Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

If there was a word to describe his current feelings, it would be "zen". Aleph's thoughts went to the trash bin. All that was left were his instincts to cuddle with the girl sitting in his lap.

His hands were placed on Mei's waist. His face was buried on her neck.

The lavender-like smell assaulted his nose further. Along with Mei's soft body, Aleph was placed in a state of inexplicable comfort.

Mei was startled by his actions before she swiftly calmed down. It was her turn for her heartbeat to quicken.

'He's like… a cat.'

Cats were usually very 'vigilant'. Most of them don't like it whenever a stranger brings them closer, unless they were trained. 

If one happens to become closer to these fluffballs, however, they always take the initiative to bring themselves closer.

'This is fine too.'

Although Mei lost control of what she could do, she let it be. The weight of Aleph's head on her shoulders made her realize there were much more beautiful things than she thought—that ignorance was sometimes not a bliss.

If she did not take that crucial step, she would have missed these moments.

Just as the two were immersed in their own world, Mei felt something on Aleph's lap. It was unknown as to when, but Mei moved closer to Aleph. As such, it did not escape her.

'It's—!'

That realization sent a tinge of red all over her face. Her body jolted. Aleph woke up on his reverie as a result.

A split second was enough for him to realize what happened. His embarrassment was far stronger than what Mei felt now.

Dum.

Dum.

Dum.

…

His pulse became strong enough to feel it on his ear. The last time he felt something like this was when he nearly died against a chariot-class honkai beast. Now, fighting Herrschers and Emperor-class honkai beasts was no longer enough to make him feel this nervous.

'What should I do?'

'Break this situation? Or…'

'...testing the limits..?'

Aleph's choice of taking multiple girls placed him the responsibility of taking care of each one of them. That includes seeing through their vague boundaries and retreating when necessary.

It was tiring, yes, but it was one of the responsibilities he willingly took when he chose everyone instead of someone.

These thoughts took Aleph less than two seconds to process. His face rose up. Mei turned her head and looked at him in a daze. Due to Aleph's height, he saw how much vision was obstructed by her chest, her neck… 

Simply put, many things.

Aleph made a choice to step further.

He came close to her face; his lips touching hers. The soft sensation assaulted his mind… but he did not stop there. He used his tongue to pry Mei's lips open. 

It elicited a widened gaze from her underneath her glasses. However, she ultimately did not stop him. 

After all…

This was what she expected (wanted) to happen.

It was a clumsy kiss. Aleph missed her tongue on several occasions. He was the only one who moved at first, but it began to change when Mei began her own attack. She went from being passive to the one doing most of the attacking.

Due to their altered physical bodies as a MANTIS, they did not easily run out of breath. It took more than three minutes for them to separate. During that time, Aleph's hands slightly wrinkled the bottom of Mei's long sleeves. The upper portion remained untouched.

"Huff…"

When they separated, Aleph forgot to breathe due to Mei's alluring looks. It was similar yet different from her usual self. She still had that competitive side that 'defeated' him in many ways, but he also saw her vulnerable side.

The vague atmosphere around her office continued. Aleph continued staring at her eyes, to which he understood what she wanted.

Knock-!

Just as they were about to continue, the sound of a knock interrupted their hectic thoughts.

"Director Mei?"

Klein's voice came from the other side.

Mei instantly regained her clarity. She smiled at Aleph and stood up from his lap. She went to the chair behind her desk as she said:

"Yes? Come in."

Klein's short figure was revealed as the door opened. She was holding a pile of paperworks that blocked her face. She had to lean her head sideways to see where she was going.

Seeing this, Aleph stood up and took the paperworks from her. He placed everything that transpired now as well as the prompts from his Achievement Hunter at the back of his mind.

"...Thank you, Sir Aleph."

"There's no need to say thanks." 

He replied as he placed them on Mei's desk.

"I will be going."

Klein said these words as she left the office. Somehow, she had the slightest feeling that she interrupted something between them.

'Doctor Mobius gave them to me ten minutes ago. It's bad timing.'

Click.

Looking at the paperworks, Mei narrowed her eyes.

'Is it a coincidence or one of her plans..?'

It would have been fine if it was a coincidence. If it was not, it only meant that Mobius wanted to send her a message—

To not keep Aleph to herself.

"Ahem. You still have things to do, right?"

"...Yes."

Aleph finally regained his conscious thoughts as he answered. He remembered his agenda for today.

"Let's continue it… next time."

His heart skipped a beat once he heard Mei's words.

*****

An Emperor-class honkai beast represented the current pinnacle of the honkai beasts created by the Honkai. Each one of them has an authority that defies normal physics.

Kevin's Devesha gave him the ability to control heat.

Sakura's Yaksha gave her the ability to move extremely fast.

Hua's Garuda gave her multiple abilities that spanned from cell regeneration to enhanced mental strength.

It was the same for Mobius. Aside from the ability to "shed" her skin, she had another one that she kept under wraps—her enhanced intuition.

There were only two types of reactions that she received—a huge event to herself and all things related to Aleph.

Mobius thought it was strange at first—that she had a special section for Aleph—but she accepted it.

Right now, she felt that 'something bad' was about to happen regarding Aleph. It was not bad for him, but for her.

'Klein should have arrived by now.'

Mobius did not halt her actions. She continued operating on one of the soldiers sent by MOTH. Since it warranted her attention, she was naturally operating an Emperor-class ICHOR.

'It should not be her. Mei is the only one left.'

She briefly looked at her own shadow before she continued paying attention to the operation.

"When will you come out?"

The moment she said these words, a portion of Mobius' shadow turned dark red. It was none other than Kurumi.

With her continued recovery, she regained her authority to use her City of Devouring Time to appear in people's shadows.

"It is nice to meet you, Mobius-san."

Kurumi did her usual elegant bow as she held the hems of her dress.

"It is now my turn to speak with you alone, no?"

"I expected this to come." Mobius replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Tell me. What do you want?"

"You must have met with Mei-san already. Therefore, I only wanted to ask." Kurumi spoke with a smile. "Do you have the same stance as Mei-san?"

"...Yes. Is that enough?"

"I believe so. Pardon me for the intrusion~"

With yet another elegant bow, Kurumi sunk into the shadows. All that was left was Mobius' snake-like pupils flickering inside the cold room.

*****

A/N: If we translate this from their terms, it was similar to asking others "Are we good?"