Yukinoshita Reclaims Her Position
「"Step out of a convenience store, and arrive in another world."」
「This realization had been overturned.」
「Squatting alone in the room Anastasia claimed belonged to him, Hikigaya Hachiman conducted a thorough search. He did indeed find plenty of evidence—evidence corroborating that Julius's explanation was the truth.」
「He looked in the mirror; he had grown taller, and his body was stronger than in his memories. According to Julius, he had suddenly appeared in the Royal Capital over a year ago. By his calculation, he was now nineteen, and his physical growth matched that reality.」
「In the room, the placement of various items followed his subconscious preferences, giving him a sense of warmth. This room truly was his living quarters; Hikigaya Hachiman could be certain of that.」
「Inside a drawer, he found a letter. It was a suicide note that—compared to the possibility of "I actually came to this world long ago, met a vast number of beautiful girls and best friends, and am now just an amnesiac whose memories were eaten by an enemy"—made him gape in even greater disbelief.」
「The letter stated that if he, Hikigaya Hachiman, were to die, he hoped Emilia and Rem would not be sad, because he had a certain way to resurrect and wouldn't truly stay dead. Due to certain reasons, he couldn't explain the specifics, but he pleaded for Emilia and Rem to believe him.」
「"...This is my handwriting, no doubt about it."」
「No matter how much he examined it, he could find no trace of forgery.」
「"Returning from the dead... how is that even done? Is such a thing truly possible? No—even if the 'me' before amnesia could do it, the 'me' after amnesia might not still have that ability. I must operate on that premise. Besides, the letter could be a fake; handwriting isn't necessarily impossible to forge."」
「"Whether what Julius and the others said is true is also debatable. Although I haven't found any flaws so far, and there's not much point in going through such trouble to trick an ordinary person like me..."」
「He fell into deep thought.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman furrowed his brows, his head throbbing. The smarter a person is, the easier it is for them to overthink; honestly, his mind felt like it was about to explode.」
「What he found hardest to accept was the intimacy and trust between the lines written by his "self" in the suicide note. The love was unreserved, surging off the page.」
「"I fell in love with two new girls at the same time... is such a thing really possible? What about Yukinoshita?"」
「Muttering the name of the only girl he loved in his heart at this moment, Hachiman took a deep breath. "Give me a little courage to face this world full of mysteries. Please... Yukinoshita."」
「Steeling himself with the phantom of Yukinoshita in his heart, he stood up, pushed open the door, and left the room he had finished searching, heading outside.」
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"...Huh?"
In the Sword Saint's mansion, Felt was slack-jawed. She really, truly hadn't expected this. Batenkaitos's single move had somehow caused the long-"dead" Yukino Yukinoshita to experience a resurgence.
This ridiculous development left countless people wide-eyed and staring at each other in shock.
Emilia, Anastasia, Crusch, Rem, Ram, and even Priscilla looked ashen-faced.
It would be one thing to be defeated by the other love rivals present, but to have Yukinoshita—the "loser dog" who had been out of the race since the start—sneak back in through a loophole... what kind of joke was this?
It was an utter humiliation, a laughable irony.
Priscilla's gaze was sharp.
She looked down on Emilia and the others with her words, but after watching for so long, she had more or less acknowledged the value of the other candidates; those women were qualified to compete on the same stage as her.
But what did this inexplicable Yukinoshita amount to?
"It's me! It's me, Hachiman-kun! It's me!"
In the convenience store, Yukinoshita was cheering with joy. Her perseverance had finally paid off. Not only did she have Hachiman-kun now, but her future self had suddenly reclaimed the top spot; it was a miracle.
Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to force a smile to match her... but he couldn't bring himself to perform such a hypocritical act.
He couldn't laugh.
In his current life, he was certainly going to make it up to Yukinoshita and love her alone.
But that "future him" could no longer return to Earth, and he had already shared mutual feelings with Emilia and Rem, to the point of discussing marriage.
If possible, he hoped that his future self would properly marry Emilia or Rem, making those two girls happy and making himself happy, rather than sinking back into a hopeless obsession with Yukinoshita.
"It's my Yukinoshita's win!"
The ecstatic Yukinoshita didn't notice her boyfriend's internal estrangement. She looked around triumphantly, her aura overawing the room, making all the Rem fans, Crusch fans, and Anastasia fans in the convenience store hang their heads. They had no choice but to give her a round of applause.
"Ugh..."
The only girl who was incredibly close to Hachiman but didn't care which woman he viewed as his beloved was Beatrice. As a contracted spirit, she didn't seek the status of a wife.
And her position was one no one could steal.
Therefore, rather than worrying about Yukinoshita, Beatrice remained immersed in the gloom of having failed her duty to protect Hachiman.
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「Walking inside and outside the camp, Hikigaya Hachiman felt the dangers of this parallel world more tangibly. He heard data from the conversations of hurried soldiers: which buildings were destroyed, which shelter had problems, how many people were swallowed by floods.」
「His dazed thoughts gradually merged into this world. Then, Hachiman heard the wails of the injured. Just as he was feeling uneasy, he heard even more.」
「Admiration for Anastasia, respect for Crusch, love for Emilia, gratitude for Priscilla, and high esteem for Reinhard.」
「Through the evaluations of these soldiers and citizens, Hachiman constructed images of these people in his mind. His perception of those strangers like Emilia shifted from blind wariness and distance to a small amount of newfound favor.」
「Finally, something happened that left him at a loss... Holding 'Hikigaya Hachiman' in admiration, respect, love, gratitude, and high esteem, several soldiers saluted him. Hachiman didn't know how to respond for a moment.」
「Perhaps his pre-amnesia self had achieved many great deeds, but could his current self accept this legacy with a clear conscience?」
「As he thought this, by the time Hachiman snapped back to reality, the soldiers had already left. They didn't leave because they were impatient; someone had told them to leave.」
「"...Are you feeling a bit better? Have you remembered anything, Hachiman?"」
「Nervous and haggard. She looked as though she was barely holding herself together. Her beauty was so magnificent it was practically flawless, her voice as pleasant as silver bells, and her figure just right; no matter how one looked at her, she was the most beautiful girl in the world.」
「She was—」
「"Emi... lia."」
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