Chapter 316: Male Zerg Celebrity × Arms Dealer (6): He Had to Change, or It Would Affect His Future 'Right to Choose a Mate'

[Shamir received an email from the Male Zerg Association.

It asked whether he had suffered abuse or harm at the hands of a Female Zerg and explained in detail how to identify various forms of harm in speech, attitude, and behavior. It even provided channels for reporting abuse and seeking help, practically holding the hand of any Male Zerg trapped in domestic violence and teaching him how to save himself.

The contents were very official, but because they were addressed to Male Zergs, the wording was extraordinarily gentle, filled with the same protective guidance one might use with a hatchling.

Shamir glanced over it, his gaze first turning puzzled before understanding dawned.

Mass spam.

The Male Zerg Protection Association must be scrambling to hit its KPI at the end of the month. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent something like this to an unmarried Male Zerg like him.

Shamir casually deleted it and thought nothing more of it.

Mr. Ravens seemed to be on vacation as well. He hadn't left the villa all day, only taking one communication midway through the day and spending some time in his study.

That was perfectly normal. For an important figure like Mr. Ravens, there would always be plenty of unexpected matters requiring his attention even during his time off. It was impossible for him to truly be idle.

Shamir used to be the same whenever work became hectic. Fortunately, he no longer needed to concern himself with any of that. His schedule had been almost completely cleared, and even if something did come up, his agent would handle it first instead of letting it disturb him.

Shamir looked around the villa.

Now that he had suddenly become idle, he actually had no idea what to do.

Every previous visit here had been hurried, as though he came solely to provide Psychic Soothing and certain other services, only occasionally staying for a meal.

It was still early, and preparing for the evening right now seemed a little too soon.

His gaze landed on the outdoor swimming pool downstairs, and Shamir decided to go down for a swim.

Once he'd made up his mind, he acted immediately. Shamir changed clothes and leaped into the pool like a fish slipping into water. The azure water shimmered beneath the sunlight, and his mint-green hair streamed through it, blending perfectly with the color of the water.

Ravens, who was currently being questioned by the Male Zerg Association, happened to see this through the study window. For a moment, he froze and lost himself in the sight, thinking Shamir looked like a merfolk in the water, graceful and beautiful.

Of course, Ravens didn't have any strange preferences for other species. He was quite certain that he liked Male Zergs.

But if it was a merfolk version of Shamir...

Ravens was distracted for a moment, but the urging voice from the other end of the light screen quickly pulled his thoughts back.

Unlike the gentle guidance they used when dealing with Male Zergs, the Male Zerg Association's attitude toward Female Zergs was usually much sterner and colder—and much more difficult to deal with.

If this had involved any other Male Zerg, Ravens wouldn't have wasted a second arguing with them over it. But since it concerned Shamir, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

He certainly didn't want himself removed from Shamir's matching list.

Those bastards at the Male Zerg Association genuinely had the authority to do something like that.

Back during the Imperial era, they could even barge into the homes of married Female Zergs based on nothing more than suspicion and forcibly drag them away for investigation. Even objections from their Male Lords were useless.

It was only after the Federation era began, with authority and responsibilities more clearly divided and power more decentralized, that they restrained themselves somewhat.

But something like removing a Female Zerg who had “harmed a Male Zerg” from that particular Male Zerg's genetic matching pool was still entirely within their power.

Ravens wasn't even sure whether Shamir would ever use Genetic Matching. Male Zergs who followed modern trends generally disliked choosing marriage partners that way, but at the very least, Ravens couldn't afford to be eliminated before the competition had even begun.

Whether Shamir chose to use matching was one matter.

Whether Ravens was on the list of eligible matches was another.

Ravens focused on dealing with the Male Zerg Association's questioning.

Had he ever forced the Male Zerg to provide services for him? Had he ever used the Male Zerg's career to threaten or coerce him? What were his usual attitude and behavioral patterns when interacting with the Male Zerg? Their questions were so detailed they even asked what positions they used in bed and whether the Male Zerg was made to do all the work.

