This cub hanging from his hand looked rather fluffy, but was actually very light.
Moreover, from the previous day until now, although Amos had more or less sorted out his thoughts, he indeed had not really touched Chu Zao.
At this moment, as Chu Zao suddenly clung to him, not only was Amos taken aback, but Chu Zao was also stunned.
The little wings behind Chu Zao trembled.
Now they were even closer.
He could clearly see Amos’s nonchalant yet cruel scarlet eyes.
It’s over, it’s over——
Chu Zao thought to himself.
Acting like this will only disappoint others and will make people dislike me.
And this is still his… father…
His father…
As for such an address, from a young age, Chu Zao had envied the other little angels, and it felt very foreign to him.
The little one truly had no idea how to interact with Amos. He had long left behind those more tender, more childish days when he would easily reach out to adults, not to mention that Amos himself looked like the sort who was very hard to get along with.
But——
Amos’s other hand came up from below, gently supporting his small body.
The battered little wings rested right in the palm of Amos’s hand.
Chu Zao froze for a moment. He let go, rolled over, and unfolded his little wings, shaking them hard.
The four little paws stood awkwardly on Amos’s large palm——
Amos’s eyes, which usually betrayed no emotion, now roiled with inner turmoil.
How could he be so small?
How could he really stand in the palm of his hand and be held in his hands?
The tiny, fluffy white ball gave Amos a profound shock.
At last, he took a long breath, carefully turned around, and carried the little one to the edge of the medical pod, gently setting the fluffy white ball down.
“You should rest one more day.”
As Amos spoke——even he felt his own voice was a little ethereal.
But fortunately, Chu Zao did not know him well enough to notice.
Amos heard himself continue speaking, as if his very soul had been charmed out of his body, standing aside watching his own actions.
“Training will be put on hold for a while. During this period, a teacher from the Dwight family will come to give you lessons.”
The Crown Clan had always been very strict with their own young.
Even with formidable mental strength and physique, they never relaxed in their self-improvement. But for this little cub, it was different.
They were not the kind of race to let their cubs grow in hardship.
This little one was not like any of the previous Crown Clan cubs. There was nothing much to consider—just raise him well, work on correcting him from another angle; as for the dangers outside——?
Don’t joke, the elders were still here. Let him experience the dangers outside?
The dangers outside—how could they compare?
The little white fluff was returned to the medical pod. Instinctively, he turned around and looked up at Amos.
“Aww…”
I really have good control now.
Chu Zao wanted to express this idea. As a young Crown Clan member, though he was not quite up to standard yet, he was trying hard—not just paying lip service.
“Are you unhappy because you became like this?”
At last, Amos—whose way of thinking was completely different from Chu Zao’s—realized what the little one was thinking. He raised his brow in slight surprise, a hint of rare emotion flickering behind his usual arrogance that held everything in disdain.
——He completely did not understand why anyone would dislike such an appearance.
At least he liked it very much.
Chu Zao’s two front legs shifted uneasily back and forth on the soft cushion of the medical pod. He lowered his little head and said nothing.
Then, Amos bent down, this time leaning in close again, his big hand rubbing the little one’s head twice.
The two upright snowy, fluffy ears were also rumpled askew.
“Aww——?”
——What are you doing…?
The little one stepped back, eyes wide.
Both paws lifted, trying to cover his little head.
“Aww!”
——I’m not a little child anymore.
“But you’ll always be my cub.”
Amos said calmly.
At this moment, he found that communicating with this little one wasn’t so difficult.
After only a day, Amos was growing more fluent.
“And——”
Chu Zao was still hugging his little head, but now crystalline tears suddenly welled up in his eyes, because he heard Amos’s next words, so calm, seemingly unemotional, yet so utterly credible.
——”I like it very much.”
He said it—he liked it very much.
Chu Zao hadn’t even managed to shift his mindset. He was still tense from when Holy Cas was nearly destroyed.
He hadn’t realized the time now left to him was growing, nor that the protection around him was being layered on stronger and stronger.
