Chapter 62: Male School Heartthrob x Military Academy Student (End): They Finally Reunited

[Waaaah, Dad, Papa, I've been conceived!]

[He was only just conceived! And that's Isi! (Angry) Get in line, okay? One at a time, in order.]

[I'll queue up for the next one and wait obediently to be conceived.]

[Congratulations to Iso for becoming pregnant with Isi (throws flowers).]

[So jealous. It's only been five and a half years, and they already have their first egg.]

[Such lucky Zergs.]

[From now on, we're also Zergs who personally witnessed little Isi being conceived. That's one step closer than seeing him hatch.]

[Isn't that a little too close? (Shy)]

[Your heads have practically climbed onto Lord Hill's bed. Show some restraint.]

[Iso lifts the blanket in the middle of the night and finds the eyes of the entire Zerg readership underneath, burning with curiosity.]

[That's kind of horrifying.]

[Now that the egg's been conceived, Isi won't disappear, right? I've been worried sick this whole time.]

[Perhaps the opposite...]

...

【When they pushed open the door, Isi wasn't there.

The blanket on the bed had been folded neatly.

His favorite toys still sat by the pillow.

Several plush hatchling dolls sat lined up in a row...

There was no trace of Isidore anywhere on the spacecraft.

He had disappeared out of thin air.

Just as he had appeared out of thin air in the beginning.

Hill burst into tears immediately.

Iso held him and wiped away his tears, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't wipe them all away.

Eventually, those tears soaked through his clothes.

Just like the world inside his heart had become soaked through.

It was a paradox.

If they didn't conceive Isi, he would disappear.

But after conceiving Isi, he still left.

One timeline could not contain two Isidores at the same time.

Iso sat down by the bed with the male Zerg, took his hand, and gently placed it against his abdomen.

“Isi is here,” he said softly.

“He's gone back into my brood pouch.”

This time, he would experience the journey of a real Papa.

He would conceive his hatchling.

Feel him slowly growing inside his brood pouch.

Then lay the egg.

Six months of pregnancy.

Six months of incubation.

Until the hatchling broke out of the shell.

And after that, a lifetime spent accompanying and healing one another...

Hill felt the still-flat abdomen beneath his hand.

The tear trembling on his eyelashes shook.

Slowly, he bent down, wrapped his arms around Iso's waist, and buried his face against him.

“My Isi...”

...】

Seeing this, the more emotional male Zergs burst into tears as well.

[Didn't they say that once he was conceived everything would be fine? Why is Isi still gone?]

The female Zerg readers comforted the crying males while feeling sad themselves.

[He's in Iso's brood pouch. You'll see him again.]

[If Lord Hill misses the hatchling, he can just go in and say hello.]

The male Zergs, whose noses were already running from crying: “?”

Is that really right?

[Eggs need a lot of pheromones from their Dad while they're developing.]

Technically that was true.

But somehow it still felt strange.

Probably because, in traditional Zerg reproduction, an egg was just an egg.

It had no consciousness.

Even male hatchlings with stronger psychic power possessed only vague reactions to outside stimuli and blurry awareness of their Papa's emotions while inside the brood pouch.

Their cognitive abilities were extremely limited, and they couldn't form complex consciousness.

But the Isidore everyone knew was already an independent hatchling.

[But... but... even so, is the Isi who hatches still the same Isi?]

[Without those shared memories, is he really the original Isi?]

No matter what, the hatchling inside Iso was still Hill and Iso's child.

They would naturally give him the best care and love.

They would give him the love of both Dad and Papa.

But was this hatchling truly “Isi”?

Male Zergs always cared more about spiritual and mental things.

Some thought yes.

[A Zerg's essence doesn't change. Experiences, memories, personality... some things may change, but something at the very core never does.]

[The soul of a Zerg. Or perhaps the spirit body.]

Others thought everything had changed.

The one who hatched in the end would be a completely new “Isi.”

He was Isi, but also not Isi.

He was Isi's past.

But not necessarily the future Isi.

Not necessarily the Isi they knew.

Fate had quietly changed.

Just when both sides were arguing and it looked like a debate for the ages was about to begin, a new chapter appeared.

[...I'm stunned.]

[An-shen has been working like crazy lately.]

...

【Afterward 3

Isidore woke up and got dressed and washed up by himself.

His room looked slightly different compared to before he slept.

Yet at the same time, it was the appearance buried deepest in his memories.

Freshly awake, Isidore didn't think much about it.

He happily trotted outside and shouted,

“Papa! I want grilled meat with ice cream!”

Hill emerged from the kitchen carrying hatchling nutrition meals.

Hearing that, he helplessly glanced at him.

“Your Papa isn't home yet. No grilled meat and no ice cream.”

Isidore blinked in confusion.

“But Papa was here last night. Did he go back to the military this morning? He didn't even say goodbye. Papa's mean.”

Hill froze mid-step.

Slowly, he turned toward Isidore.

Only his psychic power kept the tray in his hands from crashing to the floor.

Taking a deep breath, he first placed the meal on the table.

Then he crouched down in front of Isidore so their eyes were level.

Looking into the hatchling's innocent, sparkling golden eyes, he slowly asked:

“Isi, do you remember what year it is?”

Isidore tilted his head in confusion.

“Do you remember how old you are this year?”

Hill asked again, his voice trembling.

This Isidore answered instantly.

“Nine!”

Hill took a deep breath.

Trying to suppress his emotions, tears still flowed down uncontrollably.

“No, Isi. You're three and a half years old this year...”

Hill cried and laughed as he pulled the hatchling into his arms.

