Chapter 126: Male Zerg Star Pirate × Female Zerg Undercover Agent (10): He Chose to Believe... and Wait

["I'm a military female. Going undercover in the Wolf Crew was my mission."

Once the words were spoken, Avis unexpectedly felt as though a massive weight had finally fallen from his shoulders.

No matter what happened next...

He had been completely honest with the male Zerg.

There were no more secrets.

As for whether that weight would now crush everything he had into ruins...

That was a problem for his future self.

"So... you never actually needed to please me."

Avis shrugged, pretending to sound relaxed.

"I was always going to take you back to the Zerg Federation."

"Returning you safely is the duty of every military female."

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed straight ahead, watching the flight path.

He didn't dare look at the male Zerg's expression.

Yet he couldn't stop paying attention to his reaction.

His body had become visibly stiff.

Uriel naturally noticed how nervous he was.

He found it rather amusing.

A mischievous urge even rose within him to tease him a little.

This female Zerg was nowhere near as calm as he appeared.

He was afraid.

But...

What exactly was he afraid of?

Uriel was only a poor, innocent little male Zerg.

Not some vicious pirate.

He wasn't about to point a gun at Avis's head.

He wasn't going to arrest him, throw him into prison, whip him, humiliate him, or torture him.

Or...

Did Avis truly believe that male Zergs were even more terrifying than pirates?

That they were even more capable of hurting him?

Capable of tearing him apart...

Ripping his heart to pieces and trampling over it.

Was that really how terrifying Avis thought he was?

But he'd been acting so harmless all along.

While wondering about it, Uriel also thought about how he ought to react.

"Oh wow, Avi... so you're actually a military female!"

Uriel covered his face dramatically.

Should he react even more strongly?

Should he look even more shocked?

"My goodness! You're actually a military female working undercover!"

"No wonder you're completely different from every pirate I've ever met!"

"Just as expected of a military female! Exactly as upright, dependable, and tough as I imagined!"

Just then, Uriel noticed the tips of Avis's ears turning pink.

Only then did he realize...

He'd accidentally spoken that last sentence aloud.

It really had been what he genuinely thought.

But...

It obviously wasn't something he should have said.

"Ah, no—I meant you're amazing, Avis. You're someone people can truly trust."

Though being tough was definitely pretty attractive too.

Uriel hurriedly tried to explain himself.

"...Mm."

Avis answered quietly.

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Those are qualities every military female should have."

Compared to gentle, beautiful sub-females who instinctively understood how to please others...

Being tough was one of the few advantages military females possessed.

Hearing those words from a male Zerg...

To any female Zerg, they were unquestionably praise.

It was just...

Avis had never expected His Lordship to compliment that.

Shouldn't His Lordship have cared much more about the deception?

About everything Avis had hidden from him?

About all the unnecessary fear...

The unnecessary efforts to please him...

Avis pressed his lips together before asking softly,

"You don't seem particularly surprised that I'm a military female."

"I actually guessed a little..."

It wasn't merely a guess.

"Avis has always treated me well."

"You've always respected me."

"If you'd really been a pirate..."

"You would've devoured me completely on the very first day..."

The emotional speech caught in Uriel's throat.

After all...

Avis had technically devoured him too.

But that was different.

Uriel silently defended him inside his own heart.

He'd been the one who tempted Avis.

Avis had shown tremendous restraint.

He'd resolved his heat while trying his hardest not to hurt him.

His heart was upright.

And gentle.

"Anyway..."

"Avis is incredibly, incredibly wonderful!"

Uriel said sincerely.

"...I'm not."

Avis lowered his gaze.

"If I were..."

"I wouldn't have used my identity as a pirate to selfishly possess you."

"I wouldn't have made you live in fear, trying to please me."

"Actually..."

"I wasn't that scared..."

Maybe he'd overacted a little.

Uriel felt somewhat embarrassed.

"I wanted it."

"And you liked it too."

"Didn't you?"

Uriel asked.

He knew what kind of Zerg Avis was.

And he knew exactly what kind of male Zerg Avis would fall for.

This was an upright female Zerg.

One whose protective instincts toward the weak were overwhelming.

So when a helpless, vulnerable male Zerg who needed protecting appeared before him...

Avis would inevitably shoulder responsibility for him.

He would carry his future upon his own shoulders.

His entire attention would become focused on him.

And he would fall in love before he even realized it.

"...Yes."

