Chapter 59: Male School Heartthrob x Military Academy Student (20): Compared to the Future Where Isi Was Born, They Had Simply Met Earlier...

[You can't only have one hatchling, Papa! You have to give birth to me too! (crying)]

[Father Hill!]

[Look at me, I'm your hatchling too. I'm your unborn baby.]

The Male Zergs: "..."

[6.]

[The fake bugs are back again? Oh... sorry, it's Lord Male Zerg.]

[I've developed a disease where every time I see "6," I want to check if it's a Garuda.]

[I want to know if the General's blood pressure is still okay.]

[He's marrying a Female Lord, they bought a house together while still in university, the Female Zerg's "cool house" is in the chaotic Underground District, and they're absolutely determined to have a hatchling... his blood pressure must've exploded already.]

[Don't panic. The General looks vicious, but he's actually a peerless patient bug. He could tolerate that Female Attendant's offenses, so he'll be even more tolerant toward his Male Zerg son.]

[You call "beaten half to death in the training room" and "breaking three legs" a peerless patient bug? (drooling blankly)]

[But nobody died and no legs were actually broken, right? (looking away)]

[That's true. With Lord Hill as his weakness, as long as Iso lives happily with Lord Hill, nothing will happen. The General will even protect them. But if he bullies Lord Hill, that's another matter entirely. The General will definitely settle old and new grudges together.]

[Honestly, parents like the General and his Male Lord are already very open-minded. They didn't block Iso over his wealth or background. Their only concern was their own son's future.]

...

【The open-minded General and his Male Lord watched the Male Zerg's aircraft leave.

The next moment, the paving stones in front of the house cracked apart, and even the garden lawn wasn't spared.

Cracks spread outward from where the General stood.

The Male Zerg worried the house might collapse.

Standing on tiptoe, he carefully avoided the cracks on the ground, crossed the distance in a few steps, and jumped onto his Female Lord like some kind of tree-dwelling animal, clinging to his back and kissing his ear.

"Don't be angry anymore."

The spreading cracks abruptly stopped, and the oppressive atmosphere shrouding the area disappeared.

The General turned around helplessly and looked at the Male Zerg hanging from his back.

The Male Zerg's legs were wrapped around his waist, treating him completely like a tree. He poked his head out from above his shoulder and smiled at him.

The brilliant smile bloomed like flowers under spring sunlight, enough to overturn even the worst mood.

The Male Zerg lay against his back, gently shaking his shoulders.

"Hatchlings have their own choices. We shouldn't interfere too much. Hill knows what he's doing. It's enough for us to trust him and support him."

"Mm," the General replied heavily.

He understood the logic.

But emotions weren't logical.

No matter what, as a Female Zerg, needing his Male Lord to comfort him was truly inappropriate.

The General calmed himself and said,

"You've been sticking to me for several days already. It's time to get down."

The Male Zerg: "...But the ground's cracked. I can't walk. Carry me back."

The General looked at the cracks on the ground and, for once, felt guilty. Obediently, he carried the Male Zerg back inside.

The Male Zerg continued directing him from behind.

"Carry me back to the bedroom. There's diamond powder in the living room. It'll hurt my feet."

The General: "..."

The cleaning robots had actually cleaned it up long ago.

But at this point, he could only accept his fate and keep carrying him.

When they reached the room, the Male Zerg kicked off his shoes and demanded to be carried to the bed.

Once they actually reached the bed, neither of them got up again.

The General buried his face in the pillow and drowsily calculated his vacation days.

There weren't any major issues in the military recently. Since he'd already come back, taking a longer leave wouldn't hurt.

The interrogation earlier had probably frightened the Male Zerg. He'd been especially clingy these past two days. Leaving now would make him sad. Staying with him longer would soothe his emotions and could also count as making amends.

Having found a suitable excuse, he turned around and saw the swaying strands of pink hair. The arc they traced through the air was particularly beautiful.

His hand unconsciously drifted downward, resting on the warm abdomen.

He wanted another egg.

Another hatchling.

A little Female Zerg with pink hair and pink-purple eyes.

Like the Male Zerg.

And like him.

The image of another pink-haired hatchling flashed through his mind. Amidst his confusion, it only strengthened his determination to make an egg.

...】

[Just admit you want another egg, General. Do you really need an excuse?]

[Who wouldn't want a pink-haired hatchling? They could even call Lord Hill "big brother" (shy).]

[You don't need to feel inferior for liking our little Isi (flower).]

[Everybody can lay eggs, everybody can! Iso can, the General can, even the principal Female Attendant has three hatchlings. Why can't I?! (wailing)]

[€€, calm down. Low fertility among higher Zergs is normal.