“??”

Isidore was bewildered.

He was obviously nine years old.

He had traveled through time at three and a half.

He had lived with Dad and Papa in the past for five and a half years.

Three and a half plus five and a half made nine.

Wait?!

Oh my god!

Dad's crying!!!

Isidore frantically wiped away Hill's tears.

But the more he wiped, the more tears came.

Panicking, he hurriedly called Papa.

“Papa! Come back quickly! Dad's crying! I can't comfort him! Waaahhh—”

On the other side of the screen, Iso, who was still at the military base, was frightened as well.

“Male Lord?”

Hill wiped away his tears and hugged the hatchling who had started crying too.

He kissed his forehead and smiled at Iso.

“Iso, our little one has returned from his journey through time.”

No further explanation was needed.

One sentence was enough for Iso to understand everything.

That thin line which had strayed away from the river of time had made a circle through the past...

And returned to its origin.

“Welcome back, Isi.”

It was the summer of Star Calendar Year 7042.

That night, three-and-a-half-year-old little Isi traveled into the past.

And that same night, the little Isi who carried three and a half years from the present and five and a half years from the past...

Returned to the present.

They finally reunited.

(The End)】

...

[Waaah, I'm crying. Without An-shen, who's going to spoil me like a hatchling?]

[This is the complete Isidore.

He has the memories of five and a half years spent with young Hill and Iso.

He has the memories of the three and a half years after hatching with Dad and Papa.

He also has the six months inside Iso's brood pouch and the six months inside the egg.

Ten complete years...

He was present for every moment.

During the ten years that Hill and Iso met, understood each other, and walked together, he never missed even a second.

He was always by their side.]

[I'm crying to death. They finally reunited. Welcome back, Isi.]

[No wonder they mentioned at the beginning that Lord Hill gave Isi psychic soothing seven, eight, nine, ten times every week. After spending so long together and then losing him, after finally conceiving the precious baby they'd worked so hard for, how could they bear letting him suffer even a little? They only wanted to give him the very best. (Sobbing)]

[I'm crying so hard I woke up my hatchlings and gave each of them psychic soothing. I love my babies.]

The comments section was filled with tears.

Through Isi, many male Zergs saw their own hatchlings.

And in return, they poured even more affection onto them.

As a result, countless hatchlings suddenly found themselves receiving unexpected attention from both Dad and Papa that night.

[No joke. I'm already three hundred years old, and Dad suddenly asked if I wanted psychic soothing? (Confused black-Zerg face)]

[My cold Papa who's stationed in the military year-round suddenly asked whether I still liked Rainbow Milk Fruit and mailed me an enormous box. But Papa! I'm way past the age for Milk Fruit!]

[Does anyone understand? I'm studying away from home, and Papa called saying Dad had cried himself to pieces because he missed his baby and wanted me to come home and act cute. For heaven's sake, I'm graduating next year. Do you still want a six-foot-three hatchling, Dad?]

[Of course! No matter how old you are, you're still Dad's precious baby. (Hug)]

[There are naughty babies too! My two female hatchlings got into a fight and wrecked the house again! (Angry) I told their Papa to stop them, and all three female Zergs demolished my garden together! (Extra angry)]

[Looks like you're really mad. Here, here's a disciplinary whip specially for raising hatchlings. One Iso for one whip, three Isos for five whips. Suitable for adults and hatchlings alike.]

[Is there a gentler method?]

[Of course. Psychic soothing is the gentlest. It helps hatchlings sleep soundly and reduces berserk factors. If they still destroy the house after that... I recommend sturdier furniture.]

[Recommendation: Super-Alloy Anti-Female-Zerg Furniture. Resistant to destruction by female Zergs below A-rank.]

[What about female Zergs above A-rank?]

[Uh... maybe just hit them. Don't worry. You won't hurt them or break them.]

[Crying.]

With the conclusion of School Heartthrob, StarNet became lively.

Every Zerg had become obsessed with hatchlings.

Those with hatchlings doted on hatchlings.

Those without hatchlings made hatchlings.

Those without hatchlings and without male Zergs stole photos of other people's hatchlings online and doted on them instead.

StarNet was filled with baby pictures and family photos.

Everywhere was warm and peaceful.

Meanwhile—

At the border of the Garuda Empire, smoke filled the skies as a war neared its conclusion.

Scarlet Garuda mechas shattered apart, like the ending of an era.

Standing in deep space with his exclusive mecha, Ulysses watched the wreckage being swallowed by a black hole.

“Garuda General Nord has died in battle. Garuda Emperor Ares remains missing...”

Cyril reported the results and asked:

“Marshal, shall we continue the pursuit?”

“No.”

Ulysses withdrew his gaze.

“Clean the battlefield and prepare to return.”

The objective had already been achieved.

Continuing would only mean pointless sacrifices.

There was no need.

The Seventh Legion, whose reinforcements had finally arrived late: “?”

Cyril nearly laughed seeing them show up only now.

Following the Marshal into battle and still arriving this late?

They couldn't even get a bowl of hot soup.

Lack of enthusiasm in battle indicated ideological problems.

Out of collegial goodwill—and because he didn't want to deal with extra work—he handed over the battlefield cleanup to them.

Then he reminded them:

“Be thorough. Search for survivors. Recover supplies. Eliminate dangerous objects... Oh, and by the way, you might even pick up an egg.”

He wasn't joking.

Among races where females served as the main fighting force, whether Zergs or Garuda, there were always those who went into battle carrying eggs.

The General of the Seventh Legion:

“...”