A total of one year and ten months had passed since Aleph interacted with the Aeon of Elation. Nobody else has come to his doorsteps since then. The invitation cards he eagerly waited for did not arrive.
It was as if the other Aeons tacitly agreed to ignore his existence. That, or they are still scoping him out.
Nevertheless, this gave Aleph leisure time to do various things.
"Ah?!"
His sudden embrace caught Senti off guard.
"Y-you..!"
Her way of expressing embarrassment was the exact opposite of Hua. She is very vocal about it.
"Huff…"
In the end, Senti chose to do nothing.
'She likes it..? There's no doubt.'
Living together for nearly two years was enough to bring them closer. Just like now, Senti could have chosen to sit beside him, but she chose his lap out of all things.
Aleph was nearly turned into a human chair during this time period.
"Isn't Hua enough for you?"
Her eyes were glued to the jade abacus—a phone—but Aleph could tell she was fully invested with his upcoming response.
"No."
"You want me too?"
"Yes."
Shocked by the blatant response, Senti could not speak for a while.
"Time passes so fast, doesn't it? We're already been living together for two years."
"Hmph. If I wasn't here, you two would have made babies already!"
"...So you admit to being awake during those times?"
"You knew I was awake..?"
For as long as two years, she thought she was sneaky enough. Her biological reactions at that time mimicked sleeping. Even her consciousness was half-blurry.
Fortunately, she is Senti—Hua's counterpart. Whatever Hua's martial attainment was, she could do also.
Senti was proud to have accomplished being a masterclass of eavesdropping.
Unfortunately, she underestimated gods severely.
Aleph pinched both of her cheeks with his hands. The first thing that came to his mind was the softness of her skin.
"Who taught you martial arts?"
"...Ywou."
She hastily brought his 'naughty' hands down. Her face was completely filled with embarrassment. Crimson red was painted all over her face.
Even her bright red pupils shook violently.
"Aren't you afraid of cheating—"
"When I already have multiple girlfriends?"
"..."
"Hua also brought this topic up."
Senti was shocked for the nth time.
"She understood you well. After all, you have her memories."
Ever since Aleph kidnapped the duo, he was thinking of how to proceed next. Hua is his official girlfriend, yes, but what about Senti?
She was someone who happened to have Hua's memories—her moments with Aleph included. It was the equivalent to having a maxed favorability from the start.
After all, Aleph was her white moonlight. He was the person she loved, someone unforgettable even after he died. He represented the best days of her life—carefree yet unattainable.
His weight to Hua was as heavy as a clustered dense neutron star. It was also the reason behind the occasional guilt that arose on him.
Just the thought of his other-halves treating him like that while he went on and disappeared…
It was heavier than the weight of the world itself.
'It's not just making it up to them. I won't mistreat them, no matter what…'
"It's about time we become honest to each other." Aleph stated. "Do I have a chance with you?"
When Aleph thought the redness on her face couldn't go deeper, it did. It was as red as a Noh Mask.
"...You are asking it now..?! When you already have me in your…"
"..."
[Achievement Obtained: Scumbag, You Are]
Even the [Achievement Hunter] gave off a vibe of scorn.
'I won't fight back at this point…'
This day represented an addition to Aleph's red strings.
*****
Confusion.
That was what the young girl felt.
For as long as she could remember, she lived together with her father. Although, their relationship wasn't exactly pleasant.
Even a tasty dinner could become bland whenever she gazes upon her decadent father. It was not as simple as a family quarrel. The young girl did not feel any sense of recognition from him. To him, the young girl was just that—someone he should take care of.
That was exactly how Siegfried's two years of deadbeat parenting went.
One day, her father's attitude changed for the better. He started teaching her how to do house chores. He even taught her the basics of combat—to be precise, their Kaslana's Gun-kata.
In his own words:
"Nobody will be able to take advantage of my daughter!"
Things were seemingly going well… up until to the point they went out in the frozen tundra.
Then…
'What… happened? Where's the old man?'
"Oh. You are already awake. You were… nevermind."
The first thing that greeted the young girl's sight was a palm-sized fairy. His chubby cheeks and enlarged eyes made him look straight out of the comics.
"Rise and shine, Miss Kiana Kaslana."
Bam-!
The shaking of their vehicle woke her up completely.
Her body tensed upon having an eye-contact with the palm-sized "fairy".
"There are a lot of things we have to talk about. But first…" He pointed to the box of onigiris atop the driver's box.
It was then she saw that there wasn't anyone driving the car!
"Ahh?!"
"Oh, that. I am driving it. Rest assured. Even the best drivers can't compare to my skill!"
Kiana waited a few seconds for the impact, only for nothing to happen.
She peeked her head out and saw the steering wheel moving out on its own. The inside of the vehicle shook several times, highlighting their bumpy ride.
"I am Aleph, an ELF created to assist humans. My resume includes driving vehicles, self-defense, and uhm… being a martial arts teacher."
Kiana could tell that the last one was hastily added.
"I am assigned by your father to take care of you."
"The old man! Where is he?!"
"He went off somewhere important."
Her light-blue pupils paused for a while before they widened.
"Are you kidnapping me?!"
Aleph's ELF face flatly stared at her. It was the equivalent of a human's deadpan. His expression was extremely comical.
"I am a super-advanced A.I. Why would I kidnap a young girl like you? That's below my pay grade. One commission of hacking into classified information can buy hundreds of you."
"That is exactly what kidnappers would say!" She retorted before attempting to open the door. "Let me out!"
"We are going at a speed of 115 kilometers per hour… in the middle of nothingness, to boot."
One look outside was enough to prove Aleph's words right. The blurriness of the surroundings did not prevent Kiana from telling it was a rocky road they were traversing.
The looming sense of doom crept up to her.
"...It's over…" She then shook her head. "No. I won't give up until I am dead!"
"..."
The self-directed drama earned Aleph's flat stare.
Internally, however, he was dying out of laughter.
'Oh no… Was she this dramatic back then? Or was it her childishness? Either way, this is something that goes straight into the core memory.'
Unbeknownst to Kiana, Aleph earned a videotape that would remind her of this embarrassing moment in the future.
"Alright. It's best if you watch this one first. It's up to you to believe."
Buzz-!
The lights inside the vehicle turned dim. A video projection appeared out of the ELF's small hands.
"...Kiana. If you are seeing this, you must have woken up. The small guy I left to you is someone who will help you on your journey…"