Chapter 92: Heavenly Garuda Male x Zerg Military Officer (13): "Whoever Wins Gets to Be the Female Lord Tonight!"

[So this is how you Zergs go on dates? (Heavenly Garuda question mark face)]

[You've been living this well and still pretending to be miserable on StarNet? Seriously?]

[No! This isn't the kind of dating we know!]

[Whose idea of a reward is getting a kiss, a punishment is being kissed, and the harshest punishment is a deep kiss?!]

[I'm completely broken...]

[Punish me! Punish me! Please, Male Lord, punish me as hard as you can!]

[Don't hold back just because I'm a tough military female! Punish me mercilessly—I can take it!]

Whether Heavenly Garuda or Zerg, everyone completely broke down at that moment.

They all wished they could take Enzo's place and receive those "punishments" themselves.

The Heavenly Garuda thought: There was no such thing as a male punishing his Female Lord. It was completely improper.

But then again...

If this was the punishment...

They were willing.

The Heavenly Garuda simply craved a male's initiative in kissing them.

The Zerg readers suffered even more emotional damage.

After all, they knew firsthand what Zerg punishments were actually like.

Even unmarried female Zergs had grown up surrounded by those ideas.

The common "punishments" found in traditional Zerg tragic romance novels alone were enough to fill an entire criminal code.

Those punishments were often even more extreme than reality.

And now...

Right before their eyes...

A male was treating kisses as punishment.

[An-shen, could you stop writing science fiction? (Bursting into tears)]

[Shut up. If An-shen stops writing sci-fi, what am I supposed to read? (Contribution Points x10)]

[This one's really too science-fictional. A future setting and diplomatic relations with the Heavenly Garuda are one thing (actually, they're not), but now even punishment has been magically transformed into kisses.]

[A novel this unrealistic, illogical, and contrary to common sense... who's actually following it?]

[You are. And me.]

[The fact that An-shen can keep writing such unbelievably sci-fi stories... we're all responsible. (Covering face)]

[This has nothing to do with An-shen! (Pulls An-shen behind me.) It's Enzo's fault! Blame Enzo!]

[Exactly! The little male doesn't understand rewards and punishments yet. But Enzo? He's almost three hundred years old. Don't tell me he doesn't know?]

[He's taking advantage of the little male on purpose! His intentions deserve condemnation!]

[But... but... this is what Axel likes. He just likes kissing.]

As soon as someone pointed out the truth, another wave of despair swept through the comments.

[It's only temporary. The little male is still young. He doesn't understand these things yet. He only knows he wants to be close to the female he likes. (That one really hurt.) Once he grows up, he'll naturally learn everything.]

[It's different. He treats Enzo as his Female Lord. He might even want to help Enzo incubate an egg someday.]

[I'm shattered.]

[I'm shattered.]

[The Heavenly Garuda are shattered.]

[? Why are you shattered?]

[That's our male. (Crying.)]

[You're reaching way too far. (Chops your hand off.) Axel is a Zerg citizen. This is our novel. Keep your possessiveness under control. (Casually reports.)]

...

【In the end, Enzo went into the lounge inside the flyer and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

When he came back out and saw Axel drifting toward him again, he fixed him with a warning look, forbidding him from kissing him anymore.

If this continued, neither of them would be getting off the flyer today.

Axel stopped in his tracks, looking wronged.

He had punished Enzo too many times.

Now Enzo was angry.

"Let's go."

Enzo held out a hand toward him.

Axel blinked.

Wasn't he angry?

He hurried over, took Enzo's hand, and instantly felt reassured.

"You're not angry anymore?"

Axel hugged Enzo's arm as he asked.

"...I'm not angry."

How could he possibly get angry over something like this?

"Then... can I kiss you?"

Enzo's Adam's apple bobbed.

He still refused.

"Not now."

"When can I?"

Enzo glanced at their itinerary for the day.

"Tonight."

"Oh."

Silently, Axel mentally noted down every reward and punishment Enzo owed him today.

He decided to collect them all tonight.

...

The first stop on their date was the Cosmic Aquarium.

Although it was called an aquarium, it was actually an entire ocean planet.

