Intern Angel, Merus

The cold void of space.

A streak of seven-colored light tore through the darkness, so fast that people on the countless planets it passed assumed it was merely an ordinary shooting star.

To them, a shooting star in the daytime was a bit strange, but hardly cause for alarm.

Traveling at superluminal speeds, the streak quickly exited the boundaries of the North Galaxy and set its course for the South Galaxy.

Meanwhile, on the distant Planet Helka.

The landscape was desolate. A tent had been pitched, and before it lay a campfire that had recently gone out, its embers still smoldering.

A blue-skinned, white-haired youth wearing the uniform of the Galactic Patrol picked a piece of roasted meat off the grill, blew on it twice, and took a bite.

"Whew, delicious!"

The youth wore a look of blissful satisfaction; on a barren rock like Planet Helka, having roasted meat to eat was a luxury.

After all, the inhabitants here had destroyed themselves ten thousand years ago, plunging into a resource war after over-extracting the planet's energy.

The reason they were here was that they had heard the Ginyu Force, an elite unit under the Frieza Force, intended to establish a base on this planet, so they had come early to set an ambush.

"Hey, Merus, you're actually sneaking food behind my back!"

Jaco, who had just returned from patrol, saw Merus with grease all over his mouth, still chewing on the meat, and came running over in a huff.

"Jaco, come on, have some."

"The Ginyu Force won't arrive until tomorrow!"

The youth named Merus said with a look of certainty.

Jaco sat down, not believing a word of it. "Don't think that just because you're an elite member of the Galactic Patrol you can spout nonsense; I am one too."

Although the title of "elite member of the Galactic Patrol" was one Jaco had bestowed upon himself, it was still elite.

"Yes, yes, Jaco, you're the best."

Merus smiled and shook his head.

As for why he was so certain the Ginyu Force would only arrive tomorrow, the answer was simple: he had just checked with his Angel Staff.

The Ginyu Force was still on their ship, and based on their speed, they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

That's right, Merus was actually an angel in training—an apprentice angel, for short.

He had been sent by the Grand Minister to the Galactic Patrol of Universe 7 to gain experience so that he could eventually become a qualified angel.

"Jaco, Merus, thanks to you two, I've got inspiration for a new novel."

At that moment, a girl with short blonde hair approached from not far away. Her attire was ordinary, and she held a pen and paper in her hands.

She was not a member of the Galactic Patrol, so she did not wear a uniform like Merus or Jaco.

"Tights, I've told you so many times, the Ginyu Force is dangerous. A girl like you shouldn't be running around everywhere."

Jaco looked pained. "If you fall into the hands of the Ginyu Force, we'll have to save you."

"Wouldn't it be better if you just stayed at the safe Galactic Patrol headquarters?"

If Tights hadn't insisted on coming—even sneaking onto the ship when he wasn't looking—Jaco would have truly preferred to leave her at headquarters.

Having read the files on the Ginyu Force, Jaco knew exactly how terrifying they were!

"Hmph, no!"

Tights put her hands on her hips, looking indignant. "I've basically exhausted all my inspiration from the Galactic Patrol side. I need to see battles between aliens to get new ideas for my novel."

Jaco was instantly rendered speechless.

He couldn't fathom how a human girl from Earth could be so bold. According to the files, weren't human girls from Earth supposed to be quite timid?

Why was Tights so fearless? The Ginyu Force, which ordinary people would avoid at all costs, was something she was actively trying to get close to.

"Alright, at worst, we'll just do our best to protect Tights' safety."

Merus smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Easy for you to say."

Jaco rolled his eyes at Merus and sighed. "Ugh, what kind of bad karma did I rack up to end up with you two?"

He could already imagine how difficult this mission was going to be.

Not only were they facing the Ginyu Force, but they also had to babysit a burden. Fortunately, Merus was here; otherwise, Jaco would have considered a strategic retreat and abandoning the mission entirely.

Just as Jaco was hanging his head in despair, a meteor slammed into the ground, emitting a thunderous roar.

BOOM!

Not far from them, dust and smoke billowed into the air.

"What? What happened?"

Jaco turned his gaze toward the smoke, staring blankly at the sudden accident.

Merus, however, was quick to react; he drew his gun and aimed it at the smoke with a vigilant expression.

Seeing Merus draw his weapon, Jaco finally snapped back to reality. Right, what if it was the Ginyu Force? He followed suit and drew his gun as well.

Two Galactic Patrol guns aimed at the smoke.

Only the girl nearby, Tights, remained wearing a look of utter confusion.

"Get into the tent, quickly!"

Jaco roared.

Once a battle started here, he wouldn't have the spare energy to protect a girl's safety!

Tights snapped back to reality upon hearing Jaco's roar and hurriedly hid inside the tent, though she still peeked out with her small head.

She wanted to see this alien battle she had dreamed of for so long.

The smoke cleared.

Whis's figure appeared, with Mu Yang following closely behind, holding Bulma's hand.

"Who are you people!?"

Jaco didn't dare to relax in the slightest; he gripped his gun tighter, aimed it at Whis's head, and demanded.

"Brother Whis!!"

Merus looked pleasantly surprised, lowered his gun, and hurried over.

"Ah, you know each other?"

Jaco was instantly dumbfounded.

After all that, it turned out to be a misunderstanding!

They were on the same side, right?

"Long time no see, Merus."

Whis's expression was also somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected to run into Merus, who was still in the middle of his training, here, but he smiled nonetheless.

"With Brother Whis here, I can rest easy."

Merus said, his face full of delight.

In his eyes, with Whis present, what was there to fear from the Ginyu Force?

"Bulma!!"

Tights ran over, looking pleasantly surprised, crouched down, and hugged Bulma.

"Sister."

Bulma locked her arms around Tights's neck, looking overjoyed.

Seeing the sisters reunited, a smile couldn't help but appear on Mu Yang's face.

"So these are all your relatives?"

Jaco's mouth twitched slightly, feeling just how much fate liked to play tricks on people.

Mainly because his teammates were all reuniting with their loved ones, while he was the only one who wasn't, which made him look quite foolish.

"Ultraman Tiga!!"

Mu Yang ran over excitedly and grabbed Jaco's hand.

"Huh?"

Jaco was completely stunned, indicating that he didn't know this person in front of him at all.

"I'm your fan."

Mu Yang said with a serious face.

Ultraman Tiga—whose childhood wasn't a fan of his? Whose childhood didn't involve lending their light to Tiga?

Jaco and Tiga were just too similar.

The same bulbous eyes, and his physique was like a miniature version of an Ultraman.

"My fan..."

Jaco rubbed the back of his head, looking both embarrassed and pleasantly surprised.

He never expected that he would actually have a fan.