Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

'Our salted fish is growing a new brain?'

Thinking of the usually deadbeat Kiana who slacks off in class, Aleph was in a slight disbelief.

He readjusted his ELF form's expression as he stood up. He floated in front of the door.

Just then, he sensed someone else making a connection with him.

Mobius, Mei, and Vill-V were able to 'project' themselves inside the Lostbelt due to their parallel counterparts.

'Did they have a prior agreement?'

His Spirit King authority allowed him to designate ten unique individuals to receive his full blessings. These individuals make up the structure of the 'Tree of Life'. Once completed, it is enough to elevate his Spirit King authority to the next level (i.e., Great Old One).

Currently, there are three individuals included in it. 

One was Metatron who took up Kether, symbolizing the divine crown.

The other one was Hua who took up Gevurah, symbolizing divine judgement.

Finally, there was Kurumi who took up Binah, symbolizing divine intelligence.

Out of the three, Kurumi was the most special. A connection was established between her and Aleph the moment he became an Aeon.

As such, he always left a door open for Kurumi's projection inside this Lostbelt.

'...No. Considering her personality, she's out to surprise the other two.'

In the end, Aleph accepted his fate as someone with a harem.

A simple click was all it took to open the door.

Immediately, a girl on a black-red dress greeted his eyes. Her golden eye contained the phantom of a clock's arm.

"Have you forgotten about me?"

"Never."

Kiana was watching everything on the sidelines with a surprised look.

"Another thief?!"

Her mouth was left open. In the midst of white particles, the ELF Aleph transformed into his true form. 

It was Kiana's first time seeing it—

'That's how he looks?'

—Aleph's full-fledged appearance as a super senior.

*****

Utter silence.

Aleph looked around the living room. It was the three sudden visitors at first. Mei and Vill-V were surprised to see Kurumi appearing out of nowhere.

But then, they did not expect to meet Mobius too.

It was clear who took advantage of whom.

'Mobius still has her bad temper…'

Aleph did not expect her to meet the others. She asked him if she could bring him over to the parallel Earth. He trusted her and brought her projection with him. Since she could not exert any form of power, she was akin to nothing. Mobius easily passed through the imaginary barrier.

Thus, the four women met.

He took a glance at the little girl peeking through the staircase's handrails. Kiana was startled and moved away swiftly.

When she was sure Aleph was no longer looking, she returned to her previous place.

'She's not just a salted fish anymore. She's a melon eater.'

Melon eaters refer to people who watch a drama unfold on the sidelines.

"Ahem. I already explained the main gist with the messages I left back then. Now, there's little time left before I return to the real universe."

"We want to hear it again."

"Yeah. A voicemail isn't that interesting!"

Vill-V agreed with Mei. He shifted his gaze to Kurumi, to which she simply nodded.

'They're cooking something.'

Despite his foresight, Aleph agreed to re-tell everything with them. They all came together. That meant he couldn't act intimate on one of them. It will be awkward for the other three.

For now, he did his best to become an unparalleled storyteller.

First was his crash-landing on Xianzhou, then his involvement with the Third Abundance War. He plotted to gain the attention of Xianzhou's Grand Marshal and was then calculated by the diviners in Yuque.

It ended up with Aleph forcefully establishing a connection with Nous where he gained three different fields of knowledge.

That was also the time he met a Genius Society member for the first time.

"Oh? Was that the organization you talked about? The one that only recruits special prodigies?"

Vill-V's eyes lit up. The thought of being able to perform a magic trick on a wider stage made her excited.

"To be exact, it's an organization whose members are selected by a God. They have enough potential to alter progress on a universal scale."

In contrast to Vill-V's excitement, Mei was silent. Rationally, she thought of Earth's status after overcoming the honkai. It is inevitable they would have to integrate with the wider world.

Emotionally, she was taking note of the genius Aleph told about.

"It's just right. Can we meet her at the same time?"

Mobius asked him a question.

"Yes..? There's no problem with it."

Aleph kept his eye on the silent Kurumi. Her interested look meant she was cooking something. She did not even hide that look from Aleph.

These 'weird' reactions did not stop Aleph from storytelling.

From his first meeting with Herta and the eventual meeting of a renowned war criminal, Polka Kakamond, he told them all. 

What came next were large-scale things. That included his confrontation with six Aeons and fight against Voracity. The atmosphere turned solemn this time.

"Then… I discovered Mobius… her counterpart. She started the Project Stigma of this world ahead of time."

The subsequent talks became heavy. The women themselves, save for Kurumi and Vill-V, knew how heavy it felt when their counterparts entrusted their wills to them.

As for Vill-V, it wasn't her issue.

After all…

"How's the other Vill-V?" He asked Magician Vill-V.

"She hasn't woken up yet. It's a bit strange. That's right!" She paused before continuing, "We decided to make some back-up plans in case she acts up. Can you cooperate with it?"

"Hm?"

It wasn't just Aleph who raised his eyebrows.

A week had passed since the incident with everyone on parallel Earth. The ones involved—the four of them—did not raise it during their talks. On the surface, they are still concentrating on dealing with honkai's consequences.

Even the people in the real universe didn't know about their meeting with Aleph. Revealing things such as Gods beyond their solar system would serve nothing but confuse others.

Only their closed circle inside Fire MOTH—Flamechasers—had the privilege of knowing this information.

"You know how troublesome she is. We decided not to let her out for the time being."

"Oh."

It was Aleph's turn to show an understanding look.

Judging from his experience with Vill-V's counterpart, that was the right decision. She was the one with the potential to lock Aleph up in a basement.

Just then, Kurumi asked one question. It was a simple one. Everyone could understand it after hearing it once.

Nevertheless, Aleph readied himself. He knew this was the decisive point.

"When will we have a child?"

Be it the two girls eavesdropping or the rest of the women, all of them are startled in some way.

Mobius sent an interested gaze.

Mei seriously thought about that question and also gave him a stare.

Vill-V jumped out of her seat.

Amidst this entire drama, the two eavesdropping girls also reacted in some way.

Kiana looked at them with a confused look.

Bronya looked at Aleph with bewilderment.

"Fu… Our child."

Aleph seriously thought about it for a while. He was about to speak out when he realized how much of a flag his next words are.

Nevertheless, he decided to tell them.

"After I settle everything. Let's have our children."