My youth story, a crossover anime, turns out, is FGO!

Hikigaya Hachiman sat amidst the ruins of the small island, watching from afar as the Heroic Spirits clinked their wine cups and drank to their hearts' content. Their joyful laughter could be heard even hundreds of meters away.

Especially those few battle maniacs, now that the battle was over, they could finally relax and challenge others everywhere. Taking advantage of the gathering of heroic spirits, they could spar to their hearts' content, with life and death as the measure of victory or defeat.

Hachiman Hikigaya scratched his head. Sure enough, even now, he couldn't fit into the world of these social butterflies. But if he were just observing, he wouldn't feel awkward like before.

Of course, he sat to the side not because he was uncomfortable or anything, but simply to keep the goddess next to him company.

"Aren't you going to join in, Skadi?"

Hachiman Hikigaya turned his head to look at the goddess sitting to the side. The goddess looked at everyone's joyous feast with loving eyes, but she herself had no intention of participating.

"Hehe, I will love them, that's all."

Skadi's eyes were gentle, and like Tiamat, she had an indescribable maternal quality—of course, don't say that in front of her, or you'll surely experience the taste of eternal frozen snow.

Even if Skadi wouldn't actually kill him, the feeling would still be absolutely unpleasant, after all, Skadi is an older, unmarried goddess, and this is taboo.

Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up: "How is Scáthach-sensei? Now... you're leaving too, aren't you?"

Even though Scáthach had become Skadi, the contract on Hachiman Hikigaya's body was barely there. So he could sense that Skadi's spirit origin was already riddled with holes, and she was unwilling to take Hachiman Hikigaya's magic power. Her time left to exist was definitely not long.

"Oh, you're Scáthach's student. It doesn't matter, I'll love you too."

Skadi looked at Hachiman Hikigaya with her crimson eyes, and suddenly, she smiled slightly.

How beautiful it is! It is the budding of life, the gentle breeze of spring, and the embodiment of the ultimate beauty of the nine realms, the tenderness of the bride of the gods.

The breath exhaled turns into wind and snow, and all things perish.

A smile appears, spring returns, and life begins to sprout.

This is equivalent to Skadi, the goddess of winter, meaning that the vitality of spring is inherently hidden beneath the ice and snow of death.

Legend has it that Skadi's smile represents the miracle of resurrection.

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes widened. He could feel a warm current flowing from his body, which was riddled with wounds from taking on two Heroic Spirits and participating in the battle against Tiamat. His somewhat decaying body regained its vitality and became healthier than ever before.

"This, this is..." Hachiman Hikigaya didn't know how to describe it.

“This is a reward, a commendation for the hero.” Skadi lowered her eyes. “This is all I can do for now.”

"...Thank you, Skadi, and please also tell Scáthach-sensei... I am truly grateful for your care during this time!" Hachiman Hikigaya bowed deeply, not with the "bowing spirit" unique to the Japanese, but with heartfelt gratitude.

Confidence, ability, courage... these are all invaluable things that Scáthach's education gave him.

Of course, that kind of Spartan teaching method is no longer needed.

"Heh." Golden spiritual particles had already leaked out from the place where her body had dissipated. Skadi looked at Hachiman, and for a moment, her gaze was very similar to Scáthach's.

Scáthach left behind a message.

"As expected of my student, Hachiman."

Leaving behind such praise, the Nordic goddess Skadi quietly departed.

Compared to other Servants, Achilles, who left the stage early, was the Servant who returned to his Master's side the fastest.

After all, he is a rider who excels at speed and long-distance movement. Among the many vehicle treasures, the Gale Undying Chariot is among the fastest. Even though the famous horse Pedasos, which was stolen from the city, has died, and the two gods Maxanthus and Balius, which were given to him by Poseidon, are also badly injured, as long as they do not engage in battle, their speed is still very fast.

Achilles was single-minded, even abandoning the final battle and not even witnessing the magnificent rise of the stars by Jiang Ziya. However, even if he had known beforehand, he probably wouldn't have regretted it—that's the kind of man he was; once he made up his mind, he would see it through to the end.

"To leave the battle midway through is really not like you, Achilles," Xanthos, the only one of the three horses who could speak, teased him as always.

"You wouldn't actually be in love with her, would you? It doesn't seem like it." Xanthos knew Achilles very well; Sonoko Suzuki was definitely not Achilles' type.

