Chapter 153: Virtual Love Interest × Legion Commander (11): A Lifelong Bachelor... Yet Guiding a Physiological Awakening

[Lord Roy went through his Physiological Awakening?!]

[Why are you feeding him soothing medicine?! Morris, you're a living, breathing female Zerg! Just release some high-ranking pheromones and His Lordship will feel better immediately!]

[I can't believe this game even has a mechanic where you help a male Zerg through his Physiological Awakening. This is way more exciting than piloting a mech in battle!]

[That's a different kind of excitement. They're both great. But this is peak excitement!]

[...Hopelessly straight military female.]

[It hasn't even been that long, and Commander Morris is already eating well.]

[You've got it backwards, don't you? Morris is Super A-rank, almost S-rank, and still young enough to break through again. He's an absolute powerhouse. Having a female Zerg like him as your guide is something countless male Zergs dream of. What rank is Roy? D-rank. Roy's the one who hit the jackpot here. Morris can reluctantly make do. Fresh young male Zergs have their own appeal.]

[The person above is obviously a Heavenly Garuda. (Angry) Reported.]

[Your Zerg race is every bit as ridiculous as ever. (Eye roll)]

Most female Zergs cared about appearance and rank.

Roy had neither advantage.

But they'd followed Morris's perspective.

They had watched that little caramel milk tea–colored head burst into the room, bringing light into a gray, dilapidated world.

They had watched him survive with quiet resilience despite his poverty.

They had followed him while he picked thorn fruit...

While he scavenged for trash...

They had also watched him transform.

From a dusty little male Zerg...

Into one whose face had been wiped clean, revealing bright, delicate features beneath.

Toward Roy, they felt pity for the weak.

Respect for someone who struggled so tenaciously to survive.

And...

The tenderness and protective instinct that naturally came from watching someone grow before their eyes.

That...

Was probably the charm of raising games.

If they encountered a male Zerg like this going through Physiological Awakening...

They would willingly offer their own pheromones as comfort too.

Even the Heavenly Garuda viewers who thought their ranks were mismatched agreed...

Morris was qualified to be Roy's guide.

...

【But Morris had never intended for his relationship with Roy to become that kind of relationship.

He was a lifelong bachelor.

Besides...

You couldn't marry a virtual male Zerg anyway...

And doing something like that felt irresponsible.

Carefully, he released only a small amount of pheromones, hoping to soothe Roy and ease his pain.

Instead...

It had the opposite effect.

To a low-ranking male Zerg...

The pheromones of a high-ranking female Zerg were no different from an extremely potent stimulant.

Roy drew in a sharp breath.

Then climbed onto him, burrowing into his embrace like a little animal digging a nest in the sand.

Normally, Morris remained calm under any circumstances.

He could calmly dig all kinds of treasures out of the sand for Roy.

But now...

Roy tugged him down with surprising ease.

The next thing Morris knew, he had fallen backward onto the soft bed...

Into a room overflowing with sweet pheromones.

Morris had never liked sweets.

He never spared so much as a glance for the soft pastries in the male Zerg dining area.

Yet now...

The sweetness surrounding him made saliva gather involuntarily in his mouth.

As though...

He himself had become someone coveting the male Zerg's food.

The faint scent of tea woven into Roy's pheromones diluted the overwhelming sweetness just enough...

Making it impossible not to breathe in even more.

The male Zerg continued burrowing against him.

Morris wasn't sand.

There were no hidden treasures buried inside his embrace.

Yet Roy searched anyway.

Until Morris could only surrender.

As a professional treasure hunter of the desert...

The male Zerg soon followed every trace...

Until he discovered the spring hidden beneath the sands.

An oasis in the desert...

Could nurture life.

Within that life...

The male Zerg transformed.

The Legion Commander who could tear apart mechs with his bare hands...

Couldn't break free from the treasure hunt of a D-rank male Zerg.

The mind that usually commanded thousands of soldiers...

Only barely recovered a trace of reason after what felt like three cycles.

Only then did he remember his duty as Roy's guide.

He helped the male Zerg sit up.

Fed him nutrient solution.

Fed him water.

Before long...

The two of them ended up tangled together again.

The room full of furniture and treasures wasn't exactly convenient at times.

It greatly reduced the available space...

Yet somehow also unlocked entirely new scenery.

The moment Morris lifted Roy onto the piano...

He was so ashamed he could hardly raise his head.

He had never imagined he would one day do something so outrageously improper.

But Roy liked it.

He insisted on inspecting every single one of his treasures.

Demanding that Morris carry him around while they checked them off one by one.

Not a single item could be missed.

Roy's Physiological Awakening lasted an entire week.

Morris spent that entire week losing himself alongside him.

When Roy finally woke again...

He could barely tell how much time had passed.

He was lying in Morris's arms.

The air was saturated with both their pheromones.

The room looked...

Like a nest built by lovers.

Male Zergs possessed excellent memories.

As his consciousness fully returned...

Everything that had happened during the past week replayed vividly inside his mind.

