"Hua, I still have a few combat techniques I can teach you. When are you free? Though, to be honest, I'm actually much better at things outside of fighting."
Himeko spoke with a meaningful undertone, nursing a glass of wine in her hand.
However, her suggestive glances were destined to fall on deaf ears. After all, Hua was an "old-timer" with a head even more like a block of wood than Durandal before her awakening.
Hua could only manage an awkward smile as she mentally carved out her next few weekends. She had to accompany Carole to the arcade, serve as a figure model for Fuxi and Nuwa, and now, attend private lessons from Himeko.
She waited with bated breath for the cruise ship to finally dock. As soon as everyone began preparing for the bonfire party, Hua seized the excuse to help out and made a hasty escape.
With Hua's departure, the crowd that had gathered around her naturally drifted apart without another word.
"Hua really is popular, isn't she?"
Having witnessed the entire scene, Klein sighed as she sipped her juice.
Just then, she heard Mobius's voice drifting from behind her, slow and haunting: "Klein, do you want to enjoy that kind of feeling too?"
Klein felt a sharp shiver run down her spine.
For some reason, her only instinct in that moment was to bolt. Thinking back, she'd had similar feelings a few times before, but it had never been quite as intense as it was today.
However, just as Klein tried to pretend she hadn't heard and move away, she felt Mobius grab her hand.
Without allowing any room for argument, Mobius pulled her toward the second floor of the cabins. This area was filled with rest quarters, and every member of Schicksal had been issued a room card.
Mobius found her designated room, pulled Klein inside, and locked the door behind them with a definitive click.
It was the first time Klein had seen Mobius act with such forceful resolve.
Usually, even when Mobius wanted her to do something she disliked, she would use a "soft" approach—acting spoiled or wheedling until Klein simply couldn't say no.
But today, in this very moment, the sight of Mobius with a faint, crimson light flickering in her eyes made Klein's heart skip a beat in genuine trepidation.
"Doctor, did something happen?"
Klein asked cautiously, "Doctor... you aren't drunk, are you?"
"I haven't had a drop of alcohol today. If you don't believe me..."
Mobius masked the dangerous glint in her eyes and leaned in close. She pressed Klein back against the door until there was nowhere left to retreat, then whispered: "You can taste it for yourself."
Klein didn't dare talk back or claim she didn't believe her. Besides, with Mobius so close, she truly couldn't smell even a hint of wine on her. She shook her head repeatedly. "No, no need. I believe you."
But Mobius wasn't about to let her off so easily. She leaned in even further.
"That won't do. We are researchers, aren't we? When a hypothesis is proposed, it must be validated through experimentation. There are no objective instruments here to test if I've been drinking, so we must rely on your subjective perception to make a judgment. Therefore..."
Despite her long-winded explanation, Mobius's patience was actually wearing thin.
However, she didn't follow through with her original plan. The heat of the moment, fueled by the irritation Elysia had sparked in her, began to ebb away.
She realized that forcing herself on Klein out of a fit of pique was fundamentally unfair to her.
This was the core reason why, despite how often Elysia managed to provoke her, Mobius ultimately never crossed that line.
"Klein..."
Mobius took a deep breath, forcing down the urgency in her chest. Her gaze softened and grew profound as she looked at her assistant. "I really want to know... what do you actually think of me?"
Mobius stared intensely into Klein's eyes, unwilling to miss a single detail of her reaction.
"What do I think?"
True to form, Klein tried to evade the question. She didn't dare meet Mobius's gaze, turning her head to the side.
Seeing this, Mobius decided to lay all her cards on the table.
"Klein, I like you."
"What about you? How do you feel about me? If you only see me as your boss, you can say it plainly. I won't pester you like this ever again."
Mobius's words caught Klein completely off guard.
How could she not have known Mobius's feelings?
It was simply that she had never allowed herself to consider personal matters.
Much like how she used work to numb herself against the fear of the Honkai, her first instinct when faced with something that left her lost or confused was always to run away.
But now, hearing Mobius say that she would walk away the moment Klein defined their relationship as purely professional, Klein found that she didn't feel relieved at all.
On the contrary, it felt as though her heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
Her chest felt tight, and she was short of breath, as if she might drop dead at any moment—a sensation far more suffocating than working three days and nights of overtime.
"I..."
Klein managed only one word before her voice failed her.
She couldn't help but think back to that night during their trip to the hot springs, when Mobius had stolen her first kiss under the guise of "mimicry."
And then there was the next morning in the kitchen; if Elysia hadn't interrupted them, they might have kissed a second time.
Nearly half a year had passed since then. During that time, it felt as though she and Mobius were always waiting for a catalyst. Even though Mobius constantly hinted at her feelings in various ways, they never truly moved beyond the surface.
Klein had gradually grown accustomed to that rhythm, taking it for granted that things would simply continue that way forever.
But would they?
Knowing Mobius as she did, Klein knew the woman meant exactly what she said. Once she declared they were nothing more than colleagues, the "normalcy" she cherished would vanish instantly.
"I..."
Finally, Klein tilted her head back, forcing herself to meet Mobius's eyes.
She still didn't say a word, but she answered with her actions.
Klein stood on her tiptoes, resting her hands on Mobius's shoulders for support, and pressed her lips gently against the other woman's.
Receiving this signal from Klein, Mobius's response was far more intense.
She pulled Klein tightly into her arms, deepening the kiss bit by bit.
At the end of the day, Mobius and Klein were still just ordinary researchers. Since they had not yet undergone any surgeries or enhancements, their physical stamina wasn't much better than the average person's.
Before long, the deep kiss had to be broken as they both pulled apart, breathless and gasping for air.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL