Ever since hearing that the military was heading to the Aris system, Ace had been unable to sleep. Images of Gu Qing—so impossibly strong and always charging ahead—flashed through his mind relentlessly.
By the next morning, Ace could barely contain the restless energy in his chest. He stormed into Milton’s office.
He slammed the door open, his presence fierce, and shouted, “I’m going to the battlefield! Let me fight, Milton!”
There was no hesitation in his voice—only the raw pulse of emotions he had been suppressing for too long. He slammed his hands onto the desk, leaning forward slightly, his red eyes fixed on Milton. Each word fell like a hammer:
“I know male larvae have never been to the front lines, except for Gu Qing. But I’m different. I’ve trained. I’m ready.”
Milton frowned, about to speak, but Ace stepped closer, his tone urgent and stubborn:
“I’m not here to cause trouble! All this training… it’s for this day! I want to be the larva who can stand beside Gu Qing!”
His words carried years of suppressed desire, and a spark of battle instinct—the rare, innate drive only a few male larvae ever possessed.
The room went silent.
Milton finally spoke: “Are you sure? This isn’t a drill. You could die.”
“I know,” Ace said, biting his lip, his gaze burning like fire, his expression unwavering. “But I’m not the kind of male larva who hides in the back.”
Milton pondered for a long moment, weighing the decision. Finally, he nodded lightly: “You’ll have to follow orders.”
“I will!” Ace’s eyes lit up, a flame finally released, the long-suppressed joy nearly consuming him.
Back in his room, he connected to his holocomm, calling Loeis.
As soon as the connection activated, Ace practically bounced with excitement:
“I did it! I—I can go to the front! I’m really going to the battlefield! I’m going to help that idiot Gu Qing—he’s probably charging ahead alone, maybe already bitten by monsters! Hmph, I’ll make sure to laugh at him when the time comes!”
Halfway through, he suddenly froze, clenching his fists, lowering his voice:
“…He should still be alive, right? That guy… he’s insane, but he can’t die, can he?”
Loeis spoke up from the other end, voice calm but heavy: “Congratulations, Ace.”
Ace froze, sensing the weight behind the smile. “You’re acting strange. What’s wrong?”
Loeis paused, his gaze dipping slightly before speaking slowly:
“I feel… powerless. There’s nothing I can do. I can only wait.”
His tone was soft, as if afraid to disturb anything.
“I used to help Gu Qing with intelligence, logistics… But now, I don’t know anything. The battlefront is sealed off. I can’t track your movements. Gu Qing and you are on the front lines… and I can only wait here.”
Ace was momentarily speechless. He had never seen Loeis like this—not sad, not angry, but… lost.
Those amber eyes, usually calm and gentle, seemed to have dimmed.
“You’re always so capable,” Ace said weakly, his voice smaller than he expected. “You know more than I do. Even though we’re about the same age, you’ve been helping him all along. Gu Qing trusts you so much…”
Loeis blinked in surprise.
“I’m not joking,” Ace murmured, ears red. “The young females at Qingyuan said you saved them from those despicable nobles. You got hurt so many times… but you never backed down. And it was you who led everyone to Gu Qing, right?”
Ace looked down, awkwardly: “If it were me… I couldn’t have done it. You’re amazing.”
Loeis opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.
“…Anyway, don’t be too sad.” Ace turned his head, ears burning. “Stop thinking about all that. If you were useless, then what does that make me?”
After a moment’s silence, Loeis let out a soft laugh and said quietly, “Thank you.”
“Don’t say ‘thank you’! Don’t be so formal!” Ace erupted. “Aren’t we friends? Stop acting so stiff!”
Loeis’s lips curved into a gentle, genuine smile at last. He nodded softly: “Yes. You’re my first… and most important friend.”
Ace froze, a pang rising in his chest. He responded stubbornly: “Hmph. You’re not my first, either. But I… I’ll treat you well.”
He knew—throughout his life, he had few real friends. Noble females only fawned over him, noble males despised his low birth. The Meier family had declined too early for anyone to care. Loeis was the only one who listened, the only one he could speak honestly to.
Loeis looked at the red-eyed boy. That stubborn, impulsive determination, yet shining with light, made him whisper:
“I hope you succeed. You’ll come back, won’t you?”
Ace’s smile burned bright, chest heaving, fiery and unrestrained. “Of course! I’m Ace Meier!”
After the call, Ace stared at the darkened holocomm, humming softly, as if making a vow or putting on a brave face:
“I’ll come back. I’ll stand in front of you—just like Gu Qing, maybe even cooler.”
On the other end, Loeis stared at the blank screen long after it went dark.
He recalled all the times he had organized the young females, built intelligence networks, secretly countered noble pressure and surveillance.
But when Ace said, without hesitation, “I’m going to help Gu Qing on the battlefield,” Loeis realized—he could only wait.
He remembered Gu Qing once saying, “Loeis is my most trusted partner in the Starmane Hall.”
Yet now, Gu Qing moved too fast; Loeis could barely keep pace.
It wasn’t that Gu Qing was unreachable—it was a choice Loeis had to make: watch from afar, or strive to walk beside him.
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and stood. He gathered all the young females.
The council hall deep within Starmane Hall was simple and spacious, walls adorned only with plain slogans and charts. The females sat neatly, but the tension in the air made it hard to breathe. Each face was etched with anxiety and unease—they knew the frontlines were perilous, yet had no idea of Gu Qing or the army’s real movements.
Loeis stood at the podium, voice steady:
“Lord Gu Qing is our lifelong leader. But now, he’s on the battlefield. And we… cannot help.”
A single statement, and the room fell silent.
Some young females lowered their heads, whispering, “We want to help… but we can’t even get information…”
“The noble hierarchy forbids mentioning the war. The male nobles believe it’s solely the responsibility of military females.”
“Lord Gu Qing saved us, yet… we don’t even know where he is.”
The oppression was suffocating, the helplessness spreading like a tide, threatening to drown the hall.
Loeis looked at them, each word deliberate:
“But we cannot simply wait. Gu Qing has taken steps across the galaxy—and we cannot fall behind.”
His words were like a stone cast into still water, sending ripples through frozen hearts.
“We cannot merely rely on his protection. We must become strong enough to be his true right hand.”
His voice was soft, but unwavering:
“From today, our intelligence network will no longer only gather from young females, nor remain confined here. We will expand to other planets, establish branches, gather intelligence. We will stretch across the entire Star Alliance—information will no longer be monopolized by nobles, and the truth will reach those who truly need it.”
The young females’ eyes widened, disbelief and awe mingling.
“Will there be new allies? Will insects from other planets join?”
“We can go to other planets? I’ve never left our homeworld!”
“This is amazing—we finally get to act!”
Excitement, hope, and a touch of fear stirred within them.
Loeis smiled warmly, speaking gently: “As long as we try, one day, we won’t just be looking at his back. We will be his true support.”
He thought of that sun-like, noisy, boisterous boy.
Remembered him saying, “You’re amazing anyway, so stop worrying about all that.”
—While you strive, I will strive too, until one day, we can walk side by side.