Chapter 49: Similarities, Differences

Familiar words came out of Aleph's mouth. It somehow meant similarly to the two people. That question was, after all, the same words Aleph asked them to reaffirm themselves.

Fortunately, Hua wasn't as confused as before.

"I will continue doing it. Fighting honkai."

Her time in the Fire MOTH made her see a variety of things that her previous self couldn't. The soldiers with strong beliefs, the casualties, failures to save others…

Just like Kevin, she was thrown to the pits of hell. She had to stomach people dying right in front of her eyes, simply because she doesn't have the power to protect others.

Nevertheless…

"Fighting now is better than not doing anything at all."

"...Well said."

For a moment, Aleph saw a trace of the Hua he knew. 

"Right, you two must've heard what happened with the fourth Herrscher."

"The unknown guy? I heard… he killed the Herrscher in one blow." Kevin replied. "The military's going all over the place to find his traces."

"Hm, alright."

Aleph visualized the response made by Fire MOTH. If it was the councilors, they might think of that person as a hidden card cultivated by one of them. At the very least, that has a high chance of occurring since Aleph made use of the spies around him.

With the [Information Retribution], he knew the names and organizations of the people who 'peeked' at him discreetly. He made use of them to fabricate believable alibi.

Though, it's different when it comes to the military personnel.

"That guy was me."

"...Ah?"

"..."

Kevin's mouth went wide open. His expression paused as he looked at Aleph. Then, he nodded a few times before laughing.

"That was unexpected, but man, it's reasonable." He said. "I remember how you clutched the physics exam back then. I thought you played games with me because you changed your mind. It turns out you already reviewed for it!"

"That's your fault. Who chose to slack off when our semester finals are coming?"

"I still remember that betrayal."

As the two bantered, Hua's eyes remained on Aleph all this time.

*****

"Oh? You met him?!"

The girl behind Hua grabbed the latter's shoulder in excitement.

"Um. We ate together."

"Huh?!?!"

Carole ran in front of her, as if wanting to know more about what happened.

"No, it's not like that. We ate lunch… with Captain Kevin."

"Aw…"

It didn't take long for Carole to recover. She matched Hua's walking speed.

"That's alright. You can take it one step at a time."

"...and I've heard he's meeting doctor Mei."

"..."

"I also heard about his friendship with doctor Mobius. Many people are already calling it an affair…"

"..."

"He's also sponsoring the dangerous prodigy in the second institute. Some people said that she's… you know…"

Carole fell silent. She was the one who usually came up with the plans for possible scenarios when Hua met Aleph. Despite months of parting, Aleph's words remained stuck in her mind. 

He was, in a sense, the one who led her out of the fog—out of confusion.

Hua denied those feelings beyond that of admiration. Even now, she continues to believe it as such.

Nevertheless, she didn't feel as unmoved as when she heard of the rumors circulating around him.

'Is this a win… or a loss?' Carole thought at a loss. 'She can realize it… but the fight will be harder…'

"Nevermind!"

"..?"

Hua looked at her friend whose thoughts leaked out.

"You refused to chat with him often. It's time to change that!"

The coaching board was moved once again.

*****

"I didn't have these thoughts before…"

Every effect has their pros and cons. Aleph was saved from his soul's demise, yet it resulted in him bearing the burden of an entire life's memories that was mostly made up of dark memories. Though, its prize was him recovering the knowledge about Honkai's future.

With his experiences during his 'dream-like' amnesia state, he was able to handle it with a fresh perspective.

He was walking along the halls of the first institute when his right hand twitched. It subconsciously reached out behind his back, ready to manifest one of the seven weapons hidden in his hand's marks.

"Oh, we meet again."

"It's been a long while… Miss Elysia."

The pink-haired girl has a charisma that could make one's mind at peace. Even Aleph was inadvertently affected by it, though not as much as others.

{You are currently being subjected to effects similar to [Aspectual Magic] and [Illusion Magic].}

{Spell Effects: Subtle mental alteration, field alteration, physical world alteration…}

Dozens of lines appeared in Aleph's sight. It wasn't the first time he encountered [Great Sage]'s abilities. His thoughts continued to run at a fast speed—dozens of times compared to his usual speed. 

His mind was split into five parts. Four of them processed the lines of texts from [Great Sage] while the remaining one continued to act normally.

For a moment, Elysia felt a strange sensation, as if she was being studied closely. It only appeared during the times Mobius observed her.

She couldn't help but associate Aleph's innocent look to Mobius.

'Hehe… They have the same habit.'

That sensation lasted for three seconds at most before disappearing.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was asked to check the fourth Herrscher's body."

Aleph was surprised inwardly. He didn't show it outside and retained his normal look.

"Anyways, you were hanging out with Mobius, right? Vill-V too! It seems like beautiful girls flock around you."

"They're all work-related matters. It shouldn't be what you're thinking."

"Oh? How sure are you about that?"

"...sixty percent."

Not expecting him to really give out a serious answer, Elysia was forced into an awkward silence.

"Um." She coughed lightly as she changed the topic. "I've heard you didn't fight much after that ambush. Did you become stronger?"

Facing this unpredictable girl, Aleph gave a half-truth.

"Yes. I haven't been inactive inside the institute."

A while later, he stopped walking. He stood in front of an office's door.

"Until we meet again, Miss Elysia."

"Uhum."

The two went their separate ways, each with their different thoughts.