Chapter 27 – Hikigaya Hachiman's Popularity
Pages flipped beneath his fingertips. With a flick of Hikigaya's fingers, another book flew out and landed in the growing pile behind him.
Once that pile reached a certain size, it would simply disappear.
The authority of a Campione in human society was broadly described as "doing whatever one pleases." It sounded unimpressive at first, but when applied to specific matters, the results could be astonishing.
That morning, Hikigaya had casually mentioned to Ena that he wanted to read some books.
By noon, this news had spread across countless magical associations. And by afternoon, in his hotel room, countless magical societies—many of which Hikigaya had never even heard of, nor even knew where they were based—had already activated magic directly from their bases, sending over every book they could find related to the Monkey King.
This alone demonstrated that the title "King of Magicians," which had been used for Campiones centuries ago, was not just a term used to evaluate their strength.
It didn't matter whether the magical societies knew him or not, whether they were familiar with him or not—once a Campione's desire was made known to the outside world, acts of servitude would follow, regardless of location.
This clearly illustrated just how deeply Japan had been infiltrated by magical associations from all over the world.
Good thing Campiones have drastically different stamina and mental fortitude than regular humans. Otherwise, Hikigaya wouldn't even know when he could finish reading all these books.
In this world, the magical side rooted in occult studies was maniacally fervent in researching gods.
If science had rewritten the course of human civilization, then the power of gods had never disappeared since the dawn of recorded history. Campiones, wielders of such divine power, had once played ancient civilizations like toys in their hands.
By comparison, the Old Wolf of Eastern Europe was practically a gentle soul.
That old man just liked to fight. When not fighting, he was surprisingly eco-friendly.
Hikigaya remembered when he first started working as a teacher, he'd even received a letter from Voban, inviting him to the Alps for a visit—apparently, the old man had built a castle there. But it was so high up and dug so deep that normal people couldn't even find it.
Given that the old man was a hopeless romantic type of battle maniac, liable to go wild at the drop of a hat, Hikigaya had politely declined his offer—though the real reason was that he
found it way more fun to show off to his little sister and her classmates than to chat with a three-hundred-year-old war junkie.
Picking your conversation partner carefully—that's the key to a life filled with positive energy.
Take someone like him, for example. Voban was seriously blessed to have met him instead of Kusanagi Godou in this world.
If it was Godou, no way he'd get invited to Japan for a showdown with a god.
Hikigaya could almost picture Voban mentally giving him a thumbs-up.
"No need to thank me—because I am a red scarf-wearer."
Not a single word should be omitted from that phrase, and you definitely can't add words either. The consequences are serious.
Once, in a world filled with alien hacks, a group of bros left out a word in the middle and added one at the end—and got soloed by a monkey-transforming, hair-dyeing alien-child protagonist.
Speaking of monkeys... does that word just mean "strong" by default?
Hikigaya already knew what had happened on Mount Nikko. Including the surprising fact that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had allies.
So, turns out these Heretic gods really are everywhere, huh? Just how unlucky was that old man Voban to be searching the entire world and still come up empty?
"Ugh..." Tossing away another book, Hikigaya stood from his chair and flopped onto the nearby bed.
He couldn't read anymore. One more book and he'd turn into a glutton in a nun's outfit.
Speaking of eating...
Hikigaya's ears picked up footsteps outside the door.
The next moment, the door opened, and Ena pushed in a food cart. Hikigaya's sharp nose immediately picked up the scent of steak.
Logically speaking, he wasn't in the mood for that right now.
"Hachiman, eat something first," Ena said.
"No. It's too dry. I want fruit," Hikigaya kicked off his shoes and rolled a few times on the bed. So soft. So nice.
Ena rolled her eyes, turned to leave—clearly she hadn't prepared any fruit.
But even more clearly, she'd misunderstood.
"Where are you going?" Hikigaya quickly called after her.
"To get you fruit?" the confused sword priestess replied.
"Why bother? You already have it on you—I can smell it," the Campione said righteously.
"W-what are you talking about?" Ena looked utterly baffled. But she saw Hikigaya on the bed eagerly waving her over, like an impatient monkey.
Helpless, she closed the door and climbed onto the bed.
"Be good. Eat first."
"No way. Eating meat without fruit is unhealthy," Hikigaya shook his head. "My brain's fried. Feed me."
Seeing Ena still didn't get it, he sighed at their differing comprehension levels. Propping himself up, he whispered something into her ear.
At first, Ena looked puzzled—but in the next instant, her face turned bright red.
Sure, she was a woman now, but that didn't mean Hikigaya had completely "trained" her yet. If it were that pervert Haruno, she would've understood it in a second.
Because of that, their reactions were totally different.
"You pervert! In broad daylight?!" Ena immediately pinched and twisted Hikigaya furiously, her face red enough to drip blood—absolutely adorable.
"Aaah, I'm so dry," Hikigaya let her pinch him all over, then flopped onto the bed with all limbs spread out. From below, he admired her flustered face, sighing weakly. "No energy... I'm gonna die... can't fight monkeys anymore..."
"T-this is not okay..." Ena didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, and she stopped pinching him, afraid he might actually give up on everything.
If it were any other Campione, she wouldn't believe they'd abandon a god mid-battle—but this one...
She hesitated again and again, and finally, utterly exasperated, threw herself into his arms and began pounding on him like mad.
"You bully! You jerk! You're humiliating me!" Her shame was beyond words, eyes nearly tearing up.
That bastard! Things are about to get serious and he's still trying to mess with that part of her!
"Okay, okay, I'm done teasing you," Hikigaya laughed heartily, pulling Ena into a tight hug, kissing and groping until he successfully pinned her beneath him again.
"Just joking. I don't care about the steak. The gods outside are the real main course. Once the others arrive, we can dig in."
"Who are we waiting for?" Ena's eyes were teary—who knew if it was from shame or anger.
"Who else?" Hikigaya sneered. "So what if they're gods? You think I don't have my own party?"
"Speak normally, please!"
"See? See? Your daily life's too boring—you don't even get this." Hikigaya sighed. "I'm talking about teammates."
In that instant, Ena froze as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Hikigaya noticed her sudden shift and looked puzzled.
Why was she so nervous?
"Hachiman, you didn't... you didn't contact other kings, did you?" Ena's eyes went wide.
"Not too many," Hikigaya nodded casually, as if it weren't a big deal.
Sure, a Campione could wipe out a city if they went all out, but usually no one went that far unless absolutely necessary.
When judging the destructive tendencies of Campiones, Hikigaya used Voban as his standard.
Based on their battle in Kyoto, Voban didn't seem like the type to purposely attack densely populated areas.
In fact, the old man preferred places with fewer people. Quite humane, actually.
"N-not too many?" Ena's voice trembled.
She was dying inside. That question just now? She'd only meant to ask if he'd allied with Luo Hao!
So what the hell did "not too many" mean!?
Who the hell else had he contacted!?
"Well, I only contacted Voban. That idiot with the holy sword tried reaching out to me too, but I told him to get lost... Huh? Ena?"
To his shock, Hikigaya realized Ena had completely stopped moving in his arms, her eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.
Holy crap! Why'd she pass out!?
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