SGT CH37: His Little Male Cub

◎”…Are you abandoning me again?”◎

When did I ever adopt myself?

How come I don’t know?

Mousse was full of question marks.

He had only said that the little male cub’s second awakening had failed and that he had died in a small underground room…

Alright, he knew what Aix was thinking.

The layout of that room was indeed very similar to their former residence in the Dark Star Field, just that all the items had been replaced with better and more comfortable ones.

What Mousse hadn’t expected was that Aix had guessed that the “little male cub” had once lived in that room, yet he still didn’t recognize him.

His changes… were they that big?

Mousse summoned a virtual screen, opened the mirror mode, and examined his face.

It was just a change from short, light-blond hair to long, slightly curly hair.

From innocent, watery round eyes to charming, seductive peach blossom eyes.

From a baby-faced look to a more refined, three-dimensional, slender face shape.

From a cute little male cub with a three-head body ratio to a perfectly proportioned adult male Zerg.

…

In short, it was just that his hairstyle changed, his facial features changed, his face shape changed, his body shape changed, his aura changed, and his personality changed… that’s all!

It had only changed a little bit; there were no major changes at all.

He was still him.

On what grounds did Aix not recognize him?

Didn’t they say that for a Zerg you care about, you can recognize them even if they’re reduced to ashes?

Mousse puffed up his cheeks in anger, reached out to pull Aix’s hair, and accused resentfully:

“You don’t care about me at all!”

But Aix had already been swallowed by sleep, falling into a deep slumber, unable to respond to him at all.

Mousse vented to himself for a while and also felt sleepy.

Last night, he was so busy trying out toys and bullying Aix that he hadn’t rested well at all.

Mousse yawned, his eyes half-closed. He took off his shoes, pulled back the covers, climbed onto the medical bed, and lay down beside Aix, pulling most of the blanket over to himself.

He lay in Aix’s warm embrace, his hand habitually resting on Aix’s bulging belly.

He suddenly remembered Aix’s description of the little male cub when he brought him up—my cub.

Aix had used a similar description last night.

At that time, his mind was completely occupied by the past that Aix had brought up, and he didn’t pay too much attention to the issue of the title.

The reason he noticed this title now was mainly because Mousse remembered his female father’s strange attitude and weird questions from that day.

Calculating the time, the point when the Marshal sent him the message was right after his private conversation with Aix.

He had wondered what Zerg could have made his female father feel a sense of crisis about his status.

So the culprit was here.

Mousse was both a little annoyed and a little amused.

Aix had wanted to be his female father back then.

After so many years, he was still fixated on it.

“What kind of female father can’t recognize his own cub?”

Mousse muttered in a low voice.

“You have no chance of being my female father. Just be my female consort obediently.”

Mousse felt the distinct rise and fall of the pregnant belly under his hand.

He thought to himself that he could still be the female father of his cub, though.

However, if Aix always saw the “little male cub” as his cub…

If one day in the future, Aix learned his identity… knew that he had become the female consort of the little male cub from his memories, and was even carrying the little male cub’s egg.

That reaction would surely be very interesting.

He wondered if at that time, Aix would still be able to say “my cub.”

If he would still have the face to coax him into calling him female father, like he did back then.

Perhaps it was because performing the mental sorting for Aix had consumed a lot of mental energy.

Or perhaps it was because Aix’s aura after the mental sorting was too peaceful, making a Zerg feel at ease.

Not long after Mousse lay down, his consciousness began to fade, and he couldn’t perceive anything anymore.

·

Aix woke up around noon.

A gentle breeze stirred the white curtains. The rare, gentle sunlight of White Night Star shone through the window, falling on the medical bed and on the face of the Prince sleeping soundly on his chest, warm and peaceful.

It was like a scene from a dream.

Aix was in a daze.

The cub he cared about most, his little male cub, had left him forever.

His beloved male Zerg was sleeping in his arms.

His world seemed to be split into two parts.

One half had already shattered and collapsed with the complete departure of the little male cub.

The other half was occupied and sustained by the Prince, allowing him to drag his broken body along and continue living in this world.

Aix was greedy for the warmth the Prince brought.

His world was a stretch of gray and deathly silence.

Only when the Prince was present would vibrant colors appear, and life and warmth would return.

He so wanted to stay by the Prince’s side forever.

He wanted to become the Prince’s bed, his pillow, his blanket, to become every object around the Prince.

But he couldn’t.

The Prince had entrusted the military affairs of White Night Star to him. For the Prince’s safety, he also needed to go to the military headquarters to keep an eye on things.

Aix gently supported the Prince’s head and moved him slowly onto the pillow.

Something was wrong.

Aix looked at the quietly sleeping Prince, his brow slightly furrowed.

The Prince was always a light sleeper, always seeming to lack a sense of security.

Usually, no matter how carefully he moved, the Prince would react.

Even if he didn’t wake up, his breathing would change, his eyelashes would tremble restlessly, and his hand would unconsciously grab onto him.

At that point, he would have to clearly state where he was going for the Prince to be able to sleep normally.

Otherwise, he would wake up with a start very quickly.

And he would have to face a Prince full of morning temper.

Aix had experienced it once and never wanted it to happen again.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of punishment from the Prince.

It was the panicked and uneasy expression on the Prince’s face when he woke up with a start that made him sad, his heart aching for no reason.

Now, he had already moved the Prince to the pillow and even tucked him in again, yet the Prince showed no reaction at all.

“Your Highness?”

Aix tried calling out.

