Chapter 462. Horikita Manabu: I Have No Sister
When he does not speak, he is silent; when he does, he astounds the world.
Because he had lacked a decent enemy for so long, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's profound schemes had nowhere to be displayed. Now, at this moment, in the most exhilarating fashion, they heavily hammered everyone's perception of him.
Maintaining the "Kiyotaka Path" for three months without breaking only proved his terrifying willpower.
Beheading a bandit army and taking the Ice Wolf Clan and Sword Saint Kureha as his "dogs" was decent, but not exceptionally impressive; many could have done it.
Predicting the situation and rescuing Keyaru's sister went without saying—even an ordinary person could have guessed that the Kingdom would capture her to vent their rage.
But now, even if the vast majority of people could not see as clearly as Hikigaya Hachiman or dissect the actions behind the scenes, they had to admit it.
Using the rescue incident to elevate his prestige to its peak, timing everything perfectly, and playing both friend and foe in the palm of his hand—to achieve this level, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was absolutely terrifying.
Even if people didn't understand the process, they understood the result. This result was undoubtedly stunning—so stunning that no one could question his resourcefulness anymore.
It was like how many people don't know how to govern a country or understand the deep meaning behind a leader's orders, but everyone agrees that someone who governs a country well is impressive.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was now that national leader.
"Playing house... heh, it really was just playing house."
In Advanced Nurturing High School, Koenji Rokusuke let out a sigh. Earlier in the classroom, he still dared to talk tough, but after seeing Ayanokouji's maneuvers, he truly had to surrender and admit defeat.
Compared to his current full-throttle performance, Ayanokouji's time at school was essentially just playing house.
With this world-shaking wisdom where the entire layout was held in his hand, the title of "Masterpiece" was truly not an exaggeration at all. In fact, one could say the name "Masterpiece" was an insult to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
His strength deserved a higher title—for instance, the Earth Emperor.
"Earth Emperor... truly incredible. To think he could actually pull off something like this."
Previously, Ayanokouji had explained his political philosophy to Sword Saint Kureha. Those words about "Strongman Politics" were shocking, but no one had cared to discuss them.
Because reaching that goal was so difficult it was considered impossible. Forget others; even Ryuen Kakeru and his group thought he was just talking big.
Yet, under the gaze of nearly everyone who believed it impossible, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka easily crossed the first stage, turning danger into opportunity and soaring to the sky in a single bound.
Watching the entire arena erupt in shouts of "Earth Emperor" and seeing the fanaticism of his subordinates, at this moment, no one thought Ayanokouji was speaking nonsense anymore.
"He talks about challenging Hikigaya Hachiman... with this level of intelligence, strength, and willpower, if there were no Authorities involved, he looks stronger no matter how you view it. Why does he put himself in the position of a challenger and remain so obsessed with Hikigaya Hachiman?"
Horikita Suzune, who had been insulted by Ayanokouji several times—usually triggered by her looking down on Hikigaya—finally started up again after a long silence, fueled by her accumulated resentment.
Since she couldn't compare to him herself, she would use Ayanokouji as her debate point; at least she had a connection to him.
"Ah my, the ignorant are babbling and barking again." Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Horikita Suzune. "President Horikita, aren't you going to handle this?"
Suzune's face darkened. "What do you mean by that?"
She prepared to argue with Sakayanagi, but Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and actually stood on the opposite side of his sister, saying coldly, "Shut up. Don't make a fool of yourself, Suzune."
"But, I also feel Ayanokouji-kun is stronger?"
Sudo, who had a crush on Suzune, was the first to jump out in support. He purely wanted to show off in front of his crush to gain favor, but several other students followed suit—and they were being sincere.
"Hmph, a bunch of idiots."
Ryuen Kakeru let out a contemptuous sneer.
"Perhaps your brains only remember scenes of Hikigaya Hachiman suffering from a lack of information against the Archbishops and Echidna. Have you forgotten what he did in the Royal Capital before and after confronting the Council of Sages?
Review it carefully, you morons. Those schemes were anything but simple; they symbolize his true capability."
Sudo flared up and immediately retorted: "What was so complex? Wasn't it just buying and selling goods to win people over, teaming up with merchants to undermine Anastasia's Hoshin Trading Company, turning a group of mercenaries into permanent soldiers for Roswaal's territory, using various means to flip Emilia's reputation, befriending the Knight Order, expanding his network, and spying on Crusch's movements! ...Uh..."
As he continued listlessly, Sudo's speaking speed slowed, his confidence drained, his volume dropped, and cold sweat began to roll down his forehead.
Previously, all focus had been on the intense battles against the Archbishops and Roswaal. But calculating it carefully now...
In a short time in the Royal Capital, handling multiple threads simultaneously, conceiving and controlling so many plans from scratch by himself, keeping them orderly and succeeding perfectly...
That seemed incredibly impressive too, didn't it?
"Finally understand? Hmph." Ryuen gave a disdainful smile.
"So-called wisdom is never used just for intense combat; the arrangements under the table are even more important."
Horikita Suzune argued stubbornly, "But I don't think his arrangements can rival Ayanokouji's current display."
"Correct, they are slightly inferior. Ayanokouji's 'Earth Emperor' move is indeed high-level."
Horikita Manabu nodded, then countered, "But have you considered that Hikigaya Hachiman had zero power at the time? If he had a skill like Ayanokouji's—where he could steal memories and gain intelligence just by healing someone—can you guess what level Hikigaya could have reached in the Royal Capital?
It's no exaggeration to say that if he had that skill, I believe Emilia would have won overwhelmingly from that point on. There would have been no need to wait until after the Sanctuary to secure a steady win. People like Roswaal would have been dealt with before their conspiracies even started."
Horikita Suzune opened her mouth to speak but found herself unable to argue in the face of the truth.
In front of everyone, the matter-of-fact Horikita Manabu gave his sister no face at all as he concluded:
"If you want to talk about areas where Ayanokouji definitely wins against Hikigaya Hachiman, of course they exist—such as his learning ability, photographic memory, and master-level martial arts. But in terms of strategy, given the same information and both sides going all out, it would likely be a fifty-fifty split."
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