Akashi's "Enthusiasm"

Although the cooperation had been finalized, the call had not yet ended. Kaisha and Su Luo still had a few things to discuss.

"Originally, I was planning to use this opportunity to retire, but the terms of cooperation you proposed have forced me to abandon my retirement plans."

The serious atmosphere from before had faded, and both Kaisha and Su Luo looked much more relaxed.

With a hint of helplessness on her face, Kaisha spoke to Su Luo.

"Is that so? In other words, were you actually planning to keep the timing of the Justice Order's overthrow in your own hands?"

Su Luo looked at Kaisha with great interest.

"You founded the Justice Order, and when it was finally about to be overthrown, you would be the one to declare its end?"

Kaisha silently nodded at Su Luo's words. She had indeed entertained such thoughts.

"Actually, before you arrived, I did have thoughts along those lines!"

"I don't know what kind of order will govern the universe in the future, but at the very least, right now, the universe is ruled by the Angels' Justice Order. Although the Justice Order is already on the verge of collapse, at least for now, I can still keep those petty vermin in check. That means the Known Universe is still under the Angels' control."

"However, while the Angels still hold the reins, their position has clearly come under threat. So... there are only two paths left before the Angels. One is to forcefully suppress them all and reestablish the Angels' unquestionable authority throughout the Known Universe. The other is to show weakness before them."

Kaisha's tone carried a trace of melancholy.

"But in truth, you chose neither path."

Su Luo blinked and looked at Kaisha.

Kaisha did not deny Su Luo's assessment. Or rather, what he said aligned with her previous thoughts.

"Yes, I chose neither."

"You could no longer accomplish the first path, and the Angels' nature would not allow you to choose the second. So, while you could still suppress those monsters and demons, while Angel rule was on the brink of collapse but had not yet fallen apart, you chose to retire early—or rather, to die."

Kaisha listened to Su Luo and nodded.

"The Justice Order was born because of me. In everyone's eyes, I represent the Justice Order. As long as I do not die, they will not dare make any major moves without absolute confidence that they can overthrow Angel rule! But that also means their minor schemes will be hidden very deeply, until... they gather enough strength to overturn the entire Angel Civilization."

As Kaisha spoke, not only Su Luo, but even Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin, who had remained silent nearby, imagined the consequences.

Akashi, on the other hand, was not thinking about any of that. Seeing that it was nearly noon, she took Azi out to prepare food, planning to make a "good dish" for Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin as well, and give them a proper "welcome."

That rabbit was so stupid that she felt eating it might lower one's intelligence. Now, it finally had a use!

"Indeed, if that happened... the Angel Civilization might truly meet its end."

Su Luo stated this calmly. Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin, meanwhile, looked somewhat agitated, as though they wanted to argue, yet had no idea what they could argue against.

"So in the end, you chose to control the timing of your own ending. First, to ease the pressure being placed on the Angel Civilization. Second, to tell those monsters and demons that only the Angel Civilization itself could end the Justice Order..."

Su Luo saw the approval in Kaisha's eyes and did not ask whether his guess was correct. Her gaze had already said everything.

"So, I was the one who disrupted your retirement plans."

Su Luo shrugged.

"I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Of course not. Or rather..."

Kaisha shrugged as well.

"Continuing to live isn't such a bad thing."

Su Luo shook his head without offering an opinion.

"Enough of that for now. Since we have formed an alliance against the demons and Carl, we need you to provide more intelligence regarding the demons and Carl. The more detailed, the better, so the port can provide you with better assistance."

"No problem. Yan and Zhixin will explain the details to you afterward."

Kaisha nodded, raising no objection to Su Luo's request. After all, she had already said that whatever the Angel Civilization possessed, if Su Luo wanted it, the Angels would provide it.

"Also, since we have already formed an alliance, I would like to invite you to Merlot Heavenly Court. After all... since arriving in our world, you have not had a fixed residence. Merlot Heavenly Court can serve as a place for you to stay. I am quite proud of its scenery and living environment!"

"By the way, since Merlot Heavenly Court was established, no member of the opposite sex has ever entered it! You will be the first."

Su Luo nodded. He was rather interested in the architecture and layout of Merlot Heavenly Court, after all—it was the ruler of this universe.

But he pretended not to hear Kaisha's last remark.

It was not as if he were not the only man in the port! No other men would be entering the port either.

"If I have the time later, I'll go. But not now."

Seeing Su Luo decline, Kaisha did not press him further and merely nodded.

"In that case... Yan and Zhixin."

