Chapter 0134: No Running Away This Time
As members of the Six Scripture filed out of the room, Kayle and Morgana, who had been guarding the door, followed and closed it behind them, standing watch to prevent any fools from disturbing the Supreme One.
"Ah—"
The moment the door slammed shut, Hayashi collapsed into Erina's arms like Aqua dropping all pretenses, casually lifting her skirt and burying his face in her legs wrapped in sheer 30D black pantyhose, wailing, "Why do I have to be this so-called Sacred Emperor!? Can't Hisako do it instead? It's exhausting—talking to these people is exhausting!"
Sitting upright, speaking solemnly, not even stealing a glance at Erina's legs—this is no way to live!
Erina's lips twitched as she watched Hayashi's seamless execution—he was so natural she hadn't even noticed anything amiss! Just how did you get so good at this... oh, right, you practiced on me. Never mind.
"Young master, what nonsense are you spouting?" Hisako said exasperatedly, watching Hayashi rub his face against Erina's thighs. "You're the leader of our team, so of course you have to be the emperor!"
"Ehh—" Hayashi made a disgusted noise. "But being emperor is such a hassle! I can't even slack off—why can't Hisako be the emperor while Erina and I go sightseeing?"
Hisako: "?"
Excuse me, is that even human speech? Have you no shame to say such things!?
Her eye twitching, she replied flatly, "How about this—Yunyun, Heathcliff, and I stay behind to handle affairs in this world while you and Erina return to the Shokugeki world for the final ceremony. Maybe even take a honeymoon or something?"
"Gasp—"
Hayashi instinctively propped himself up, looking at Hisako like she was Employee of the Year and the boss's nephew rolled into one. Nodding solemnly, he declared, "As expected of Hisako, proposing such a constructive idea—I approve! Let's do that. Hisako, Yunyun, and Heathcliff can stay here..."
Before he could finish speaking, Hisako, with a dark expression, interrupted him: "Young Master, don't even think about it—don't even think about leaving me behind to enjoy sweet moments alone with Erina!"
"Wait, how can I bring you along for something like that?" Hayashi was also at a loss for words. "You can't seriously expect to watch while Erina and I... do that, right? That would be a bit too much."
"I-I-I, even I wouldn't do something like that!" Hisako blushed furiously, stammering, "What I meant was, at least the next day, I could serve Erina some sekihan (red bean rice) or something..."
As for the custom of sekihan, there's probably no need to explain, right?
"Guh—"
Erina couldn't help but blush as well, covering her face and curling up on the sofa—though she looked like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, her ears were perked up high. What a mischievous little thing.
"Damn it, can't Erina's mom make the sekihan instead?"
"Of course not! It has to be made by my own hands! It carries my blessings for Erina!"
'What, are your blessings special or something? Can they make her lactate without even giving birth so I can...?' Hayashi rubbed his temples in frustration, waving his hand dismissively. "Forget it, forget it. I never actually planned to leave you all behind and take Erina back alone. I was just talking offhand."
After all, the decision to change the darkness and ugliness of this world was one made together by Hayashi, Erina, Hisako, and Yunyun. How could Hayashi possibly push all the responsibilities onto Hisako and selfishly take Erina back to enjoy life?
'Wait, we're not going back?' Hearing Hayashi say they weren't leaving, Erina couldn't help but feel a little relieved, though her emotions were still slightly tangled. 'Stupid, stupid!'
No matter what, Erina was still a young girl in the throes of youth. After being intimate with Hayashi so many times, she couldn't help but feel a little—just a little, really—curious about that sort of thing.
"More importantly, Young Master—" Hisako placed the documents from her chest onto the table, suppressing a smile as she said, "You're going to be very busy from now on! Work hard, Your Majesty."
"Wait, what? You're seriously making me the king?" Hayashi's face turned green as he stared at the documents on the table, his eyes widening. "Do you have any idea? The highest position I've ever held was class monitor in middle school, and that was only because my homeroom teacher thought I was too mischievous and hoped I'd behave better if I had to set an example!"
Of course, if being the admin of a reader group chat counted as a position, Hayashi might have also achieved the title of "Manager of a Hundred-Person Community."
