[After Returning from an Expedition with a Damaged Psychic Domain and Accepting a Genetic Match for Marriage, the Male Zerg Who Arrived for the Meeting Was the Recruit I Once Trained Into the Ground]
Inspired by everything he had learned today about the Expeditionary Forces, An Ruo furiously hammered out a chapter.
At the time, he was writing purely out of righteous indignation.
Only after finishing did he remember that he was in prison.
The terminal issued by the prison had all sorts of restrictions. There was no way it could actually be posted...
Wait.
It posted?
After a brief review process, the words “Publication Successful” appeared on the screen.
An Ruo froze.
It actually went through?
He had already mentally prepared himself to spend the rest of his life writing books in prison, waiting for either the end of his sentence—or more realistically, his death—before his works were discovered and published as posthumous manuscripts.
That wouldn't have been impossible.
Just lonely.
Never seeing readers' reactions would have been a real regret.
But this was the best possible outcome.
Looking at his successfully published novel, An Ruo felt genuine anticipation for the future for the first time.
Even the cold, sealed prison cell suddenly felt like a cozy little nest.
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Sevin was a military Female Zerg from the Ninth Legion's Expeditionary Forces.
He had only recently returned from the battlefield and was currently recovering at home in poor mental condition.
Then he heard astonishing news.
A comrade from the same Ninth Legion had somehow managed to secure a military-region psychic soothing appointment and had gone from a critically dangerous mental state all the way to a perfect score of 100.
Sevin stared at that number for a long time.
At first, he even suspected it had been entered incorrectly.
But the news had already spread throughout the entire Ninth Legion.
That lucky bastard had even gone to the training center afterward, piloted a mech for several rounds, and posted an absolutely gorgeous performance report.
Anyone could see how incredible his condition was.
Sevin was genuinely jealous.
He immediately started investigating the Male Zerg soothing specialist responsible.
The result left him devastated.
The appointment queue was completely full.
Not just full.
Explosively full.
Some Female Zergs who had already spent years waiting in other Male Zergs' queues and were finally close to their turn had actually switched lines at the last minute to queue for this Male Zerg instead.
The temptation of a perfect score of 100 was simply too great.
A normal Male Zerg's soothing might raise someone from thirty points to fifty or sixty.
But this was a perfect one hundred.
Most Female Zergs had only experienced a mental state that good when they were hatchlings.
Looking at the already overflowing reservation list, Sevin unwillingly submitted a queue request anyway.
But given his circumstances, he probably wouldn't get a turn for years.
Possibly even decades.
There was nothing he could do about it.
The military's psychic soothing services were always desperately overwhelmed by demand.
The competition was even worse than the Zerg marriage market.
Feeling depressed, Sevin exited the military's internal network and logged onto StarNet in search of entertainment.
He was a genuine military Female Zerg.
A pilot who had operated mechs.
A soldier who had seen real battlefields.
The competitive games he once enjoyed no longer interested him.
Even military war novels now seemed riddled with flaws.
Without realizing it, he clicked into the romance section.
...
After a novel was published or updated, it would appear in the Recently Updated list for one star-hour of exposure.
Female Zergs and Sub-Female Zergs looking for something fresh often browsed there, occasionally discovering interesting new books.
Male Zergs rarely bothered.
They had no interest in military warfare stories.
And when it came to romance written by Female Zergs, they found it difficult to relate to and often considered it strange.
Female Zergs, however, found it much easier to immerse themselves.
Most unmarried Female Zergs formed their image of Male Zergs through the internet.
In stories, a Female Zerg would catch the attention of a Male Zerg, become his attendant, enjoy a period of affection, and become the object of other Female Zergs' envy.
Even if the Male Zerg eventually lost interest and transferred his affections elsewhere, she would at least have conceived an egg and gained a cherished child.
Every now and then, if the Male Zerg remembered her, she might even be summoned to serve him again.
For many Female Zergs, that represented the ultimate fantasy of affection and a happy married life.
Sevin was a devoted reader of such male-female romance novels.
He had already finished most of the classics and was searching for something new.
His gaze swept across the row of recently updated novels.
Then it stopped.