Behind that tiny, wounded cub who would cry hugging his own wings, without realizing it, now stood countless powerful giants.
So now it was all different.
The little white fluff quietly lay down, looking up at Amos too.
“Aww——”
——Thank you.
He said this——
He scrubbed his face with his little paws, then, very seriously, spoke to Amos again.
“Aww——”
——I will keep working hard.
Amos acknowledged, stood up, and glanced to the side at Feeney, clicking his tongue.
Not even a mention of being called ‘Father’.
Amos thought to himself.
He’s even using honorifics.
Although Amos had already promised after Feeney woke up to not beat him again for at least eighty or ninety years, he could not help this thought.
——How did this brat usually describe him in front of Chu Zao?
How did he make him sound like some fearsome, autocratic tyrant?
Amos had never bothered to learn what he was like as emperor of Holy Cas, but, at this moment, he was somewhat curious.
*
At this moment, everywhere in the interstellar sphere had sensed something wrong with Holy Cas.
In just one day, Holy Cas’s ferocious aura seemed to overflow—it was obvious that before this, Holy Cas had avoided battles when possible and began to conserve its strength, trying to preserve a final ember.
But now, Holy Cas seemed to have changed entirely.
Like a mad dog, it was once again taking up a fierce, frenzied offensive, and in many places, traces of supposedly dead Crown Clan members were reported.
But how was that possible?
The Crown Clan only had two members left.
Their range of activity was very narrow, often needing to be stationed around the Holy Cas Empire to ensure no greater damage occurred.
This offensive posture of Holy Cas was simply nonsense.
The higher Aberrant Beast Commanders receiving reports from below, as well as those turncoat countries that had signed tribute agreements with the Aberrant Beast Commanders, were all confused by this sort of news.
At this point, all nations and organizations opposing the Aberrant Beast Commanders had been destroyed; Holy Cas was nearly the last survivor.
Everything was going smoothly for them, so when they heard this kind of news, their first reaction was that the intelligence from below had to be mistaken.
In just one day, Holy Cas couldn’t possibly have changed so much.
They thought so, and ultimately dismissed it from their minds.
But then the higher Aberrant Beast Commander made an offer to them.
It also seemed to be a test of Holy Cas.
——Whoever could first destroy a Holy Cas resistance force, their nation would receive priority in tribute this year.
Naturally, the already tamed creatures yapped and howled, eager to oblige.
——It was just a desperate Holy Cas with no real strength left.
——Nothing about it required their attention.
——Holy Cas was like a dilapidated house, all they had to do was give it a gentle kick from outside——
Huh?
The personnel of various nations, shocked by the ‘sturdy house’ of Holy Cas and its high, indomitable fighting spirit, slowly typed out a question mark.
Why did the ‘shabby house’ they imagined suddenly grow into a ‘new villa’? And why did an armed, energetic contingent charge out to start shooting them up??!!
Not only did they type out a question mark, but the Crown Clan in the command room also slowly typed out a question mark.
“What are they doing?”
Meilun let out a laugh, his face full of confusion.
“Are they sick?”
“Probably.”
Kaman, sitting on the other side, also regarded the scene before him with the same puzzlement.
The two Crown Clan members, both at nearly their prime, viewed all this with suspicion. They puzzled over it for a long time, watching those starships crash, get destroyed and explode into the void, reduced to dust—yet even now they still didn’t get it——
How many dishes did they eat? Did they forget to eat veggies and just drink alcohol?
They were provoking a starship army with a double Crown Clan configuration.
It was a full, over-strength formation!
“Forget it.”
Meilun stood up, sighed, and beside him, countless rhombus-shaped psionic weapons unfurled in sequence, starting to gleam with silver-black light.
“I’ll go deal with it——”
“Why would you? Just let the nearest legion commander handle it. A bunch of lunatics, even gracing them with a glare is giving them too much face.”
Kaman sneered sarcastically.
Meilun, following the advice, sat back down.
