Chapter 118: Male Zerg Star Pirate × Female Zerg Undercover Agent (3): The Male Zerg Is Wearing His Shirt...

[Wait? Bro? You really ate him? (stunned)]

[There was no helping it. It's all that damned star pirate's fault for drugging the Male Lord. Despicable!]

[The fact that he only ate him already proves Avis still had his reason and knew restraint. Otherwise, he'd have filled his brood pouch too.]

[Only natural for a Zerg.]

[No, that's not what I meant. I meant... he didn't even give His Lordship any star coins! (horrified)]

[Even Iso knew to give one star coin. We can't be worse than Iso!]

[...That actually makes sense.]

[It was to maintain his identity as a star pirate. What kind of star pirate pays after eating a male? (Bro, that's all I can do for you.)]

[Fair point. Go explain that to the military tribunal!]

[He frightened His Lordship this badly. Once the mission is over, he's definitely going before the court. His Lordship won't let him off.]

[Is the first prison-series protagonist in the whole novel about to appear?]

[I suspect An-shen is alluding to that famous imprisoned Lord. You know how there's always a little friction between the current one and the former one.]

[Isn't that usually the female Zerg's storyline? (confused black-bug face) Don't project female Zerg plotlines onto An-shen!]

[The Lord kidnapped by star pirates is so pitiful. You all only care about the prison-series protagonist. Unlike me, I only feel sorry for His Lordship~]

[(A Heavenly Garuda aboard a starship silently stares at the screen...)]

...

【Avis didn't dare return to the resting cabin for the entire day.

He stayed in the training room for a long time, emptying his mind through intense simulated combat, then borrowed the shower there and washed himself over and over again.

Yet he still couldn't calm himself.

The Male Zerg's pheromones lingered endlessly. Even if he showered and rinsed his mouth every ten minutes, he could still smell that sweet fragrance.

Sometimes he even recalled the touch and warmth.

Had his brood pouch not remained completely empty, it would almost have felt as though he had been thoroughly marked by a Male Zerg.

Or perhaps it was precisely because he hadn't received a mark...

...that he could never be satisfied.

Never freed.

After washing once more and stepping out of the shower, he found someone new inside the training room.

A Heavenly Garuda.

"I saw the lights in this training room on the whole time and thought it had malfunctioned. Turns out it was the Vice Captain."

The female Heavenly Garuda spoke casually, but his eyes remained fixed on Avis, searching his body as though looking for something.

Being stared at like that by someone of the same sex—especially an enemy Heavenly Garuda—was thoroughly unpleasant.

Among those of the same sex, that kind of gaze counted as a provocation.

"What do you want?" Avis asked coldly.

"Oh, nothing much. The Captain seems to be looking for you. And..."

The Heavenly Garuda female paused. His expression turned ambiguous as he curled his lips into a grin.

"How's that male? He smells incredible. His rank must be pretty high. Lend him to me for a few days. I'll trade you something. Whatever you want..."

Before he could finish, Avis drove a fist straight into his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Damn it, you bastard..."

Clutching his bleeding nose, the Heavenly Garuda cursed as he sprang back up and charged at Avis.

Avis had already found the simulated training unsatisfying. He hadn't been able to vent his frustration.

Now that a Heavenly Garuda had delivered himself right to his fists...

Avis seized him and pummeled him mercilessly, every blow landing solidly. He beat the Heavenly Garuda until he couldn't get back up or even form a complete sentence. Only then did Avis wipe the blood from his hands and turn to leave.

Leaving behind a Heavenly Garuda whose every bone had been shattered, only to mend again under his regenerative ability as he writhed helplessly across the floor.

Fights like this were commonplace among star pirates.

As long as nobody died, it counted as a minor scuffle.

Avis had already shown considerable restraint.

He hadn't even turned his opponent into a cloud of blood with a single bang.

...】

[...You... female... Zergs.]

[No, no, we're usually not like this! (trying to explain) Tearing Heavenly Garuda apart with our bare hands is way more satisfying.]

[Exactly. Turning someone into a blood mist is a high-level technique. Ordinary Zergs can't do that.]

[Still... that really does sound impressive. If someone's reduced to blood mist, even the strongest regeneration won't help. (rational discussion)]

The Male Zergs: "..."

They had given up.

There was no hope.

Heavenly Garuda: [I seriously suspect An-shen nerfed us Heavenly Garuda! What rank is this female even supposed to be? Move aside! Let our Emperor handle this!]

Zergs: [We deploy Marshal Ulysses! K! O!]

