Chapter 162: Virtual Love Interest × Legion Commander (19): A Little Glowing Roy

[The intruder, the data stream, the robot... Lord Roy?!]

[Wasn't Lord Roy a virtual Male Zerg? He came into the real world???]

[I told you An-shen writes science fiction!]

[There's actually a basis for it. Male Zergs with extremely powerful Psychic Power can tear open spatial passages through sheer psychic strength.

Lord Roy is now Ultra S-Class. "Ultra S" means surpassing A-Class and approaching S-Class infinitely closely. His psychic strength is completely capable of something like this.

He even performed Psychic Soothing on Morris. Morris probably carries Roy's psychic mark, which serves as coordinates. Theoretically, that would allow him to locate the target and travel across space and time.]

[You typed the most, so I'm siding with you.]

[That's always been An-shen's style. Isidore's time travel can probably be explained the same way. We just don't know where the Psychic Power that enabled Isidore's journey came from. Lord Hill himself doesn't seem to know.]

[Case solved. It came from An-shen. An-shen is also a Male Zerg, and definitely an absurdly high-ranked one!]

[You're right. The author decides who gets sent through time. (Flowers)]

[Then Roy leaving the game can also be explained as the author deciding to let him come out.]

[Besides, An-shen gave Roy an empty gift pack. I don't believe a 100 Affinity reward would really be empty. Maybe it was actually the medium that bridged the virtual and real worlds.]

[(Staring blankly) How do all of you know so much? Which class did I skip this time?]

[We've been telling you to join the study group, but you never listen.]

[I thought study groups were about learning how to pursue Male Zergs. They've evolved into this many specialties now? (Terrified)]

[€€ The one over there is the Male Zerg study group. Ours mainly discusses how to pursue Male Zergs—including virtual Male Zergs—and how to infiltrate the group next door. (Looks away)]

[Round little robot Lord Roy is so adorable! Data-stream Lord Roy is adorable too!]

[You should sit at the same table as Morris.]

[(Terrified) Would I even survive?]

Female Zergs wore filters at least ten thousand meters thick whenever Male Zergs were involved.

Anything connected to a Male Zerg automatically became adorable in their eyes.

[So even a robot is acceptable? (Terrified)]

[What are you talking about? If someone has Psychic Power, pheromones, can perform Psychic Soothing, and can mark a female, then he's a Male Zerg!]

[Ahem... The round egg-shaped robot is admittedly a little hard to accept, but if you give it a body modeled after Lord Roy's appearance, that's absolute perfection.]

[I still prefer warm, soft Male Zergs you can hug.]

[Robot bodies can regulate temperature and have customizable textures!]

[I still prefer Male Zergs who whip me.]

[Robot bodies can be equipped with every kind of whip imaginable. You can customize both the style and the strength!]

[Enough advertising, whoever's promoting robot bodies up there. Yours doesn't have Lord Roy inside it. That's a completely different experience.]

[QAQ]

...

【"I'm not marrying someone from the real world."

Morris explained.

Originally, he'd planned to use marriage leave as an excuse to go out and acquire the game.

Now...

There was no need to mention any of that anymore.

Facing the Male Zerg's silicone spatula, Morris obediently confessed.

"I was planning to use the marriage leave to marry a virtual Male Zerg."

Roy studied him.

Then he directly connected to Morris's terminal and game pod, checking whether Morris had any other virtual Male Zerg sweethearts hidden away.

After confirming there was only himself...

He was satisfied.

"Hmph. I'll let you off this time."

Roy put away the spatula.

Before retracting it, though, he couldn't resist smacking Morris's thigh twice.

Smack. Smack.

As though stir-frying him.

Morris: "..."

"There's more meat in the back. Want to stir-fry that too?" Morris asked.

A robot couldn't blush.

Roy simply glared at him arrogantly.

"Don't flirt with a robot.

I'm absolutely not satisfying you in such a ridiculous form!"

He wanted Morris's memories of him to be entirely positive ones.

Although...

Ever since the first time they'd met, when he'd stumbled into Morris's sight covered in dust...

Perhaps that had never been possible.

His first impression hadn't been particularly good.

Roy honestly couldn't understand why Morris had fallen for him.

