Chapter 378. Three Revived Old-Timers
"This is dangerous."
"Yeah, quite dangerous."
"Indeed, it's truly too dangerous."
Inside an undisclosed hideout of the Witch Cult, three sighs rang out in unison.
There was Fortuna, Emilia's foster mother, who had finally triumphed over Pandora's authority-induced distortion thanks to Petelgeuse's timely arrival and the affection and encouragement injected through his calls, embraces, and kisses. Now breathing heavily, she had regained her self-awareness and removed her bandages.
There was Petelgeuse, the honest spirit, who had actively kept a fair distance from Fortuna after their kiss—since he would occasionally be greeted by unexpected "physical responses"—standing by obediently.
And there was Theresia, the former Sword Saint, who had requested Fortuna cast a spell to release the imprisonment and manipulation of her body after Fortuna regained clarity. She was now resurrected and had regained her freedom.
At this moment, only these three reborn individuals remained in the hideout; the Witch Cultists had already been dealt with by them.
Watching her daughter being led around by the nose by Anastasia, yet still feeling deeply moved and thinking the other was a magnanimous person, Fortuna sighed repeatedly. Though she had once been a tsundere, she could at least read between the lines; she was, to some extent, better off than her simple daughter.
"It's my fault. If I hadn't been picked up by Pandora back then and had instead been frozen along with Emilia, perhaps I could have been unsealed with her thanks to my deep mana reserves and taught her properly."
The awakened Fortuna had four main concerns: Petelgeuse, Emilia, everyone in the village, and Pandora. Petelgeuse had recovered, and the fact that the village needed Dragon Blood was now public knowledge.
From the broadcasted future, all the candidates except Priscilla seemed like decent people. Now that the village's situation was known, as long as Priscilla didn't win, whoever won in reality would likely trade Dragon Blood with Emilia just as they did in the future. Therefore, unsealing the villagers was a sure thing; it just needed time.
As for Pandora, worrying was useless; no one could find her unless she showed herself, so she had to be left alone for now. What remained was only Emilia's happiness.
"Capturing that Hachiman was thanks to Emilia's simplicity—her 'Genuine' nature... but falling into a disadvantage is also because of her simplicity. This won't do."
The young-looking Fortuna was fraught with worry, while the similarly young-looking Theresia—who had returned to her twenty-year-old appearance—was also sighing with emotion.
"Wilhelm... making him act as an advisor... it's really hard on that child Crusch. Aside from fighting and killing, he can't help with anything at all."
Theresia pouted, seemingly speaking ill of her husband, but the overflowing love in her voice made her true heart obvious to the two people beside her.
"He clearly saw that Crusch harbors unusual feelings for Hachiman, yet he hasn't helped at all. Hmph~ after all these years, he's still the same as he was back then. When it comes to emotional matters, he's just like that."
"Heinkel and Reinhard too... once I go back, I must make father and son reconcile."
"And I must definitely help Crusch come up with some strategies. She is a powerful, good child—wonderful. She and Hachiman are a perfect match; those two should just get married on the spot!"
Theresia liked Crusch far too much. Whether it was the pre-amnesia or post-amnesia Crusch, she felt the girl was simply superb.
Fortuna fixed her gaze on Theresia.
"In that case, we are enemies?"
"There's no refuting that," Theresia replied with a firm nod.
Both women laughed, and the faked atmosphere of gravity instantly collapsed. As two people with similar circumstances and mutual respect, Fortuna and Theresia had already become good friends.
Even if they supported different "stocks," it didn't affect their friendship.
However, when it came to helping their respective children snatch Hikigaya Hachiman, they would definitely not show mercy just because of that friendship.
While watching the future broadcast, the three of them traveled toward the Royal Capital at a pace that wasn't too fast—ensuring they wouldn't fail to brake and hit pedestrians or objects due to distraction.
.
.
.
「Sleeping in an embrace with Anastasia.」
「It was a very "melodramatic" accident, but Hikigaya Hachiman accepted the fact quite easily, because these kinds of melodramatic things truly did happen once or twice occasionally.」
「Just like back when he was in the Service Club, helping Saika win back the tennis court. After winning the match against Hayama and Miura Yumiko, he prepared to return to a room to rest, only to see Yukinoshita and Yuigahama both changing clothes when he opened the door.」
「Yukinoshita had stripped down to just her underwear at the time. The melodramatic level of that experience was no less than this one, and he was able to communicate with Yukinoshita normally afterward.」
「Regarding these accidental incidents, Hachiman was relatively tolerant. After all, they weren't linked to subjective emotions; they were only related to the body.」
「...Hachiman offered an apology to Anastasia, which she accepted easily. Thus, both sides acted as if nothing had happened, interacting just as they had before.」
「This left Crusch and the others dumbfounded again, finding it unbelievable—it was neutralized just like that? Meili, who was waiting to watch a good show, was even more disappointed.」
「In reality, however, while he was tolerant, Hachiman truly couldn't act as if it had never happened. Unconsciously, Anastasia's weight in his heart had indeed increased.」
「"Now, I'll talk about the new discovery Anastasia and I found last night."」
「Clapping his hands to draw the attention of the entire group—who were still in a state of shock or despondency—Hachiman said: "Since you've already heard from Anastasia up to the point where the trial was cracked, I'll start from this library."」
「"Every book in this library represents a person who has died. The title of the book is that person's name. In other words, these are countless 'Books of the Dead'."」
「"The books record the contents of that person's entire life. Under specific circumstances, after flipping through a Book of the Dead, one's soul will be pulled into the book. From a third-person perspective, you can personally witness that person's experiences, seeing their whole life clearly and obtaining all the secrets they learned."」
「"If anyone among the dead in this world knows how to crack the authority of the Gluttony Bishop, or knows of something similar, then we can know it too."」
「"In other words, theoretically, this library can indeed help me reclaim my memories."」
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