Trial and Price
「Once a delusion germinated in his mind, it instantly swelled to the point where he simply had to try it. Shaken to his core, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't stop to think; he immediately turned around to head back into the tower.」
「"This... that expression. Have you found a way to pass the trial?"」
「The clever Anastasia saw through him instantly. She didn't stop him; instead, she followed closely behind as the two of them marched toward the third floor.」
「"It's just a groundless guess—don't get your hopes up, it's just a delusion of mine."」
「Despite saying so, the excited tone in Hachiman's voice proved that he was clearly pinning his hopes on it.」
「Anastasia managed to steady her own mindset quite well. Since her Prime Minister hadn't used a definitive tone, it meant there was a possibility of failure. If she held too high an expectation, she would inevitably feel a trace of resentment toward him if they failed, and she didn't want that.」
「The space of the third floor was still that all-white expanse in every direction even at night. Anastasia reached out with trembling hands and rested them on her Prime Minister's shoulders.」
「Hachiman took a deep breath. Just as Julius had done, he touched the black monolith. The monolith began to multiply, and that specific requirement rang out in his mind.」
「"Touch the brightest moment of the hero extinguished by Shaula."」
「In the myths and legends of Earth, there is a story where the hero Orion became conceited, and thus the gods dispatched Shaula (the scorpion) to sting him to death. After death, Orion became a constellation in the sky, and Shaula also became a constellation due to this achievement.」
「In astronomy, Orion is the name of a constellation, and this constellation has two exceptionally bright stars: one is Rigel, and the other is Betelgeuse.」
「Aside from the famous Big Dipper, this was nearly half of Hachiman's meager reserve of astronomical knowledge.」
「The reason he knew this was because of a certain volume of a light novel he had once read that happened to explain this fact. At the time, to find out if the author had made it up or if the stars actually existed, he had specifically looked it up online.」
「When he was searching back then, he had seen the star map of the Orion constellation.」
「"If it's truly as I think, then these seemingly scattered, multiplied black monoliths should be—"」
「Each black monolith should represent the distribution area of the stars in the Orion constellation.」
「"Then the brightest moment is the brightest star, which means..." Hachiman murmured, his eyes scanning everywhere, trying to reconstruct the star map of Orion. He walked over to the black monolith symbolizing Rigel.」
「"Since you match the star map in my memory, then please respond to my expectations, my light novel!"」
「Flash!」
「Hachiman's palm touched Rigel. In the next second, a dazzling white light flooded the entire space, forcing both of them to shut their eyes. When the light faded, he and Anastasia opened their eyes.」
「What they saw was themselves standing in a room that was no longer white in every direction. The colors were perfectly normal, the height was immeasurable to the eye, and it was filled with countless bookshelves.」
「The height of each bookshelf reached the immeasurable ceiling, at least a thousand meters tall, and the shelves were packed with books.」
「"...The treasury of knowledge, the Pleiades Library. That's how the Guardian Miss described this place. In that case—"」
「Filled with shock, Anastasia stared blankly at Hachiman. "Is this... passing the trial, then?"」
「"Not me, us." Though no less shocked than she was, Hachiman quickly regained his composure and corrected her. "That half-favor is being cut in half again, you know?"」
「The moment he imagined the atmosphere tomorrow when Emilia and the others woke up, heard he cracked the trial, and surrounded him with non-stop praise, Hachiman's scalp felt numb.」
「If he didn't give a large portion of the credit to Anastasia, he would surely "die" from the attention tomorrow. Furthermore, connecting the dots to the constellations truly benefited from Anastasia discovering the balcony.」
「If Anastasia hadn't invited him to look at the night scenery, even with his astronomical knowledge, how could he have realized that this was the key to clearing a trial in another world?」
「However, since the trial involved Earth's astronomical knowledge, it meant that the Great Sage Flugel from four hundred years ago was, without a doubt, a fellow traveler from Earth.」
「This wasn't entirely unbelievable... Hachiman glanced at Anastasia. This merchant had always used a cute accent similar to a Kansai dialect. He had asked about it before and pondered it; that Hoshin of the Wasteland from four hundred years ago was definitely a traveler as well.」
「In a way, his ability to link this to Earth's astronomy—aside from the night view—was half due to Anastasia's accent constantly reminding him and tapping into his subconscious, telling him he could guess using knowledge from Earth.」
「"I won't object if you put it that way, but I'm going to tell the truth." Anastasia's eyes sparkled as she happily tugged at the hem of his clothes. "How did the Prime Minister do it?"」
「Hachiman omitted the part about "Earth" and spoke of the myths and the stars of the constellation, finally adjuring her: "Understand? You were vital. This truly wasn't a credit I could take alone."」
「"I was vital—mm-hmm, I understand. That's not bad at all."」
「Anastasia pursed her lips cutely, her slender hands fiddling with her hair. Her scattered violet locks hid her reddening earlobes, which were a mix of joy and a hint of shyness.」
「Ignoring her actions, Hachiman's joy over the trial was dampened by some doubts. Looking at this library, he felt that he might truly have a connection to Flugel.」
「Otherwise, why would the trial content happen to be the few bits of astronomical knowledge he actually knew? ...Maybe it was a coincidence, but it didn't feel like one.」
.
.
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"But, it truly is a coincidence."
On the roof of the Roswaal mansion, Beatrice shook her head.
Hachiman's caution and suspicious nature were originally sharp tools for self-preservation, but in his current amnesiac state, they had become the culprits fueling his confusion. Although this confusion didn't hinder him much, it still made her feel a bit pained.
While Beatrice focused on the pain of his confusion, Crusch and Emilia, far away in the Royal Capital, were half-sad and half-happy.
"Passing the trial is a good thing, of course, and someone being able to help Sir Hachiman is a good thing. It's a good thing, but—it's you again! You're the one who guided Sir Hachiman to the logic for passing the trial again, Anastasia!"
Crusch let out the wail of a losing dog. "At this rate, won't the amnesiac Sir Hachiman's affection for Anastasia just skyrocket?!"
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