Lightly and cheerfully, he said, “Alright then, let’s continue with our clearing tasks. Hey, you have to admit, the Aberrant Beasts at this time really are quite a bit stronger than back on our side, and those higher Aberrant Beast Commanders—I’ve heard of them, but haven’t met any yet, right?”
“What’s there to care about.”
Kaman replied offhandedly.
“A bunch of emotionless trash, sooner or later we’ll deal with them——”
“Hahaha, you’re right, Little Kaka——”
Kaman’s forehead veins twitched.
“…Don’t call me Little Kaka——!”
“Alright, Little Kaka, by the way——” Meilun tapped his own forehead in confusion. “Have you heard the word we have a new little Dwight in our clan? Apparently, he’s very cute, and he’s Amos’s cub.”
“Huh?”
Kaman almost rolled his eyes.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Very cute?
Amos’s cub?
Do you know what it means when you put those words together?
Of course, Hel had similar doubts.
Another day passed.
With the Crown Clan’s formidable self-healing and the medical center’s allocation of resources,
Physical wounds healed quickly.
It didn’t take long before Chu Zao could leave the medical pod and walk around freely.
Those raging battles outside had nothing at all to do with the youngest of the family.
Clansis took on most of the tasks; after having a cub, Amos didn’t even need to go out, instead trying to stay in the royal court to develop a bond with his cub.
So, no matter how chaotic and dark things were outside, with Holy Cas now in full control, there wasn’t a hint of panic; Chu Zao was completely unaware of the situation outside.
Now he looked up at the sky—the blood and flames had all vanished, leaving only tranquility and clarity behind.
In but an instant, everything that had happened before seemed never to have happened at all.
Chu Zao had even started formally studying related knowledge.
Amos stayed in the infirmary to rest at night, and after two days of acquaintance, Chu Zao felt a little more comfortable around him; starting his studies, Amos led him there as well.
It was in the meeting room at the end of the corridor beside the infirmary.
Hel had already arrived, waiting inside for them.
When Amos brought Chu Zao in,
Hel looked up, still a little confused—although it might be classified as starting from scratch, Amos’s cub was already an adult, did he really need a parent’s protection? What was Amos doing?
Even personally bringing him for class?
Did he really think he’d found a very young cub? Even if this wasn’t improper, treating an adult Crown Clan like this would surely enrage him and make him feel dismissed.
But then again—with Amos, who’d never raised a cub, suddenly having his own, even if that cub was already grown, it must feel very novel. For a few days it was no wonder he was so doting.
Until Hel saw Chu Zao peeking out cautiously from behind Amos to meet his gaze.
Chu Zao was much shorter than Amos, with three or four parts resemblance in his features, only appearing even more exquisite and beautiful, with softer contours.
He was someone that Amos could easily rest his hand on his shoulder.
It would be so natural; Hel clearly saw Amos’s hand twitch several times as if resisting the urge to rest it on Chu Zao’s shoulder.
“Hel.”
Amos looked down at Chu Zao.
“This is your teacher; you’ll be with him during the day for your studies. If you need anything, call me directly. You know how to use the communicator, right?”
“I do, I do.”
Chu Zao’s little head bobbed like a pecking chick.
“Thank you.”
He was soft and exceedingly polite.
Hel had already stood, but before he could say more, he was stunned——
All his preparations to meet a Crown Clan even harder to manage than Amos instantly collapsed, the stony face he’d prepared to cow a potentially arrogant and irritable Crown Clan shattered to pieces.
After all, in Hel’s view, it was nearly impossible to correct an adult Crown Clan. Besides, he’d heard Chu Zao had lived under extremely harsh conditions; with such adversity it was only natural for a Crown Clan with powerful psionics to turn radical, and even more likely after coming of age.
But now——
Who?
Who was he supposed to teach?
This cub?
Amos’s cub???
For real?
They weren’t joking with him?
Ah…?
Maybe he was really good at hiding and masking himself?
Hel nodded to Amos, and, watching him turn to leave, he sat down again.
