Chapter 490. Ichinose and Arisu Abducted
"Mmmgh! Honestly, Master, why are you being so nice to that creepy guy! He's been eyeing you this whole time!"
After the meeting concluded and everyone dispersed, Shaula was clingily hanging onto her Master, pestering him.
"Hey, you definitely can't let him influence you, okay, Master? Your good disciple Shaula is the one who covets you the most! Don't forget your disciple's love!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it. Don't worry."
Hikigaya Hachiman stroked Shaula's head as if coaxing a child. Just as he had managed to calm his "cheap" disciple down, his back suddenly felt heavy.
With a patter, Beatrice had jumped onto his back to act spoiled.
"Even with the weight of two people, the Prime Minister's footsteps are still steady? Fine, let me see your limit. I'm joining in too!"
Anastasia teased with a giggle, though being considerate, she was only joking.
Being as sharp and tactful as ever, she didn't just focus on her Prime Minister but naturally struck up a conversation with Beatrice.
"I heard that the Great Spirit Miss has been working with the Witch of Greed on materials and magic during this period. Are you preparing to resurrect the real Echidna?"
"Mm, that part has come to a conclusion for now. The rest needs time to ferment. Once the time is right, we can begin resurrecting Mother!"
Beatrice nodded fiercely, then smiled with a silly, blissful expression as she hugged her contractor tightly.
"So, I won't be busy lately. I can stay with Hachiman!"
"Me too! I'm done spending time with my old friends Reid and Volcanica, Master!" Not to be outdone, Shaula immediately declared her stance.
Beatrice bared her teeth. "Idiot, I was here first! He doesn't have time to play with you. Have some self-awareness as the 'third wheel'!"
"Hah? What kind of talk is that? I've been waiting for Master for four hundred years! You 'fluffy' spirit didn't even know who you were waiting for back then. Give it a rest!"
The two, who once shared mutual sympathy and had a decent relationship, had now become rivals. They turned on each other instantly, arguing until their faces were red and they were out of breath.
Because both possessed child-like personalities, neither knew how to yield or when to stop. Their incessant chirping made Hikigaya Hachiman feel like his head was about to explode.
Furthermore, because both were "children," he couldn't take sides; if he did, the other would likely burst into tears.
At this moment, he would rather go back to the conference room to bicker about romance with Emilia, Rem, Anastasia, Crusch, Priscilla, and Yukinoshita.
Hachiman suddenly understood the beauty of "high-level play." No matter how turbulent the undercurrents were with those women, at the very least, they wouldn't make his ears suffer.
'Save me, Anna, the cutest girl in the world!'
Anastasia, who was smilingly watching this low-level farce, received the distress signal and winked at him: 'You're the one who asked for this, right?'
"...Eh?"
A bad premonition flashed through Hachiman's heart... but before he could decline based on that feeling, having "invited the wolf into the house," he saw Anastasia smiling as she stood on her tiptoes. She gave him a light, fleeting kiss on the cheek.
Beatrice and Shaula were stunned for a moment before they started screaming, scrambling to kiss Hachiman as well.
"Ah? Damn it, I want one too!"
As for Hachiman himself... his expression was one of someone who had utterly lost his composure.
.
.
.
Meanwhile.
Accompanied by Karman, Setsuna, Kureha, Eve Reese, and the City Lord, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka returned to Advanced Nurturing High School in a glorious homecoming.
The school had immediately put up banners prepared in advance. Firecrackers and fireworks went off in a deafening chorus, as if the school wanted the whole world to know that Advanced Nurturing High School had produced the "Greatest Masterpiece"—a protagonist of the world.
"Translate for me what 'the strongest high school' means! Translate it! This is the damn Advanced Nurturing High School!"
The Chairman was in high spirits. Although the school already had official government backing, it was obvious that gaining widespread recognition from all sectors of society was the key to reaching the next level.
The Chairman, along with a group of deans and teachers, wanted to bow and go up to shake hands or take a photo with Ayanokouji. However, Ayanokouji cast a cold glance their way, and the group immediately lost their nerve.
As soon as Ayanokouji entered the school, the students felt as if they had been hit by "Conqueror's Haki." No one dared to breathe loudly; they all stood stiffly, peeking at him with trepidation.
Whether as Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, the Greatest Masterpiece, or the Earth Emperor, he was far beyond anyone they could hope to associate with.
...So why was this guy back at school? Could he be here to beat someone up? Since he was supposed to be heartless and emotionless, he shouldn't be that petty, right?
While the crowd made uneasy guesses, Ayanokouji's gaze swept over Sakayanagi Arisu, Karuizawa Kei, and Ichinose Honami. He then said indifferently: "I need a few 'Genuines.' Are you coming?"
Transforming "common" characters like Kureha into Genuines was something he had to do.
But evolving a few "common Genuines" into "Super Genuines" was also something he intended to do!
Although the "purity" of the Genuineness in Sakayanagi, Karuizawa, and Ichinose was only at the level of the unevolved Yukinoshita before Hachiman's transmigration...
Ayanokouji believed that if even someone like Yukinoshita could evolve, these few surely possessed the potential to reach a level comparable to Crusch!
As for the level of Emilia and Rem... he didn't dare hope for that much.
"I'm in!" Sakayanagi, who had coveted the Greatest Masterpiece for a long time, answered instantly.
"But, why?"
At the meeting, one of the conditions for letting Ayanokouji continue to lead Keyaru's world was that he could no longer coerce the populace to achieve his goals.
Furthermore, during his administration, he had to gradually dismantle his brainwashing.
He had to make it so the residents would no longer live and die for him.
In other words, from now on, he had no leverage to threaten Hikigaya Hachiman. If he wanted to seek out Hachiman for a game of chess or a contest of wits in the future and Hachiman refused, he would have no means of counter-retaliation.
Therefore, he naturally had to create new leverage.
Creating "Genuines" was partly to make Hachiman show an expression of defeat, and partly to create new bargaining chips.
But he wouldn't say that—not because he was the Earth Emperor, but because Sakayanagi, who was attracted to him, liked his "master-level" style of never explaining.
As for Karuizawa Kei, she needed a boyfriend with a high level of strength to feel a complete sense of security.
And Ichinose Honami... she seemed prepared to refuse.
"I... I..." Ichinose's breathing was rapid. she was wavering; she had to consider if this was the only chance she would ever get in her life.
"I—don't want to! Ah!?"
Ichinose, unwilling to accept being just one of many women owned by her crush, closed her eyes and hardened her heart. But halfway through her refusal, she suddenly screamed.
Ayanokouji had forcefully picked her up.
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