Chapter 489. Universal Evolution
"I approve."
Just as the room fell into a heavy silence, with everyone racking their brains for excuses to block Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's path to power, Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly spoke up, becoming the only person to support Ayanokouji.
"Eh!?"
Expressions and sounds of confusion, surprise, and shock instantly filled the conference room. The representatives from Keyaru's world gasped, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
'What's going on?'
'I don't know. Isn't this guy the arch-rival the Emperor is obsessed with? Why is he being so kind? This makes no sense; there must be a trap!'
'City Lord, what do you think?'
Having experienced the Second Princess's massacre, even the good-natured City Lord no longer hesitated to assume the worst of others. Under the watchful eyes of Kureha and the others, he began to strain his brain to find Hikigaya Hachiman's hidden sinister intentions.
"Enough. Stop making faces; it's so obvious, who wouldn't see it?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka put an end to his subordinates' embarrassing behavior. "If you lot could find a flaw in Hachiman, then pigs could fly."
The room was once again stunned into silence.
There was nothing wrong with what Ayanokouji said, per se.
The problem was: was this "Greatest Masterpiece" the kind of person who would say such a thing?
That emotional tone, that use of metaphors, that palpable sense of human annoyance... was this still the heartless Masterpiece? Was this still the Earth Emperor who spoke only in threats and killed entire families at the drop of a hat?
Hikigaya Hachiman sighed.
"Don't look at us like that. Both Ayanokouji and I are perfectly normal."
It was just that, due to certain unknown, lethal duels and battles to the death in their minds, they had become quite well-acquainted.
To outsiders, it simply looked like they were a bit too familiar with each other.
"I'll speak on the reasons for my approval first."
Hikigaya Hachiman kept it professional, speaking without humor as he began a detailed explanation.
"First, the residents of Keyaru's world have been brainwashed by Ayanokouji. If we don't let Ayanokouji lead them, it might actually trigger riots, leading to casualties and resentment.
Second, Ayanokouji indeed has the capability. If he acts as a buffer, the residents of that world will surely integrate into ours much faster."
As long as the Earth Emperor gave the order for the residents to study the knowledge and common sense of the other worlds, that group would certainly study with their whole hearts and souls.
"As for the risks... I would say there are none."
Another representative couldn't help but ask: "No risks? May I ask on what basis?"
"It is based on what I have observed with my own eyes. I am certain that the current Ayanokouji will not do anything that insane. Of course, I will also sign a contract with him to that effect, imposing physical restrictions."
Faced with this answer, the representatives fell into deep thought, their resolve wavering. At that moment, Anastasia, acting as the representative for Kararagi, cast a firm vote of opposition.
"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to oppose that, yeah?"
She curled her lip, acting on emotion for a rare change. "It's all well and good for the Prime Minister to be so magnanimous and objective, but I just plain dislike this 'Masterpiece' mister. I'm votin' no, no matter what."
Everyone knew exactly why she detested Ayanokouji Kiyotaka so much.
Faced with this blatant malice, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka showed no reaction. He merely continued to stare at Hachiman as he always did.
He didn't care much for the various topics of the meeting.
He didn't even place much importance on whether he held power. For instance, even though he saw through the fact that Anastasia was trying to bait him, he remained indifferent.
"..."
After some discussion, the proposal for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to take charge of Keyaru's world passed, and he did not object.
His "acceptance speech" regarding this grant of power was: "Beyond the grand principles, there is another reason. You want to keep me busy with work so I don't have time to harass you... That's not bad. I've actually thought of something I haven't tried with you yet.
During this time, I'm going to transform Setsuna, Kureha, and Eve—transform all these people into the 'Genuine' things you recognize... Mmh~ turning fakes into the real thing. That should make you show a very interesting expression."
The Masterpiece was quite enthusiastic; undeniably, his emotions were now very rich.
Hikigaya Hachiman replied calmly: "If you can do that, I am willing to admit defeat."
It was a flat response, devoid of any sharp edge... Naturally, Hikigaya didn't care about winning or losing. As long as it didn't harm anyone's well-being or involve the innocent, Ayanokouji could play however he liked.
Once the matter was settled, the first step was signing the contract.
This part contained content Hikigaya cared about deeply; the first restriction he placed on Ayanokouji was: "You are not allowed to use my name for anything you do!"
Next came the second topic.
The Spirit of the Lake had been found. She declared that she wished to be Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's woman, tool, and plaything... Since it was her own wish, it was difficult to stop.
The third topic concerned the Philosopher's Stone.
Once found, the stone was handed over to the knowledgeable Echidna for testing. She concluded that the Philosopher's Stone was, in fact, the origin, center, beginning, and end of Keyaru's world.
It was an existence similar to the "Od" of Emilia's world.
The difference was that the Philosopher's Stone had discarded all other functions to concentrate all its energy into one mass that could be released at once. It was no wonder it could facilitate a world-cross and even suppress Witch Factors.
Many people argued until they were red in the face about what wish to make or what to do with the Stone, each driven by their own selfish desires.
Hikigaya Hachiman proposed a view.
"How about letting the Philosopher's Stone make it so that 'everyone who has merged into this world, and everyone currently in this world, possesses magical talent, and their descendants will also have magical talent'?"
Magic was a noble thing. Whether one could learn magic or not could easily create two classes of people—a world of difference between "superior" and "inferior."
Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to eliminate the possibility of such future superiority complexes and prejudices at the root. This was his idea.
But in truth, Hikigaya Hachiman was being silently guided toward this idea by Kawata Osamu. As the mastermind behind the scenes, Kawata Osamu had a deeper intention.
If everyone had magical talent, the baseline for average combat power would be guaranteed, which would be very useful for dealing with the Abyss in the future.
...The Philosopher's Stone was simply too great a tool for selfish gain. Even with Kawata Osamu's "Public Interest Aura" guiding them, many high-ranking officials were still blinded by greed.
Left with no choice, Kawata Osamu "tearfully" executed quite a few of them.
Following this, the idea for universal magical talent was finally realized. To fulfill this wish, the Philosopher's Stone vanished entirely.
With that, the meeting came to a perfect conclusion.
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