Chapter 354. It Probably Won't Happen, Right?
「Consequently, he was curious.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman felt that even if he were to fall completely in love with Yukinoshita, or be confessed to by her in a subtle way, given his personality, it would still be difficult for him to instantly become brimming with confidence.」
「Thinking this way, he could guess just how fiery that person named Rem's confession must have been to achieve such an effect... it was simply beyond Hachiman's imagination.」
"Yes, speaking of the degree of fieriness, Miss Rem's confession truly has no equal."
Inside the Hoshin Trading Company, Anastasia admitted quite candidly: "In this regard, I really can't compare to her. After all, what I value more is endurance. Something like what Miss Rem did... perhaps only she could achieve it."
Even after watching the future, it was impossible for anyone to imitate it even if they wanted to.
"But it's fine—even if I can't match her verbal heat, my feelings for the Prime Minister will absolutely not lose to anyone else's!"
Patting her chest—which was much, much flatter than Rem's—a smiling Anastasia was confident and high-spirited.
Mimi originally wanted to pump her fist with a "Hell yeah!" to support her lady, but seeing the scene of Anastasia puffing out her chest, she suddenly felt that while her feelings might not lose, her figure most certainly would.
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「Before meeting that Rem with curiosity, upon returning to the Roswaal mansion, Hikigaya Hachiman first received a "warm" welcome from her sister, Ram.」
「"What is this about amnesia?"」
「Thud.」
「At first, Ram didn't believe the news of Hachiman's amnesia at all. But as she stood welcoming them at the mansion gate, scrutinizing and questioning him, she finally, despondently, had to accept this reality.」
「From that moment on, Ram's eyes turned bloodshot, her teeth gritted with a creak. She grabbed Hachiman by the collar and pinned him against the wall, nearly strangling him. "Say it again. You dare say you have amnesia? You dare say you've forgotten Rem!?"」
「"Don't do this, Ram!"」
「"Memory loss is by no means Sir Hachiman's fault. Do not engage in such willful, misdirected anger!"」
「"Oh my, please calm down a bit, Miss Maid? Although I can understand your feelings, this kind of conduct is hard to overlook."」
「In the half-second that Julius struggled within the constraints of chivalry, Emilia, Crusch, and Anastasia had already condemned her in their different ways. Beatrice, without a word, directly used Yin Magic to drain Ram's strength so she could no longer grab Hachiman, forcing her to "calm down" physically.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman sighed. "Enough, Beatrice."」
「Beatrice quickly lifted the minor punishment on Ram. Ram did indeed calm down somewhat because of it, but the haze clouding her eyes deepened sorrowfully.」
「She murmured almost pleadingly: "Do you really... truly... not remember Rem? Is that so?"」
「"I'm sorry." Hikigaya Hachiman could only sigh and answer as such.」
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"Guh..."
Outside the Royal Capital, Rem was both delighted by Hachiman's recognition of the weight of her confession and looking at her sister with a complex gaze.
Ram could only smile sheepishly. She couldn't be blamed for this. If the only person in the world who still remembered her sister no longer remembered Rem, it was only logical for her to snap.
"Rem won't hate Sister... but Rem has never wanted to see a rift between Sister and Hachiman!"
Embracing each other, Rem and Ram exchanged gentle whispers.
At the same time, on the streets of the Royal Capital and the roof of the Roswaal mansion, Emilia and Beatrice were also feeling very distressed.
Rem was forgotten, certainly, but hadn't the two of them—who had lived with Hachiman the longest—suffered the same loss? It was only because they were still alive and could offer new days of companionship to form new memories that they were slightly better off than Rem.
But in truth, it was also very pitiful.
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「After Ram, Hachiman successively met Otto, Frederica, Petra, and Roswaal—the other main figures of the mansion. His impressions of these people were exactly as the predictions Emilia had given him.」
「His attitude was not much different from before the amnesia; it was just that in terms of depth—whether it was admiration, recognition, or wariness—it was far shallower than before.」
「Although a letter had been sent in advance to explain, when Otto saw the amnesiac Hachiman with his own eyes, he still felt as if the sky were falling. He stood in a daze, then collapsed to his knees, unable to believe it.」
「Among Frederica and the others, Otto was the one who held the deepest feelings for him, feelings that perhaps even surpassed Garfiel's.」
「But Hikigaya Hachiman could do nothing except sense the weight of this "Genuine" emotion. Being unilaterally entrusted with such conviction, anything he said felt like empty talk.」
「Encouraged by Emilia, Beatrice, Crusch, and Anastasia, Hikigaya Hachiman knelt down and, after a moment's hesitation, gently patted Otto on the back.」
「A tearful and snotty Otto wailed loudly, crying even more openly than Beatrice.」
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"Yo, Otto, you're crying again, kid?"
In a merchant caravan, an older man teased him. Otto didn't blush and retort; instead, he shook his head and said: "If it's crying for Hachiman-san, I am more than happy to—because he was the first friend in the whole world to appreciate me!"
"But," he looked up at the light screen with worry, "just crying won't help anything."
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「When Otto finally stopped crying, he led Crusch and the others to meet with Roswaal.」
「Roswaal was very flippant and quite hostile toward the competitors, Crusch and Anastasia. However, Otto—who was technically in the same camp as Roswaal—stood in opposition to him, telling Roswaal not to cause trouble.」
「Now that Hachiman-san was finding it difficult to act due to his missing memories, Otto was the only candidate to temporarily shoulder the burden of the Emilia camp. At a time like this, he would absolutely not allow the sinner Roswaal to mess around.」
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"That's more like it."
As the real-life Otto felt a sense of relief, over in the Classic Literature Club, Oreki Houtarou nodded. "A normal power structure needs at least two people in charge who have authority and the ability to handle affairs and administration. Anastasia's camp has Ricardo and Joshua; Crusch's camp has Wilhelm and her father, who has stepped back from the front lines."
"If Otto hadn't joined the Emilia camp midway, now that Hikigaya has amnesia, while it might not fall apart immediately, it would be half-dead at the very least."
"That's not right, Oreki-kun." Chitanda Eru wagged her finger. "If it weren't for Otto, Hikigaya-kun probably would have died from overwork within the past year, wouldn't he?"
Oreki Houtarou, Mayaka, and Satoshi Fukube were stunned by the remark. "That's a very unique perspective."
But, thinking about it carefully, it was actually true.
Oreki Houtarou quickly shook his head. Having so many things to do all day without being able to slack off... luckily, he would never encounter such a thing. Hmm...
Uncontrollably, he stole a glance at the "curiosity incarnate" Chitanda Eru beside him.
"I probably... won't encounter that... right?"
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