[Puck skillfully sidesteps Hachiman's prying questions regarding the internal politics of the Royal Selection. He offers a polite, non-committal smile, and Hachiman is wise enough not to push.]
[As they trek back toward the slums, Hachiman continues to pump the spirit for information. He gradually begins to piece together the rules of this game. The King is dead, and while the title of "Royal Candidate" sounds prestigious, it's a hollow crown. None of the candidates have the inherent right to command the Royal Guard or the military.]
[Support is purely voluntary. If a Knight sees promise in a candidate, they can pledge their sword—a gamble for future status should their lord ascend the throne. But for Emilia, the queue of willing champions is non-existent.]
[The reason is singular and suffocating: she is a Half-Elf whose features are an echo of the Witch of Envy. Among the four current candidates, her reputation is the most abyssal, her supporters the few and the brave. She couldn't even report the theft to the guards; losing the Royal Insignia would turn her already precarious reputation into a terminal deficit.]
[If not for the backing of Margrave Roswaal—a man of ancient lineage and terrifying personal power—Emilia would have zero chance. In the eyes of the world, she is merely a puppet for the Margrave's ambitions.]
["Is it possible," Hachiman muses, "that the Bowel Hunter was hired by one of your rivals?"]
The same thought resonates through the minds of the global audience.
"This is a disastrous disadvantage," Kiyotaka Ayanokouji notes. He hasn't seen the other three rivals yet, but based on the descriptions, Emilia's public standing is in shambles. The others are described as peerless talents with established power bases.
"With Hachiman's intellect, he could have sought out any of the other three and flourished. But he won't. His twisted sense of altruism always overrides his cold logic. From the moment Emilia saved him in that first loop, his fate was sealed. He will gravitate toward her, regardless of the odds."
"Even if I were to assist her, it would be difficult. The Selection is too close. If I had two or three years, I could manipulate the public perception of the masses, turning the 'Witch' into a 'Saint.' But here? It depends on how much magic can cheat the system. I'm curious to see how you'll handle these monsters, Hikigaya."
Ayanokouji doesn't view Elsa as a threat anymore. He knows Hachiman; a man who has tasted death once will not stumble over the same stone twice.
["It's unlikely," Puck counters. "Crusch follows the path of chivalry. Anastasia is a merchant who prefers win-win deals. Priscilla is too arrogant to stoop to such underhanded methods. If I had to guess, the Sages of the Council are more likely suspects—those old fossils would do anything to keep Lia off the throne."]
[Emilia remains quiet, her kindness acting as a shield against the darker implications. To her, retrieving the insignia is the only priority.]
[However, her demeanor shifts once Hachiman provides a clinical breakdown of the Bowel Hunter's reputation. He details the victims, the gruesome method of disembowelment, and the cold-blooded nature of the hit.]
["She's killed that many people? In such a painful way?" Emilia's eyes sharpen, a flicker of ice-cold resolve replacing her hesitation. "I understand. I won't hold back."]
"You better not die a second time, Lia. Our dignity can't handle it," Puck says in the real world, patting Emilia's shoulder with a sigh.
"Puck..."
Emilia is transfixed by the screen. Her heart is racing with a warmth she has never felt—a strange, thrilling heat spreading through her veins. She whispers to herself, her lilac eyes misting with tears that have nothing to do with fear.
"He said... he believed in me. Hachiman... he died because of me, and yet he still came back to find me. He's still helping me... Is this real, Puck?"
"It's real, Lia. The heavens don't make jokes this elaborate."
Puck sighs, feeling a strange mix of melancholy and relief. The world has been so cruel to her, but the broadcast has shown everyone a quality in Hachiman that most "True Knights" lack: the loyalty that survives even the grave.
[The cellar door is kicked open with a violent bang. Inside, Felt and Rom are frantically packing their bags, preparing to vanish into the night.]
[Felt stares at them, her jaw dropping. "You said one hour! It's only been thirty minutes!"]
[Hachiman doesn't bother hiding his smirk. "That was a deliberate lie. I gave you a false deadline so you'd feel safe staying here just long enough for me to bring the heavy hitters."]
["You—!"]
[Felt and Rom reach for their weapons, but Hachiman simply steps aside. What follows is a spectacle of overwhelming force.]
[A hurricane of ice spears fills the room, radiating a freezing aura that saps the will to fight. Emilia and Puck have abandoned all gentleness, manifesting a level of power that leaves the two thieves paralyzed.]
["To form a unified front, you have to speak their language," Hachiman says, his voice flat and practical. "And if you want them to listen to your logic, you have to provide a sufficient threat of violence first."]