An entirely fictional online power-scaling war had officially begun.

...

【Avis encountered the Captain in the corridor.

The wolf beastman's keen nose caught his scent from far away.

He nodded approvingly, clapped Avis warmly on the shoulder, and said with obvious satisfaction,

"Excellent! From now on, we're truly one family!"

Avis: "..."

At least this round of testing was over.

"Oh, right."

The wolf captain suddenly remembered something.

"How is he... that Male Zerg?"

Avis had heard almost the exact same question from the Heavenly Garuda moments earlier.

His expression instantly darkened.

He was willing to obey orders for the sake of the undercover mission.

That did not mean he would tolerate anyone insulting the Male Lord.

Brushing the wolf's paw off his shoulder, Avis said coldly,

"That is between His Lordship and me. Please mind your choice of words."

He had no desire to continue the conversation.

If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he might actually attack the Captain.

This muscular giant...

...was also a male.

A male who didn't look male at all.

"I have matters to attend to. I'll be leaving."

He excused himself calmly.

With that, he walked past the wolf beastman Captain without another glance.

"...Huh?"

The Captain scratched one wolf ear, utterly confused.

...

Avis knocked politely.

Receiving no answer, he simply stood outside the resting cabin in silent wait.

Deep down, he knew...

...the door might never open again.

Who knew how much time had passed before the sound of something shattering suddenly came from inside.

Startled, Avis knocked once more before entering without waiting for permission.

The silver-haired Male Zerg...

...was wearing his shirt.

He stood helplessly beside the table.

A shattered meal tray lay scattered across the floor.

Avis's mind blanked for a moment before he remembered that His Lordship had no spare clothes and could only wear his.

Feeling lightheaded, he hurried toward the broken dishes.

"P-Please step back a little. Be careful not to cut yourself. I'll clean this up."

He should have come earlier to collect the dishes.

How could he have left His Lordship alone in a room with something so dangerous?

It was completely inexcusable.

Squatting down, Avis carefully picked up every shard and fed them into the waste recycler.

Only after finishing did he remember there was a cleaning robot.

He activated it, letting it mop the floor and remove every trace of spilled water.

The Male Lord still stood timidly nearby, clutching the hem of the oversized shirt tightly, not daring to look at him.

No matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, Avis's gaze was inevitably drawn back to...

...his own shirt.

He had never imagined such an ordinary piece of clothing could look like that on someone.

The slightly open collar.

The loose hem.

The long, straight legs beneath it.

Avis hurriedly forced both his thoughts and his eyes elsewhere.

"Please don't be afraid," he tried to reassure him. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

A star pirate's promise clearly carried no weight.

The Male Lord had been terrified by him.

After all...

...he truly had harmed him.

With his lips.

With his tongue.

With his throat.

And with his thoughts.

Words were unbearably weak in the face of facts.

Avis silently stepped backward, increasing the distance between them, hoping His Lordship would feel more comfortable.

At least...

...a little less frightened of him.

Opening the wardrobe, he unsurprisingly found signs that it had been searched.

Hidden beneath the clothes in the inner corner were two of his spare guns.

He ought to check whether they were still there.

But hearing the Male Lord breathing quietly behind him...

...he didn't.

After only the briefest pause, he acted as though nothing were unusual and simply took a thin blanket from the lower shelf.

He spread it over the sofa, moved a cushion into place, and prepared to spend the night there.

Remembering the fight with the Heavenly Garuda earlier, and the dirty blood still on his body, he went into the bathroom for another shower.

The bathroom smelled sweet.

Was every room a Male Zerg lived in this different?

It seemed as though everywhere a Male Zerg walked...

...everything he touched...

...was left carrying that irresistible fragrance that drew every Zerg toward it.

To force himself to calm down, Avis turned the hot water completely cold.

Only then did his wandering thoughts finally settle.

When he came back out...

...His Lordship was still standing there.

He hadn't gone to the bed.

Perhaps the bed had become a traumatic reminder.

Perhaps he was afraid of being bullied again.

Or perhaps...

Avis's eyes landed on the slightly rumpled sheets.

Suddenly he remembered—

After doing something like that...

...he hadn't changed the bedding.

His pheromones were still all over it!

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll change it right away!"

Blushing furiously, Avis apologized over and over, not daring to look in the Male Lord's direction as he hurriedly stripped the bed.

No—

The quilt had to be replaced too.

Behind him, the Male Zerg quietly watched him bustle about.

His gaze drifted across the female Zerg's waist as it dipped while making the bed...

...his firm hips...

