After Xiao Ran entered the room, Lacus and Stella stopped their game. Stella pounced on Xiao Ran again and burrowed into his arms, while Lacus stood up, clasped her hands before her, and smiled softly at him.
Xiao Ran patted Stella, who had thrown herself into his arms, then nodded to Lacus. "Thanks for looking after Stella, Lacus."
Lacus shook her head. After glancing gently at Stella, she said, "It's all right. I'm happy playing with Stella too."
Xiao Ran merely smiled at Lacus's words and said nothing more. He knew perfectly well why Lacus had come to keep Stella company. It certainly was not because she genuinely found it fun or had nothing better to do.
Once Xiao Ran sat down with Stella, Lacus sat beside them and looked at him. "The battle is over, right? Nobody was hurt, were they?"
"A few people suffered minor injuries. They'll recover in a few days, so it's nothing serious." Xiao Ran shook his head. "But honestly, I hope they do get hurt in battle. That way, they'll remember what getting injured feels like more deeply. Having everything go too smoothly isn't necessarily a good thing."
Lacus fell silent for a moment after hearing him, but in the end, she simply nodded with a smile and changed the subject. "Captain Hu Luo informed me after you returned that you captured a prisoner. Was he an alien who looked exactly like a human?"
As she spoke, Lacus glanced at Stella, who was leaning against Xiao Ran in a daze. "Are the aliens you've encountered also like that?"
Xiao Ran shook his head. "Not entirely. There are many alien races. I've seen cat-eared girls, rabbit-eared girls, and all sorts of others. There's also one race with extremely short lifespans. By the time they reach