Chapter 313. Big Sis Anna
「"The remains of a Witch."」
「Sitting in a circle within a crudely tidied temporary hall, Anastasia—who had already changed from her kimono back into her practical travel clothes—explained. She was draped in her Scarf-Fox, and traces of fatigue and exhaustion were faintly visible on her face.」
「"That is the objective of the Witch Cult's surprise attack on Pristella. They seek to claim the remains of a Witch."」
「"According to Mr. Kiritaka, one of the 'Council of Ten' who holds the highest authority in Pristella, this city was originally built to hunt down and trap a certain existence. That existence is Typhon, the Witch of Pride from four hundred years ago."」
「"Typhon's remains—that is the Witch Cult's goal."」
「Typhon… Hikigaya Hachiman remembered that name. She was one of the Witches who had kept Echidna company in the tomb at the Sanctuary. He hadn't expected to have a one-sided reunion with her here in such a fashion.」
「"In other words, the Witch Cult wasn't drawn here by us candidates, but rather, this is a calamity inherent to Pristella itself?"」
「As he spoke, Hachiman looked toward Kiritaka. Gathered in this makeshift Witch Cult Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters were:」
「Hikigaya Hachiman, Anastasia, Crusch, Emilia, Julius, Garfiel, Ricardo, Wilhelm, Al, and Kiritaka.」
「"Please do not use such phrasing to pressure me, Mr. Hachiman. Although it is the truth that Pristella has implicated you all, I... I will certainly take responsibility. I will not hide even a shred of critical information."」
「Kiritaka took a deep breath. "The remains of Typhon are indeed suppressed beneath this city. Only we, the Council of Ten, know the specific location. However, we also know another point... if these remains are ever moved, the entire city of Pristella will overturn and sink into the water."」
「"Which is to say, there is no possibility for compromise?"」
「Regarding Crusch's reassurance, Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head slightly, countering: "We cannot be at ease. The Witch Cult will certainly send people to kidnap the Council of Ten. Out of ten people, there might be one or two who, to save their own lives, would disregard the fate of the entire city."」
「"Those are harsh words, but I can understand the concern," Kiritaka said. "That is why I have already dispatched the 'White Dragon's Scales' to bring the remaining nine members here. I myself will remain here as well; I will not go to the Witch Cult to inform on you."」
「Seeing that Hachiman and Kiritaka had finished their exchange, Anastasia clapped her hands together, setting the tone for their stance against the Witch Cult.」
「"That's right. There is no option for compromise or surrender. People who offend me—I don't like letting them live to see the next day. Surely it's the same for the rest of you?"」
「She looked around the room, met only by faces brimming with murderous intent... Everyone was a resolute hawk when it came to the Witch Cult. This reaction was reassuring.」
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"—What!?"
In Pristella, everyone was struck dumb, looking at one another in disbelief.
The remains of a Witch... so it turned out that Pristella itself was the primary cause attracting the Witch Cult. In other words, the five candidate camps gathering in Pristella at this time actually saved the city's life, becoming its saviors.
The five candidate camps—including Emilia, who was targeted by Regulus and Sirius—were actually the ones suffering a disaster they didn't ask for.
Originally, they could have stayed perfectly safe.
Given their strength, if they didn't fight the Sin Archbishops and simply wanted to break out and leave Pristella, every camp could have done so easily.
But they didn't. They stayed behind. For the sake of Pristella, for the people of this city, they were risking their lives to fight the Witch Cult.
"I... we... what on earth have we done? Just now, I was actually resenting Lady Emilia, resenting Lady Anastasia. I... I... ugh, ahhhh..."
In Pristella, a woman in her twenties, overwhelmed by shame, covered her face and knelt down in utter remorse. Using her as a starting point, the people who had previously—more or less—felt an involuntary resentment toward Anastasia and Emilia all came to their senses.
Not only in Pristella, but people in other places were also dumbfounded.
After seeing Regulus wanting to abduct Emilia as his wife and Sirius's jealousy and hatred toward her, everyone had essentially assumed that these Sin Archbishops were also brought here by Emilia.
But that wasn't the case at all. If anything, Emilia was quite innocent.
"Our prejudice against Emilia is still too severe. Although it's not as bad as the prejudice of the people in the other world, seeing that Roswaal and Petelgeuse were brought in by her, and Hachiman died so many times because of her..."
"So this time, we subconsciously felt it was because of Emilia too..."
At the Kousaka household, Kyousuke Kousaka sat upright, cleansing himself of his prejudices.
From this moment on, the people of both worlds finally and completely discarded the view that Emilia was a jinx.
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「Immediately following this, Garfiel raised his hand. "This great me also has intel to share."」
「Everyone remained quiet and looked toward him. Garfiel began to describe: "This great me went out with Mimi this morning. After hearing the Sin Archbishop's broadcast at noon, I went to check out the City Hall entrance."」
「"By then, many people had already been killed by those bastard Archbishops. There were two guards at the door. One was a man with eight arms, and the other was a woman who used a sword. At the time, to save people, I briefly traded blows with them. Both of them were a bit stronger than me."」
「"If I hadn't kept my General's words in mind—to not be impulsive when encountering trouble—and if I hadn't run away after testing them, I might have lost already."」
「Holding endless admiration for his General, Garfiel knew that without Hachiman's constant advice over the past year, with his own hot-headed and impulsive temper, he definitely wouldn't have accepted the fact that he was inferior to others so easily.」
「In that case, he and Mimi might have already died as a result of his own impulsiveness.」
「"By the way, both of them were dead," he added. "I don't know how to describe it... like dead people, like puppets. Anyway, they weren't normal living humans."」
「"I've already told Big Sis Anna what they looked like." After saying this, Garfiel sat back quietly.」
「On Anastasia's already exhausted face, a flash of helplessness and a vengeful spirit flickered. She smiled squinty-eyed at Garfiel. "If possible, could you change the way you address me, meow?"」
「"No way. This great me is the strongest shield for the General and Lady Emilia. I have nothing to say to a competitor like you. Although we're standing together for now because of the Witch Cult invasion, I won't show any mercy when we compete later."」
「"Prepare yourself, Big Sis Anna!"」
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