Chapter 431. The Eloquent Anastasia
"The catalyst would have been a great war between us to snatch you... Although we've all shown restraint, that was only at the very beginning.
As long as the Prime Minister hasn't determined which person to enter a marital relationship with, we will continue to struggle against each other in the dark. The more we fight, the more serious it will become, and naturally, we will accumulate more and more anger and resentment.
When that time comes, with old grudges piled high, even I can't guarantee that I wouldn't strike a fatal blow against Miss Emilia and the others."
But for Hikigaya Hachiman to quickly decide exactly which one he wanted to marry—under the premise that he could only marry one—was something he simply could not do. After all, he was a man who was extremely cowardly when it came to his feelings.
Naturally, in this situation, Yukinoshita Yukino leapt ahead of everyone to become the best candidate.
On one hand, he and Yukino already had a promise and an agreement.
On the other hand, Yukino was not in this world. Therefore, no matter how unwilling Emilia and the others were, it didn't matter; instead, it would allow the girls here to share a common enemy, mending the rifts caused by being romantic rivals and dispelling the possibility of turning into enemies and fighting to the death.
Furthermore, if he absolutely had to choose one from among Rem, Emilia, and Anastasia, it was far too painful for Hikigaya Hachiman; he simply couldn't choose. Since that was the case, it was better not to make such a painful choice at all and just use fulfilling the promise as an excuse to tie himself firmly to Yukino's side.
Anastasia was now dragging all these hidden considerations out into the open.
His lips moved, and Hachiman was about to deny it flatly, but the brilliance of the girl behind him loomed over his heart like a dark cloud, constantly reminding him that lying to this person was useless.
"My Prime Minister is truly a fool."
"Yeah, I'm a fool. So, there should be someone better who is worth your choice, Anna."
"But I like you."
No longer just clutching his clothes, Anastasia pressed her whole body tightly against him from behind, hugging him firmly. She was performing a very unwise act, one that a qualified merchant should never do.
His breath hitched for a moment. Hachiman grit his teeth, wanting to pry this soft girl away. "I've already decided to be with Yukino. Even if I truly changed my mind, there's still Emilia and Rem. Loving someone like me is a high-risk, low-reward, erroneous investment!"
"But I like you."
Anastasia hugged him with stubborn persistence. "It's true that I'm a famous merchant in Kararagi... but what merchant hasn't made a loss-making deal? I'm happy to do it; I'm perfectly willing. Anastasia just wants to use all her assets to make a deal with Hikigaya Hachiman. Is that not allowed?"
"A half-hearted person like me isn't worth you doing this; this time is different from that time!" Thinking from her perspective, Hachiman laid out the facts. "In the IF line, there was no one else, but this time—"
"But this time, it's neither a total loss nor a minor one, but a possibility of losing so much you go bankrupt—is that what you want to say?"
Abruptly interrupting him, Anastasia's head bumped gently against her Prime Minister's back, her tone containing dissatisfaction.
"I know this better than anyone."
Then, she said in a soft, firm voice that was as scorching as a flame:
"But I like you."
"Asking you to shift your affections is too much, and it's hard to accept; I know this... But regardless, I don't want you to waste your time, the most brilliant time of your life, on someone as indecisive and half-hearted as me."
Hachiman let out a heavy sigh. "Right now, someone like me... I simply don't deserve you, I don't deserve any of you."
Opening his eyes, gazing out the window with melancholy, Hachiman felt that the current version of himself was much worse than the one in the original future or any of the IF lines... The number of girls he liked simultaneously now was more than any future version of himself; it was the most shamelessly promiscuous moment.
"I... I'm truly terrible right now."
"But I like you."
What responded to him was Anastasia's consistent stubbornness. This cute "merchant" with the cute accent used her cute voice to speak her cutest heartfelt feelings, washing over her Prime Minister's heart over and over again:
"The Prime Minister's soul, the Prime Minister's body, the Prime Minister's character, the Prime Minister's everything—I like it all!"
"I like the indecisive personality too, and the way you argue with me for my sake, and even the half-hearted promiscuity—if the Prime Minister weren't promiscuous, wouldn't I truly have no chance at all?"
"So, I should be properly grateful for the Prime Minister's promiscuity... And besides, what kind of 'promiscuity' is that? With these experiences, with these girls—forget the Prime Minister—I actually have a lot of favorability for Miss Crusch and the others now, too."
Hachiman did not turn around. He did not look at Anastasia's expression.
But listening to this voice, he thought: this cute merchant must be wearing a fox-like cunning smile, her face slightly flushed, and in the depths of her eyes—just like his—an emotion would inadvertently slip out.
A sense of peace and satisfaction born from being pressed tightly together, from truly feeling the other person; a feeling of love that wanted to confess to the other person immediately.
"I want to marry my Prime Minister. I want to be able to hug my Prime Minister anytime, anywhere. I want to be held by my Prime Minister forever.
Whether it's the heart or the body, I want to fill the Prime Minister up, and I want the Prime Minister to fill me up.
That I like you, that I love you, is a fact that will absolutely never change. Even if it's the Prime Minister's command for me to shift my affections, I could only say 'sorry'?"
The impulse to respond was ready to come out at any moment; the thought of turning around to hug this cute merchant was almost becoming an instinct. Hachiman spent a great deal of effort to replace the words that had already reached his throat: "Emilia and the others... they really dared to let you come here with such peace of mind."
"Because besides me, no one else can persuade the Prime Minister. Even if they're not at ease, they have no choice but to be at ease."
"...You believe that much that you can make me change my mind?"
Seeing her Prime Minister changing the subject—his old habit of indecisiveness acting up, not daring to respond to her courtship immediately—Anastasia did not rush for success and followed his lead:
"I can't change the thoughts the Prime Minister has already made up his mind on. But as for distancing yourself from us and only loving Miss Yukinoshita, the Prime Minister was already in agony over that—so much agony that it can't even be called 'having made up his mind.'"
Thank goodness for the world merger, and thank goodness for Priscilla; these two assists were perfectly timed and complemented each other.
Without either one, she wouldn't be sure she could persuade her Prime Minister.
A cheerful Anastasia had crescent-shaped eyes from her smile. She had decided: after going back, she would prepare a generous gift to send to Priscilla.
"Maybe I shouldn't have listened to you," Hachiman let out a breath. He finally turned around, a look of relief on his face, and reached out to roughly ruffle Anastasia's pale purple hair.
"You greedy merchant!"
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