Still no reaction.

Aix’s face changed. He hurriedly pressed the call bell by the bed.

The sub-female doctor rushed in and performed a full-body scan on the Prince.

The examination results were synchronized to the virtual screen of his terminal.

“Eh? This mental power…”

The sub-female doctor looked at the constantly changing image on the virtual screen in surprise.

“Is there something wrong with His Highness’s mental power?” Aix’s heart was in a panic.

His mental domain was too chaotic. If the Prince was injured because he had performed a mental sorting for him, then he… a million deaths would not be enough to atone for his crime.

“No, no, no, there’s no problem. It’s a good thing.”

The sub-female doctor explained with a smile:

“His Highness’s previous physiological awakening ended too abruptly. Before his breakthrough mental power could stabilize, it was hit hard and severely damaged.

“Although it was said that he broke through to S-class, to be more precise, his mental power intensity was only S-…”

As he spoke, he saw Lieutenant General Aix’s face turn deathly pale.

The doctor suddenly remembered the reason why the Prince’s physiological awakening had ended abruptly and he had suffered severe trauma.

He silently skipped over that part.

“Ahem, in short, His Highness is undergoing a second mental awakening, and his mental power is slowly climbing.

“If the second awakening is successful, His Highness can become a true S-class, or even S+.”

S- and S+ did not exist in the official ranking system, but were private comparisons made by the Imperial Zerg based on the strength of Zerg of the same level.

A female Zerg like Aix, who was on the verge of breaking through to SS-class, could also be called S+, or even S+++.

Hearing that the Prince was entering a second mental awakening and was not in danger, Aix’s panic subsided a little.

It was just that his complexion was still very bad, and his eyes were filled with deep self-blame and worry as he looked at the Prince.

“When a female Zerg awakens, they need a quiet space to be alone. For a male Zerg, it’s the opposite. A male Zerg in their awakening period is most lacking in security and craves the company of a trusted Zerg.”

The sub-female doctor said, placing a few source crystals for soothing a male Zerg’s spirit by the Prince’s bedside, then turned to Aix and said:

“Lieutenant General, please accompany His Highness more. His Highness would surely also wish to see you when he wakes up.”

“…I will guard His Highness’s side.”

Aix was not sure if he was the Zerg the Prince trusted.

Given the harm he had caused the Prince, it was more normal for the Prince not to trust him.

But he couldn’t bear to leave.

Aix opened his terminal, requested a few days’ leave, and then knelt by the medical bed.

He gently held the Prince’s hand, which was resting by the pillow, and prayed in his heart for the Prince to pass through his awakening smoothly.

In order not to disturb the Prince, the doctor retreated outside, monitoring the Prince’s physical and mental data through instruments.

Only Aix, one Zerg, remained guarding the room.

He stood guard for the better part of a day.

The ward was completely silent, with only the beeping sound of the mental power monitoring instrument.

The growth of the Prince’s mental power was smooth at first, but then, for some reason, it began to fluctuate up and down, erratically.

And the Prince showed no signs of waking up.

The doctor was also at a loss.

Zerg awakenings could never be interfered with by external forces; one could only rely on oneself.

Even source crystals for soothing the spirit could only play a supporting role.

Aix looked at the Prince, who was sleeping with a tight frown, and was extremely worried.

The Prince in this state reminded him of the little male cub who was undergoing his second awakening back then.

The little male cub had not been able to wait for him to bring back the mental source crystal and had left his side forever.

Aix opened his spatial bracelet and took out all the mental source crystals he had collected over the years, placing them all around the Prince.

He filled the entire bed, and it still wasn’t enough, even covering the floor completely.

Source crystals of various colors surrounded the Prince, encircling him in the middle.

“Your Highness, Male Master… I beg you…”

Aix knelt by the bed again, bowing his body low, his forehead pressed against the Prince’s hand, pleading in a low voice.

I beg you to be safe.

I beg you to wake up.

The little male cub and the Prince, the two most important male Zerg in his life.

The little male cub had already completely left him. He could not bear for any mishap to befall the Prince.

…

Roughly made wooden table and chairs, a tattered hand-drawn map on the table, newly assembled metal weapons, and a money pouch containing physical currency…

Aix stared blankly at everything before him.

This was his former underground safe house in the Dark Star Field.

The residence where he had lived with the little male cub.

A place that now only existed in his memory.

But why was he here?

In his own memory.

Was it the Prince’s dissipated mental power during his awakening that had captured his memory and drawn his consciousness into it?

No, he had to wake up.

The Prince was still waiting for him.

Aix picked up the weapon on the table, wanting to inflict pain on himself to wake up.

“…Are you abandoning me again?”

A weak, soft voice came from behind him.

Aix’s body froze. The weapon in his hand fell to the ground, making a harsh clatter.

He slowly turned around and saw his long-cherished blond little male cub, pale and in pain, curled up in the corner of the bed, looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

Aix opened his mouth in vain, his lips trembling, unable to say a word.

The little male cub closed his eyes deeply, as if he didn’t want to see him anymore.

“Just go… Never appear before me again…”

The resolute and sad voice was like the whimper of a young beast.

Aix had no such conversation in his memory.

But he couldn’t care about that now.

His brain had completely lost its ability to think, and his body felt so heavy it was as if it wasn’t his own.

He used all his strength just to move his feet to the bedside.

He reached out and embraced the small, curled-up male cub in the corner of the bed, holding him tightly, and choked out.

“Sisi… my Sisi…”

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