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

"It looks like it's in a lot of pain. Let's get it treated first."

A pale green rune flashed, and Taigong Wang, dressed in a long robe, rode a strange beast with a horse's head, deer's antlers, ox's hooves, and donkey's tail, looking over with curved eyebrows.

Kaguya Shinomiya immediately felt a cool sensation on her arm, and her wound was healed.

"...Thank you." Although she felt it wasn't necessary, Kaguya Shinomiya wasn't that tactless. Incidentally, her "unnecessary" simply meant that she rationally judged the injury to be easily treated at a hospital, and there was no need to owe anyone a favor.

"Hmm, it seems I did something unpleasant, a bit of a failure." Taigong Wang's insight was frighteningly sharp. "Actually, you don't have to pay it back~"

"Nothing."

What an insensitive guy! He knew she would be upset before he did this! Kaguya Shinomiya ignored his handsome face and cursed him inwardly.

“…Alright.” Taigong Wang’s eyes crinkled, and he exuded a cheerful aura. “Your Highness Jinshi.”

Sakata Kintoki scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed: "Just call me Kintoki, there's no need to call me Your Highness... I'm just a samurai."

"Well then, Kintoki-kun, I'll leave this place to you. I'm off to help other places first." Taiko-mochi said helplessly, "There's really no other way. It's just that I have a way to move quickly." Riders are all very mobile, let alone Servants like Taiko-mochi who have a mythical beast as a mount.

"Then I entrust the suffering people in other places to you, Your Excellency."

"Haha, there's no need to be so formal, just call me Grandpa." Grandpa Wang seemed very easygoing. "Anyway, I'll take my leave now. Sibyl, see you later!"

The strange beast, named Qibixiang, let out a clear and melodious cry, stepped on the clouds, and quickly disappeared into the clouds.

At this moment, Kaguya Shinomiya had already quietly left the scene. She quickly hid in the teaching building, but did not go upstairs. In her opinion, going upstairs would be like catching a turtle in a jar. Once the skeleton soldiers broke in, she would not even have a chance to escape.

"Shinomiya-kun, over here!"

There were also students who didn't run up; most of them were people who had just escaped here following Kaguya Shinomiya's instructions.

Kaguya Shinomiya hesitated for a moment, but still went over.

"That's amazing, Shinomiya-kun!"

She dodged the intimate gesture from the unfamiliar classmate, but the other person didn't seem to mind, looking at her with sparkling eyes: "So cool! Whether it's calmly directing us or dodging, you're really amazing, Shinomiya-kun!"

"As expected of the Shinomiya family, they are truly outstanding!"

"Thank you for saving our lives. From now on, we'll do whatever Shinomiya-kun tells us to do!"

Kaguya Shinomiya pursed her lips slightly. She had never lacked praise from others since she was a child, but this was the first time she had received such fervent and sincere praise.

Even if they're just a bunch of dimwits who only drag the team down... well, it's a good thing, at least they have some value.

However, she herself did not realize that her usually straight lip line seemed to have turned up a few degrees, well, just a few degrees.

“No, this is not my doing.” Kaguya Shinomiya retorted to the last sentence, “If it weren’t for Lord Kintoki Sakata’s rescue, I would probably have died there.”

After all, Taiko no Momoko arrived a bit late, though it's also possible he'd been observing all along... How annoying. Kaguya Shinomiya narrowed her eyes.

While Taiko no Momochi also evokes a sense of profound mystery, the most immediate impression is that he's an unreliable, entertaining person who's too grating! Unlike Sakata Kintoki, who, although somewhat green, is very upright and reliable—this is just Kaguya Shinomiya's personal opinion.

"Sakata Kintoki? He's Kintaro?"

"The legendary Sakata Kintoki, one of Raikou's Four Heavenly Kings? No wonder he has blond hair; he's said to be the son of the Thunder God, the Red Dragon!"

"So handsome! He gives off a super cool and reassuring vibe!"

The students around them were excitedly discussing it. It has to be said that after escaping for one's life, the adrenaline rush always makes one a little more excited.