The veins at Ravens's temples throbbed as he listened.

The Male Zerg Association was clearly here looking for trouble, but the information revealed through their questions was also something Ravens couldn't afford to ignore.

Ravens frowned in contemplation, a dark gleam passing through his eyes.

...

Shamir lifted his upper body out of the water and shook the droplets from his hair. Raising a hand, he swept his bangs back and felt utterly refreshed.

He let out a long breath and saw a small robot bug bringing him a tray laden with fine wine and food.

Shamir was surprised by how considerate the robot bugs in Mr. Ravens's home were.

He casually poured himself a glass of wine while the tray of food floated on the surface of the pool, creating quite an elegant atmosphere.

Shamir took a small sip, then raised his eyes and saw Mr. Ravens standing on the shore in casual clothes.

Most of Ravens's body was concealed beneath the shadow of the eaves, and his gaze was complicated and dark, impossible to read clearly.

Ah!

Shamir jumped in surprise, then immediately smiled and swam closer.

“Mr. Ravens, have you finished dealing with your work? Would you like to come down and relax for a while?”

Half of Shamir's body remained submerged in the water, a wineglass still in his hand and a brilliant smile on his face as he sincerely extended the invitation.

With such bright sunshine and water at such a comfortable temperature, swimming for a while was an incredibly relaxing and pleasant experience.

He thought it was wonderful and wanted Mr. Ravens to experience the same comfort.

Ravens considered it briefly but ultimately shook his head and declined.

Taking off his clothes and entering the water in front of a Male Zerg wasn't a good choice for a Female Zerg. He couldn't guarantee that he would be able to restrain his body's instinctive reactions properly, and he might embarrass himself.

In the end, Ravens merely sat on a lounge chair beside the pool and watched.

His gaze settled on Shamir in the water, sliding across the Male Zerg's smooth shoulders. His eyes flickered twice before he crossed his legs and leaned back slightly, once again grateful that he hadn't chosen to enter the water.

No Zerg could maintain absolute rationality in front of a Male Zerg he liked.

Even without pheromones, the slightest glimpse of alluring scenery was enough to send one's thoughts wandering.

Shamir was a little disappointed that Ravens didn't intend to swim, but when he saw that the other hadn't left and was instead staying beside the pool, a smile returned to his lips.

This was nice too.

The weather was beautiful. The sunlight felt warm against his body, the breeze was refreshing, the water was comfortable, and Mr. Ravens was keeping him company nearby... If he disregarded the contractual agreement between them, perhaps this was exactly the kind of married life—or romantic relationship—Shamir had imagined.

The scene was beautiful enough to be painted.

“Mr. Ravens, am I bothering you by staying here? Will I get in your way?”

Shamir leaned against the edge of the pool, resting his chin on his hands as he asked.

“No.” Ravens spoke calmly, subtly adjusting his position and pressing down the hem of his clothes.

Perhaps feeling that his answer sounded too cold, he thought for a moment and added by way of explanation:

“There aren't any other Zergs in the villa. It's only you and me. Your presence has brought life to this place. That's good.”

He was like a fish swimming through the water, bringing this stagnant, lifeless world back to life and filling it with incomparably vivid colors.

Surprise flashed across Shamir's face. He hadn't expected Mr. Ravens to give him such a special assessment.

“Life,” rather than “unnecessary” or “troublesome”?

It was true that Mr. Ravens's villa contained only the two of them as “living Zergs.” Everything else was handled by robot bugs.

When Shamir had first been brought here, he'd seen several Female Zergs who worked for Mr. Ravens, but afterward he'd never seen them again.

Thinking about it carefully, this place really was deserted every time he came.

Shamir had assumed it was because this was the place where Ravens kept and used him, making it inconvenient for other Zergs to know about it, so Mr. Ravens had dismissed everyone and stopped allowing anyone else to come here.

But hearing Mr. Ravens say this now made it seem as though that wasn't actually the case.

Then what was the real reason?