Kaisha called Yan and Zhixin by name.

Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin looked toward Kaisha's projection in response.

"You two will remain by Su Luo's side for the time being, serve as his guards, and follow his orders."

"Yes, Queen!"

The two Angels answered in unison.

Only after giving them their orders did Kaisha look at Su Luo again.

"Since you are not coming to Amagi for the time being, let Yan and Zhixin stay by your side as guards first. After all... although you have only recently arrived in this universe, from Yan and the others' introduction to the Known Universe, as well as the two demon attacks on your planet in such a short time, you should understand that the Known Universe... is not peaceful."

"While the Justice Order still exists, having Yan and Zhixin, my Sacred Wings, guarding you will save you a great deal of trouble! It will also make communication between us more convenient."

"Besides, they can help you with odd jobs and such. These two children are very capable workers!"

This time, Su Luo did not refuse and agreed.

Until they made contact with the port, they still needed to rely on the Angels' strength.

Though they would not need to borrow it for long.

Seeing Su Luo nod, Kaisha gave a satisfied nod. Seeming to spot Akashi entering through the doorway carrying dishes, Kaisha nodded at Su Luo.

"It seems our conversation should end here."

Su Luo looked at Akashi as well, a slight smile on his lips, and nodded.

"Indeed."

"Then enjoy your meal! We'll talk again next time."

Su Luo nodded once more. Then Kaisha's projection vanished, and the call ended.

"Commander, are you done talking? It's time to eat, nya!"

Akashi and Azi carried several dishes over and placed them on the dining table that had just served as the negotiation table. Akashi called out to Su Luo.

"Commander, look! I specially learned these Eastern Faction dishes from Yixian and Longwu before."

After setting out the dishes, Akashi looked at Su Luo and introduced them.

"Commander, look, this is spicy rabbit head, dry-fried diced rabbit, rabbit with green peppers, hand-shredded rabbit, spicy rabbit legs..."

Akashi rattled off a string of dish names... it was practically an encyclopedia of ways to prepare rabbit.

"Akashi, didn't you say those rabbits had all run away?"

Su Luo looked at the table full of food and asked Akashi.

"Commander, I had the Manjuu catch them all again!"

Su Luo nodded and did not care that Akashi had added to the Manjuu's workload. The Manjuu were heaven-sent workers—they could do anything and were never afraid of exhaustion! A small task like catching rabbits was no challenge for them at all!

With Akashi accompanying him, Su Luo began eating lunch. Out of courtesy, he invited Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin to sit down and eat with him.

Although they did not need to eat, Su Luo felt a little awkward eating by himself while letting others watch.

Akashi also enthusiastically invited the two of them to eat. She even handed Angel Zhixin, who did not have a seat, a stool that the Manjuu had hurriedly made.

As for Azi, she remained in Su Luo's arms. Although Zhixin had reduced the impact of those miserable memories that had been etched into her bones, the memories had not been erased.

Therefore, Azi still needed time before she could truly move on. Until then, she probably felt that Su Luo could give her a greater sense of security, which was why she was so close to him. Su Luo did not object to that.

Taking care of children was something he had done plenty of in the port. The destroyers and submarines were all quite well-behaved.

Ahem... Mogador excluded.

Well... Z52 excluded too.

Thus, the following scene appeared at the dining table.

Azi sat in Su Luo's lap, pointing at the dishes she wanted to eat, while Su Luo picked food for her.

Akashi, seated beside Su Luo, continuously picked up food and fed it to him.

Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin sat opposite them, watching the warm scene that looked like a family of three, and neither of them had much appetite.

But whenever they tried to put down their chopsticks, Akashi would enthusiastically urge them to eat, using serving chopsticks to pick up the dish closest to them—the hand-shredded rabbit.

That's right, serving chopsticks! Akashi used her own chopsticks to pick food for Su Luo, and those were also the chopsticks she ate with. But when she picked food for the two Angels, she did not use those chopsticks.

Part of it was out of politeness, but not much. More than that, she did not want these two Angels taking advantage of her Commander—not even through saliva!

It was worth mentioning that Azi seemed not to like the hand-shredded rabbit and never asked for any. Akashi also did not pick that dish for Su Luo. In the end, all of the hand-shredded rabbit was eaten by Angel Yan and Angel Zhixin.

After watching the two Angels finish the hand-shredded rabbit, Akashi's lips curled slightly, as though she had thought of something delightful.

Akashi: After eating that stupid rabbit, you'll become stupid too! Stupid!

That Z52 artwork, tsk, I didn't even know where to look.