The robot's built-in schedule indicated it was time to cook.

The all-purpose robot Roy floated into the kitchen.

The first thing he did...

Was wash the spatula he'd used to stir-fry a female.

Morris followed him into the kitchen, handing him vegetables, seasonings, and helping however he could.

For the first time...

He realized even watching a robot cook could be so enjoyable.

Simply standing beside Roy made him happy.

Roy complained that Morris's "help" was only disrupting the robot's built-in recipes and cooking procedures.

Still...

He never chased him away.

Every time he finished a dish, he let Morris taste it first.

"It's delicious."

No matter what dish it was, Morris praised it sincerely.

Robot-cooked meals normally all tasted about the same.

Every ingredient was measured down to the gram.

Heat.

Cooking time.

Stirring frequency.

Everything was controlled with absolute precision.

After years of eating them...

Nothing ever changed.

No mistakes.

But no surprises either.

Reliable.

Stable.

Yet somehow...

The dishes Roy made were different.

It was as if Morris's sense of taste had come alive again.

Roy thought to himself:

He'd added one extra gram of salt.

Added the seasonings ten seconds earlier.

Halfway through, he'd suddenly thought of something else and tossed in another ingredient.

Then Morris had distracted him, so the dish came out a little later than planned.

Robot cooking was stable.

Roy...

Wasn't.

Whenever inspiration struck him, he'd throw something new into the pot.

I've never seen this seasoning before.

Looks interesting.

Throw it in.

This ingredient looks good too.

Add that as well.

Morris's kitchen was packed with ingredients.

Roy had never fought such a wealthy battle before.

He wanted to cook with absolutely everything.

By the end...

There were eighteen dishes on the table.

For Morris alone.

Roy originally wanted to sit down with him.

Then he remembered...

He couldn't eat.

So he floated pitifully beside the table, watching expectantly.

Morris silently decided...

When they customized Roy's body later...

He would definitely give him one capable of eating.

One that could actually taste food.

Digest it inside a stomach.

Burn it down into energy.

It might be less efficient than directly replenishing energy...

But it would feel much more like living.

Morris picked up a bottle of energy solution and handed it to Roy.

Roy immediately spat.

"Bleh! Bleh! I'm not drinking something like that!"

Warning.

Energy level low.

"..."

Faced with the choice between charging himself...

Or drinking the strange liquid...

Roy reluctantly chose the latter.

He was afraid of electricity.

Roy opened the panel on his back, allowing Morris to pour the energy solution inside.

"Don't use this opportunity to touch my body."

Roy fiercely protected the purity of his little robot body.

"Alright."

Morris quietly reached out...

And stroked the robot's cold, smooth metallic shell anyway.

Female Zergs all loved the aesthetics of cold metal.

If only Roy could enter his mech...

...】

Readers: ???

[Morris, you've crossed the line.]

[We all joke about spending our lives with our mechs and treating them like Male Lords, but Morris... you're actually serious.]

[He could really pull it off too.

Male Lord and mech in one! (Terrified)]

[Then every little scratch the mech gets would break Morris's heart.]

[If the paint chipped, Morris would probably send the mech to the emergency room.]

[Forget taking the mech onto the battlefield.

He'd transform himself and fight personally while his precious mech-Male-Lord stayed safely behind.]

The Heavenly Garuda readers unanimously supported this proposal.

An Ultra S-Class female with a mech was difficult to fight.

Without a mech?

Much easier.

Sure, once they actually met they'd probably be annihilated instantly.

But that didn't stop them from imagining it.

Focus all firepower.

Kill the Zerg Legion Commander.

Earn glorious military merit.

Carry the mech home.

Reach the pinnacle of the Heavenly Garuda Empire.

...

【Roy found living inside a robot body fascinating.

He flatly rejected Morris's invitation to sleep together.

Robots didn't need sleep.

"You actually read novels?"

The space base couldn't connect to the outside StarNet.

But inside Morris's terminal, Roy found a collection of downloaded novels and movies.

Morris glanced over.

He recognized the titles.

It wasn't that he'd intentionally followed the series.

Everyone else read them.

If he didn't...

He wouldn't even know what the soldiers under his command were talking about every day.

That wasn't good for understanding their mindset.

Besides...

