Displeased Ayanokouji Kiyotaka
"Re-Re-Re-Re-Re-Reinhard—!?"
An uproar, a clamor, a world-shaking sound echoed through both worlds simultaneously.
Everyone stood dumbfounded, gazing at the man who radiated strength and a sense of security like the sun itself. All the unease and redirected anger previously generated by the sight of Regulus vanished into thin air in an instant.
"The peak of intelligence, Hikigaya, plus the peak of martial power, Reinhard—how can he be stopped? I ask you, how is Regulus supposed to stop this? It's simply invincible. To think this dream-like lineup would actually gather in reality one day, hahahaha!"
Kousaka Kyousuke was ecstatic, Shirogane Miyuki slammed the table as he stood up, Oreki Houtarou subconsciously clenched his fist, and Hayama Hayato at the KTV cheered and jumped for joy.
The pressure brought by Regulus dissipated entirely; rather, they felt incredibly fortunate that Regulus happened to be in Pristella right now.
"Delivering yourself to the doorstep, Regulus—your death won't be in vain, not in vain at all, hahaha!"
The overjoyed public even hoped that the Archbishop of Gluttony was also in Pristella. With Hikigaya Hachiman and Reinhard joining forces, no one felt that two Sin Archbishops would be enough to stand against them.
Emilia, who had been on edge, though still somewhat self-reproachful, finally showed a look of relief.
"This is the first time we've ever fought such a 'rich' battle." In the convenience store, Hikigaya Hachiman, having shed the heavy pressure, counted them up. With the combat power of the four camps combined, let alone two Sin Archbishops, it was enough to fight three.
In the Sword Saint's estate, Felt's eyes drifted awkwardly from side to side... With the four camps gathered in Pristella, anyone with a brain could see it was definitely Anastasia who had invited them.
In other words, far from creating a crisis for Hikigaya Hachiman, Anastasia had unintentionally handed him the perfect opportunity to resolve a hidden threat.
In that case, the words she just spoke out of anger toward Anastasia were quite embarrassing!
Felt stuttered for a while, directly deleted the memory of blaming Anastasia, put on an air of nonchalance, and patted Reinhard's shoulder like an old-timer. "Not bad, kid. You've finally come in handy."
Reinhard stared blankly at the version of himself appearing in Pristella. His emotions and joy—the feeling of finally being able to help in time—swept through his body like a tidal wave.
"Reinhard is here!"
Liliana slapped Kiritaka several times in a row but couldn't wake him. She took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs; only then did this joyous news make Kiritaka shudder and wake up, finally brave enough to face the fact that Regulus had descended upon Pristella.
Compared to the future where Regulus and Reinhard might clash, the fact that Felt had recruited the trio of thugs from the royal capital was a trivial matter. Few people cared, and no one changed their opinion of the thugs because of it.
"Heh..."
At Advanced Nurturing High School, watching the excitement and fervor of his classmates, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka shook his head in disappointment.
He understood. The whole world was cheering right now, not because they thought only Reinhard could solve Regulus, but because with Reinhard there, Hikigaya Hachiman would at least die a few fewer times.
Having watched Hikigaya Hachiman for so long, these people had developed a very high level of affection for him and did not want to see him suffer any more tragedies.
"Too shallow." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka snorted. His favorability toward Hikigaya Hachiman was higher than anyone else's, and for that very reason, he wanted to see Hikigaya Hachiman die a few more times.
Rather than the crushing battle power of Reinhard, he wanted to see the rival he acknowledged struggle with all his might in the face of despair, bringing him more interest and pressure.
He was likely the only person on Earth right now who felt annoyed by Reinhard's appearance.
"Truly displeasing, Sword Saint. Heh!"
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「After Wilhelm arrived ahead as the vanguard, the amnesiac, fragile version of Crusch, and the boisterous Ferris arrived at the inn entrance at nearly the same time.」
「Crusch's gaze immediately locked onto the pen pal in the crowd who frequently shared his heart with her in letters. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately greeted him urgently: "Sir Hachiman!"」
「Ferris instantly clutched his heart with a tragic expression. "Crusch-sama calls Hachiman-kyun even more intimately than she calls me, nya. Ferri-chan's heart is going to break, nya."」
「His antics made Crusch freeze, at a loss for words. Although they had spent a year together, the fact that Ferris—of whom she had no memory—had been that close to her from the start made it difficult for her to open up... On the other hand, while Sir Hachiman's letters were also very intimate, because it was written correspondence, she could face it properly until she got used to it.」
「 "Stop joking like that, Ferris. Can't you see? The current Crusch takes those jokes seriously."」
「While Crusch was hesitating over whether she should offer comfort, Hikigaya Hachiman's words immediately made Ferris turn serious.」
「Felt saw that the chaos over here had finally subsided. Baring her tiger tooth, she also greeted them: "Yo, Big Bro, and Half-Elf Sis. Long time no see. You guys look a bit different."」
「"Thanks to you" Hikigaya Hachiman smiled.」
「He wasn't just being polite. If not for the regret of completely losing Emilia in Felt's timeline, which taught him that he might have lost much but at least Emilia was still alive and well by his side now—for that alone, it was worth facing every day with a positive attitude.」
「If he hadn't experienced the realization gained from Felt's timeline, he would likely be drowning in grief over Rem's half-dead state, sighing day after day.」
「Felt took his words as a compliment and gave a thumbs up. "Ah-re? You're quite the smooth talker, Big Bro. If you were in the slums, with your eloquence, you'd definitely become a top-tier figure. But it's me who should thank you, yeah."」
「She had later gone to learn the details of Elsa the Bowel Hunter's reputation and character. She knew that if Hikigaya Hachiman hadn't come to her door and asked her to join the siege against the Bowel Hunter, the end for her and Old Man Rom might have been having their badge stolen and their bowels sliced open.」
「"Mm-hm~ Everyone gets along so well, nya? Having a pleasant chat, are we?"」
「Anastasia, walking out of the inn, drew the attention of everyone present. She took a quick peek at Hikigaya Hachiman before looking away, playfully closing one eye while keeping the other open, and reaching out her hand.」
「"While it's true I invited everyone, for you to all arrive together is quite a coincidence. It's fate. So, before chatting, why not come inside and rest?"」
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