Arlan doesn’t know who I am?
Kazuki stared at the young security chief in mild disbelief.
Herta had literally plastered his wanted poster across the entire space station.
Could the lingering aftereffects of the Path of Beauty really induce spontaneous face blindness?
Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Kazuki kept his tone light, laced with a hint of sympathetic amusement.
“Easy now, don’t be nervous.
I’m Kazuki, a guest invited by Madam Herta.
I bumped into this little guy in the corridor, and he decided to tag along.
I was actually just on my way to return him to Asta.”
Right on cue, as if stepping up to testify on his behalf, Peppy trotted over to Kazuki’s boots.
The pup rubbed affectionately against his pant leg, then turned to wag his tail at Arlan.
There was no coercion here—just pure, unadulterated canine adoration shining in those dark, round eyes.
The fierce wariness on Arlan’s face instantly shattered.
He knew Peppy too well.
The dog might look like a harmless, fluffy cloud, but he was notoriously aloof with strangers.
Aside from Asta, even Arlan—who diligently bribed the dog with premium snacks every single day—rarely received such voluntary affection.
Yet here was Peppy, acting like a clingy shadow to a total stranger he had just met.
Arlan’s hand slowly slipped away from the hilt of his sidearm, the rigid tension bleeding from his shoulders.
He crouched down, running a quick, professional eye over the dog to ensure no one had tampered with him.
Finding nothing amiss, he stood back up.
The hostility had completely evaporated, replaced by a heavy dose of sheepish embarrassment.
“I apologize.
I was just too on edge.” Arlan’s voice softened considerably.
He bowed slightly to Kazuki, finding the white-haired young man inexplicably agreeable.
“The lead researcher was managing the post-disaster reconstruction when she turned around and realized Peppy had wandered off.
We turned the entire Master Control Zone upside down.
She was nearly in tears from worry.
I just…”
He trailed off, staring helplessly at Peppy, who was still happily glued to Kazuki’s ankles.
Arlan had spent nearly twenty minutes scouring the station, his throat raw from calling the dog’s name, only to find the little runaway casually strolling the halls with a stranger.
“No harm done, I understand.” Kazuki smiled, crouching down to scratch behind Peppy’s ears.
“Alright, buddy.
Go back with Arlan.
Don’t give your station master a heart attack.”
Instead of obeying, Peppy let out a soft whine.
He clamped his jaws gently onto the hem of Kazuki’s trousers and tugged, stubbornly trying to pull him down the corridor toward Asta’s office.
Arlan’s embarrassment deepened.
He rushed forward to intervene, apologizing profusely.
“I am so sorry.
He is never usually like this.
I’ve caused you trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all.
I actually needed to see Asta anyway, so it’s right on the way.” Kazuki waved off the apology and fell into step beside the security chief, letting the determined pup guide him forward.
As the trio walked side-by-side, the station staff in the corridor nearly dropped their datapads.
The volume of their whispered gossip spiked immediately.
“Did I just see that right?
Captain Arlan is walking with him?
And being…
polite?”
“By the Aeons, outside of the station master, when has Arlan ever been that amicable to an outsider?
The last time an executive from the Interastral Peace Corporation visited, he looked ready to draw his sword the entire time.”
“Who is that guy?
He’s got Peppy wrapped around his finger and Arlan treating him like a VIP.”
“Whatever his background is, he’s definitely not normal.
Otherwise, how could he stroll through Herta Space Station so casually?”
Listening to the murmurs, Arlan couldn’t help his curiosity.
“Seriously, Peppy is incredibly wary of strangers.
How on earth did you manage to win him over?”
“I really don’t know.” Kazuki shrugged, a teasing glint in his eye.
“Maybe it’s because I called him a good boy?
Or maybe he just likes my face.”
Arlan let out a rare, genuine laugh.
More, if he hadn’t run into Kazuki, there was no telling how long he would have been searching, or how frantic Asta would have become.
He silently committed the favor to memory.
All residual vigilance had vanished, replaced entirely by genuine goodwill.
Looking at Kazuki playing with Peppy, Arlan mentally stamped him with a clear label: Reliable, harmless, worth befriending.
“By the way, what business do you have with the lead researcher?” Arlan asked, his tone noticeably warmer.
“If she’s busy, I can announce your arrival first.”
“Nothing major,” Kazuki replied smoothly.