The General only has Lord Hill after all these years, and there's still no sign of a second.

Iso's hatchling came from the future. His stomach is empty right now, and he hasn't even eaten Male Zerg pheromones in the proper place.

As for that Female Attendant... he's probably just naturally fertile. Plus, his rank is close to his Male Lord's, so the chances of conceiving are already higher.]

People had only been envious before.

But the words "naturally fertile" caused countless Female Zergs' eyes to turn red.

[That guy's lucky too. His Female Lord is an old comrade he knows well, and the Male Lord introduced to him is easygoing. Hatchlings keep coming one after another. As long as he doesn't seek death, his life is ridiculously comfortable.]

[Even if he seeks death, it's comfortable. When the Female Lord wanted to break his legs, the Male Lord stepped in and turned it into kneeling punishment. For a high-ranking Female Zerg, that's practically painless. It's like playing.]

[I don't think the Female Lord ever truly wanted to punish him. If he were serious, he wouldn't have allowed him to act up so many times.]

[This should be the "most favored Female Attendant" Lord Hill mentioned, right? Loved by both his Papa and Father.]

[Doesn't seem like it... Lord Hill thought life was hard for him in that household, mm...]

[What the hell?! If this counts as "having a hard life" and "not favored," I can't imagine what a favored Female Attendant lives like.]

[Please let me live this kind of "hard life." Thank you.]

[If I could choose, I'd still choose Iso's life. A small family with a hatchling and a Male Lord. Lord Hill is practically my dream Male Lord and dream Male Father.]

[You're actually choosing? That's dreaming way too big.]

The Female Attendant's life looked like the kind of happiness that might exist in reality.

Rare, but possible.

With enough luck, maybe someone could encounter it.

But a life like Iso's...

That existed only in dreams.

Something impossible in reality.

After all, this was a "science fiction novel."

Even knowing it was science fiction, knowing it was a dream, the Zerg readers still couldn't stop reading.

The world An-shen wove was simply too beautiful.

Even the Male Father's family, meant as a foil, made them yearn.

Not to mention Hill and Iso themselves, the protagonists.

They wouldn't dare dream this big.

...

【Hill worried about Iso and the hatchling and didn't stay overnight at the estate.

Late at night, he hurried back.

The aircraft landed in the courtyard.

The Male Zerg's psychic power spread outward. He sensed the hatchling had already fallen asleep, while Iso sat beside him, seemingly lost in thought.

The next moment, Iso suddenly turned his head and looked over.

As though he had "seen" through layers of walls and doors.

Iso vanished from where he stood.

By the time Hill sensed him again, he was already outside the aircraft.

Everything happened in an instant.

The aircraft door was still opening.

They looked at each other through the half-open door.

Under the night sky, the Female Zerg's golden eyes gazed deeply at him, seemingly containing countless emotions.

Hill saw through the nervousness and unease hidden within.

He stood and walked toward him.

Iso reached out to receive him.

"My Lord..."

Holding Iso's hand, he stepped lightly out of the aircraft and pulled him inside.

As they walked, he asked,

"Why are you still awake?"

"I..." Iso paused for a moment.

Feeling the soft warmth of the Male Zerg's hand, he decided to tell the truth.

"I'm worried your papa and father won't approve of me."

He was too young.

His résumé too thin.

His accumulation too little.

He wasn't qualified to become a high-ranking Male Zerg's Female Lord.

The only young Female Zergs who became Female Lords of high-ranking Male Zergs were those with extraordinary family backgrounds.

An orphan from the Underground District like him clearly had no such background.

When Lord Hill said he wanted to marry him as his Female Lord, Iso honestly thought it was impossible.

But he didn't want to give up.

His best-case scenario had been serving as a Female Attendant for several decades first, accumulating enough military merit and wealth. Once he became worthy of standing beside Lord Hill, perhaps he could be elevated to Female Lord.

But Hill wanted only a small family and strongly rejected the existence of Female Attendants.

Iso wasn't sure if Hill would give him that opportunity.

Would he wait for him?

During Hill's absence, Iso had thought about countless possibilities.

Every one of them ended badly.

The joy of hearing the Male Zerg propose had faded.

After calming down, he realized there were simply too many things separating them.

They had met too early.

He still lacked the strength to hold the Male Zerg's hand.

Hill squeezed his palm and suddenly laughed.

"Don't worry. My father likes you very much. Everyone in my family thinks you're wonderful."

Iso didn't believe him.

Who would think a military academy student, an impoverished boy from the Underground District, was a worthy Female Lord candidate for a high-ranking Male Zerg?

"Please stop comforting me."