[After Returning from an Expedition with a Damaged Psychic Domain and Accepting a Genetic Match for Marriage, the Male Zerg Who Arrived for the Meeting Was the Recruit I Once Trained Into the Ground]
“???”
What was this?
Expeditionary Forces and... a Male Zerg recruit?
By the time Sevin reacted, his finger had already clicked on it.
The military did recruit Male Zergs.
The policy had been left behind by the previous Male Zerg Administrator, supposedly to encourage Male Zergs to pursue the stars and explore the universe.
In reality, it served a much more practical purpose.
It attracted Female Zergs to enlist and boosted military morale.
Overall, it was mostly a public-relations project.
Its propaganda value far exceeded its actual usefulness.
The military was never going to send Male Zergs onto real battlefields.
The Ninth Legion, where Sevin served, had once recruited five Male Zergs.
The Ninth Legion was stationed in a remote frontier star system with harsh living conditions.
Of those five Male Zergs, four left within a year.
Some used family connections to transfer to richer and more comfortable planets.
Others took leave and went home to get married.
Only one remained.
The second son of the Capital Planet's governor.
A pampered young master raised in luxury.
Everyone assumed he would leave sooner or later.
Instead, he stayed for three full years.
Thinking of that Male Zerg, warmth spread through Sevin's chest.
Every unmarried military Female Zerg in the Ninth Legion admired that Lord.
Sevin was no exception.
If their colonel hadn't been so cold-hearted and ended up at odds with him, Sevin might have gathered the courage to pursue that Male Zerg himself.
Even if he failed to secure a position as an attendant, being looked at one extra time would have been enough.
As a member of the Expeditionary Forces whose legion had once housed a Male Zerg recruit, Sevin found himself strongly immersed in this story.
Although the latter half of the summary—
“Trained a Male Zerg recruit into the ground”—
left him completely baffled.
€€€€
Could there really be another idiot in the universe like their colonel?
Unable to understand it, Sevin nevertheless clicked into the novel with all the expectation and admiration he held for Male Zergs.
Then he saw the protagonist's name.
His terminal nearly flew out of his hand.
...
[Claire woke once again from a chaotic and disordered dream.
For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he was still on the battlefield or had already returned home.
The damage to his psychic domain was severe.
He frequently found himself convinced he was back in combat, surrounded by endless crimson and flashing waves of quantum weapon energy.
He wanted to tear everything apart.
More often than not, he later discovered that what he had destroyed was actually his blanket, his desk, or his wardrobe.
The terminal's alert finally dragged him back to reality.
“Psychic Evaluation Score: 21. Status Assessment: Extremely Dangerous! Would you like to schedule a psychic soothing session?”
Psychic soothing...
Heh.
Supporting his splitting head, Claire pulled the corner of his mouth into a self-mocking smile.
A critically dangerous score of twenty-one.
And he was military personnel.
No psychic soothing specialist wanted to accept work that troublesome or dangerous.
Most soothing specialists on the market were ordinary Male Zergs trying to earn extra income.
Their abilities were limited.
And they weren't willing to take risks.
Occasionally, a few high-ranking Lords would anonymously accept a case or two.
But they usually treated it as entertainment and certainly wouldn't go looking for trouble.
Military Female Zergs were both dangerous and troublesome.
“Perhaps you should find a Male Zerg and get married.”
The terminal AI offered its suggestion again.
Marriage...
Claire paused while washing up and raised his eyes toward the Female Zerg reflected in the mirror.
A textbook military Female Zerg.
Cold features.
Bloodshot eyes from a sleepless night.
The lingering brutality of the battlefield still clung to him, making him appear exhausted and intimidating.
Most military Female Zergs his age were already married.
Even those with high standards or picky personalities had usually started searching for suitable Male Zergs long ago and had experienced one or more relationships.
Why had he remained unmarried for so long?
Had he simply never felt the need, choosing instead to focus on fighting and advancing on the battlefield until it was too late?
Had he recognized the hopeless nature of marriage from the beginning and refused to step into that drowning grave?
Or had he merely never met the right person?
A vague figure surfaced in his mind...
A particularly brilliant and dazzling shade of hair.
Claire abruptly shook his head.
As water splashed loudly into the sink, he scooped up a handful and threw it across his face, washing away the half-formed image.
