Chapter 12: Sorry for being the weakling you mentioned

Chapter 12: Sorry for Being the "Weakling" You Described

An Ya had rushed right up to the little white fluffball, ready to accuse it of being suspicious and abnormal. As the closest one to the scene, he bore the brunt of the impact.

First of all, his impatience already primed him to suspect something fishy when he heard that Amos had brought back a young creature. When he learned that Amos had returned early and arrived at the medical center, his unease grew as he hurried over from nearby, his thoughts racing wildly. On top of that, the lingering spirits of the deceased Crown Clan members had struck him hard along the way, making everything seem even more bizarre.

He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the little creature before trying to shake some sense into his fellow clansmen.

If this was a trick, then it was terrifying! Even the ghostly presence of their fallen kin were fiercely protective of this sudden appearance of a tiny being!

And this was only his *first day off the starship*!!!

It wasn’t until he saw the small white fluffball—saw it panic and yank the halo off its own head and throw it at him—

Xiao Chuzao didn’t have much strength, but the sheer act of removing a halo to hit someone was shocking enough on its own.

Especially when the halo smacked his hand, sending a dull throbbing through An Ya’s skull.

Not only did his hand hurt—he felt like his brain was hurting too.

Was he hallucinating?

Everything happened so fast. In just a few seconds, while An Ya was still reeling, Amos—who had been grabbing his collar—yanked him backward with a sharp pull.

An Ya tumbled back, crashing heavily onto the floor. A foot lightly pressed down on his shoulder to keep him from moving.

Still dazed, eyes unfocused, he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then, Amos’ face appeared in his line of sight.

The Dark Tyrant, who usually maintained an air of lethargic elegance outside the battlefield, now looked down at him with drooping eyes. Slowly, he tugged at the half-glove on his left hand before casting a lazy, indifferent glance his way.

Yet, a chilling presence seemed to radiate from him, the space around him practically screaming—*DANGER!*

Amos asked, “Calm now?”

An Ya snapped back to reality and quickly nodded. He caught sight of the other Crown Clan members behind Amos—equally stunned. Even Frey wore a twisted expression, staring at the little one holding its halo, their faces contorted as if hearing nails on a chalkboard and powerless to stop it.

The little one remained oblivious to their shock.

After successfully ‘repelling’ An Ya, the white puffball’s tail shot up high, its little hands still clutching the halo—

“Meow!” it declared.

Xiao Chuzao tossed the halo playfully, checking that the golden ring had no marks on it, then placed it back on his head in full view of all the Crown Clan members. Then, the little body scrambled onto the medical pod.

From An Ya’s perspective, he first saw the fluffy ears peek out, followed by a round little head. Those big amber eyes glared warily at him, and the tiny halo above popped out with a *biu*, sparkling brightly.

*So small… Is this really a Crown Clan cub?*

The rest of the Crown Clan members, still staring at that little halo: ……

Wait—*this* is allowed??

Could… could they do that too?

Just take off their 'brains' and hit people with them?

*Hiss—* they collectively winced.

An Ya was jolted by the little head shaking at him. He got up, seeming a bit calmer, but couldn't help speaking up.

"Doesn’t this seem even weirder to you?"

"Meow!"

You're the weirdo!

"Did the kinship results come in yet?"

"Meow!"

You’re a mean weirdo!

An Ya suddenly turned his head, shooting a glare at the little cub perched on the edge of the medical pod, meowing in retort to everything he said. The tiny white fluffball made his face flush red, and his voice trailed off. Frustrated, he ruffled his already messy hair.

"I’m not gonna stoop to arguing with a cub."

"Meow!"

That’s ’cause you know you’re wrong!

Xiao Chuzao’s tiny wings stood up behind him, fluttering twice as he aimed for Amos’s arms. His little bottom wiggled back and forth, coiling for a leap.

"Meow."

Daddy, up!

This little guy even called Amos "Daddy"???

An Ya’s eyes widened, feeling like the only sane person in the room. What era were they in? The Crown Clan hadn’t had a cub in ages, and those records about their fierce protectiveness over offspring were just dusty old legends now.

Why couldn’t they see sense like he did?

Meanwhile, the machine’s beeping behind them finished its scan.

A green indicator light suddenly lit up, showing that the device had cross-referenced all Crown Clan spiritual lineage records and found a match for the little cub.