Given Shamir's position, it wasn't appropriate for him to ask too much, so he approached it from another angle instead.

“Maybe keeping a few pets would make this place livelier.”

Pets?

Ravens considered it and nodded. Without much hesitation, he agreed and leaned forward to ask, “What kind of pets do you like?”

“Me?” Shamir was startled. He hadn't expected Mr. Ravens to take his opinion into account when choosing pets.

He thought about it seriously, going from the merfolk that had been hugely popular recently to beast races, then birds and reptiles, but ultimately couldn't come up with a definite answer.

His schedule had always been packed before, leaving him almost no private time, so he'd never considered keeping pets. Even if he did keep one, he would probably choose the kind that could mostly be left alone and didn't require too much attention or care.

Mr. Ravens's needs, however, were exactly the opposite. If he wanted the villa to become livelier, he should keep more active pets.

As for Ravens being too busy with work to spend time with them, that wasn't something Shamir needed to worry about. Specialized staff could always be hired to take care of them.

So Shamir tentatively suggested several kinds of beasts and birds.

Ravens nodded and agreed.

Keeping pets was a good idea.

Their contract was nearly over. Even if the Male Zerg felt no attachment whatsoever toward him, he might not be able to bear leaving behind beloved pets.

Perhaps that could make the Male Zerg stay.

Even if it failed to keep him here, pets they had raised together would still provide an excellent reason for them to meet again in the future—a suitable opportunity.

Ravens planned to buy every kind of pet the Male Zerg had mentioned.

It didn't matter if there were a little too many. The villa had plenty of space. The garden, lake, and even the neighboring forest could all be used for the animals to run around freely. Robot bugs could normally care for them, and if that wasn't enough, he could simply hire several professional caretakers. The Male Zerg only needed to play with them.

Ravens had his own selfish reasons for transferring the villa's staff elsewhere before.

Households with a Male Zerg generally didn't keep too many outsiders around.

The extreme ratio between Female and Male Zergs meant Female Zergs could tolerate sharing a Male Zerg, but if having extra staff around resulted in an additional “Female Attendant” competing for favor, that was enough to make any Female Zerg sick with frustration.

Robot bugs were perfectly capable of handling the overwhelming majority of household work in Zerg families. For whatever remained, Female Zergs would rather put up with the inconvenience and do it themselves.

For the sake of caring for the pets, Ravens was willing to hire some staff back, but he wouldn't allow them many opportunities to interact with the Male Zerg.

...

The preliminary selection was left to his assistant, who completed the task quickly and sent over a purchase list for him to choose from, complete with detailed information and photographs of every pet.

Ravens first left to change clothes. Only then did he sit face-to-face with Shamir to finalize their choices.

Every single one was personally approved by Shamir. Even if Shamir believed he was choosing them for Ravens, it still meant that these little creatures were at least pleasing to his own eye. ℴℴ𝘮

The moment the Male Zerg made his choice, a bond between him and the pets had already been established, one that would be difficult to erase.

The pets still needed to undergo final examinations and couldn't be delivered until tomorrow.

Tonight belonged exclusively to the two of them.

Despite standing in the familiar bedroom, Ravens felt more nervous than usual.

The Male Zerg Association's questioning was still echoing through his mind. Although he'd already dealt with them successfully, he knew he needed to make some changes. Otherwise, it might affect his future “right to choose a mate.”

Footsteps sounded behind him. The Male Zerg emerged from the bathroom with a lingering trace of moisture clinging to him. Just as he always did, he walked toward Ravens and stopped beside him, waiting for Ravens to lie down as usual.

Facing the empty bed, Ravens took a deep breath and said to the Male Zerg:

“Let's do it differently.”

Do it differently?

Shamir didn't understand.

Not on the bed?

Somewhere else?

Shamir's gaze instinctively drifted toward the table by the window, surprised by how adventurous Mr. Ravens was being today.

There was no helping it. Aside from the bed and sofa, that was the most conspicuous place in the bedroom.

No matter where Mr. Ravens chose, Shamir would be surprised.

...]