...and the long legs wrapped in black trousers.

Only after watching for quite a while did he slowly lower his gaze...

...to his own pale, delicate toes.

After finishing, Avis turned back toward him.

He had no idea how to invite His Lordship to sleep in the bed.

No matter how he phrased it...

...it sounded wrong.

Walking over to the sofa, he sat down, pulled the blanket over his legs, and finally said,

"You may sleep in the bed. I won't disturb you."

The Male Zerg glanced at him, clearly intending to sleep on the sofa, before slowly making his way toward the bed.

His eyes never left Avis.

Every single step...

...he kept watching him.

Avis remained perfectly still, stiff as a block of wood, trying to prove he meant no harm.

The Male Zerg sat down at the edge of the bed, drew up his legs, climbed in, and for the briefest instant...

...a white foot flashed into view.

Avis immediately lowered his head.

The Male Zerg paused slightly before wrapping himself tightly inside the quilt.

Completely covered.

Still staring warily in Avis's direction.

Only then did Avis lie down on the sofa.

He considered for a second whether to turn off the lights.

In the end...

...he left them on.

Perhaps His Lordship would feel safer that way.

His Lordship slept poorly.

During the first half of the night, he didn't dare close his eyes.

During the second half, he tossed and turned restlessly.

Listening to the uneasy sounds of him shifting in bed, Avis once again felt painfully aware of his own helplessness.

He couldn't take His Lordship away.

Instead...

...he himself had become the source of His Lordship's fear.

The guilt of being unable to protect a Male Zerg in danger...

...was enough to drown any female Zerg.

"...You're still awake, aren't you?"

The Male Zerg suddenly spoke.

The voice was so pleasant that Avis froze for a moment before realizing...

...His Lordship was talking to him.

To him.

A star pirate.

After thinking for a moment, he opened his eyes and answered quietly.

The Male Zerg lay on his side facing him.

Between them stretched half the room...

...a tea table...

...and an assortment of decorative glass goblets at varying heights.

Those should be put away too.

Avis thought.

"So... how much longer are you going to wait?"

the Male Zerg asked.

Avis blinked, unable to understand what he meant.

After saying that single sentence...

...the Male Zerg fell silent again.

As though asking even that had already consumed every bit of courage he possessed.

Only then did realization slowly dawn on Avis.

He could only reassure him once more.

"I won't hurt you. I absolutely won't do anything against your wishes ever again. Please believe me."

The Male Zerg was silent for a while before asking,

"You want me to do it willingly?"

"No. That's not what I meant."

Avis hurriedly denied it, trying to explain.

But saying he didn't want him willing sounded even worse.

In the end, all he could say was,

"You may do anything you wish..."

The Male Zerg lowered his eyes.

His delicate chin rested against the soft quilt in front of him, a trace of ridicule flickering through his amber eyes.

"You kidnapped me onto your ship. Locked me inside this room. Undid my trousers and fed on my pheromones."

"And now you're telling me..."

"...I can do anything I want?"

"I'm truly sorry..."

Avis swallowed hard.

His voice came out dry.

"Please..."

"...give me a little more time."

He forced the words out.

The Male Zerg immediately looked up at him.

Those amber eyes rested quietly on him.

"Time for what?"

he asked softly.

Avis pressed his lips together.

He said nothing more.

"I'm sorry."

"I can't tell you."

"..."

Silence once again filled the room.

Only the sound of each other's breathing remained.

After a long while...

The Male Zerg finally broke the silence.

"My name is Ul."

"...Avis."

Exchanging names...

...was often the beginning of exchanging trust.

"A...vis..."

The Male Zerg softly repeated the name.

Every syllable rolled off the tip of his tongue...

...and Avis could hear his own heart trembling with each one.

The atmosphere of vigilance...

...of hostility...

...of drawn swords...

...seemed to dissolve at that very moment.

Avis wasn't naïve enough to believe the Male Zerg had truly lowered his guard.

Rather...

...this clever Male Zerg was searching for a better way to survive among the star pirates.

Or perhaps...

...a better way to escape.

Perhaps...

...that was a good thing.

It meant the Male Zerg still held hope for the future.

He hadn't completely sunk into endless fear and despair.

Yet...

...Avis couldn't stop his heart from aching.

Only when a female Zerg was utterly powerless...

...would a Male Zerg be forced to think about such things.

Ul.

Silently, Avis repeated the name within his heart...

...engraving it deep into his soul.

He would bring him safely home to Zerg territory.

He swore it.

He swore it in the name of a military female Zerg.

...】