Chapter 134: Ulysses Is Unhappy: The Marshal Personally Went to Guard Prisoners?

Floating Island.

Hill and Iso sat side by side, their heads resting against each other as they followed the novel together.

When they reached the ending, Hill let out a long breath and smiled.

"That's wonderful. We ended up together in another world too."

It's only a story, Iso thought.

But seeing his Male Lord so happy made him happy as well.

No matter what, when reading a story about yourself and your Male Lord, you naturally hoped for a happy ending.

Though...

This plot...

Keeping all of his own property, and the Male Zerg transferring him such a huge amount of money...

He was probably about to get flamed on StarNet all over again.

Quietly, Iso opened StarNet on his terminal.

Sure enough, his name was hanging at the top of the trending list.

#One-Star-Coin-Iso#

#Negative-Balance-Iso#

#Marrying Iso Actually Costs the Male Zerg Money!#

[Iso somehow manages to get worse with every book! I thought one star coin was already the limit, but somehow he got a Male Zerg to spend a fortune on him instead!]

[The disgrace of all Female Zergs!]

[And he actually got to marry Lord Hill twice! Twice!]

[Lord Hill likes having a small family too. He's probably only ever going to marry him. Favored by the same Male Zerg in two lifetimes!!!]

The Female Zergs had completely lost it.

Their own failures were already painful enough.

But Iso's success made them even more furious.

[He can actually marry a high-ranking Male Zerg as his Female Lord and become that Male Zerg's only spouse! Meanwhile I've spent years saving money and not a single high-ranking lord has even looked at me. What does that make me?!]

[Someone who's good at saving money.]

[Lord Hill comes from an incredible family. He's the only son of a Third Legion General. The entire Third Legion stands behind him. He doesn't lack money, so naturally he doesn't care about assets.]

[Lord Ul, who grew up as a pirate, understands the value of running a household. The moment he got married, he took over every bit of his Female Lord's property.]

[Stop talking nonsense. Didn't our Lord Ul leave Avis 5%? That amount alone could buy who knows how many Isos. It's more than enough.]

[Speaking of which, isn't a Female Lord who only controls 5% of the marital assets practically unheard of?]

[Pretty much. Usually only Female Attendants who married way above their station and aren't favored end up with a percentage like that. Female Lords normally retain 50% control over their own property.]

[Whether it's Iso or Avis, both are one of a kind. One got a Male Zerg to spend money on him just to get married, while the other is officially a Female Lord but controls even less money than most Female Attendants.]

[Lord Ul really deserves his reputation as a pirate. When he makes a move, he's ruthless. That's true pirate plundering spirit. (Thumbs up)]

[Lord Ul traveled hundreds of thousands of light-years and joined the Federation just to marry Avis. Doesn't Avis owe him that money?]

[Absolutely.]

[If a Male Zerg came all that way just to marry you, wouldn't you give him everything? Was all that talk about handing over all your property just empty words?]

[I would! I'd give him everything! Lord Ul, marry me!]

The Heavenly Garudas felt these Female Zergs had all gone insane.

What kind of joke was this?

Handing over every cent after marriage...

Working like a poor slave for a Male Zerg...

Their males were certainly precious.

It was normal to spend years' worth of savings on them.

But there was no reason every cent they earned afterward should belong to the male too.

[...Actually, isn't it basically the same?]

One Heavenly Garuda replied weakly.

[Have you ever calculated how much you spend on your male after marriage?]

[Ha! What's there to calculate? He's just one little male. How much could he possibly spend? It's only staple food, meat, fruit, vegetables, imported snacks, dairy products, nutritional paste, vitamins, supplements, medicine... clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, tableware, terminals, bags, houseplants, flowers, artwork, skincare products, styling, beauty treatments... villas, gardens, swimming pools, yachts, aircraft, floating islands, amusement parks...]

[Can anyone even finish listing everything?]

[This is so strange... It really doesn't feel like we spend that much...]

