Five days passed by in a flash. The research reports gained from the three councilors' bases did not help them as much as they thought. The best it did was to point out some solutions behind the failures in their surgeries.
Nevertheless, it was useful as it came from another perspective—one gained from unilateral sacrifice of human lives.
Contrary to Aleph's expectations, he didn't encounter any troubles within these five days.
"You must have heard what happened to the higher-ups. They are utilizing Fire MOTH's resources to find the person behind those murders." Mobius patiently explained. "You have to be more careful. If I knew you would do such a thing with that girl…"
"It's partly my interests. I gained a lot from it, too."
Vill-V targeted all the hidden funds gathered by the three councilors. She left the majority of their wealth untouched. Still, these gathered funds are enough for Aleph and Vill-V to use for decades. A lifetime, even.
As for the rest, they left them alone. These traces couldn't be removed easily.
"Speaking of which… I am planning to give some of that money to you."
"..."
Mobius was speechless. She didn't expect him to offer it out of the blue.
"I know normal excuses won't work on you. Think of it as my investment to humanity."
"...Fine."
Aleph smiled upon hearing her response. He could see that Mobius was worthy of his trust. It was not just him.
'My feelings aren't wrong.'
There was a certain 'feeling' in his head who told him he could trust her. That was the same with Mei, Kevin, Sakura, and Einstein.
As to why it occurred, Aleph pushed it to his "foreknowledge".
"Remember to eat well and have enough rest."
Seeing his receding back, Mobius' mouth curved a little.
"Huh. He sounds like an old man…"
She interrupted her words as she thought of something:
"My age…"
Her self-awareness was struck by an unexpected blow.
*****
Aleph's return trip went well this time.
At least, everything remained as it was on the surface. There was still more than two hours before they returned to the third institute. They took minimal breaks throughout the entire trip.
"It's been quite some time."
"Fifty days, to be exact."
Looking at the pink-haired woman beside him, Aleph couldn't help but feel that something was missing.
'Strange.'
He pushed this thought aside.
"I am sorry for the wait. Things are more messed up than I thought."
"If it was the trouble you are talking about, they are planning to send our people to your side."
Unlike the others whom he met regularly, it was their first time meeting in person after the Sapphire City incident. He only conversed with Sakura on one of the satellite phones he gave her. Their contact was much less, to boot.
"It's a good thing your friends are in MOTH. There are talks about capturing them to lure you out." She said. "There isn't any proof except that those three threatened your life once."
Sakura told him about their internal affairs in greater detail.
The main gist was that there are councilors beginning to utilize her organization, Cocoon, to deal with him.
"There aren't any definite actions for now. I heard it was their fear of you."
"That one's part of the plan."
"..."
As usual, Sakura was taciturn. She was precise in her words and acted professionally.
"What do you think about these troubles?"
"..."
She fell silent upon hearing his question. It took a while before she spoke up.
"Before you reach your goal… it would be either you or the higher-ups who will fall first."
It was Aleph's turn to fall silent.
"That will be the worst-case scenario."
He directly admitted his goals. With his foreknowledge, he started feeling the threat of "honkai" better. Back then, he only knew that humanity would fall in nine years. His dreams are steadily increasing. He knew more things compared to before.
The most concerning thing was the fact that there are fourteen Herscherrs in total. The fourteenth one, based on his worried voice, will end humanity. That entity has enough strength to destroy the entire world alone.
This pushed Aleph to further his goals, so as to change this ending.
"I will only say that it is largely related to humanity. Honkai needs to be taken more seriously."
"Humanity…"
Sakura felt a change in his tone at this moment.
*****
Inside Fire MOTH's Mu Continent Headquarters was where numerous delegations happened. Aside from the Commander-in-chief, the councilors attend these meetings through virtual holograms.
"A new risk assessment has to be done."
"Agreed. Three of us were silently killed three days ago. Some dangers must be detected."
"Are you implying something?"
"No. We all know only we have the capabilities to do it."
"If so…"
The delegations turned into a fortunately calm debate. On the surface, this delegation was done in order to make the recent assassinations of three councilors resurface. It was giving Fire MOTH an irrefusable job—to make a guarantee regarding the councilors' safety.
Some of them are even clamoring for Elysia to join into the case.
Fortunately, the Commander-in-chief as well as the majority of the councilors refused. Who knows how much dirt she would find if she personally investigated the case.
"What about Ainsworth?"
Someone brought up a rather unexpected name.
It was the Commander-in-chief who answered this time.
"Before any allegations are made, I will make several things public."
He opened a set of documents and sent its digital versions to the councilors. It was a meticulous report regarding Aleph's whereabouts during the councilors' deaths.
"It can be seen that his stay in the third institute was not forged. Any claims about his involvement must be put down."
The councilors were rather surprised to see his adamant statement. Then, they realized it was all about the future head of the five institutes. It was something they could not prevent, more so when Mei showcased her capabilities during these two months.
Surprisingly some councilors took this time to 'support' him.
"Doctor Aleph is busy working. The allegations on him are too slanderous."
"It is nothing short of libel."
With that, the delegations steered clear from Aleph. It remained so until it ended.
Beep-!
The only remaining person within the conference room was the commander-in-chief.
'It was Doctor Mei at first, and then Doctor Aleph.' He thought. 'This is a chance.'
For a long time, he was dissatisfied with the higher-up's way of doing things. He personally experienced the devastating damage the honkai brought. Just the casualties from the "front lines" (i.e., honkai-rich places) exceeded a hundred thousand last year. The deaths when they confronted the third Herscherr was also added into that mix.
The fleets and fighter planes they sent to her were a huge part of it.
While they viewed these lives as cold numbers, the old commander-in-chief saw them as living beings.
'A huge change…'