Chapter 1541: and translation of chapter title

NO. 156: As the saying goes, public and private affairs do not conflict.

Do we really have to close the door? There's a chance we'll be misunderstood.

Lindun Office, underground laboratory.

Aomo gazed at the dual-screen display before him, one side showing the travel shared by Nishizaki Yutaka, the other side showing the monitoring display from the office management system.

Ever since the Sirius symbol departed, Aomo has been seeing them off in this way.

After all, given his current fame, even if the office remained tucked away in this remote corner, it wouldn't prevent many eyes from watching it.

These people generally have neither the motive nor the means to bother the Sirius symbol; the office is an office, and while it does provide lodging, after officially buying a residence it truly functions more as a work post.

Visiting the workstation of the horse girl who also works as a trainer is no problem; even if there were idle talk, it wouldn't hold up, yet it doesn't stop him from still choosing to see her off as she walks out of the alley and onto the road beyond the gloom.

Meanwhile, the pink-hairedJK crouching beside him, rummaging through the cabinet, continued to tease: "Oh? Little Snake, you still have this kind of idea? Really H."

I've heard you say this many times, but this time it's hard to deny.

"In other words, you still want to deny it, right?" Holleha ya, who had been lying on his shoulder from behind, pressed her whole body against him and whispered softly to further boost her persuasiveness: "You're really dishonest, Aomo."

After confirming their relationship, their mode of address upgraded from either "Rainbow Snake Excellency" or "Mr. Aomo."

But the tone made no real difference, because in the past when she used those two forms of address, she was never particularly serious, always opting for frivolous teasing.

It made Aomo countless times recall that bar listening session—that was the feathered serpent's most respectful and humble moment.

As time went on from that moment, the proportion of frivolous teasing grew larger, though this didn't mean the respect and humility had disappeared; rather, they had shifted from surface to heart. Holleha ya's obedient, compliant demeanor in front of him remained unchanged, yet the impression remained subtle.

Nowadays, she has truly begun to push her luck—not only does her whole body, with the weight of that coat, press down from behind, snugly fitting, but her little hand impolitely sneaks into the side of the coat.

With Xixi crouching nearby searching for tools, there was an added sense of déjà vu, which also brought a subtle guilt, prompting him to lean back slightly, then, ensuring Holleha ya could still balance, he crouched down to join Xixi.

This slight movement still caused Xixi to turn her head and see Aomo crouching beside her: "In a hurry?"

"... If I didn't crouch like this, the one who'd be anxious would probably be someone else."

"Even though we're cooperating, you still say such things—what a wicked mind, Little Snake."

"If you're going to understand it that way, I can't help it." Glancing at the feathered serpent also crouching beside him, Aomo lifted his hand to tug at her already-dragging coat hem, which only provoked her teasing smile.

It's easy to understand, because once she lifts the hem, the tight stockings and absolute domain of her body-hugging skirt are revealed, which is indirectly offensive; moreover, her weighty bust when she squats is accentuated by her knees, drawing extra attention—even Aomo's casual glance almost got caught.

Although seizing the moment after confirming their relationship is something both sides might look forward to, it's still broad daylight, there are still unfinished matters, and some people harbor dissatisfaction, so Aomo naturally wouldn't think of indulging in daytime licentiousness, sharing a big bed, or conducting a unique inside-circle ritual of universal harmony.

Such matters can be saved for nighttime (x); as for Holleha ya's thoughts…

Although the other party has repeatedly shown a carnivore's desire, they are also a companion who lets intellect proceed alongside.

Aomo suspects this is pure flirtatious teasing, but he has no evidence, and his most qualified girlfriend pays no attention—either she's teasing him similarly or she's bringing up that horse girl that still gives him a headache.

Sirius symbol.

Just as Aomo allowed her to come along, everyone also permitted her to join the list in Aomo's prior notice, which ought to grant her the right to speak at the meeting—but she is also very confident.

Confident enough to maintain a relaxed, composed demeanor, she kept her silence, not joining in, as Holleha ya, Badger, and Biquix etc. took turns conversing with Xixi, Qierenina, Ling, and Ishamara.

Her remarks in the group chat are not excuses; she indeed has her own opportunity in mind.

That is, after the group's conversation winds down, she truly sets out, aiming to become the focus of attention in one fell swoop; thus, while she remains silent, she constantly watches the situation, listens to the talk, inwardly complaining about these women nitpicking, while plotting the upcoming moment.

She is, of course, confident; she has both the courage to go forth alone and the boldness to break through what these people call their tacit understanding, which should let her prevail everywhere, yet it also makes her overlook the man sitting alone on the plastic stool, who in physical terms is farthest from anyone.

Aomo Lindun.

At the end of the negotiations, when the new clause Xixi was about to announce the conversation's end and she was preparing to speak, he opened his mouth.

That opening was to ease the atmosphere; the next sentence mentioned Qiena and Shihuaiya's work, Ling's urgent matter, and Xixi's unfinished points.

——This isn't a spur-of-the-moment excuse, because their full attendance this time was precisely the result of Aomo using Gilbalis's ability to go online mentally and hastily convene them.

——but it certainly is an excuse, prompting everyone to respond, including Holleha ya and Badger.