The books were genuinely entertaining.

The protagonist was either a promising young Major General...

Or one of his old colleagues...

Sometimes even an enemy from the Third Legion made a guest appearance.

It was surprisingly fun.

Roy read incredibly fast.

He finished all four novels in no time.

Then watched the movie adaptations.

Afterward he searched for more...

Only to discover there weren't any.

"Why are there only four books?

Your terminal is so boring!

There's barely any entertainment at all!"

"That author has only written four books."

Morris explained.

At least...

There had only been four before he'd entered this closed training program.

Roy immediately deflated.

"Want to go back into the game for a while?"

Morris asked, worried about his mood.

Roy checked the in-game time.

Ever since he and Morris had left...

Time inside the game had slowed dramatically.

His younger brother wasn't on vacation yet.

There was nobody else waiting for him at home.

He didn't feel like going back.

He wanted to stay with Morris.

Roy slipped into Morris's terminal and insisted on accompanying him to watch the soldiers train.

Morris could only bring him along.

Throughout the day's training, Morris repeatedly stepped in to instruct the soldiers.

Inside the terminal, Roy went absolutely wild.

He showered Morris with compliments.

Cheered for him.

Threw flowers at him.

Praised him endlessly.

Sent starry-eyed emojis one after another.

After a full day of that...

Morris felt as though he were floating.

He almost wished the special training would never end.

On the third day...

The soldiers completed their evaluations.

The training officially came to an end.

Morris felt a little disappointed.

But the thought of what came next quickly filled him with anticipation.

Taking Roy and the game pod with him, he flew away from the base.

The moment they entered StarNet coverage...

Morris immediately opened his terminal and placed an order for a custom body.

He uploaded Roy's appearance data before asking whether Roy wanted any additional features.

Roy was completely satisfied with his upgraded appearance.

There was nothing he wanted to change visually.

But there were countless functional upgrades available.

Things ordinary Zergs didn't have...

Could all be installed on a robot body.

"I want wings!

Real wings that can fly!"

Male Zerg wings couldn't actually fly.

Unlike female wings, they couldn't even save transportation costs.

Roy had been jealous of that for a long time.

"Done."

Without a second thought, Morris added them.

The wings perfectly replicated Roy's own wing shape and colors.

Only the material was replaced with something strong enough to support his weight.

A propulsion system was installed as well.

Not only could they fly...

They could fly even faster than an ordinary female.

Roy continued thinking.

Soon another idea appeared.

"I want a little glowing Roy!"

Morris, who had been staring at the holographic interface, froze.

He slowly looked up.

"...What?"

"I mean that one!

Diamond-hard Roy!

I want him to glow!

And give him a camera too!"

Roy's eyes sparkled with excitement.

...Why would anyone want something like that?

And what exactly was the camera supposed to record?

Glowing?

Should he add electrical discharge while he was at it?

Keeping a perfectly straight face, Morris asked,

"Should I install an electric shock function too?"

Roy's eyes widened.

He shrank back slightly.

"...Wouldn't that be a little too cruel?"

A tiny electrical current wouldn't affect a female Zerg at all.

But seeing Roy obviously frightened...

Morris chose not to mention it again.

Instead, he reluctantly added the glowing function.

Male Zergs were naturally curious.

That was perfectly normal.

Maybe after playing with it for a few days...

He'd lose interest.

"Um...

That...

..."

Roy sent Morris a cute emoji of a little Male Zerg nervously poking his fingers together.

Then quietly asked,

"Can it vibrate...

And rotate?"

Morris: "..."

"No."

He rejected the idea without hesitation.

"Then...

Can it extend?"

Roy asked softly.

"Absolutely not!"

"...Alright."

Roy looked disappointed.

A few seconds later, he asked again,

"Can it sing?

With vibration synchronized to the music."

Morris: "..."

Just what...

Went on inside this adorable little Male Zerg's head?

"Enough with your bizarre ideas!

I'm not approving any of those features!"

Morris snapped through gritted teeth.

"...Okay."

Roy obediently gave up.

Things like this...

Really did require fully considering his partner's opinions.

After all...

He'd only wanted Morris to enjoy the experience more.

As for satisfying his own curiosity...

That was only a secondary reason.

Only secondary.】