“Just wanted to ask her a quick question.
I’ll leave the introductions to you, then.”
They arrived at the heavy doors of the station master’s office.
Peppy finally released Kazuki’s pant leg, trotting up to scratch at the metal with his little paws, letting out a sharp, happy bark.
Arlan pushed the door open and stepped inside with the dog.
Left alone in the corridor for a brief moment, Kazuki silently pulled up his system interface.
He had just finished drawing Arlan’s Destiny Cards.
Looking at the glowing text that materialized—[Beggar · Arlan]—Kazuki didn’t even blink.
Without a second thought, he tapped delete.
Another useless trash card.
A moment later, Arlan stepped back out.
“She’s currently occupied, but when I mentioned your name, she asked me to invite you right in.”
Kazuki nodded.
He lifted his foot to step through the threshold, but suddenly froze, his heart skipping a beat.
Wait.
Could Asta have fallen for it too?
It suddenly clicked.
Peppy, Arlan, the gossiping researchers in the hallway—they were all acting like they were under a spell, gathering around and obsessing over someone they didn’t even know.
Who in their right mind would act like that under normal circumstances?
Because of that brief hesitation, he found himself already standing inside the spacious office.
He looked up, his gaze locking directly with Asta, who was seated behind her massive desk.
Kazuki stared at her for two agonizing seconds.
Her eyes were clear, bright, and perfectly composed.
She wasn’t shyly dodging his gaze, nor was her face flushed with suspicious, starry-eyed infatuation.
Kazuki exhaled a quiet breath, the tension leaving his chest.
She must have some high-tier IPC relic protecting her mind; there was no way she would be brainwashed so easily by the lingering aura of an Emanator of Beauty.
Asta took in the sight of the white-haired young man standing before her.
He was dressed in a simple, ordinary hoodie, yet he possessed an undeniably striking presence.
Her eyes curved into a warm smile.
“First official meeting.
Hello, Kazuki.”
Digital banter was one thing, but reality was another entirely.
Asta dropped the ‘Herta’ proxy filter she had been hiding behind, and Kazuki shed the playful online persona he had used to tease her.
Stripped of their digital armor, the two stared at each other.
Surprisingly, neither could find the right words to bridge the gap.
A heavy, evident awkwardness settled over the room.
Just as Kazuki was frantically racking his brain for an icebreaker, his peripheral vision caught Arlan standing dutifully to the side.
His eyes instantly lit up.
He pointed straight at the security chief.
“By the way, you should really have Arlan undergo a complete physical scan.
He’s been heavily compromised by the Path of Beauty, and you haven’t even noticed.”
Asta blinked, turning her head to look at her guard in confusion.
Arlan frantically waved his hands, his face the picture of panicked innocence.
“Miss Asta, I haven’t!
I feel perfectly fine.
I haven’t been affected by anything.”
Asta looked back at Kazuki, her head tilting slightly.
Seizing the lifeline, Kazuki ruthlessly threw Arlan under the bus, detailing every bizarrely trusting and uncharacteristic behavior the security chief had displayed in the corridor.
As Arlan listened to the clinical breakdown of his own actions, his eyes grew wider and wider.
He stood there processing the information for a long moment before belatedly muttering, “Wait…
that actually might be true?”
Asta puffed out her cheeks, glaring at her guard.
“Look at you!
I’ve told you a hundred times, whenever something feels off, go to the medical bay immediately!
But you never listen!”
“But Miss Asta,” Arlan protested anxiously, shaking his head.
“If I leave, there will be no one here to protect you!”
The two went back and forth, bickering with the familiar rhythm of old friends.
Finally, Arlan yielded.
His shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I apologize, Miss Asta.
I’ve disappointed you.
It’s only because I am not strong enough yet.”
With a heavy sigh, he turned to march out the door.
“Wait!” Kazuki pointed down at Peppy, who was currently sitting at Asta’s feet, happily thumping his tail against the floor.
“Take the dog to the medical bay too.
Leave no stone unturned.”
Hearing this, Asta reached down, aggressively ruffled Peppy’s fur, and then scooped the pup up by the scruff of his neck, depositing him directly into Arlan’s waiting arms.
Peppy’s ears drooped flat against his head.
He let out a pitiful, betrayed whimper as Arlan tucked him under his arm like a furry football and carried him out of the office.
[Elysian’s Note:
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