After a Month in a Coma, Gine Wiped Me Down. I Was So Embarrassed I Wanted to Dig a Hole and Hide.

Bardock's words—"You've been kicked out of the palace"—struck like a bolt from a clear sky, blasting Gou Kong's head until it rang.

He gaped like an idiot, pupils trembling, his whole body frozen in place. For a long while, he couldn't come back to himself.

"What?"

Gou Kong's voice was dry, trembling with disbelief.

He instinctively rubbed his ears, suspecting he had just woken up and was hearing things.

Bardock looked at Gou Kong's dazed expression, his brows knitting even tighter, and repeated, "It was an order from King Vegeta. It happened a month ago. Back then, you saved the prince from Beerus, which should've been a great achievement. The problem was, the scouter you were wearing broadcast your true battle power. That figure of 19,000 scared everyone witless."

Gine added from the side, her heart aching for him, "That's right, Mr. Gou Kong. His Majesty said you had been hiding your strength all along, deceiving your king and defying your superiors. Even though you saved the prince, His Majesty felt your very existence was a threat. So he... he..."

"So he treated me, this threat, like trash while I was unconscious and threw me out of the palace?" Gou Kong finished for her, his tone icy, though a blazing fury burned in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, his mind racing as he pieced together this absurd information.

The logic was very clear—and very Saiyan.

At the time, he had indeed snatched Vegeta out of Beerus's hands.

But that instant outburst had been faithfully recorded by the scouter he wore, then broadcast aloud.

That terrifying battle power of 19,000 was no different from a thunderbolt out of a clear sky to King Vegeta.

In this race where force ruled above all, a subordinate stronger than the king was a sin in itself.

King Vegeta had been afraid.

He feared Gou Kong would seize the throne, feared that uncontrollable power would threaten his rule.

So even though Gou Kong had just saved his son's life, he still had to deal with him.

Kill him outright?

Perhaps because he was wary of the little bit of "interest" Beerus had shown in Gou Kong earlier, or perhaps because Gou Kong had, after all, saved his son and it would have looked too excessive.

And so the safest method was to strip him of everything, expel him from the palace, and leave him to fend for himself.

And Prince Vegeta, that proud little bean, had actually dragged the dying Gou Kong to Bardock's house himself after his father gave the order.

"Wow. What the hell is this..."

Gou Kong was so angry he almost laughed.

What kind of mess was this?

He saved your life, and your old man treated him like a scourge and swept him out the door?

Even a donkey wouldn't dare pull off this level of throwing away the millstone after the grain was ground!

A rush of furious heat shot up from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull. His tightly clenched fists trembled beyond his control, his knuckles cracking.

That immortal old bastard King Vegeta!

This was what he got for risking his life to save someone?

Fine, you say I hid my battle power. Fine!

You say I deceived the king. Fine!

I hid my strength, so what?

In a place like the Saiyans, where hard fists made the rules, having high battle power was a sin?

If I really wanted to steal your lousy throne, would I have risked my life to save your son?!

The more Gou Kong thought about it, the angrier he became. His chest felt stifled, as if ten thousand berserk beasts were stampeding through his heart.

He truly could not understand how that old king's brain was wired.

If he really had intended to usurp the throne, would he have thrown his life on the line in front of Beerus to save that little brat?

He would have stood by and watched the show, waited for the royal line to die out, then stepped into power as a matter of course!

"Did his damn brain get blown away by an energy blast?"

Gou Kong cursed under his breath, feeling as if his intelligence had been insulted.

This move was so absurd it was outrageous, even more disgusting than Frieza, that purple onion head.

He let out a long sigh, trying to calm the rage churning inside him.

Endure for a moment, and the storm would pass; take one step back, and the world would open wide.

Supposedly, if you silently recited the word "endure" three times, you could avoid the urge to kill.

But after calming down and thinking about it, this matter actually wasn't that terrible.

To be honest, being kicked out of the palace really wasn't some fatal blow to him.

From the very beginning, Gou Kong had never cared about that lousy throne, nor had he ever thought of making a name for himself among the Saiyans.

Planet Vegeta was a ticking time bomb to begin with. In less than a month, Frieza would blow it into cosmic dust.

Coveting power in a place destined for destruction?

That would be truly fucking stupid!

Besides, he had already prepared a way out long ago.

A well-maintained space pod was quietly hidden in a concealed corner of some desolate plateau.

