Anastasia's Inevitable Downfall
「Anastasia felt that everything had to be traced back to a year ago.」
「Back then, she had frequently felt puzzled. What on earth did Hikigaya Hachiman mean by intermittently sending her so many business plans—each equivalent to a priceless treasure—for free? She had asked him in every single letter she wrote.」
「If the Emilia camp had used those plans themselves, they could have developed a major trading firm comparable to the Hoshin Trading Company. To give them away to her for nothing, without any ulterior motive—there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.」
「Although Hikigaya Hachiman wrote back saying it was payment for the various pieces of intelligence he requested from her, that was clearly a load of nonsense; the value of that intelligence was nowhere near that high.」
「But she couldn't help it. Those business plans were simply too tempting. Even knowing there might be a pit of fire ahead, Anastasia truly couldn't bring herself to refuse them.」
「Owing such a massive favor kept her on edge. Occasionally, she would toss and turn at night, unable to sleep, wondering when Hikigaya Hachiman would present his demands and conditions. If they were too difficult, she would just have to be thick-skinned and refuse—」
「Until today, those demands and conditions were finally revealed!」
「'He doesn't want intelligence, he doesn't want wealth, he doesn't want metia... the reward he wants is simply me!'」
「'The business plans were the bait, a display of his own talent to let me know how much I would benefit by marrying him; Mimi is the added weight—if I marry him, Garfiel will naturally join my camp along with him.'」
「'But Mimi was likely an accident... It's because he saw that Mimi likes Garfiel that he bared his fangs so quickly, giving me such a blunt hint.'」
「She understood. Anastasia understood everything now.」
「'If I agree to his proposal, the Emilia camp is effectively finished, which is also a benefit; if I refuse, given his character, he would absolutely never use the favor of the business plans to force me...'」
「In the room that Hikigaya Hachiman and Emilia had long since vacated, Anastasia let out a long, chaotic sigh.」
「Of course, she didn't hate Hikigaya Hachiman. She had admired him back in the Royal Selection hall. Although the triple alliance he orchestrated had made her lose face, it also allowed her to know him better, marking the start of their intersection.」
「Through a year of correspondence and her growing understanding of Hikigaya Hachiman, there was naturally some affection.」
「But talking about romance or even marriage was another matter entirely—that was the most important transaction of a lifetime, a one-shot deal.」
「"I have no intention of giving myself away just for profit!"」
「And why her? If there was Emilia to choose from, a normal person wouldn't want someone with a figure as meager as hers, right? Although she had business talent as added value, Hikigaya Hachiman's business talent was clearly superior to her own.」
「"To give me such a difficult problem... what is he trying to do?"」
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"Pwahahaha!"
In the Classic Literature Club, watching Anastasia battle wits with herself—even fantasizing and deducing a non-existent "fact" from scratch—Mayaka Ibara and Satoshi Fukube were first stunned, then couldn't help but burst into rib-aching laughter.
"I can't... I really can't, hahaha..." Mayaka laughed until tears came to her eyes. "No wonder Hachiman said Anastasia is cute. She really is incredibly cute. This way of creating something out of nothing and then being so certain about it is just too precious."
"Still, her imagination is a bit too wild, isn't it?"
"It's not an unreasonable leap," Houtarou Oreki shook his head. "From Anastasia's perspective, these associations are quite logical. Every bit of her reasoning is consistent.
Most importantly, Hachiman does like her. The way he looks at her, his attitude toward her, that unconscious closeness and tenderness—these are the primary reasons Anastasia reached her conclusion.
In a sense, Anastasia's guess is correct.
At the same time, there is a major blind spot here: Anastasia doesn't believe someone would be conflicted between a lively, master-status Emilia and a comatose, servant-status Rem.
A perfectly correct discovery coupled with a perfectly incorrect premise has resulted in her current, dead-certain anxiety."
Houtarou's well-reasoned deduction caused the other three to calm down. After thinking it over carefully, they realized he was right.
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"Mm-hm, yes, exactly! That's it! My Prime Minister is laying a trap, plotting a conspiracy; he's been meticulously calculating to marry me."
At the Hoshin Trading Company, Anastasia clapped her hands. From the moment her future self began her deduction, the smile spreading across her lips became more and more unrestrained along with the applause.
She had originally thought that her "canon" self in the future stood no chance; after all, her Prime Minister was that kind of man. At first, he might feel a flutter of emotion from seeing her again, but he would absolutely never make a move on her.
Because he already had Emilia.
However, it was one thing for the Prime Minister not to take the initiative; it was quite another if she did.
"What a turn of events. To think of such a wonderful, logical guess to tie myself to my Prime Minister—I'm great, aren't I?"
"Oh! Young Lady is the greatest!" Mimi was indeed the world's number one Anastasia fan!
Beside them, Julius hesitated. After a moment, he decided to speak up, offering a "preventative shot" to avoid Anastasia being crushed by disappointment later. "Um, if your future self ultimately decides to refuse, then..."
His body was tensed, prepared to be scolded after throwing cold water on her.
Anastasia just smiled, resting her chin on her hand, and asked: "Why do you think the current me, and the me in that timeline, would fall for the Prime Minister?"
"That..." Many answers surfaced in Julius's mind, only to be rejected one by one. Finally, his body gave a sudden jolt.
"Seems you understand now?" Anastasia wore a smile of effortless confidence. She looked entirely adorable, and her unique accent was pleasant to the ear.
"Whether it's me or the me in various timelines, we are all attracted to the Prime Minister after getting to know him deeply.
It was never because of some special event or specific influence that I fell for him.
My Prime Minister is, in himself, the very person I would like!
The reason the future me hasn't fallen for him yet is simply that she hasn't had enough interaction. Now that the spark is there... well."
Julius held his breath. "Well?"
"There's no need to wonder if she'll refuse. I only need to guess how many days it will take for the future me to be captured by the Prime Minister."
With a tone of absolute certainty, Anastasia was completely at ease without a shred of worry. If you were to ask why...
"Because I simply, deeply like—deeply love—my Prime Minister!"
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