Roy gradually stiffened.

For one brief moment...

He wanted to find a wall and smash his head against it.

Instead...

He crashed into the broad chest of the female Zerg holding him.

The moment Morris noticed Roy's breathing change...

He woke as well.

He didn't miss the way Roy buried his face against his chest.

After an entire week of intimacy...

He had already grown accustomed to this kind of physical contact.

Yet facing a completely sober Roy for the very first time...

He still found himself growing nervous.

Carefully observing Roy's expression, he asked gently,

"How are you feeling?"

"Would you like some water?"

"Something to eat?"

Those words immediately reminded Roy of certain memories he'd rather forget.

Male Zergs in the middle of Physiological Awakening became astonishingly silly.

Even drinking water required taking turns with their guide...

One sip each.

And before long...

They would wrap their arms around the guide's neck, insisting on drinking from his mouth instead.

As though it somehow tasted better.

Roy quickly retreated from Morris's embrace.

He grabbed a robe, draped it over himself, sat up on the bed, and supported his forehead with one hand.

His mind was perfectly clear.

Yet his embarrassment gave him a splitting headache.

He couldn't understand...

Why Morris had agreed to become his guide.

The gap between their ranks was enormous.

Roy simply wasn't attractive enough to someone like Morris.

And talking about taking responsibility...

Didn't make sense either.

How could a game character take responsibility for a player who might leave at any time?

"...Does your body still hurt?"

Morris gently massaged Roy's temples, helping him relax.

He knew...

Roy probably wasn't very happy to see him right now.

Ultimately...

It had been his own lack of self-control.

He had taken advantage of someone in a vulnerable state.

But...

He truly couldn't have stood by and done nothing.

Not then.

Not now.

Feeling Morris's concern...

Roy instinctively wanted to comfort him.

But he'd never experienced anything like this before.

He didn't know how he should face Morris.

Nor what a male Zerg was supposed to say afterward.

'Thank you?'

That sounded...

Far too strange.

A week-long Physiological Awakening tested both participants.

The male Zerg endured explosive psychic growth and complete physical transformation.

The guiding female Zerg...

Had to face an inexperienced male Zerg charging recklessly ahead without restraint.

Perhaps...

The suffering outweighed the pleasure.

Roy cautiously asked,

"...Did I hurt you?"

The Legion Commander who could rip apart mechs on the battlefield...

Who made every female Zerg under his command howl during training...

Had never before been asked such a question.

He froze for a second.

Then answered,

"No."

"...Oh."

Roy responded awkwardly.

Of course.

What rank was he?

How could someone like him possibly hurt an obviously powerful high-ranking female Zerg like Morris?

After his Awakening...

He could clearly feel both his psychic power and physical strength had increased.

He had advanced an entire major rank.

That was already considered an excellent transformation.

But...

He was only C-rank now.

Still nowhere near Morris.

Roy knew his place.

His mood inevitably sank.

Morris actually wanted to tell him...

That it had felt...

Quite nice.

But saying something like that...

Would sound as though he were teasing the male Zerg after taking advantage of him.

So he remained silent.

Continuing to massage Roy's head.

Quietly...

Drawing the male Zerg back into his arms.

The Physiological Awakening was already over.

Logically...

He should start exercising restraint.

He should keep some distance.

But...

Morris didn't want to.

His thoughts were a complete mess.

Instinctively...

He wanted to hold on to Roy.

To stay just a little closer.

If possible...

He wanted to return to the kind of closeness they'd shared during the Awakening.

Roy let himself remain in that warm, reassuring embrace for a while.

Then something occurred to him.

He climbed back up, activated his terminal, and pulled up his reflection.

He had never cared about his appearance before.

In fact...

He had preferred looking ordinary.

That way powerful female Zergs were less likely to notice him.

Yet now...

For some reason...

He cared very much.

He examined himself from every angle.

Something did seem different.

It was as though someone had applied the highest level of professional retouching imaginable.

His features still resembled his old self.

Yet they now carried an entirely different charm.

Everything looked more refined.

The problem was...

Roy rarely looked in mirrors.

He couldn't tell whether he was imagining it.

Or whether he had genuinely changed.

"...Did I become better-looking?" he asked Morris.

To Morris...

Roy had always been adorable.

Always beautiful.

But he knew Roy wouldn't accept such an answer.

It would sound insincere.

So he carefully studied Roy for a long moment before nodding seriously.

"You became even better-looking."

"You were good-looking before."

"Now you're even more so."

Roy: "..."

Somehow...

The seriousness only made it sound less believable.

The military female squeezed every last drop out of his vocabulary before adding,

"Your features have fully matured."

"You've grown from an adorable little male Zerg..."

"Into a very charming, beautiful adult male Zerg."

He had grown out of adolescence...

Into adulthood.

A young...

Beautiful...

Adult male Zerg.

Hearing that, Roy immediately climbed out of bed.

He used his terminal to scan his height.

His eyes instantly lit up.

He'd gotten taller!

...】