"I was delighted by your attempts to please me."

"I fell in love."

"That's exactly why I'm not a good female."

Avis quietly confessed his guilt.

Uriel simply couldn't do anything with someone like him.

"Fine, fine."

"If that's really how you see yourself..."

"I suppose I like slightly bad females too."

If Avis insisted he wasn't a good female...

Then Uriel's standards would simply change to match him.

For a brief moment, Avis's mind completely stopped working.

The expression he turned toward the male Zerg was almost speechless.

But the sense of responsibility ingrained into every military female compelled him to correct the innocent male Zerg's dangerously skewed thinking.

In the end...

Like patiently teaching a naïve hatchling, he explained,

"After returning to the Federation..."

"You can sue me for the harm I caused you during my mission."

Sue.

To Uriel, it sounded like using legal means to force someone to take responsibility.

His understanding of Zerg law was limited, so he asked curiously,

"If I sue you..."

"Will you have to take responsibility for me?"

Avis nodded.

He would bear legal responsibility.

"...Then I'll think about it."

Uriel replied.

"It depends on how well you behave."

He didn't want to force Avis through legal means.

But...

It could remain as a backup plan.

A choice reserved for when no other choice remained.

Avis silently accepted the answer without asking further questions.

He had already prepared himself for exactly this outcome.

Even if the male Zerg demanded the harshest possible sentence...

He wouldn't argue.

Silence settled between them.

The entire journey became quiet.

Uriel couldn't stand such a gloomy atmosphere.

It was making him sleepy.

Yawning, he deliberately changed the subject.

"This spacecraft can fly itself once the route's programmed, right?"

"...Yes."

Avis answered.

"Then let it fly itself."

"Carry me to the sleeping cabin."

Following the male Zerg's order, Avis activated the autopilot.

Then he stood up, walked over, and gently lifted the increasingly sleepy male Zerg into his arms.

Male Zergs were so light.

Light enough that they barely felt real.

Avis instinctively hugged him a little tighter, reassuring himself that he truly existed.

He carried him back to the sleeping cabin and gently placed him on the bed.

Just as he was about to stand...

The male Zerg hugged him.

Snuggling comfortably against him, his eyes half-closed with drowsiness, he whispered in a spoiled tone,

"Kiss me."

Avis regarded it as an order.

The duty of every military female was to obey orders.

A marked female found it even harder to refuse the commands of his male Zerg.

Besides...

He didn't want to refuse.

Lowering his head, he searched for the male Zerg's lips.

His kiss was almost reverent.

The male Zerg's lips were soft and gentle.

Sweet with pheromones.

The more a female tasted them...

The more addictive they became.

Perhaps...

This would be his final chance to be close to the male Zerg.

Avis simply couldn't bear to stop.

Or perhaps...

He'd already accepted that his crimes could no longer be counted.

Since he was destined to stand before the tribunal anyway...

What difference did another one or two offenses make?

As long as the male Zerg didn't tell him to stop...

He shut out everything else and continued kissing him.

Eventually...

He realized the male Zerg's sleepiness had completely disappeared.

Instead, he was clinging energetically to him.

That discovery encouraged Avis immensely.

Earnestly, he asked,

"...May I serve you?"

"...Mm."

Uriel agreed.

Permission granted.

Avis abandoned all restraint.

He helped the male Zerg sit upright.

By this point...

Uriel's drowsiness had vanished completely.

He had never seen Avis this proactive before.

Curious, he watched everything with wide eyes, finding it all wonderfully fascinating.

Avis didn't hide anything from him.

Even the movement of his abdominal muscles was plainly visible.

He even took Uriel's hand and guided it toward himself while whispering words beside his ear that made any Zerg's ears grow warm.

The week-long journey back...

They spent every moment together.

Again...

And again...

Avis invited him to mark him.

As though hoping those marks would become permanent.

As though he wanted them carved into his bones...

Bound forever into his insect markings.

Uriel was gradually swept away by his enthusiasm.

His own spirits remained high throughout.

In the end...

Repeatedly nourished by the male Zerg's pheromones...

Avis finally fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke again...

The space beside him was empty.

The male Zerg's pheromones still lingered all over his body.

Their sweet fragrance surrounded him.

Relaxing both body and mind.

For a brief moment...

He didn't realize what had happened.

Still half-asleep, he hoarsely called,

"...Uriel."

No answer.

Avis slowly opened his eyes.

Tentatively...

