I left the witches' tea party in a daze."

"What could have been a huge point of conflict, which might have slightly altered the course of events, ended with such a hasty conclusion. No one could have predicted that this would happen."

Back in reality, Hachiman Hikigaya frowned. He couldn't think of anything missing in the second trial. He had indeed experienced all the possible consequences of each death.

Before he could speculate further, and before he could recover from the aftereffects of staring directly at the witches, familiar ripples began to spread again, pulling his soul into a completely new world.

"Take a good look at this non-existent present..."

"Hey? Hey! You lazybones, how can you sleep so much? I'm telling you, even if you've helped me a lot, with this kind of sleep schedule, you can't survive in the slums. Hmph, thinking about it, it's all thanks to my identity. Although I used to be quite resistant, but—hey! I've said so much and you're still not awake? You didn't even listen to me? That's too much, you lazybones, go to hell!"

"...Who is it?"

"I could feel someone gently shaking my shoulder. It felt like I had been asleep for a long time and my body was feeling uncomfortable from over-rest. I tried my best to overcome this half-hearted feeling of drowsiness and fatigue. I opened my eyes slightly."

"Did I oversleep? I'm so sorry, this is terrible, have I been drinking? I'll get up right away, sorry, little one—who is this?!"

"Bright sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the spacious bedroom. Hachiman Hikigaya, who was slapping his cheeks, was startled the moment he regained consciousness. His raised voice also startled the person next to the bed."

"Are you an idiot? Are you still half asleep? You actually asked me who I am?"

"Dressed in an exquisite princess gown, adorning her phoenix-like, incomparably noble yet still frail figure, Felt stood by the bed with her hands on her hips, looking at the bedside with an expression of close displeasure."

190. Ferute's Route: Stepbrother and Stepsister

"Gah—"

Before she could recover from the tea party where the seven witches had gathered, Felt's excited emotions shifted in an instant. Her small eyes were filled with great confusion, and she stared in disbelief, letting out a duck-like quack.

"Is this me...?"

Ferut, staring wide-eyed, scratched his head, completely baffled.

"How could it be me? What does it have to do with me? Ah... I admit I think he's a nice guy, and it would be nice to be friends with him, but apart from the beginning in the slums, we haven't really crossed paths at all, have we? Of the five candidates, I'm the one who has the least connection with him, isn't that Priscilla and I?"

She looked at Reinhard, but Reinhard was speechless for a moment, unable to understand why Lady Felt would appear in Hachiman Hikigaya's trial.

When Felt appeared during the trial, not only she, but people from both worlds were full of questions.

"I'm used to it."

Hayato Hayama gave a helpless, sunny smile. "After all, how many times have we encountered situations that would leave even someone with a god-like perspective completely baffled? Too many."

"It's fortunate that the main perspective is Hachiman, because he always unravels one mystery after another. Otherwise, if it were someone dumber, or someone who gave up halfway and skipped those mysteries, it would really leave people itching for more and with unknown regrets for a lifetime."

When he said that, the students in the karaoke room suddenly realized that it was true. It would be sad to think that so many mysteries had not been solved... Especially the lively Iroha Isshiki, she even felt that she understood Echidna a little.

However, Echidna is already a thing of the past; what's important now is Felt.

"Ferutte?"

"Hachiman Hikigaya, who was lying down, sat up on the bed with his hand on his hip. He frowned and looked at Felt, who was standing with her hands on her hips. He felt that something was wrong, but when he shook his head, everything seemed normal."

"Yeah, it's me~" Felt made a face, then patted Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder hard, chuckling, "Having the Emperor, who's about to die, personally give you a wake-up service? If it were anyone else, I'd definitely kick their head off!"

"Despite receiving so much etiquette training, you still speak with this tone. You really don't resemble the last remaining princess of royal blood at all."

"Tch, so what? I'm just a kid from the slums anyway. I don't agree with that bastard Reinhard's assumptions. My family is just you and Grandpa Rom, maybe with Grandpa and Grandma at most."

Listening to her nonsensical rambling, something seemed to be disturbing Hachiman Hikigaya's mind, something hidden deeper and deeper. His deep affection for Felt filled his heart, and he couldn't help but nod: "Yes, you're my only family now."

"What is this? How did he become my family? Hey, although I don't mind being close to him, calling him family is too arbitrary, isn't it? How can he be compared to Grandpa Rom? That's ridiculous!"

Felt stumbled back three steps, her mind a jumble of thoughts. But Reinhardt's eyes suddenly sharpened as he noticed a detail. He pointed and said, "Look, Lady Felt, that's the future of the future."

"Huh?" Felt was stunned for a moment, and then looked over and noticed that the height and appearance of that 'self' were much larger than her current self, at least four or five years later, only her chest was still so flat.

"So, Echidna let him experience the future ahead of time?"

“I’m afraid not. I have a guess, but…” Reinhard shook his head, unsure.

"With a sigh, Hachiman Hikigaya got up and went to draw back the curtains. His residence was the mansion of Astrea in the world of Sword Saints, and the scenery here was already very familiar to him."

“Take a few more looks, Felt. You’re moving in a few days after you die.”

"Take a few more glances? Hmph, what's so interesting? I've wanted to move out of this lousy place for ages." Felt crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hachiman Hikigaya was speechless, shaking his head helplessly. 'You're still holding a grudge against Reinhard for knocking you unconscious and forcing you to participate in the Kingdom's King's Contest, aren't you?'"

“How could I forget? Besides, it wasn’t really holding a grudge, I was just very unhappy! And besides, brother, you treated him the same way—” At this point, Felt stopped herself in time, even though she knew she had misspoke.

"Hachiman Hikigaya was stunned for a moment, then felt a headache coming on. He covered his head and his face turned ashen."