He pointed to the seat opposite.
“Chu Zao, right? Sit.”
Hel cleared his throat, looking at the tiny figure across the table—malnutrition made his chin slightly pointy, and the more Hel looked, the more he felt a little pained.
Hel composed himself, adopting the manner of a strict teacher.
“Let me introduce myself—Hel Bird. That is my name. Since the emergence of the Crown Clan, our Bird family has served as imperial tutors for the Dwight clan, generation after generation. Your father, Amos Dwight, was once under my instruction—though, of course, his first teacher was my father.”
Hel paused, looking at Chu Zao again.
“Let me be clear up front: my expectations for the Crown Clan are very high. I will evaluate you carefully in every aspect. I hope you will learn as much interstellar knowledge as possible and master more combat skills, and from inside out and every aspect, have proper ideals, cherish yourself, protect your kin, and carry on Holy Cas.”
In sum——
“Our requirements of the Dwight family have always been strict.”
Hel said, his tone unconsciously softening as he looked at Chu Zao.
“I hope you are prepared; do you understand?”
Chu Zao was looking at Hel and, hearing this, instinctively nodded.
“I’ll do my best.”
He was a little uneasy.
But truly well-behaved—even a little timid—combined with that face and that figure.
Hel couldn’t help but frown a bit, realizing that if he taught this way there might be problems, so he quickly revised some of his intended methods internally, letting his expression relax.
“Don’t be nervous. If you put in the effort, I’ll see that. No need to place too much pressure on yourself. Most importantly, as a young Crown Clan, you have countless elders behind you, and in any danger, they’ll stand in front of you—including me. We are all your kin, your family.”
Hel gave a reassuring smile; his originally stern voice instantly turned gentle.
“You may call me Teacher Hel.”
Teacher—Chu Zao thought.
“Teacher Hel.”
Chu Zao quickly addressed him, looking at Hel. Not knowing what brought it to mind, his honey-colored eyes shone a little, carrying a trace of longing.
“Thank you.”
Actually, after growing up and making up his mind to leave Angel Realm, Chu Zao was no longer timid—not really; at least he’d found the courage to leave. But coming to the Crown Clan, even though everything was bleak at that time, Chu Zao felt nothing could surpass the blessing of being among his people.
He was entirely inexperienced in such family life, so he was especially cautious, and particularly polite—he truly, truly wanted to make a good impression on these people who seemed so nice.
Not just because of Uncle Feeney—they were Uncle Feeney’s relatives.
And also because, when Zao Zao was very, very young, he’d wished so many times——he wanted a family.
This was the second “thank you” Hel had heard.
Hel lifted a hand to touch his nose, giving a little cough.
Alright, Hel had to admit—this little one was indeed different, no wonder——
Hel glanced unobtrusively at the tightly closed door.
Out there, the just-departed Crown Clan member waited quietly, not busy at all, just waiting for any need.
Rather, he was guarding with utmost care.
At this moment Hel could rather understand Amos.
He let out a long sigh.
“Now, let’s begin our first lesson.”
Hel had prepared some materials, which he handed to the little one.
“How much do you know about the interstellar world? I hear Prince Feeney has taught you a number of things.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Chu Zao nodded earnestly.
“Uncle Feeney said, as an archer, if there’s no one left holding the front line, you must move in close to attack, to ensure your accuracy—best to get in their face; that way your attack will be strongest.”
——Of course, because by then only the two of them were left as archers in all Holy Cas.
But at this moment, this logic, suddenly falling into the ears of the currently thriving, only just declining Crown Clan of Holy Cas, sounded particularly… absurd.
There was a commotion outside the meeting room.
Inside, Hel raised his head in confusion: “What?”
At the same time, outside, where Amos had also been taken aback by this logic, news arrived from the infirmary——
Feeney seemed about to wake up.
Amos turned his head, looking into the room, and then toward the medical room, finally striding away in the direction where Feeney lay.
Ahhhhh! I’ve been waiting for this, Thank youuu! 😆