“Ah, of course I didn’t fall in love with her,” Achilles said without any hesitation, as he was the kind of person who made no attempt to hide his feelings. “I just felt I had to do it.”

Sonoko Suzuki was still busy coordinating the allocation of supplies. As the heir to the Suzuki Zaibatsu, with her older sister already married, Sonoko was the sole heir. In times of peace, she could have lived a carefree life until university, but in times of turmoil, she had to take on the responsibility.

For the past few months, she has been handling various affairs of the Suzuki Zaibatsu, allocating human resources, abandoning unsuitable industries, and fully cooperating with Oda Nobunaga and the Human Alliance in command.

So while everyone was celebrating the victory in the war, she still had some work to finish.

At this moment, Sonoko Suzuki still had tear stains on her face. Her three Command Seals were exhausted, and the contract was broken. She had no idea what was going on with Achilles. If it weren't for her growth and maturity during this period, she would have found it difficult to endure the inner torment and continue with her work.

After a long while, she finally finished checking the last few data points and shut down the computer.

"Bang! Bang!" A knocking sound came from outside the window, startling Sonoko Suzuki, who was on the 30th floor.

However, she soon saw what the person looked like.

"Lord Achilles!" Sonoko Suzuki's eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and astonishment. She could hardly believe that Achilles would return at this time, considering that Tiamat had only left Earth ten minutes ago.

But the fact that Achilles had returned was more important than anything else.

"I'm back ahead of schedule. Would you like to come out with me?" Achilles was covered in wounds and his armor was stained with blood. Although it did not diminish his handsome appearance, he was still somewhat disheveled.

Sonoko Suzuki answered without hesitation: "I do!"

Without hesitation, he boarded the wrecked chariot.

This wasn't the first time Sonoko Suzuki had ridden in Achilles' chariot, but at this moment, she had a strong sense of foreboding and felt uneasy.

However, as she flew, the wind brushed against her cheeks, which always calmed her down. Sonoko Suzuki finally mustered up her courage and asked.

"Lord Achilles, are you alright? Why aren't you using my magic?" Judging from his appearance, it was clear that Achilles was seriously injured.

"Ah, I guess I'm just holding on to my last breath, since physically I'm already dead."

Achilles dismissively uttered some terrible words, then steered his chariot to a landing.

They arrived at the seaside, where the sea had returned to its original color, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds in the distance. Sunlight shone on the sea, like shimmering gold.

However, Sonoko Suzuki was in no mood to appreciate it. She looked panicked and said, "What should I do? Lord Achilles, I..." What could I do? Sonoko Suzuki was dejected, as her three Command Seals had been exhausted.

"Ah, I didn't participate in the final battle; I came back early."

Achilles casually uttered words completely out of character: "In short, my battle is over, and after defeating Tiamat, we Heroic Spirits were supposed to leave the stage one by one, but I did not return for that reason."

The spiritual energy within his body had begun to dissipate uncontrollably; the fact that he had managed to hold on until now was a testament to Achilles' astonishing willpower.

"You should know, I haven't fallen in love with you."

Sonoko Suzuki's eyes reddened, and she quickly lowered her head, stammering as she spoke.

"I, I know..."

Then, her inherent stubbornness turned into an inexplicable anger, leading Sonoko Suzuki to question Achilles.

"Why did you come back to tell me this?" He rushed back in such a hurry, even abandoning the final battle, only to be rejected by her?

“It’s not for any other reason,” Achilles’ golden eyes remained as firm as ever, but for just a moment, something else seemed to be brewing within them.

"I just felt I had to say this to you because I saw how hard you were working."

Achilles traveled thousands of miles and rushed here just for that one sentence.

"It might sound strange for me to say it... but, Master."

Achilles calls Sonoko Suzuki "master" for the first time in a serious manner.

May your journey be guided by a light that illuminates your path... One day, you will meet the right person and find happiness.

"I'm really not suited to saying things like that. Anyway, goodbye, Master."

Golden particles fell, and Achilles, the hero of Troy, exited the stage.

Sonoko Suzuki sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.

Why am I so sad? It's not like I haven't been rejected by handsome guys before. I only liked Achilles' good looks. I can recover as long as I go to find other handsome guys.

However, when Achilles uttered those words, Sonoko Suzuki finally understood her own feelings.

Achilles is truly a hero worth loving, yet he is also a hero who will never love you.

Sonoko Suzuki's faint voice dissipated in the wind.

"But, but I've already lost the person I loved..."