The latter had not reacted at the time, but fortunately the former was there; the former could instantly adapt to this covert arrangement and even remind the stand-in for Badger how to answer.

Thus it can be said they hit it off immediately—a group that had been sitting neatly and contentedly suddenly scattered like birds and beasts.

Work was work, point‑rushing was point‑rushing, handling emergencies was handling emergencies, leaving the Sirius symbol wanting to speak but stopping, frequently opening its mouth, yet like a duelist who missed the moment, no matter how hard it tried to retain everyone, it could not outmatch everyone's individual displays of divine talent in their swift escape.

How?

How do you retain a fleeting moment of time that fades like a dream, and how do you keep a wolf woman who has demons helping her open a black‑mist teleportation gate?

See for yourself—at most you can hold onto a pink‑hairedJK who slops around in slippers, dragging a tall friend upstairs to run.

And an employee feathered serpent who seems intent on staying beside the department head.

Of course, there's also one that needs no retaining—she constantly refreshes the deep‑sea hunter on the sofa, or refreshes the large brood of newborns in Aomo's arms.

Against this lineup, what do you intend to force‑A out?

The result was obvious at a glance.

It was entirely the Sirius symbol being squeezed out by the collusion of those dog‑men and women, inside and out; it probably hasn't even realized yet, unaware that Aomo, who gave such meticulous, thoughtful farewells, did so deliberately.

By deliberately shifting the focus, by deliberately preventing her from ever returning to the topic she most wants to discuss, and finally, by giving her psyche a downhill slope in anticipation of the next meeting, this is a veiled linguistic 'corruption'.

It fully displays the art of language and the restrained expression of distance.

"Just let her say it, then you can simply refuse—if you think her feeling is merely a passing impulse."

"That would hinder her training and competition condition; her affection and reliance are essentially the inferior tactics I employed for her training and competition state."

"But she knows, right? She seems to have accepted it."

"Those who are deceived always firmly believe their present choice won't be regretted, so they need time and reflection to test it."

"Truly evil—why not just say you'll give an answer after the competition ends? That would boost her condition, and then you could use the same trick on all the horse girls… Ouch! That hurts!"

The pink‑hairedJK, whose forehead Aomo had tapped, covered her brow and got a chuckle from the feathered serpent beside her.

"Don't joke about this."

"But you obviously know," Xixi pouted, feeling a bit wronged, "it's not just her; that whole group of horse girls also has who knows how many external foes."

"External foes…" Chewing on that word, Aomo's expression became especially subtle.

"Could it be that they are actually the locals?"

"Oh…" Xi raised her head as if just waking from a dream, then she looked at Huoerhaiya and at the badger quickly descending the stairs not far away, "It seems we… are all transmigrators?"

"?" The badger had just come down, hearing this it felt somewhat puzzled.

"Then what else?"

On the contrary, Huoerhaiya laughed holding her stomach: "You agreed so readily just now, I thought you had figured it out."

"I was……"

That was originally in Ling's room at the initial wine banquet, having been scolded almost to the point, feeling that she really couldn't hold onto her original possessive notion of the little snake in this society, this law, this atmosphere, unless she made up her mind to let everything become a mess.

But saying that would of course not be something to say to this feathered serpent!

"Oh!" She thought of a joking topic: "We count as a heavenly send‑off! Oh dear!"

But after she said that, Aomo pressed her head and rubbed her bangs again and again.

"Stop fooling around, have you found the thing?"

"Found it, found it! Little Snake, don't go overboard! My bangs are really precious!"

She handed over a biological tissue covered by a glass ball; Xi quickly tidied her messy forehead hair, then absentmindedly kicked Aomo's ankle, and then silently and slowly shrank back.

"How precious is it?" Aomo, having taken the glass ball, examined it while looking back.

Then he saw Little Xi take out an orange pair of glasses she hadn't seen in a while, put them on, and then adjust the hair length on her forehead to match the height of the frames.

"It feels like it can be continued to connect to the back."

"There's no need to keep long hair either," Aomo understood, after all he hadn't hidden the fact that his long hair gave him points, "Aren't you bothered by it?"

"Sometimes I want to try, and maybe dye my hair gold as well; I'm very interested in what Liuhua said."

"... Your usual look is fine enough; if you want any style, you can adjust it through simulated projection."

"That's just appearance; you can only touch it in virtual space, but I have indeed used that function to simulate it—take a look?"

"... It's indeed not bad, but also quite unfamiliar."

After looking, Aomo said sincerely.

"Unfamiliarity is also a sense of novelty! See how long it lasts before it gets boring," Xi said, then she looked again at the glass ball in Aomo's hand and at the monster capsule the badger handed him, "But what do you need these for? You're investigating a bunch of weaklings, aren't you?"

"Boduerduo needs it."

"Oh, I see." Xi understood instantly.

After all, she had seen plenty of Aomo's disguise and infiltration abilities.

"But what is the task you had Ling's older sister handle? See how rushed her two departures were."

"Not bad at all, Miss Xi can already tell from Ling's transfer method that she's in a hurry."

"Heh heh, impressive, eh? The fading speed is quite obvious!"

"Very impressive, though the matter she has to handle also has a bit of a domestic affair aspect, and the exact direction is uncertain."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know if you've heard, but in her family the second‑ranked older brother..."