Chapter 174: Further and Further

Aleph half-expected that he would agree. He knew his friend well. Though there was a gap between them, Aleph knew that Su would remain himself.

After all, he was the most sane person when the Previous Era came to an end—someone who still had a trust in humanity despite its bleak future.

With that over, Su asked him some rather important questions.

"How are you with Mei?"

"...It's a long story."

Aleph did the talking this time around. From their entry to Fire MOTH up to their current relationship, he left nothing out. That included the fact that he is going out with four different girls at the same time.

By the time he finished speaking, Su's mouth was wide open. Never in a million years did he expect that Aleph would do something like that.

'His childhood friend… Well, I understand why this happened…'

Su was close enough for Aleph to tell stories regarding his 'childhood friend'. It was at that instant did he know that the latter would face some kind of trouble due to it. Having two girls who like you, all at the same time only has one ending in the previous society.

However, it was nothing in the face of an even more ridiculous threat such as the honkai. Coupled with how the influential and powerful men act in this world, it became a lot less unreasonable for Aleph to do such a thing.

Nevertheless…

'Doctor Mobius… It should've been her. The woman I met earlier.'

Su's thoughts flashed with the people he came across earlier. Amongst them, Mobius stood out the most. After all, she was one of the few people that made everyone around her wary of her.

'His childhood friend, Kurumi, then Mei. There was also a high-level MANTIS on the Western Continent…'

In the end, Su chose not to comment. They are friends, yes, but there are boundaries they must respect.

All of his previous thoughts was condensed in a sentence:

"You are very strong to do this, Aleph."

*****

Five days had passed since the seventh eruption. The damages done to each of the cities was irreparable. It was completely different compared to the previous six major eruptions. 

It was utter destruction.

The Herrscher of Flames, for example, bombarded the entire city with the collision of molecules, thus creating the same reaction as a nuclear bomb. Her ability was the total opposite of the Herrscher of Ice. She was able to speed up the movement of molecules, in turn creating more heat that translated into flames and eventually… explosions.

There was also the Herrscher of Reason who directly constructed two nuclear bombs and destroyed an entire city.

Their aftermath left Fire MOTH powerless. It was the first time they suffered such heavy losses. 

Even so, it was better compared to the original future. Aleph's previous killings of countless honkai beasts saved numerous lives. If it weren't for him, the casualties would've been far more than the sixty-five million recorded casualties.

It was just that there were still soldiers whose minds were burdened by the millions of deaths.

'Was it a mistake? If I used it firsthand…'

Hua sat on the corner of her bed. For the past five days, she reviewed her battle against the seventh Herrscher.

'That time… It is reasonable. But…'

That time, she saved up both her Meta-Morph State as well as her other technique, Blade Mantra. She only used 'Juezhao' against the fake seventh Herrscher.

If both of these techniques were fused, along with her Meta-Morph State, it was more than enough to be the decisive blow—one that kills her enemy in one hit.

There were two Herrschers at that time. Hua thought that dealing with one of them was imperative, more so when there were civilians behind her back. The thought of not being able to contain the said Herrscher concerned her greatly.

Unfortunately, Ling was too cautious. She directly left moments after appearing in her eyes once. This caused an oversight, which ended up prolonging the fight between Hua and the fake seventh Herrscher.

"You must be thinking of something again."

Unbeknownst to her, a familiar person appeared in front of her tent. His voice woke her up from her deep thoughts.

"I am finished dealing with the honkai beasts. The rest that appears later should be within the controllable range." Aleph explained. "Are you thinking of your fight with that Herrscher?"

"...Um."

A strange emotion emerged from the depths of her heart. Ever since Aleph accepted her feelings, he could always tell what was going on with her. Of course, his concern didn't end there.

He came close to her before bending his knees slightly. His fingers pinched Hua's cheeks. Her eyes widened in shame as a result.

"How many times will I tell you? A person could not bear the weight of the world alone. You are a highschooler, to boot."

"Awen't wuu… one twoo?"

Aleph let go of her cheeks. Her face already reddened like a tomato. Out of the four, Hua has the lowest tolerance in skinship. One act was all it takes to make her blush. It was a complete contrast to her usual stoic self.

"I am not just a highschooler… but a super highschooler. That's a world of difference."

He looked at Hua who slightly regained her composure. He lightly sighed before patting her head—something he does often whenever he had the chance.

"I told everyone about this. You can let me take most of the burden myself."

Even though it was a series of comforting words, Hua could not bring herself to completely accept them. Her heart sank upon thinking how heavy that burden was.

"...But what about you?"

Her voice contained a hint of weakness. It caught Aleph off guard. It took a while before he responded with a smile of his own.

"Trust in me, just as I trusted everyone else… including you. You got my back, and that is enough for me."

It was a different kind of conviction from before. Back then, Hua saw his helplessness turn into determination. Now, she could not see a hint of doubt in his words. There was something extra that pushed him to this point.

Seeing her concerned look, Aleph's conviction became stronger.

'How cute…'

He could not resist any longer as his lips touched hers.

'I live… for these moments.'

Little did Hua know that she contributed to that something herself.

*****

A/N: Realistically speaking, having doubts is a consistent thing. It couldn't be resolved by one or two character developments. It was reasonable for Hua to have hers. As for Aleph, he was under that much pressure: the only way out was to either break down or become strong enough to withstand that. Well, he adapted.

Anyways, this aspect was one of the few things I liked in Mushoku Tensei (despite its messed up character background, both in WN and LN). They always show (and deal) with their doubts and confusions during their free times, not intense fights.