A little earlier, while Kaisha was busy burning a star to provide the energy needed to calculate Akashi, inside the small house where Akashi and Su Luo were staying.
Su Luo, who had been trying to explore other uses for his genetic ability, was called by Akashi.
"Commander!"
"What is it, Akashi?"
Su Luo reluctantly stopped exploring his genetic ability. Back at the port, all he could do was watch the other ship girls use their various special abilities. Now that he finally had a "superpower" of his own, he had indeed become a little absorbed in it.
"Commander, do you feel like it's getting colder around us, meow?"
Akashi's expression did not look very good, as though she truly felt cold.
"Colder?"
Su Luo sounded doubtful. Akashi's question was indeed rather strange. Through the small house's window, he looked toward the village. Though the Manjuu had spent some time putting out the blazing fires, and they were no longer as fierce as before, they were still far from small. Su Luo even felt that the surrounding temperature was somewhat dry and hot, yet Akashi was saying it had turned cold.
Frowning, Su Luo pulled Akashi over and placed a hand on her forehead.
"Hmm... your temperature is normal. It doesn't seem like you have a fever."
Yet when he saw Akashi's noticeably pale face, Su Luo naturally grew worried.
"Akashi, how do you feel right now?"
"Commander, it just feels like... it's kind of cold around me, meow! But after Commander pulled me over, it wasn't as cold anymore, meow!"
As she spoke, Akashi took the initiative to nestle closer into Su Luo's arms.
"Commander's arms feel warmer, meow! Commander, can you hold Akashi for a while?"
"Mm, if Akashi needs it! Of course."
Su Luo looked at Akashi, who had already nestled into his arms, concern still lingering on his face. However, seeing her complexion gradually turn rosy in his embrace, he said nothing and merely held her quietly.
After being held for quite a while, Akashi had returned to normal in Su Luo's arms. Though she did not know what had happened just now, her attention was no longer on that. Instead, she devoted herself entirely to enjoying her Commander's embrace.
The Commander had only returned to the port recently. Before that, everyone at the port could only sense the Commander's existence, unable to have face-to-face intimate contact with him.
Back then, because no one could reach the Commander, everyone was somewhat disappointed, but no one fought over him either.
That changed when the Commander returned to the port!
The married ship girls declared the legitimacy of their status as the Commander's wives through the Ring of Vows they possessed. Then, the married ship girls arranged every moment of the Commander's time perfectly. The other ship girls could only secretly watch the Commander in silence. After all, before every married ship girl had gotten her turn, they could not get involved!
Akashi was one of the ship girls excluded by the married ship girls. Before the Commander came to the port, he would visit her little shop every day and occasionally poke her. Since the Commander came to the port, he had not had any intimate contact with her for a long time!
The Commander's embrace was truly so warm, meow!
Akashi happily lay in Su Luo's arms, even purring softly, making Su Luo truly feel as though he were holding a green-haired kitten.
They held each other for quite some time, until the girl Su Luo had hypnotized in the room woke up from hunger and silently walked over to Su Luo and Akashi. Only then did the two let go.
Seeing that Akashi's complexion had recovered, Su Luo breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the girl beside him, who held a Manjuu in one hand and covered her stomach with the other, he remembered something.
"Are you hungry? Come to think of it, Akashi, haven't you eaten yet either?"
Akashi nodded, then shook her head.
"Commander, Akashi can go without eating, meow. Ship girls are different from humans, meow. We don't need food to survive, meow."
"But eating something delicious makes you feel better too, doesn't it?"
Su Luo replied with a smile.
"Speaking of food... it seems we really don't have anything to eat right now! We already checked the village. Almost everything that could burn has burned down, and nothing is left. So if we want food... we'll probably have to search for it ourselves in the forest! But wild things might not be safe, and this isn't the world where the port is located. The plants in the forest are probably different from those back home too..."
As he spoke, Su Luo fixed his gaze on the Manjuu the girl had been holding all along. After Akashi had stuffed that Manjuu into the little girl's arms, she had never let it go. By now, its face could only be described as utterly lifeless.
The corner of Su Luo's lips curled up as he looked at the Manjuu and spoke.
"Akashi, do you think Manjuu can..."
Su Luo's gaze made the Manjuu feel a little endangered. It shuddered instinctively, then pressed itself closer to the girl, as if declaring that it bore a heavy responsibility!
Su Luo finished his sentence.
"Can Manjuu tell which things are edible and which things aren't?"
"Commander, Manjuu don't have that function, meow!"
Akashi spoke, then thought for a moment before continuing.
"But we can consider having Manjuu taste-test them, meow! Even if the food is poisonous, after Manjuu eat it, they'll only feel bad for a little while before they're lively and bouncing around again, meow!"
The Manjuu, which had just breathed a sigh of relief, now pressed itself even tighter against the girl! It looked as though it would refuse to get down even if the girl tried to let it go.
At the Merlot Heavenly Court, Kaisha and Hexi watched the replay sent over by Angel Yan through Dark Plane communication.
Watching the scene of Su Luo and Akashi embracing in the footage, they confirmed that the time it happened coincided with the point when the Sacred Knowledge Repository's calculation data had begun to surge drastically.
Hexi and Kaisha had more or less understood what had caused that sudden surge in data!
Hexi wore a strange smile, while Kaisha's expression became even more grave.
"Heh, Kaisha, you saw it too, didn't you?"
Over the communication channel, Hexi questioned Kaisha, but received no reply. Hexi did not mind and simply continued voicing her thoughts as though no one else were present.
"This little fellow may not only represent a new future for the Angel Civilization. For their own universe, he might also be a special existence!"
"So, Kaisha, have you thought it through? Will you choose that Galaxy Power as before, or change your previous decision and choose this little fellow?"
"If you choose the Galaxy Power, then there's no need to spend too much thought on this little fellow. Based on the peculiarity he just displayed alone, I can conclude that he could not possibly have been summoned by Carl through some kind of technology! After all... who would be willing to send such a special existence somewhere completely unfamiliar, letting him face unknown risks?"
"I can conclude that before long, people from his world will come to find him! Judging from the fact that they were not particularly surprised upon arriving in this world and even seemed somewhat prepared for it, I can even conclude that it will not take long before they are found!"
"That means... Kaisha, you don't have much time left to make your choice!"
Kaisha still said nothing. Only the hand resting on her throne's armrest clenched tightly.
Hexi said nothing more and silently ended the communication.
In a private garden somewhere in the Merlot Heavenly Court, Hexi, seated on the grass, stretched lazily. Beneath the gentle sunlight regulated by the Sacred Knowledge Repository, her fair skin looked exceptionally alluring. Yet she was the only one who could appreciate that captivating sight.
Hexi rose from the grass and adjusted her clothes. Her slender, fair calves were concealed beneath her white dress. Barefoot, her tender feet, pale with a faint rosy flush, stepped onto the grass as she walked step by step toward the small pavilion beside the garden.
"Kaisha, the little fellow has already revealed so many possibilities. What will you choose next?"
"Will you continue as you originally decided, choosing to let go and allowing the Angel Civilization to sink into a quagmire, struggling to survive? Or will you choose another, new path?"
Sitting by the stone table in the pavilion, Hexi poured herself a cup of tea. She watched the ripples spread across the tea, and when the water in the cup finally settled, a smile touched her lips.
Hexi lifted the teacup and drained it in one gulp.
"Fine tea!"
Before you continue