That was not something he should be thinking about.
Another notification appeared.
This time, it was a genetic matching notice.
Claire's heart sank.
The dead silence inside him gradually returned.
Perhaps...
He really should get married.]
...
[“That outfit is far too old-fashioned. You're really planning to meet a Male Zerg dressed like that?”
The terminal AI openly questioned his fashion sense.
Looking at his reflection, Claire couldn't see any problem.
A perfectly fitted black formal suit.
Clean and sharp with a subtle military style.
Not as eye-catching as an actual uniform, but still professional.
“Too ordinary! This style went out of fashion ages ago! How are you supposed to capture a Male Zerg's heart? Honestly, I can only give your outfit twenty points. Ten for your face, ten for your physique, and zero for the clothes themselves.”
Claire's eyes went blank.
For an AI terminal, it was exceptionally noisy.
Far too independent as well.
Definitely not the kind of personality military Female Zergs preferred.
Why had he programmed it this way in the first place?
Because...
It resembled a certain Male Zerg from his memories.
Claire immediately yanked his thoughts back on course.
His deteriorating mental condition must be the cause.
Lately, he found himself distracted far too easily.
That was not a good sign.
The day he could no longer control even his own thoughts would likely be the day he stepped into death.
After enduring the AI terminal's complaints, Claire reluctantly added a pair of collar pins and cufflinks as decoration.
The meeting location chosen by the Male Zerg was Bloomflower Hotel.
A world of flowers.
Romantic flower gardens combined with fresh greenery.
Exactly the sort of atmosphere Male Zergs liked.
It was also expensive, luxurious, and prestigious.
Which Male Zergs liked even more.
For Female Zergs, it was also an opportunity to display financial capability.
Many Female Zergs voluntarily chose this location for dates.
Even if it didn't improve their standing in a Male Zerg's eyes, it was at least a safe choice.
This wasn't exactly a date.
If he had to define it, it was a matchmaking meeting.
The outcome remained uncertain.
The Male Zerg might not choose him.
Claire could list plenty of his own shortcomings.
Too old...
Though considering the average Zerg lifespan of five hundred years, he wasn't old at all. In fact, he was still very young. Unless the Male Zerg happened to be much younger.
Only a colonel...
An impressive rank by ordinary standards. Among average citizens, he was unquestionably outstanding.
But if he wanted to climb any higher, it would be difficult. At minimum, he would need to reach Major General just to enter the next tier.
Bad personality...
Military Female Zergs were widely acknowledged to be cold and boring.
Colonel Claire's temper was especially fierce within the military.
Outside, however, he remained equally dull.
In short, not the kind of personality Male Zergs tended to like.
Not exceptional.
Not terrible.
More than qualified to become the principal spouse of an ordinary Male Zerg.
As long as he didn't dream of anything more.
Choose carefully.
Find a Male Zerg who wasn't too terrible.
Then live a calm, cold, stagnant married life like still water.
His mental condition might even improve somewhat.
Assuming the Male Zerg was reasonably responsible.
Those were Claire's thoughts before entering the hotel.
But the moment he saw the Male Zerg sitting beside the window, bathed in warm sunlight, his entire body froze.
Every thought vanished.
The Male Zerg was astonishingly beautiful.
Brilliant crimson hair.
Eyes like precious emeralds.
The intense contrast of those colors should have clashed.
Instead, on him, they blended perfectly together, making his striking beauty even more overwhelming.
Sitting there, he rendered every flower in the room colorless.
The countless blossoms became mere background scenery.
Unlike ordinary Male Zergs, there was no trace of softness or laziness about him.
Even while casually stirring a drink, his back remained straight, his posture elegant.
It looked as though discipline had been engraved into his very bones.
In stark contrast, Claire stood stiff-limbed and disheveled.
His brain nearly stopped functioning.
His first instinct was to flee.
Leave immediately.
Don't let him see you.
But it was already too late.
The Male Zerg had looked over.
Those emerald eyes locked onto him.
The Male Zerg's lips parted.
He called out.
Claire's mind buzzed so loudly that he couldn't hear a single word.
But he recognized the shape of those lips.
“Instructor.”
...]