"Relax, my dear Young Master, I'll be here to assist you—" Hisako soothed Hayashi as if calming a dog about to get a shot. "After all, you can't just avoid handling any responsibilities, right?"
"No, handling some affairs with your assistance is my duty, and I think that's perfectly reasonable." Hayashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But do I really have to be the king? Can't I just stay behind the scenes and issue broad directives or something?"
Erina blinked her eyes beside them, then looked at Hisako and said, "Hisako, I also think Hayashi's proposal is feasible! He's just not cut out to be a king (Hayashi clutched his chest). If we force him to handle these matters, wouldn't it just waste so much time?"
As she spoke, Erina glanced at Hayashi and muttered in her heart, 'That way, he wouldn't have as much time to spend with me, right?'
"Well, it's possible, but..." Hisako rubbed her head and said, "My original plan was to have the young master try being a proper leader here—even though he lacks ambition, as long as we continue traveling, a group centered around him is bound to form eventually, right?"
For example, the Nakiri Family from the Shokugeki world and the Pokémon Champions and legendary Pokémon from the Pokémon world already belonged to this group.
Hayashi: "Uh..."
Seeing Hayashi's hesitant expression, Hisako added, "Of course, we can always train him in this aspect later! With so many different worlds out there, finding a similar one shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
"That may be true..." Hayashi rubbed his head in frustration—just as Hisako said, among the countless worlds, finding one where he could play king in his own little corner wouldn't be hard at all.
In the One Piece world, the Naruto world, the Slime world, or even the Akame ga Kill! world, becoming a king wouldn't be too difficult—especially in Akame ga Kill!, where the situation was even more rotten to the core than in the Overlord world.
"But even so, what if my decisions lead to major mistakes?" Hayashi gave Erina and Hisako a bitter smile.
"Young master, failure isn't something to fear!" Seeing Hayashi wavering between interest and hesitation, Hisako looked at him earnestly and said, "Our strength in this world is in a league of its own. With that kind of power as a safety net, you can afford to fail once, twice, or even countless times—until you succeed!"
Erina also encouraged him, "Hisako's right! Hayashi, don't be afraid of failure. Hisako and I will be right here with you!"
"Haah..." Hayashi raised his hands and vigorously rubbed his face, then let out a long sigh and murmured, "Running away is easy, but once you do it once, you'll want to do it again—"
This was Hayashi's personal experience. Since childhood, he had been terrified of failing and embarrassing himself or seeing disappointed looks from others. As a result, he had never participated in any class activities—even something as simple as an idiom chain game during homeroom, he had chosen to bury his head in the sand like an ostrich.
In truth, even if Hayashi chose to escape this time, it wouldn't matter at all. With his abilities, he could easily find people skilled in governance from other worlds, offer them favors, and recruit them to his side—
For example, he could recruit Lelouch by offering to heal Nunnally's legs.
For example, he could recruit Riku by promising to protect the human race and provide food.
For example, he could recruit the Demon King Crimson Eyes by offering modern knowledge and food supplies.
If the fear was about being unable to control such a highly intelligent character, one could even use contract magic to ensure their loyalty.
But...
'Wouldn't that still be choosing to run away? I'm going to become a man worthy of Erina—how can I choose to escape just because of this level of difficulty?' Hayashi pursed his lips, then extended his right hand to grasp Erina's hand. Looking at Hisako, he said, "Hisako, when I first start serving as king, there will surely be many things I don't understand. I'll need your guidance then."
Erina clasped Hayashi's hand in return and nodded firmly. "Hayashi, let's work hard together!"
"Absolutely!" Hisako knelt before the throne, placing both hands over Hayashi and Erina's joined hands. She said earnestly, "I will also do my best to assist you, young master!"
Thanks to the willpower honed under Master Minazuki's training, and bolstered by Hisako and Erina's encouragement, Hayashi finally took his first step here!
Just as Hisako had said, with strength unrivaled in this world as his foundation, Hayashi could fail once, twice, three times, or even ten times. As long as he ultimately succeeded, it would be a tremendous encouragement and an invaluable experience for him.