Chapter 370. Trials of the Sage's Tower, Shirogane Miyuki's Specialty
「"Touch the brightest moment of the hero extinguished by Shaula."」
「This was the sentence that echoed in Julius's mind the moment he touched the black monolith—it was the requirement, as well as the hint.」
「"A hero extinguished by Shaula?"」
「After Julius shared this phrase, everyone naturally turned their gaze toward Shaula. In response, she simply shook her head with an innocent face, wagging her scorpion tail. "I'd love to answer for Master, I really would! I'm more than willing!"」
「"But remembering the names of the people I've killed is something only second-rate characters do. For a first-rate character like me, I stopped keeping track once the count passed a hundred."」
「The others were disappointed by this answer, but Hikigaya Hachiman caught a specific detail... She simply didn't remember the names, but she didn't deny the part about "killing heroes." As expected of someone who could willfully and unreasonably kill all visitors—how cruel.」
「Shaula scratched her head in a cute manner, a posture that made Emilia and the others lower their guard. "What's wrong, Master? Even if you force me to think, it's really hard!"」
「Hachiman did not force her to reminisce. Instead, he moved away from Shaula and joined Julius to solve the riddle.」
「Emilia suggested touching them one by one; Julius tried to arrange the black monoliths into various orderly patterns; Ram proposed destroying the whole lot of them; Crusch suggested that perhaps they could move the monoliths out of the third floor entirely.」
「But after tinkering for a long time and trying various methods, there was still no progress. Hachiman furrowed his brows, wanting to think further, but the corner of his eye caught something.」
「Anastasia had always been a brilliant and proactive person, yet she hadn't offered a single suggestion. Not only that, she was currently stroking her fox scarf with trembling hands, crouching on the ground timidly, her eyelashes quivering slightly.」
「These were all signs that in this space designed to disorient the senses, Anastasia's sense of balance had been stripped to the limit. This brought about the illusion that she might fall into a bottomless abyss at any moment—a psychological terror.」
「...Despite this, Anastasia stubbornly remained, neither fleeing back to the fourth floor alone nor speaking up to interrupt the others' thinking and exploration.」
「"Alright, that's enough. I'm hungry. Let's leave this trial riddle for now and go back to the fourth floor to think slowly."」
「After a moment of silence, Hachiman clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention. He spoke these selfish-sounding words with a nonchalant air, then asked: "Can we interrupt and challenge it again later, Shaula?"」
「"No problem at all!"」
「As Shaula answered, the gazes of Julius and the others shifted toward her. Seizing this moment, Hachiman approached Anastasia, who was still crouching on the floor.」
「He wanted to find a suitable excuse to save her from embarrassment, but after searching his mind, he couldn't find the right phrasing.」
「Hachiman could only take advantage of the gap while everyone was focused on Shaula. He leaned down, patted Anastasia on the shoulder, and silently extended his hand to her.」
「He had considered signaling Julius or Crusch to come over and support her, but both were both suitable and unsuitable... For an employer to be seen in a state of cowardice by a subordinate, or to have her unsightly performance scrutinized by a competitor—Anastasia would likely be quite embarrassed.」
「In that case, even if it might seem like he was taking advantage and certainly wouldn't be perceived as "pleasant," Hachiman could only do it himself.」
「"...Like I said, if you don't become my Prime Minister soon, it's a loss for both of us."」
「"Eh?"」
「There was none of the awkward atmosphere he had expected. Anastasia naturally took his outstretched palm. The moment she stood up, she whispered with a joyful, seductive tone: "So capable and so kind. This is exactly the kind of Prime Minister I'm looking forward to. You'll definitely take the initiative to handle the vast majority of government affairs for me!"」
「"I beg to differ. My goal in life is to be a stay-at-home husband who lives off his wife."」
「Infected by the merchant's natural attitude, Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief and gave a firm, immediate rejection.」
「"Hmph!" Anastasia puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. Compared to her mature and steady personality, her appearance still retained a youthful air, making her look very cute. This gesture only increased her cuteness index tenfold.」
「Hachiman hurriedly looked away after the first glance. For the sake of Anastasia's reputation, he released her hand and placed his right hand behind her back, supporting her balance.」
「From an outsider's perspective, there was no physical contact between him and Anastasia; they just seemed to be leaning close to discuss matters. Therefore, it was fine.」
「Along with Shaula—who was shouting "Master!" and trying to come over but was being hauled away from the third floor by Beatrice on Hachiman's orders—Emilia and the others walked ahead. Hachiman and Anastasia lagged behind at the very back.」
「The reason it didn't arouse any suspicion was that these two were the highest IQ representatives of the four candidate camps. As the brains of the operation, they were the ones who had made all the decisions back in Watergate City.」
「So seeing them huddled together now, even Ram didn't think there was a problem... they must be discussing a strategy.」
「Anastasia could have just said that she didn't actually mind others seeing her cowardice; after all, no one is perfect, and there was no need for such elaborate trouble—but she wasn't about to say that!」
「The Prime Minister, for the sake of her reputation, was willing to force himself to touch her. It felt absolutely wonderful, okay!」
「If her Prime Minister weren't so smart and sharp, Anastasia would have wanted to trip on the spot and fall into Hachiman's arms, making the inevitable physical intimacy happen a bit sooner.」
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"See? Good acting pays off. By pretending to be weak, you can increase affection and trigger a man's protective instinct. Tsk tsk, how nice—too bad for you sisters, this is my specialty. You won't be able to learn it."
In the Nakano household, Nakano Ichika held her head high with pride, looking down on her three rival sisters with disdain.
This move of Anastasia's was something only she could master; she was a professional actress, after all. The younger sisters should just stay back. This was what you call a professional advantage.
Nino and Miku, who already knew about their sister's acting career, were now incredibly envious and jealous.
However, there was one thing they didn't realize—the truth:
In reality, this time, Anastasia was genuinely terrified. Increasing Hachiman's affection was entirely an accidental bonus.
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