Chapter 304. Prime Minister
Slash! The light of the Yang Sword flickered, carving another trail of destruction through the ravaged mansion. Priscilla's gaze was terrifying, as if she wanted to glare Anastasia to death.
"Shameless, meddling vixen!" Her tone dropped, killing intent gradually rising. "Lecherous, ignorant, enchanting a blinded fool to oppose Me by selling a filthy body that isn't even worth calling lewd—you foolish vixen, I can fulfill your dying wish of handing your neck to My blade at any time!"
Beside her, Al did not doubt for a second her resolve to kill Anastasia immediately. If it weren't for the fact that she loathed and spat upon Echidna even more than she did Anastasia, her "Strong Luck" might have already made life impossible for this meddling vixen. The day Echidna dies would be the day Anastasia chokes to death on a sip of water.
However—the surprised Al quietly exchanged a glance with Schult. They both noticed that Priscilla's lower limit for tolerance had indeed changed; her dissatisfaction this time was solely because of Anastasia, and she hadn't flown into a rage over Hikigaya Hachiman's pointed sarcasm toward her.
Then again, compared to the previous timelines where Hikigaya Hachiman had beaten her black and blue, a few verbal jabs this time were practically nothing.
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「Hikigaya Hachiman, Emilia, Beatrice, Anastasia, and Crusch—the five of them set off after tidying themselves up to keep their appointment, preparing to listen to the Water Gate Songstress's flawless performance face-to-face.」
「Along the way, Crusch asked a question out of curiosity... based on her understanding of Hikigaya Hachiman over the past year, she knew he was a very steady person. Why was he so intensely argumentative with Priscilla this time? Did he and Priscilla have some private grudge?」
「Hikigaya Hachiman subconsciously glanced at Anastasia beside him. Coincidentally, Anastasia happened to be looking at him with a smile at that moment. In those keen, pale blue fox-like eyes was a craftiness that saw through everything but said nothing.」
「...Hikigaya Hachiman didn't intend to reveal that he had done it for Anastasia; otherwise, while the kind Emilia might tolerate it, Beatrice would definitely be jealous.」
「He shook his head and said, "No, no private grudge. I'm just naturally incompatible with Priscilla."」
「"How rare. So there are actually people Sir Hachiman doesn't get along with."」
「Crusch said softly and gently: "Miss Emilia, Miss Anastasia, Miss Felt, and I all have good relationships with Sir Hachiman, as do Ferris and the others... To be unable to get along with such a Sir Hachiman—even though my interactions with her are few, I can probably appreciate what Ferris meant when he told me Miss Priscilla has a foul personality."」
「And she had felt it quite intuitively that morning.」
「"There is no book in the world that everyone loves to read, and there is no person who can be friends with everyone they meet."」
「Accepting the fact that he was not perfect with composure, Hachiman paused as snippets of his experiences with Priscilla flashed through his mind. "But actually... it's not exactly that I hate Priscilla, either. However, specifically with Priscilla, I have no desire—and certainly won't—support her bid for the throne, get close to her, or help her govern the country."」
「Not exactly hating her, but still hating her. This time he didn't owe Priscilla any favors, so it was best to have zero contact with her.」
「"Those words sound like... sorry, I don't know if I'm overthinking it." Crusch looked at Hikigaya Hachiman cautiously. "Does that mean candidates other than Miss Emilia have a chance to receive Sir Hachiman's assistance and support?"」
「"That will have to wait until the Royal Selection's dust has settled. When the time comes, no matter who wins—as long as it isn't Priscilla—if I'm asked to offer counsel for the construction of the Kingdom of Lugunica, I naturally wouldn't object."」
「Hikigaya Hachiman gave a frank answer: "Provided you guys don't find me bothersome?"」
「For him, helping any of the four candidates other than Priscilla made no real difference; it was as comfortable as returning to his own home... Regarding the trade for Dragon's Blood, he had already discussed it separately with everyone. Anastasia was the last one.」
「Therefore, Emilia no longer had any lingering worries; she currently had no reason why she must win the Royal Selection. Under these circumstances, Hikigaya Hachiman had mentioned to her before that if someone else won, he might enter public service to help them in the future.」
「Emilia respected his will and did not refuse.」
「But what Hikigaya Hachiman didn't know was that after that, the relaxed atmosphere Emilia had felt because the Dragon's Blood issue was effectively resolved had completely vanished, and she had renewed her firm conviction to win the Royal Selection.」
「Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, the eyes of both Anastasia and Crusch lit up at that moment. Especially Crusch—she stared intently at Emilia's Hachiman, her breathing
becoming slightly rapid and her gaze hazy; the thoughts in her heart were impossible to hide.
「Emilia puffed out her cheeks slightly and gave Crusch a look of grievance, like an eagle protecting its food: "I will win—definitely!"」
「"Miss Emilia really is cute." Anastasia clasped her palms together and teased, "In that case, putting the trade aside for a moment, after I become the ruler, would you like to come and play at being the Prime Minister, Hachiman?"」
「She only mentioned it casually with a smile, but Hikigaya Hachiman visibly faltered for a moment. He looked somewhat dazed, gazing at Anastasia.」
「"...What is it?" Anastasia was stunned. She hadn't expected Hikigaya Hachiman to have such a strong reaction to those words. "...Prime Minister?"」
「Anastasia tried calling him that once more. In the next second, Emilia clearly grew anxious. She took her knight's hand and immediately followed suit: "If Hachiman wants to be the Prime Minister, I would be ve~ry welcoming!"」
「"That... I would also..." Crusch also weakly offered generous terms.」
「But their calls of "Prime Minister" did not make Hikigaya Hachiman more dazed; instead, they pulled him out of that state.」
「Anastasia's eyes sparkled. She felt she had discovered something very interesting.」
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"Anastasia!!" In the convenience store, Yukino was fuming.
She would rather have Hikigaya-kun snatched away by several people at once than have him fall into Anastasia's hands. People like Emilia and Crusch, at most, leaned on Hikigaya-kun's heart and loved his soul; their physical contact was basically kept to a minimum.
Only this shameless purple-haired merchant—this Anastasia—was unreasonable; she wanted everything! Watching Anastasia conquer her Hikigaya-kun step by step was more painful for Yukino than Rem's confession to him!!」
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