[It's only about ninety-nine percent.]

[Those are all essential expenses for raising a male! What do you single Heavenly Garudas know? My baby works so hard bedding me. Of course he deserves the very best food! The very best everything!]

[It's wonderful being a Heavenly Garuda. We get to spend money on our males as much as we want, spoil them, dress them up, feed them, and enjoy both physical and emotional satisfaction. Unlike those Zergs next door, who get married and can't even control their own money anymore. We can spend on our males however we please!]

[Exactly! Those Zergs who can't even control their own money could never understand the joy of spending it on the male they love!]

The Zergs: "..."

What exactly were they so proud of?

Heavenly Garudas usually doted on their own males behind closed doors.

This was the first time they'd publicly compared expenses and revealed how much they spent after marriage.

The numbers really were astonishing.

It seemed that...

Whether Zerg or Heavenly Garuda...

Raising a male was extremely expensive.

The only difference was that Zergs handed the money directly to the Male Zerg.

Meanwhile, Heavenly Garudas simply bought whatever they felt like for their males.

Under those circumstances...

Someone like Iso...

Who actually made the male spend money on him...

Had somehow become the common enemy of both Zergs and Heavenly Garudas.

...

When Ulysses saw the Male Zerg join the Federation for Avis...

Then watched him willingly bind himself so Avis could interrogate him and resolve the knot in his heart...

His own heart finally sank completely.

The god who created the story truly couldn't bear to be cruel to His protagonist.

Even enemies as irreconcilable as a star pirate and an undercover operative...

Had ultimately erased all misunderstandings and ended up together.

His god couldn't bear to let him remain trapped inside a beautiful lie.

Nor could He bear to leave him with nothing.

So He gave him everything.

He granted him genuine happiness.

As though afraid that still wouldn't be perfect enough...

He even wrote an extra chapter titled Marriage.

Iso actually appeared in it too.

That Female Zerg worth only one star coin...

Received twice as much love from the Creator.

He married his Male Zerg twice.

Even in a parallel world...

He obtained the very best ending.

So...

This was what it meant to be the protagonist.

To possess every bit of the Creator's favoritism.

No hardship...

No conflict...

Could remain unresolved before them.

In the end...

They always obtained everything they wanted.

The Creator's gaze watched over them from beginning to end.

Moonlight covered both the road ahead...

And the road behind.

Illuminating where they came from...

And where they would return.

Ulysses no longer wished to continue reading.

He stood up...

And left.

...

Philor had received news early that his Female Lord would be returning.

He had been waiting in the entrance hall since morning.

The moment he heard the aircraft land...

He rushed outside to greet him.

He had so many things he wanted to tell his Female Lord.

While his Female Lord and the adjutant had been away...

The number of star pirates in their home had exceeded safe limits.

He desperately needed a righteous military Female Zerg officer to save him!

Running outside...

Philor spotted his Female Lord walking toward him.

Tall.

Long-legged.

An overwhelming presence.

His military jacket hung casually over one shoulder as he strode forward.

Rather than looking like a military officer arriving to save the day...

He looked more like the pirate boss returning home.

Philor: QAQ

Cyril stopped in front of him.

Looking down at him in confusion, he asked,

"What's wrong? You're spacing out. Were you home alone? Where is everyone else?"

His gaze swept toward the house.

He couldn't sense any other Female Zergs inside.

"The pirates were afraid of getting caught by military Female Zergs, so they all ran away."

Philor secretly studied him.

He still looked like the same dependable Female Lord.

The reassuring presence surrounding him hadn't changed.

So Philor happily threw himself into Cyril's arms.

"Pirates?"

Cyril frowned.

He had no idea what his Male Lord was talking about.

Male Zergs always came up with the most baffling ideas.

Still...

Watching the Male Zerg bury himself in his embrace, rubbing against him...

Cyril's heart softened.

He wrapped both arms around him.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he once again felt the peace of home.

"Let's go inside. It's too sunny out here."