He assumed the Male Zerg was simply trying to reassure him.

"It's true."

Holding his hand, Hill walked backward in front of him.

"Didn't you once say you were on the candidate list to become a guide for a certain high-ranking Male Zerg?"

Hearing this suddenly mentioned, Iso stiffened.

Not understanding the Male Zerg's meaning, nervousness appeared in his eyes.

"Yes..."

"Guess who that Male Zerg was?" Hill asked with a smile.

Iso had never investigated and had never wanted to know.

He was even afraid of discussing the topic with Lord Hill.

But now, Lord Hill's eyes sparkled with laughter, and he secretly winked at him.

Almost playfully.

As though it wasn't some forbidden topic.

Not a barrier between them.

But instead...

Something special.

Something good.

An absurd guess arose in Iso's mind.

Yet it was the only possibility.

"Was it... you?" he asked softly, carefully confirming the possibility with his heart in his throat.

"That's right!"

Hill's smile shone brilliantly.

The confession that night had impacted him so deeply that he'd forgotten to mention this.

Thinking about it now...

It was all fate.

Iso from the guide list hadn't participated in his physiological awakening.

Yet he ultimately became his Female Lord.

His first time in that sense would still be guided by him.

After all the twists and turns—

It was still him.

Hill hated the thought of a stranger acting as his guide.

He couldn't accept intimacy outside marriage.

But if it was Iso, everything was fine.

Hill looked forward to it.

Iso, meanwhile, was too stunned to react.

The coincidence was too unbelievable.

Who could've imagined that the Male Zerg who had once rejected him and the Male Zerg now saying he wanted to marry him and build a family with him were the same person?

Hill continued,

"So, my father really likes you. He personally reviewed that list.

"Even my papa and his other Female Attendants think highly of you. One of them even recommended you."

Hill already had a good idea who that bug was.

The brown-haired Female Attendant.

The retired principal.

The bug who had discovered Iso in the Underground District and specially recruited him into military academy.

Hill spoke a lot.

But he noticed that joy only flashed across Iso's face for a moment before fading, replaced by another kind of sorrow.

"What's wrong? Shouldn't this be good news?"

Hill asked in confusion.

What incredible fate they shared.

Iso no longer needed to worry about serving that "Male Zerg from a large family."

Only Hill would call him to serve.

The thought made Hill a little shy, his eyes fluttering.

But Iso hesitated and said,

"You rejected me back then and chose another Female Zerg as your guide..."

It was normal for Male Zergs to sleep with many Female Zergs.

Iso felt a little sour about it, but that wasn't what bothered him.

What bothered him was being rejected.

That meant the Male Zerg hadn't liked him.

That he wasn't as good as other Female Zergs.

That he had been abandoned.

Then why was Lord Hill marrying him now?

For him?

Or for the hatchling?

Iso knew he shouldn't obsess over this.

How many Female Zergs dreamed of climbing to the top through a hatchling?

Yet thinking about how Lord Hill had once rejected him filled him with fear.

He feared that even after marriage, he wouldn't be able to keep the Male Zerg.

That history would repeat itself.

Hill was stunned for quite a while.

Wait.

What guide?

When had he chosen another Female Zerg?

There wasn't any guide!

He hadn't chosen anyone at all!

Hill felt terribly wronged.

He pushed Iso against the wall and kissed him while speaking between kisses, his voice carrying grievance.

"There wasn't any guide. No other Female Zerg. You're the only one I've ever been intimate with."

"The first bug who bit me was you. The first bug I kissed was you. It was all you. There was nobody else."

Iso froze.

Dizzy from the Male Zerg's affection and grievance.

His heart ached so much that he believed everything instantly.

And then he worried about the Male Zerg from the past.

"Then... your physiological awakening..."

"I got through it myself," Hill answered.

A Female Zerg wasn't absolutely necessary.

He wasn't that weak.

He could endure it alone.

Iso's heart hurt even more.

He didn't understand what kind of circumstances would make a Male Zerg endure physiological awakening by himself.

But remembering Lord Hill's yearning for a small family, he vaguely understood.

He regretted not meeting him sooner.

Not appearing earlier in his life.

"If only I had appeared earlier... known you earlier... perhaps you wouldn't have suffered so much."

His voice lowered.

It sounded arrogant.

As though appearing sooner would've guaranteed Lord Hill's affection.

Without Isidore, Lord Hill probably wouldn't even have looked at him.

Hill brushed aside his hair and interrupted those thoughts.

"No. Right now is the best timing. Nothing is too late. It will never be too late."

Compared to the future where Isidore was born—

They had actually met ahead of schedule.

This was destiny's gift.

...】