Chapter 491. The New Situation
Ichinose Honami was abducted.
But no one called the police... because anyone with eyes could see that when Ayanokouji was being forceful with her, she clearly let out a sigh of relief and put on an expression of resignation to her fate.
She might even have been enjoying it.
Ayanokouji's group came in a hurry and left just as quickly.
After his departure, a massive crowd of representatives from the global top 100 enterprises, officials from various countries, and news reporters rushed in. Like a noisy wet market, they called out to interview several specific people.
Namely, those designated by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka as "somewhat interesting and capable": Manabu Horikita, Ryuen Kakeru, Katsuragi, and Koenji.
And then there was Horikita Suzune, who had been designated as a "disappointing waste, just like the rest."
The others were overjoyed, as this meant their futures were bright; they would be wanted wherever they went and treated as honored guests in any country.
As for Horikita Suzune... it can only be said that the joys and sorrows of men are not shared. She simply found them noisy.
While Ryuen and the others profited greatly, the one who earned the most was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's father.
Since the video broadcast ended, Ayanokouji's father had been running out of the White Room laughing maniacally. He slept only four hours a day, spending the remaining twenty hours in action, boasting everywhere he went.
First, he ran to the Prime Minister's residence: "My son Ayanokouji has the talent of Einstein." Then to the former Prime Minister's house: "My son, the Greatest Masterpiece, slaughtered the peak of humanity."
Then to the foreign embassies: "If my son, the Earth Emperor, had been born two hundred years earlier, I would be the master of America and Britain!"
Eriri's father, Mr. Sawamura Spencer, was particularly miserable. After being caught, he suffered horrific psychological devastation. Even after he escaped and returned home, he would involuntarily wake up from his dreams in a cold sweat:
"I haven't heard Ayanokouji's father brag about the Greatest Masterpiece for twenty-four minutes!"
From then on, he suffered from "Greatest Masterpiece PTSD" and fell into a slump.
This led Eriri to grit her teeth in hatred toward Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Later, she met with Utaha Kasumigaoka and Megumi Kato to discuss the matter, furiously denouncing the Greatest Masterpiece and his entire family.
Eventually, they cursed until they were tired and sleepy, and the three girls unknowingly fell asleep hugging each other.
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...While Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was busy organizing the Healer world and working tirelessly with Setsuna, Kureha, Eve, the Spirit, Sakayanagi, Karuizawa, and Ichinose, other places were also gradually and methodically integrating.
Because different worlds had merged, everyone felt it would be best for the various nations of each world to unify into one to avoid chaos and complexity. Then, once each world became a single nation, those representative nations could merge into one ultimate country—true, perfect integration.
Although progress wasn't lightning-fast due to individual interests, most people were indeed in favor of this proposal.
Emilia's world was easier to integrate than Earth because Anastasia was both a Lugunica candidate and a Kararagi native. Her excellence was obvious to all; she led merchants to profit while also liberating slaves.
Therefore, with the strong support of these two major groups, Anastasia had essentially become the King of Kararagi. At her command, everyone cooperated.
The ancient frozen kingdom of Gusteko was even more overjoyed at the prospect of integration. Their wretched country was frozen year-round, with pathetically little arable land; the vast majority of people couldn't get enough to eat. Although the Divine Dragon had made many areas farmable, the weather remained a problem.
Once integrated, they would receive immense aid—a great deed for the benefit of the people.
Granted, there were some selfish Archbishops and nobles worried about their power being taken away... but those people were dealt with by Hikigaya Hachiman's "Final Destination" maneuver to please Priscilla.
As for the Vollachia Empire, Emperor Vincent was the most stubborn element. He used to spend his days dreaming of "restoring the great empire," and now, in the blink of an eye, it was supposed to be integrated?
Vincent was a bit dumbfounded.
But Priscilla, having been appeased by Hachiman, didn't care if her brother was stunned or not. she simply pressed the Yang Sword against Vincent's neck: "Just say whether you agree or not."
Vincent originally wanted to bark: "Hikigaya Hachiman, your 'eating manner' is too unsightly!" (meaning his greed/ambition).
However, not only was Hachiman's "eating manner" not unsightly, but he continued to entrust heavy responsibilities and power to those with talent and morality, all for the sake of the people's happiness and well-being. He even proposed "expanding the scope of the Royal Selection," allowing anyone with sufficient talent, ambition, and morality to join.
Since they were selecting an Emperor for a unified kingdom of four nations, Hachiman felt it would be unfair if the candidates were limited only to those from the original Lugunica.
People from all four kingdoms should be eligible.
...From this, everyone once again saw this man's broad-mindedness and that he truly acted for the public good rather than for his own selfish interests or his "wives."
Thus, Vincent agreed.
He agreed to the unification and decided to join the Royal Selection.
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During this period, the ongoing Royal Selection entered a new phase.
There was the solitary Priscilla; Crusch, whose faction had ballooned due to a massive influx of military defectors; and Anastasia, the "Goddess of Cuteness" who sat atop the entire Kararagi.
Then there was Vincent, who originally held the Holy Vollachia Empire... but many citizens of the former Empire who disliked him, upon hearing of the four-nation union and knowing they wouldn't be prosecuted, immediately defected to support Crusch.
Compared to the physically weak Vincent, many Empire citizens respected the honest, powerful, and valiant Crusch, who was more dashing than any soldier.
However, because the Empire had long implemented an education and tactic of "survival of the fittest," the number of people with enough sense of justice to join Crusch was still relatively small.
Most remained imperialists like Todd.
On Emilia's side, the spirits of her hometown, Mother Fortuna, and the demi-humans from the Sanctuary had all moved into the city. While supporting her, they constantly helped spread
her reputation. Additionally, because Emilia was of the ice element, some people from the ancient northern kingdom who grew up in the snow ended up supporting her.
As for Felt... well, she spent her days binge-watching anime, eating potato chips, and drinking cola. Enjoying life with Old Man Rom, she had been completely hit by Earth's "sugar-coated bullets" and turned into a total shut-in otaku, completely losing her ambition to compete for the world.
Reinhard expressed utter despair over this.
Regarding this public situation, the Nakano quintuplets once chatted privately, feeling that Felt among the candidates was just like Itsuki among the five sisters.
Excluding the six candidates mentioned above, there were actually a few other miscellaneous ones. However, their probability of winning was only slightly higher than Felt's—their win rate might not even match the currently pitiful and solitary Priscilla.
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