Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

The past few days, Aleph found that he got more exhausted than his battles with the honkai beasts.

'I am already going this way. I deserve this… at least.'

Aleph was aware of polygamy. It wasn't very uncommon to see these types of things in people of high status. Even the councilors of Fire MOTH have multiple women at their beds.

It was just him.

He couldn't accept such thinking.

What Aleph sought was a sincere relationship. To that, he was willing to offer his everything. His concept of love was pure, mainly due to his 'bachelor' status in his previous life.

He was aware of the struggles—situationships, first moves, numerous unsaid rules—in his previous life. That was the reason why Aleph had the 'formula' every time he notices something wrong with others. He wasn't a blockhead who disregarded others' feelings.

So long as Aleph could bear it…

He would go with it.

Click.

It was the sound of a doorknob turning. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the rare sight of Mobius in her office. She was usually in her laboratory doing practical experiments. She only signed paperworks once every two weeks… sometimes even a month.

The entire time Aleph sat down, not once had Mobius glanced upon him.

"What did Klein tell you?"

She asked in her usual cynical tone.

"It's nothing." He replied as he tied his shoulder-length hair. "I was the one who told her things."

"...Why bother spreading your private life to others?"

"Klein isn't an outsider, and so are you."

All this time, Mobius hasn't glanced at him. She was talking as she signed the paperworks.

"Was that why you dared to do that last night?"

"That's right." He answered.

Faced with Aleph's honesty, Mobius paused. She looked up and met his eyes.

"Is that so?"

Mobius' snake-like eyes narrowed down. Her enhanced senses immediately caught something.

"You slept with one of them. Your so-called childhood friend." She commented. "It's surprising you have good self-control."

From the lingering scent on Aleph, she knew that he was with Kurumi on the bed. What surprised her, however, was the fact that nothing happened between them.

It made her rethink Aleph's impression last night.

'He's better than a philanderer. How pure. If…'

Mobius' thoughts began to enter a slightly dangerous zone. Her heart contracted as chaotic thoughts entered her mind.

It caused her to break away from Aleph's stare.

The very thing that bothered Mobius since her MANTIS surgery returned.

She was confident she could deal with anything, but this…

'...'

Aleph's voice broke her out of her inner dilemma.

"Almost a year has passed since our first meeting. Back then, I could remember how baffled you were when I accepted your terms."

He began to retell their past. His words dug out the doubts Mobius had before.

Tap.

"Why did you readily agree?"

She placed her pen into the desk. Her gaze returned to Aleph once more.

"Heh. Haven't we talked about this before?" He rhetorically asked. "Others got scared of your reputation, but I saw your talents beneath it. I am also confident of what you can find on myself. I mean, isn't there the 'Holy Blood' used in high-ranking MANTIS surgeries?"

"...Tell me the things you left out."

"..."

Aleph had an urge to play dumb when facing Mobius' question, yet he did not choose to do that.

'As expected. Really…'

He might have been able to hide things from most people, but not from Mobius.

"I saw the future."

"..."

"It was very early on. I saw the future. Consider it as another one of my superpowers." He calmly said. "I already have two if you think of it. Heh."

Aleph revealed one of his biggest secrets. It was very huge to the point Mobius could not react properly. Aleph's light tone did not make it any less impactful.

"Everyone fought hard. Twelve Herrschers were defeated with everyone's efforts. You were one of the people who fought."

"What did I do?"

"Bad things. That descriptor wasn't enough to encompass everything you did."

Mobius nodded. She already had a gist on the bad things she did. She knew herself the best. Given such desperate circumstances, it wasn't far-fetched she could disregard human lives and the likes.

It was then did she realize—

"...Was that why?"

"Hm?"

"The reason why you kept pushing yourself." She calmly said.

All of Mobius' chaotic thoughts were long gone. Aleph's revelation was enough to wash them away, even if temporarily. She became more concerned of the future he said… as well as its effect on him.

"How did it end?"

The most crucial question came to fray.

"You died… presumably. And so did others. Only a few thousand humans lived."

Aleph's invisible burdens presented itself to her.

Withholding future knowledge, just his current duty was already heavy enough. He served as the front against the honkai. If the reason why he kept fighting was due to the 'bad future' he saw, that pressure multiplied several fold.

Her eyes looked down. Nobody, not even Aleph, knew what she was thinking.

'Kindness… Hah. To think I would…'

There were only a few times Mobius experienced it. Blanca's assistant, Klein's friendly concern, and now, Aleph's actions to change the bad future he knew; to change the person she would become.

To describe it, her current feelings were molded and tied together to form something difficult to describe. Her eyes narrowed down the same time as her heart contracted.

"I apologize for hiding it until now."

Aleph's sincere apology resounded in her ears. It made her look at him again.

'This is why…'

Mobius did not hesitate anymore.

Aleph might have briefly forgotten why he went to this office and told Mobius about his secrets, but she did not.

Mobius leaned over the desk. She grasped Aleph's collar with both her hands. The distance from her to Aleph's seat wasn't far in the first place. 

The startled look of the latter flashed in her eyes.

Without having the time to react, Aleph's lips were greeted by a soft sensation.

'Wha—?'

The slight pain when his nose bumped into hers no longer mattered. All he could think of was Mobius' lips.

Five seconds later, she separated from him. Nothing out of the normal could be seen from her face, but Aleph saw the tinge of blush on her ears.

"This is what you came for. Two weren't enough." She calmly stated. "So, what now?"

At this moment, a cunning snake wrapped around Aleph.