Chapter 96: Hierarchy

Aleph knew it was petty to use his elemental sight, one that could peer directly through the information dimension, to catch someone eating desserts in secret.

Still, it brought him a weird sense of satisfaction, much like when he teased others.

"Alright. I won't tell others of this time… nor will the previous incident happen again."

"So you are also a gentleman at times~"

"As long as I feel like one."

Aleph walked behind Elysia. Her long pink hair swaying was addicting to watch. There was a reason why everyone liked her.

At some point, you will find some aspect of hers that you will like.

"I can feel your stare, mister gentleman."

Her soft voice rang with a joking tone.

"It's not wrong to stare, no?"

"Not when you already have many cute girls by your side." She stopped walking and turned over to his side. "Or are you planning to add another cute girl to the list~?"

'...Why am I like this..?!'

Numerous thoughts came to his mind. He was forced to activate Great Sage's auxiliary skills.

'I mean, there's a reason why everyone liked her. Even in the story I knew, she was the one who brought everyone together. The time after that is bleak…'

The second of the thirteen Flamechasers, Elysia.

She, who was the sole Herrscher who had a human ego (in the Previous Era), was responsible for tying everyone together. Her presence in this era is significant. Not only was she charismatic, she was also beautiful—extremely so.

Aleph's internal struggle was well-hidden. His expression remained the same. After some thinking, he decided on his next move.

"What if I am?" 

"Then, I'll tell Mei!"

"..."

He wore an expression of 'You win this one'. 

In terms of rankings, the one he couldn't tease the most was Mei, followed by Elysia. Vill-V is sitting at the bottom of this list. Even Hua is ranked higher than her since the said middle schooler doesn't react much to it.

The list goes like:

Mei>Elysia>Sakura>Hua>Mobius>Vill-V.

With a sigh, Aleph decided to turn things around.

"I brought a strawberry shortcake in the lounge. We might as well eat it."

"We?" Elysia asked as she emphasized that word.

"Consider that as my compensation from earlier."

The pink-haired elf turned away from him.

"If you say so."

Elysia half-expected Aleph to bring out some jokes, but to her surprise, he did not choose to do so.

They arrived in the lounge. Just like Mobius' lounge, Mei has a lounge reserved for herself. It was but one of the privileges her position as the director brought.

Just then, they were surprised to see Mei standing on the counter.

"Oh? I thought I was the only one awake." She said as she glanced at the two. "What brings you here?"

"Strawberry shortcake."Aleph replied. "Do you want one?"

"Why not?"

While Elysia was left to sit on the sofa, Mei stealthily went to his side. He was taking out the boxed cake when she suddenly grasped his left hand. She played around with his fingers for a while. Her pair of destructive weapons touched his arm. It gave off a sensation similar to a pillow's, but better.

Amidst everything, Aleph briefly froze. His gaze turned from the refrigerator to Mei's eyes. Although she was wearing a pair of glasses, he could tell how she enjoyed it.

This was, in other terms, her first offensive.

Aleph did not do anything else and let her do as she pleased. She let go of him a minute later, though the disturbance in his heart remained. Coupled with the thought of doing something while someone else was there…

There's a reason why Aleph died as a bachelor.

By the time they sat down, even Elysia could sense something happened during the short time she left them alone.

"Well… You two must've interacted with Major Anna. How was it?"

To break the silence, Aleph gave a topic to talk about.

"Major Anna… There isn't anything wrong with her. I didn't think the first Herrscher I'd talk to would be normal."

Hearing Mei, Aleph gave a certain look at the Miss Pink Elf across them. The latter mistook it as her turn to speak.

"Miss Anna has a lot of things on her mind. The things she unknowingly did lay heavy on her shoulders."

"...Right."

Aleph recalled their battle. The only reason why he was unrestrained was that there weren't any other living people near them. Only the undeads and honkai beasts were the collaterals to their fight.

Moreover, there were also the effects of the other three places struck by a major honkai eruption. It was several times worse than the told effects brought by Sirin's second awakening in the Current Era.

The talks of abandoning cities were gaining more voices in Fire MOTH. If it wasn't for the technological advancements brought to the non-honkai combatants, it would've been far worse. The equipment of soldiers with and without honkai resistance were completely different. The strength of the latter was far worse than a soldier with a honkai weapon.

"The Truth Arsenal will be officially launched several days from now. I will re-station trustworthy personnel to preside over the place."

Mei became serious as she explained her future plans. Their small midnight snack time was turned into a serious discussion.

"I have a new prototype." Aleph spoke as he looked at Elysia. "It's similar to my suit but more compressed. You can think of it as something similar to the skinsuit."

He introduced the model of the Valkyrie Battlesuits he created. Not only was it specialized to hold honkai energy, it also possesses the characteristics of the Current Era Battlesuits—a prototype of the Blank Key of the Previous Era.

With functions such as flight included, it's far more convenient than Aleph's nuclear suits. It could withstand fights on the Emperor-class. Only specialized suits (i.e., Icarus) could match some of its features for now.

"Before you say anything, there's an automatic fitting feature. I will also give you a manual to let you adjust it yourself."

"..."

Seeing Aleph's state similar to Mobius' concentration, the two girls couldn't help but appreciate this side of him.

"You know… you have a lot of similarities with Mobius." Elysia commented.

"Hm? That's my first time hearing that." Aleph replied with a bit of bewilderment.

Just then, another gaze pricked his neck.

"That's to be expected. They worked together for an entire year. Isn't that right, Aleph?"

Just like that, Aleph was reminded why Mei sat on the top of the hierarchy.

*****

A/N: A rather small fun fact. The big three of PE was Mei, Eden, and Aponia in terms of cup size (G to H if anyone wants to have an idea). The three of them got the height of 170+ centimeters (which might explain them being the big three). Even Elysia or Mobius' mature version weren't a match against them. Vill-V gets a special mention since she's the fourth.

All I can say here is... the more you know.