Kaguya Shinomiya's eyelids felt heavy; the series of extreme maneuvers she had just performed had almost exhausted her.

"A Heroic Spirit...?" Kaguya Shinomiya leaned against the wall, exhausted, her voice barely audible, yet she still kept her back straight. "I really owe her a huge favor."

However, Kaguya Shinomiya hates owing favors to others.

Kaguya Shinomiya's principle is that once she owes someone a favor, she must repay it.

But how can one repay a favor to a heroic spirit?

"Kaguya-sama!" Hayasaka Ai, who had been hiding her identity as a maid in the Shinomiya family, couldn't hold back any longer and ran all the way from her classroom to hug Kaguya. "Thank goodness! You're alright!"

Kaguya Shinomiya was taken aback, but felt a warmth in her heart: "Yes."

"Kaguya!" Responding to the call, the pink-haired Fujiwara Chika struggled to emerge, her eyes still brimming with tears, but upon seeing Hayasaka Ai, she exclaimed in surprise, "She beat me to it!"

Kaguya Shinomiya & Ai Hayasaka: "?"

……

Hachiman Hikigaya is a high school student with dead fish eyes.

Disheartened, withdrawn, silent, friendless, always alone in class.

I thought I was about to have a fresh start, but I was hit by a car on the day of the opening ceremony and was unfortunately hospitalized, which caused me to miss the opportunity to get to know my new classmates and continue to live a life alone.

But it doesn't matter, a wandering, solitary soul needs no constraints.

The young man with dead fish eyes proudly raised his head.

He resolutely refused to admit that he couldn't fit into their conversation. After all, during his hospitalization, the outside world had seen a series of major events, such as monster invasions, the appearance of heroic spirits like King Arthur, Oda Nobunaga, and Taiko no Momochi. These events seemed like a dream to him. Hachiman Hikigaya, whose access to information about the outside world was limited, was still in a daze, unlike the others who had already accepted reality.

It's unbelievable that such a magical storyline could happen in everyday life. Surely, all those magical things we were obsessed with as kids don't actually exist, right?

Hachiman Hikigaya harbored doubts on his own.

He then shook his head in denial, saying that even if the supernatural existed, such adventures would only happen to high-caste people like Hayato Hayama, or to beautiful girls like Nino Nakano on TV. Someone like him would only be more confident in angering Lord Nobunaga with just three sentences.

Hachiman Hikigaya lay face down on the table, isolating himself from everyone else.

Meanwhile, other high-status individuals with social circles were excitedly discussing the hottest current events.

“A relative of mine actually witnessed a heroic spirit firsthand. It happened at that concert, and Jiang Ziya saved it using his magic!”

"Wow, really? I'm so envious. To be able to get up close to Heroic Spirits. Lord Nobunaga is so handsome! And Grandfather is too. He's not an old man at all."

"Yeah, yeah, I really want to see it with my own eyes too. If I could shake hands with King Arthur or something, I promise I wouldn't wash my hands for three days straight!"

"Hahaha, you wish!"

"Ugh, I can't even think about it!"

"But I'd have to see heroic spirits and encounter monsters, no way! That's too scary, I'm terrified of ghosts!"

"Maybe it really will appear at our school? It's not impossible."

"No way? Hey, don't scare me!"

"Haha, just kidding, it can't be true, how could it be such a coincidence that it appeared here?"

Several girls burst into laughter.

“According to Murphy’s Law, the things you don’t want to happen are the things that will happen,” Hachiman Hikigaya said in a very soft voice.

"But even monsters wouldn't pay attention to someone like me."

His complete lack of presence is also something he's proud of.

Hachiman Hikigaya, who doesn't hate himself and strongly agrees with his own theories, has never regretted anything so much.

When a dark crack appeared in the playground outside the window, and a gray-skinned, lifeless zombie emerged, Hachiman Hikigaya was filled with remorse. Although he knew this was beyond his control, at that moment, the rational Hachiman still wanted to say something—

I should have known better than to set a goal!