Shielding the Male Zerg's delicate skin from the sunlight...

Cyril led him indoors.

"Oh, right."

Then Philor suddenly remembered something.

"Now that you've left, is everything alright at the prison?"

"The Marshal is there."

Mentioning the Marshal...

Cyril's expression became slightly complicated.

Still, he answered,

"I'm on leave. The Marshal is watching things for a couple of days."

Philor blinked.

"The Marshal personally went to the prison to guard the inmates?"

Or perhaps...

To visit his ex-husband.

Even Cyril couldn't understand what the Marshal was thinking.

During the Legion Ceremony...

That lord had been seated just ahead of them.

After the performance...

During the intermission...

The Marshal had personally bent down and invited him to walk together.

That lord hadn't acknowledged him at all.

Without even exchanging polite words...

He simply stood up...

And walked away.

No one else had seen it.

The broadcast cameras certainly hadn't dared film it.

But all of the generals present had witnessed it clearly.

Yet afterward...

The Marshal had repeatedly appeared together with An-shen, the novelist.

StarNet had been full of rumors claiming they were lovers.

Those rumors had lasted for ages.

Yet they still hadn't married.

And now...

The Marshal had moved his office into the prison itself.

As though planning to stay there permanently.

Cyril couldn't make sense of it at all.

The good news, however...

Was that he could finally enjoy his vacation.

Following the Male Zerg's wandering hands...

Cyril unbuttoned his own shirt.

Pregnant Female Zergs required much more pheromone comfort.

Cyril had never been the sort to make himself endure discomfort.

The only reason he hadn't let his Male Lord visit often...

Was because the Male Zerg was so afraid of prisons.

This month...

He had approved only one visitation request.

He'd rejected all the others.

Now...

It was time to make up for them.

...

Military Region Prison.

An Ruo's newest novel had finally concluded.

He had entered that peaceful post-completion state where all he wanted to do was scroll through reviews and StarNet without accomplishing anything.

Well...

There was still one thing worth doing.

An Ruo saved the picture of Avis holding his hatchling from StarNet.

In that photograph...

Avis retained the cold sharpness of a military Female Zerg.

At the same time...

He carried the commanding presence of a pirate captain.

The hatchling in his hand added a gentle warmth...

The protectiveness of a father.

It was as though every side of Avis had come together in a single image.

The silver-gray-haired little Female Zerg was unbelievably adorable too.

Just like a tiny wolf.

The surrounding members of the pirate crew...

All from different races and backgrounds...

Made the entire scene resemble an astonishingly colorful and bizarre world unfolding before his eyes.

Unfortunately...

He still hadn't found a picture of Ul.

The mysterious pirate leader seemed never to appear publicly.

Or perhaps...

His Female Zerg...

And his crew...

Protected him too well.

An Ruo projected the photograph onto the wall.

Then...

In one corner...

He drew a tiny stick-figure wolf head.

That would serve as Ul.

Just as he finished...

He vaguely sensed something.

His head snapped upward.

A half-transformed Female Zerg was clinging to the ceiling and metal wall.

He held an egg in his arms.

Crimson eyes stared directly at An Ruo.

An Ruo: "..."

Someone more timid probably would have died of fright on the spot.

But An Ruo only wanted to know...

How had his patient escaped?

This was basically the psychiatric equivalent of a mental patient wandering around loose!

"Number One?! How did you get out? You escaped again?!"

An Ruo hurried over.

Looking up...

He wondered how he was supposed to get this guy back down.

"He's unhappy."

Selerus slowly spoke from where he clung to the wall.

"Who?"

An Ruo asked in confusion.

"Him."

Selerus pointed at the egg in his arms.

After a pause...

He corrected himself.

"The bigger one."

An Ruo was completely bewildered.

Although he felt he probably shouldn't try to interpret the words of a mentally unstable Zerg...

He still followed along in hopes of calming him down.

"And who would that be?"

"Ulysses."