Its surface was almost completely covered by liquid oceans, with only a few artificial islands and structures built by the Zerg.

Axel had always been deeply fascinated by marine life.

From the moment they landed on the planet, he was visibly excited.

They boarded a panoramic sightseeing submarine and descended into the deep sea, following schools of fish in search of mysterious intelligent life beneath the waves.

Since the private sightseeing submarine carried only the two of them, Axel eagerly took the controls for a while before shamelessly cheating by spreading out his psychic power to locate intelligent life.

"Turn on stealth mode first," Enzo reminded him.

"If you drive straight toward them like this, they'll notice you from several nautical miles away and disappear."

"Oh! Right!"

Axel fumbled around until he found the stealth controls.

The sightseeing submarine vanished into the seawater.

Schools of fish swam right past them without noticing anything.

Looking up at the fish swimming directly overhead at such close range, Axel found it utterly magical.

Unfortunately...

His piloting skills were obviously terrible.

Every movement the submarine made created huge disturbances in the water.

Even though the fish couldn't see anything, the strange currents alone were enough to make them scatter in alarm.

Eventually, piloting duties were handed over to Enzo.

Axel focused solely on providing psychic guidance.

The heavy, clumsy submarine that had been so awkward in Axel's hands became, under Enzo's control, almost like the seawater itself.

It truly disappeared into the ocean.

Axel had to admit—

Professional work really should be left to professionals.

Enzo looked so handsome when he was piloting the submarine!

Unable to resist, Axel leaned over and kissed him.

This time, Enzo didn't refuse.

Although he tried hard to keep a straight face and press his lips together, the corners of his mouth still curved upward.

Working together, it wasn't long before figures of intelligent marine life appeared within the panoramic view.

A large gathering of uniquely shaped sea creatures floated before them.

Their upper bodies resembled Zerg humanoid forms.

Their lower halves, however, ended in colorful fish tails.

They had gathered into a large circle.

At the center stood two brilliantly colored fish.

One crimson.

One orange.

They stood out vividly against the blue ocean.

Their differently colored tails slammed into one another as they tangled together in a fierce battle.

"Are they fighting?"

Axel whispered, covering his mouth.

"They're courting."

Enzo only glanced over before explaining.

"They can't hear us. You don't have to whisper."

"Courting?"

Axel had never seen courtship like this.

Their scales looked as though they were about to be ripped off.

"They're hermaphrodites. The loser is responsible for carrying the eggs and giving birth."

Enzo explained.

When accompanying a male on a date, it was important to do one's homework beforehand.

That way, he could answer all the male's questions...

And earn that look of admiration.

Unfortunately...

Axel looked too shocked to admire anything.

"How can that be?

Shouldn't the stronger individual be the one carrying the eggs?"

Enzo: "..."

This was bad.

The reference materials he'd studied hadn't explained why.

To be fair...

It was a confusing question.

Whether among the Zergs or the Heavenly Garuda, it was always the stronger female who carried and nurtured offspring.

Most intelligent races throughout the universe worked the same way.

Perhaps these marine creatures simply belonged to one of the rare exceptions.

The battle reached its climax.

Victory would soon be decided.

Weapons hidden beneath the two fishes' scales suddenly emerged and stabbed toward each other.

Axel's eyes widened in shock.

Enzo hesitated over whether he should cover the little male's eyes.

This really didn't seem like something a young male ought to watch.

"Ah!"

Axel cried out.

The two fish had struck each other simultaneously.

Did that count as...

A draw?

Seeing this, all the surrounding fish sprang into action as well.

Each selected a partner and began engaging in duel-style courtship.

Some won.

Some lost.

But even the losers could later find another opportunity to overturn the winners and challenge them again.

"It doesn't seem quite like what you described..."

Axel covered his face and spoke quietly.

Enzo: "..."

How was he supposed to know this was how they decided victory?

Or that there could be multiple rounds of challenges?

"Let's head back.

I reserved the aquarium's water-bed suite."

Axel suggested.

Then, brimming with fighting spirit, he declared,

"I want to duel you!

Whoever wins gets to be the Female Lord tonight!"

Enzo: "..."

Was there really any suspense about who would win?

...】