"All right, all right, get up. No need to be so serious."
Guilliman smiled and waved a hand.
"I came to tell you that I just cooked something. You and Kai have trained hard, so come to the garden and have a bite."
"W-what?!"
Calgar jerked his head up. A brilliant, disbelieving light flashed through his weathered eyes!
Food personally made by their gene-father?!
The thought exploded through Calgar's mind like thunder!
In an instant, countless images and emotions flashed through his head: envy, jealousy—a little—resentment—a lot—and wild ecstasy!
He remembered that brat Landros had once been lucky enough to taste a piece of Ant-Cow meat personally roasted by their gene-father!
After word of that spread through the Ultramarines, who knew how many Chapter Masters and Captains had been left so jealous their teeth nearly fell out!
Especially Calgar himself!
He had toiled for the Chapter, for Macragge, and for his gene-father for centuries.
His hair had gone from gold to gray-white through sheer overwork. He had served dutifully and tirelessly, and what had he gotten?
He had not even managed to get a single hot meal cooked by his father!
What gave those little brats who did nothing but cling to the Codex the right?!
Of course, Calgar was a fair and impartial Chapter Master. He was absolutely not petty.
Later, when assignments were handed out.
Those "lucky ones" had been very "naturally" assigned to clean the mechanical waste processing area in the deepest part of Glory Port—commonly known as "cleaning out the shithole."
They had worked there for months on end.
But that had merely been a matter of operational necessity, absolutely not Calgar abusing his authority for personal revenge!
Absolutely not!
But now!
Could he finally taste it too?!
His father really did still have a place