"...My Lord?"

Still...

No answer.

The entire spacecraft was silent.

There was no trace of the male Zerg's voice.

No breathing.

No heartbeat besides his own.

To the keen senses of a high-ranking female Zerg...

The emptiness was terrifying.

His heart skipped violently before plunging into frantic chaos.

He climbed out of bed.

Throwing on a random coat, he pulled it tightly around himself with trembling hands before rushing out, opening one cabin after another.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing...

Even though his senses had already told him every room was empty...

He stubbornly insisted on opening each door himself.

Confirming with his own eyes that the male Zerg wasn't there.

With every door...

His heart grew colder.

Eventually...

Avis arrived at the silent cockpit.

Under autopilot, the spacecraft had already reached its programmed destination.

Ahead lay the border spaceport of the Zerg Federation.

From here, countless spacecraft could be seen entering the harbor.

Once customs were cleared...

One officially entered Federation territory.

By this point...

The male Zerg no longer needed him.

So...

He had left.

Without even leaving a single word behind.

Avis felt cold all over.

Even wrapping his coat tightly around himself couldn't drive away the biting chill.

The male Zerg's pheromones still lingered upon him.

But...

The male Zerg himself was gone.

He had left without the slightest hesitation.

Completely unlike the warmth he'd shown while they were together.

They had always been destined to part.

Safely returning the male Zerg to Zerg territory meant his mission had been fulfilled.

There should have been no regrets.

He simply hadn't expected...

That their separation would come so suddenly.

Without even a goodbye.

Pain crushed his heart until it curled tightly inward.

It felt as though every drop of blood had been drained from his body.

For one terrible moment...

Avis almost wanted to rip his own heart out just to stop the pain.

A suffocating pressure filled his chest.

Dizziness overtook him.

His body swayed.

Just then...

A bright yellow slip of paper drifted slowly past his eyes.

Brushing against the coat draped over his shoulders before floating to the floor.

His vision had blurred so badly that he couldn't immediately tell what it was.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Opened them again.

Looked down.

...A sticky note?

There were words written on it.

Avis bent down and picked it up.

In bold, adorable handwriting, it read:

"I'm sorry (pitiful). I still have some things I need to take care of, so I can't go back with you just yet. Please give me a little more time. One month. I'll come find you in one month. (kiss) (blowing kiss) (little wolf head)."

Avis: "..."

His Lordship had left it behind.

He read the noisy little sticky note covered in doodles over...

And over...

And over again.

The fingers gripping its corners gradually turned white.

As though trying to draw even the tiniest bit of strength from it.

...Could he really believe the male Zerg's words?

Then Avis suddenly remembered.

He'd seen colorful sticky notes like these somewhere else.

He immediately went searching.

On the bedside table.

"Good morning (kiss)! You were sleeping so soundly that I couldn't bear to wake you. Your good morning kiss has already been delivered—and I've prepaid all the kisses for the next month too. Yes, I secretly kissed you lots of times. (proud) Breakfast is on the table. Don't forget to eat. (heart) I'll be away for a little while, but I'll come back as soon as I can. Don't miss me too much... although missing me just a little is okay too. (pitiful)."

On the table.

"I'm not sure if you'll like it. This is the limit of my cooking skills. If it's delicious, please give it a like. (heart) If it isn't... please leave encouraging feedback instead. (Nutrient solution available in the fridge)."

On the bathroom mirror.

"I'm putting this somewhere obvious so you won't miss it. (smile) I left you some pheromones. (test tube) (arrow) If you miss me, you can take a sniff. You're not allowed to marry another male Zerg. (I'll steal you away from the wedding!) (angry)."

On the doorknob.

"You'll definitely notice this one, right? (thinking really hard) (scratching head)..."

...

Avis searched every corner of the spacecraft from top to bottom.

In total...

He found thirty colorful sticky notes.

Each one carried the male Zerg's adorable handwriting.

Each one decorated with lively little cartoon expressions.

Running his fingers gently across them...

He almost felt as though he could still touch the emotions the male Zerg had poured into writing them.

Faced with all of this...

He found it impossible to convince himself that the male Zerg had abandoned him.

Would a male Zerg really go this far...

For a female he didn't love?

The cost of such deception seemed far too high.

So...

He decided to believe.

And wait.

Wait for the male Zerg to come back.

Even if it was only to drag him before the tribunal...

Sooner or later...

The male Zerg would have to appear again.

...]