Chapter 359. Shaula's Snipe
"Good, good, truly wonderful!"
In the Shinomiya mansion, Shinomiya Kaguya was in a state of explosive joy, frantic ecstasy, and pure shock!
She had already liked Anastasia, but now that Anastasia was leading by example—demonstrating how to camouflage one's goals and take a circuitous route to reach them—she was beyond overjoyed.
"This method... if I copy it and modify it slightly, isn't it the perfect master plan to help me hide my intentions while using every means to force the President to confess to me!"
Hearing this, Hayasaka Ai's body jolted; she stumbled, saying in disbelief: "Kaguya-sama, didn't you decide before that you were going to communicate properly with President Shirogane and that it would be best to just proactively confess?"
"Before was before, and now is now." Kaguya waved her hand dismissively. "Before, I was influenced by Rem, but now I've realized that Anastasia is steadier than Rem. Naturally, I have to learn from her. Do you understand, Hayasaka?"
Hayasaka Ai opened her mouth to speak but hesitated... But Anastasia isn't exactly sitting around waiting for someone else to confess, is she? Rather, Anastasia is the one itching to make a proactive move as soon as possible.
But Hayasaka also knew that Kaguya-sama was aware she was twisting Anastasia's ideology... This idiot Kaguya-sama was clearly having a relapse of her "old illness" and was just making excuses for herself.
"She's truly beyond help!"
While the likes of the Nakano sisters and Kaguya were infatuated with Anastasia's tactics, there were others—like Chitanda Eru—who had no such worries. As a girl in a budding romance with mutual feelings and no "third party," she simply felt pity for Crusch and didn't try to learn Anastasia's ways.
And for someone like Tamako, who was even more of a dense blockhead than Uesugi Fuutarou or Yuiga Nariyuki, she didn't see any of the "undercurrents" or subtext at all.
"Dammit!"
In a convenience store, Yukinoshita's expression shifted between cloudy and clear. she wanted to learn, yet she didn't want to. While she was conflicted, in the video, Ram's physical conditioning was complete, and "Sand Time" had arrived.
「Using Clairvoyance to link with the flocks of birds flying toward the Sage's Tower, they found a path that avoided the spatial distortion. Led by Ram, the group marched straight ahead.」
「Though they wore face veils, the howling winds and yellow sand were still overwhelming. Hikigaya Hachiman held the petite Beatrice tightly in his arms, fearing she might be blown away by the gale. For the same reason, Meili was being looked after by Julius.」
「Emilia held Rem's hand inside the carriage with one hand while casting an ice shield over Ram so she could focus on using Clairvoyance. Crusch stayed close to Anastasia, looking after her defenseless competitor.」
「After a period of agonizing battering, the weather finally cleared. They had crossed into the inner world, bypassed the distorted space, and truly entered the space where the Sage's Tower stood.」
「"Hah... hah..." Ram panted in pain as she deactivated Clairvoyance. Emilia supported her gently.」
「Having crossed the desert, the wind and sand vanished, replaced by a vibrant sea of multicolored flowers. However, no one relaxed their guard.」
「"It's the Oiran Bears!" Magic beast expert Meili recognized them instantly. These weren't flowers at all; they were mabeasts disguised as flowers.」
「In other words, even if one were lucky enough to cross the desert, most people would be finished here without sufficient combat power—luckily, they had Meili, so they didn't need to expend Mana to clear out so many powerful beasts.」
「The nearby Oiran Bears awakening from their slumber were made "gentle and pleasant" by Meili's Divine Protection of Mabeast Manipulation; they had no intention of treating these uninvited guests as dessert.」
「Meili stood with her hands on her hips and her head held high, flashing a "praise me, praise me" expression to everyone, only to have her head patted by the nearby Julius.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman had no time to mind Meili. In such a dangerous place, he was incredibly vigilant, watching and listening in all directions. He noticed a ground dragon becoming restless due to the presence of so many Oiran Bears.」
「He reached out just in time to stroke the dragon, soothing it and preventing any accidents from occurring.」
「Seeing the crisis averted, everyone else was happy, except for the ground dragon beneath Hachiman. Patrasche looked displeased, baring her teeth at the dragon that had been frightened by the bears.」
「She was clearly jealous. How could he pet another dragon? How could he be so nice to another dragon? Is he cheating? Is he, is he, IS HE!?」
「But before Patrasche could let out a roar to assert her dominance, Hachiman's pupils suddenly contracted. As he sat atop the dragon, his raised head and high-angled gaze saw it.」
「From the distant Sage's Tower, something was glowing, bringing with it a chilling sense of dread.」
「Though his memories had been completely taken, his tempered body already possessed the instinct to handle danger. The moment he sensed the threat, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't hesitate; he jerked the dragon's reins.」
「Patrasche immediately threw her jealous dissatisfaction to the back of her mind and began to sprint at maximum speed.」
「A second later, the spot where Patrasche had been standing was swept by a white laser burning with high-temperature heat. The ground dragon Hachiman had been petting just moments ago lost its head instantly; its mangled flesh and remaining carcass emitted a scorched smell.」
「"—Enemy attack!"」
「Julius, who had been about to ask what was wrong, shouted at the top of his lungs, his eyes wide as he searched for the source of the attack.」
「The appearance of the laser startled the Oiran Bears that had just left. They grew furious, letting out roars; some ran toward the Sage's Tower, while others charged toward the group.」
「The combat-capable Emilia and Julius had to step forward to block these sudden disasters for the others.」
「"—Beatrice, save her!"」
「The white laser from the Sage's Tower flashed again. Hikigaya Hachiman followed the light with his eyes; this time, the target wasn't him, but the only person who had remained motionless while everyone else scattered.」
「"—Save Miss Rem, Beatrice!"」
「Two frantic, consecutive shouts. Hachiman didn't have time to ride the dragon over; he could only place his hopes in the petite, Komachi-like Beatrice in his arms. In these twenty days, he had seen Beatrice demonstrate various magics and knew how powerful she was.」
「Beatrice looked solemn. She immediately utilized Mana to activate a short-range spatial teleportation from Yin Magic to reach Rem, then instantly teleported both of them to another location.」
「Swish!」
「The sound of air friction. Hikigaya Hachiman's surprised gaze was still fixed on the spot where Rem had just been—it hadn't followed Beatrice's movement. Because of this, he saw the true form of the white laser.」
「It was a needle. A needle that looked like a scorpion's stinger.」
「"The burning heat is only because its speed is so fast it generated heat through friction with the air... and the aim is so steady. From this far away, we can't carry out a 'decapitation strike' on the opponent. We're basically sitting ducks right now!"」
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