Aleph was quietly dozing off alone inside Mei's office when [Great Sage]'s notifications woke him up.
{...cross-checking with the database, it has been determined to be the power of space and time.}
{Origin: Nagazora City, Far East}
"Um… This is…"
He rubbed his eyes before reading the "report" compiled by it.
"...It's the mirror."
He completely woke up.
"I need to visit Nagazora later."
Previously, he chose not to linger in Nagazora due to the potential Emperor-class beasts around it. He wasn't confident enough to safely escape from that place filled with nothing but honkai wreckage.
Now that he killed a Herrscher (albeit in an ambush), [Great Sage]'s existence greatly increased his overall capabilities. Just the boost in thought speed as well as the miraculous "parallel thinking" pushed his raw battle instincts beyond that of his past self.
"If it's really her…"
His sleepiness completely disappeared. He looked at the clock and saw that it was thirty minutes before the MOTH Night.
"Well…"
Looking at the time, Aleph sprinted swiftly outside the office.
******
The last MOTH Night was held more than five months ago. At that time, Aleph was busy and didn't have the time to personally attend. It was expected to be held six months later, yet the fourth Herrscher's incident pushed it by three months forward.
"Tonight is a day of rest for our valiant heroes. Cheers!"
The sound of glasses clinking filled the entire venue. It wasn't as stiff and formal as one would expect. There are people talking with others, while there are some who are preoccupied with eating some good food.
The corner of Aleph's mouth twitched when he saw a familiar figure in the buffet section.
"Ah? Aruf?!"
Her mouth was filled to the brim with food. Her cheeks were bulging like hamsters.
"That's the result of not learning how to cook… idiot."
Vill-V had an aggrieved look as she hastily swallowed everything down.
"Your friend is too much..! She cut down my budget by 50%!"
"Yeah, yeah. Even if you tell it to me, nothing would change." He replied. "What happened to the money we got?"
"Research needs large amounts of money. You must know about it!"
Aleph recalled her so-called "research projects" before having the urge to retort.
"A researcher must know about planning. You don't have that. What would special smoke bombs do? What about the flying hoverboard? The parachute cape? There's also a deck of cards made of blades…"
"They're not that useless!"
"...That mindset of yours got you broke."
The stash funds of the three MOTH Councilors…
Even if they were divided between Aleph and her, it should've lasted her for at least two years.
Prior to his amnesia, he didn't know about Vill-V's true character. Only now did he realize that these things do make sense.
For example, her utter waste of money.
"Hum. You'll see it in the future!"
"Yeah, yeah."
'Hm..? Why is it like this..?'
Unbeknownst to him, Vill-V caught onto his changes.
'I am the one losing out this time. What kind of magic did he do?!'
It was their first conversation after Aleph regained his past life's memories. Unlike before, he utterly destroyed her momentum.
Due to her intelligence, even Aleph couldn't notice something unusual. As for the [Great Sage], it did notice something. Though, it was "unknown" according to its database, hence it only recorded it internally.
This moment of silence gave Aleph enough time to observe Vill-V. She wore a clean set of white suit and pants. A noticeable portion emphasized two mountains. Her necktie sloped down along with it, which made it even more remarkable.
'Hm…'
Aleph was momentarily stunned. He noticed that huge aspect of hers during weekdays, yet seeing it being emphasized like this was still a stunning visual experience. Her huge white hat and silver-rimmed monocle on her right eye gave off a different aura from the usual Vill-V.
Moreover, her outfit looks extremely familiar.
"So that's it! You're wasting funds to become Magic Kaito!"
"Urk..!"
She choked on her food. She hastily drank a cup of water before she said:
"You only noticed that now?!"
Just as Aleph was about to reply, a voice interrupted them.
"I never heard you two are this close."
The first thing he noticed was the elegant black dress. It had a slit between her right leg. Her long green hair flowed down to her waist. Looking up, he saw a huge emphasis somewhere.
By the time his eyes met Mobius', the latter stared at him silently. It felt as if he was facing a huge snake, giving off a charm that superimposed the dress' effect.
"It's you again..!" Vill-V grumpily looked at her. "You were the one who suggested my budget cut!"
"You had it easy. Don't think that those funds came out of nowhere. Back then…"
A mentally-challenged girl with DID and a snake woman began duking it out.
Turns out, it was Mobius who pointed out Vill-V's wrongdoings to Mei. She didn't care about it until her expenses reached a terrifying amount. It was partially fine since most of her funds came from her pockets—during her time with Aleph—but the "public funds" had to be cut down.
Even so, Mei would've come to this decision without Mobius' suggestion. It only pushed the execution date forward.
"Isn't that doctor Aleph?"
"Hm? The one who faced off an entire private army on his own?"
"I heard he couldn't be struck down by a Hind. I wonder how he did it…"
"It's either a chance mutation or Doctor Mobius' work. Speaking of her…"
"He's close not only with Doctor Mobius, but also the eccentric one from the second institute."
"That sounds tough."
"Seconded."
Aleph didn't simply stand there. He came up with a plan to defuse the situation.
"Let's unwind for a while."
Under the shocked eyes of Vill-V and the rest, he took Mobius' wrist and led her away from the venue.
"You…"
"I think we should settle it privately. Everyone's giving us those looks already."
"..."
Mobius didn't reply but she silently nodded.
'Strange…'
For a moment, one of the gazes prompted Aleph's [Deathly Intuition]. He traced it back and saw Mei smiling at him. What's even more strange was the danger not being directed towards him.
'Oops…'
Another gaze swept by him. This time, it was Hua's normal look. Aleph heaved a sigh of relief upon noticing it.
'I'll explain to her later…'