"Although Felt is already an adult, she still seemed at a loss, and could only awkwardly shove Hachiman Hikigaya to interrupt his distress, saying loudly, 'Alright, alright, it's not good to waste any more time! Hurry up and change your clothes, we should go have breakfast.'"

"Change your clothes..." Hachiman Hikigaya, whose attention had been diverted, subconsciously lifted his shirt to take off his pajamas, then noticed that Felt didn't seem to be leaving, so he gestured towards her with his lip.

"What's the big deal? You've seen me wandering around the bedroom in just my underwear before, and I let you see whatever I want. What are you shy about, you're a grown man? And you call yourself the older brother."

"She boldly stared at Hachiman Hikigaya's body, which was not covered by his clothes, and feasted her eyes on it before running away like a gust of wind, laughing heartily like a spoiled brat."

"Huh? Huh? So Felt is Hachiman's sister? No way?!"

On the main street of the capital, Emilia covered her mouth in astonishment.

“No, Leah, that should be a ‘brother’ in a spiritual sense, hmm… But this development is really strange, it’s a completely unexpected path. What could possibly make her jump up and become closer to him than you and that little maid? There shouldn’t be such a reason, no, wait…”

Parker suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock and lingering fear.

"If, if..."

""call……""

"Leaving his bedroom and stepping into the hallway, Felt let out a long sigh of relief. Although it was five years ago, that day was the beginning of everything, and she would never forget it. Thinking about it now, it still makes her feel really scared."

"If... if Emilia hadn't been killed by the Bowel Hunter, things might have been completely different."

191. Felt's Route: Reinhard's Sins

"Ferut remembers it very clearly."

"That day, I was hired to steal the qualification badge of the half-elf Emilia. While tracking her, Emilia encountered Hachiman Hikigaya who was in trouble and helped him. Then, the grateful guy easily helped me gather information about her. The two of them broke into the slums and fought against Rom and myself."

"I was about to surrender when, just when I and Rom were being overwhelmed by Emilia and had to take her hostage, the Bowel Hunter suddenly appeared and ambushed and killed Emilia."

"If Reinhard hadn't arrived in time, Rom, me, and that guy might all have been killed..."

Felt murmured, her eyes lowering sadly.

boom--

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is... So it's this 'non-existent present'."

Crusch clenched her fist, unable to contain her emotions. "Because of a deviation at a certain point in the past, a completely different path was born. As for Echidna, who possesses the Book of Wisdom, she is someone who can see the world and the future and control destiny. She knows everyone clearly. Therefore, the future that evolved can also be said to be what it would be like now if that point had deviated."

"The reason Lord Hachiman followed Felt was because Emilia was killed by the Bowel Hunter, but the Sword Saint arrived earlier than in the main storyline and saved the rest, and then—"

“Hachiman may have lived for a very long time before he began to die for the first time, missing the time to save Ria. In that case, it’s all in vain.”

Parker's face suddenly darkened, and it gritted its teeth. It knew it was a master of civil war who was a liability, but it never imagined that Reinhard, the knight among knights, would unintentionally become a master of civil war!

"Reinhard!!"

“This ‘now’…” Emilia opened her mouth.

She didn't blame Reinhard, but... just thinking about this 'now' was hard to accept. No, she absolutely didn't want to accept it!

However, according to Echidna, this trial may not just be a trial; it could very well be a reality, and it has the potential to become a fact in this world.

"Emilia is so unlucky..."

Ram muttered to herself, calculating carefully. No matter what, Emilia's fate was terrible. "But if she dies, that would be a good thing. Wait—?!"

Then Hachiman Hikigaya wouldn't have encountered Rem, right? Emilia died too young! Her death was utterly pointless!

Sharing a common hatred, Ram and Rem stared intently at the woman who had stolen Hachiman Hikigaya.

"..."

Felt, who was eating fruit from the Astrea manor to calm her nerves, stared in disbelief. The apple in her mouth fell to the ground. She blinked and looked at Reinhard in bewilderment.

"An unexpected path..."

Felt was completely shocked. Reinhard, on the other hand, thought of the many lives he had failed to save in the future of the main story and let out a soft sigh.

""Lord Felt. ""

A gentle voice came from behind. Felt, who was muttering to herself, turned around and saw Reinhard with a bitter expression on her face.

"I know it's a sin I can't escape... However, please allow me, a sinner, to make this request—my only request in my life—at least... please mention it less often. Otherwise, I truly don't know how to face him."

"Sin?" Ferut curled her lip. "I don't think so."

“Reinhard, what’s there to be bitter about, you kind old man? If anyone should be bitter, it’s me… All these years, every time I think back, I’ve always been grateful, grateful that you only appeared after she died.”

"If Emilia hadn't died back then, and if you had saved her too, given how much that guy liked me and Emilia at the time, he probably would have followed her in death."

"I'm a thief. I stole Emilia's badge, I stole her life, and finally I stole the guy she first met... But I'm happy about it."

"Felt and Reinhard's expressions were completely opposite."

"Felt's selfish remarks made Reinhard lower his head even more, his eyes filled with regret and helplessness."

"...Please don't say such things anymore, Lady Felt."

"Reinhard, heartbroken, remained silent for a long while before uttering what he considered to be very disrespectful words. At the same time, a series of footsteps approached from afar."

Felt and Reinhard turned their heads and saw Hachiman Hikigaya, who had already changed his clothes.

"Felt, and... Reinhard, are you here too?"

""…yes.""

"The atmosphere between the two men was strange. Hachiman Hikigaya clearly wanted to treat Reinhard gently, but whenever he saw Reinhard, he couldn't help but feel some special emotions, a mixture of regret and barely perceptible resentment."