Its coordinates had long since been locked onto Earth, and its route perfectly avoided the Frieza Force's patrol paths.

As soon as the time came, he could dust off his hands and leave, heading to that blue planet to live free and easy.

King Vegeta's move had, at most, disrupted his original plan to "hide in the palace until the last possible moment," forcing him to enter "wilderness survival" mode ahead of schedule.

If that was the case, why did he still feel so stifled, so desperate to curse someone out?

Did he need a reason?

Who could be treated like this and just laugh it off?

This was a life-saving favor!

It was a chance at survival bought at the risk of being erased on the spot by Beerus!

And the result?

Repaying kindness with hatred, burning the bridge after crossing it!

This was no longer simple ingratitude. This was the ultimate trampling of another person's goodwill!

If he could endure even this, was he still human?

Gou Kong only felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head, as if the spot Beerus had blasted earlier had started hurting again.

King Vegeta's absurd conduct made him feel a wave of physical nausea, as though his insides had been scorched by fire.

He had to vent this rage!

He forcibly suppressed the surging killing intent and turned his gaze to Bardock and Gine at the side, his expression still somewhat gloomy.

"No matter what, thank you both for taking care of me during this time. I've caused you a great deal of trouble."

Bardock waved a hand, his tone still stiff. "No need to thank me. If you're going to thank someone, thank Gine. I was only following the prince's orders. This past month, while you were unconscious, Gine handled all your food, drink, and bodily needs."

Warmth rose in Gou Kong's heart at that, and he was just about to express his gratitude to Gine. But the instant he raised his head and looked at her, a terrifying thought struck his mind like a bolt of lightning!

Wait...

Gine handled all his food, drink, and bodily needs?

His eyes suddenly widened, and an ominous premonition instantly shrouded his entire body.

"Gine... during this month I was unconscious, who bathed me? Who changed my clothes?"

Gou Kong's voice was trembling a little. He stared fixedly at Gine, praying madly in his heart: Please don't let it be what I'm thinking! Bardock was at home, so surely you did that, brother, right? And that brat Raditz was there too, how could it possibly...

However, what shattered his fantasy was Gine's matter-of-fact nod.

"Ah, it was me!" Gine looked proud, completely failing to notice Gou Kong's instantly deathly pale face. "After Bardock carried you back, he immediately went out on a mission, and Raditz had also gone with Prince Vegeta to conquer a planet, so I was the only one at home. You were unconscious, so if I didn't take care of you, who would? Don't worry, Mr. Gou Kong! I wiped you down and changed your clothes every day, kept you nice and clean, and absolutely didn't let you have even the tiniest bit of odor!"

The more Gine spoke, the more enthusiastic she became, even counting on her fingers as she listed it off. "When I wiped you down, your body temperature was low, but your muscle lines were really amazing... When I changed your clothes, you were so heavy I almost threw out my back... And also..."

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Gou Kong let out a shrill scream, clamped both hands over his face, and felt all the blood in his body rush to the top of his head. Shame drowned him like a tide.

He curled up in the corner like a quail, looking back and forth between Gine and Bardock.

Gine was still smiling as she claimed credit, while Bardock...

That guy was actually just frowning, wearing an expression of "what's the big deal," even seeming a little impatient with Gou Kong making such a fuss.

What exactly was going on with Saiyan views on chastity?

Gine was a married woman!

Bardock's wife, no less!

The mother of Raditz and Kakarot!

She had actually... actually spent an entire month taking off his clothes every day and wiping his body down?

Even if there was no one else at home, even if it was to save his life, wasn't that a little too... you know?

Gou Kong felt as if his CPU was about to burn out.

He tried to convince himself with reason: Gine had only done it out of kindness, like a nurse caring for a patient, without any impure thoughts whatsoever.

If he let his mind go somewhere indecent, then he would be the real pervert.

But I understand all the logic, and yet this shame just won't go away!

"I... I want some time alone..."

Gou Kong let out a miserable groan, his whole body going numb.

He was a dignified seven-foot man with a soul from Earth, a Saiyan powerhouse at the ten-thousand battle-power level, yet while he was unconscious, he had been seen completely naked by his sister-in-law and even scrubbed down by her for a whole month?

What the hell was this supposed to be?!

This sense of shame made him feel a hundred times worse than being one-shot by Beerus!

Gou Kong covered his face, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or simply have Beerus fire off another blast of destruction energy and blow him straight into dregs...