The cub had already bounced into Amos’s arms. After the incident with An Ya, the little one felt the outside world wasn’t safe, so he shoved himself deeper into Amos’s arms, adjusting into a comfortable position.

"Alright, it's done. Let’s see—"

An Ya got up and looked at the screen.

The screen flashed bluntly:

Family: Dwight

Direct Relative: Amos Dwight

Relationship: Father and Son

Warning: Cub’s physical condition is below standard, developmental progress is poor, due to negligent care. Please carefully select a new responsible guardian.

Due to the Crown Clan’s deeply ingrained protective instincts toward offspring, this warning was blaring in bold, oversized text—as if the ghosts of past Crown Clan could see the cub’s poor condition and were raging with fury.

The room went dead silent.

Amos froze for a heartbeat, but quickly recovered. In truth, he’d had a hunch. After all, Crown Clan true forms didn’t look exactly alike, but from the moment Amos picked up the little one, he noticed—the cub was a perfect tiny copy of himself, even his little crown halo matched.

But his psychic energy was the strongest, and when it went out of control, he couldn’t contain it. Every time, he would go to the habitat by himself, and he no longer often reverted to his original fluffy white form. Very few people could immediately connect the cub’s appearance with his true form.

Nestled in his arms, Xiao Chuzao had just adjusted his position and peeked out his fuzzy little head.

"Meow?"

*Daddy, what's wrong again?*

Lemme see.

An Ya was stunned. He opened and closed his mouth, carefully reading the words on the screen.

Then he heard Amos’ voice behind him say dryly, “As the so-called ‘weakling’ you mentioned, I must say… my apologies.”

An Ya: "..."

An Ya: "........."

*Wait, bro, let me explain—*

Silence gave way to disbelief.

"But... how is this possible?"

*"None of us could possibly have a cub."*

When the habitat was destroyed, they were all still too young to have offspring. There was no way only Amos could have one—

And a five-year-old, no less!

"Perhaps..."

The researcher at the medical center sent the data—including the child’s physical records—to the Emperor and the princes’ communicators. He looked up cautiously before adding, "Since His Majesty has been releasing psychic energy in the habitat for a long time, and Crown Clan cubs are born from psychic energy… maybe something unusual happened?"

They looked at each other.

"Maybe?"

"Is that even possible?"

"But come on, that’s a stretch."

"I think so too. So next time, can I be the one to release psychic energy in the habitat?"

"...In your dreams."

"This is obviously still a problem, okay? So let me go first!"

Frey, who had finally snapped out of the daze the little cub had put him in, watched as he polished off the last sour berry and pulled An Ya up.

Honestly, he was still reeling—Amos hadn’t just found a cub, but a Dwight family cub, his actual kid.

So *that* “daddy” was spot-on.

"Any other questions?"

Amos said.

Many problems still remain.

But all members of the Crown Clan turned their gaze toward Amos.

All Crown Clan members trusted their Alpha Emperor—their ruler—who could resolve any problem.

Another urgent report came from outside—"Your Majesty! Your Highnesses! Prince Mei Lun’s psychic energy is raging out of control again!!"

Mei Lun, a member of the previous generation of the Crown Clan.

Most of that generation had already had their Psychic Crowns shatter, leading to their complete destruction. Only a few remained, locked away in different parts of the royal palace because of their unstable psychic energy.

The one they’d said was on the verge of his Psychic Crown shattering and facing destruction in the coming days was none other than Mei Lun.

Right now, only Amos could rein in a fully berserk Crown Clan member.

Him losing control again now was the last thing they needed.

Amos lifted his eyes. At the news, he stood there lazily, silent, as waves of energy slowly surged around him. Behind him—pure white wings snapped open, while dark, space-warping energy crackled ominously. He stepped onto the windowsill—

Several Crown Clan members followed, leaping from the window, using the momentum to take flight before landing. With the boost of psychic energy, they moved at incredible speed, effortlessly navigating through the snowstorm.

Xiao Chuzao barely had time to react, whimpering as he buried himself in Amos’s arms, shielded by him—

The little cub didn’t even get a look at what was going on, only hearing the sound of rushing wind before everything stopped.

A deafening roar, thick with menace, echoed from behind a sealed door, as if a frenzied beast were trapped inside.

The Imperial Guards straining to keep the door closed looked over in panic: "Your Majesty!"

No time to waste—the room was too dangerous. Amos had no choice but to hand the little cub in his arms to Frey, who was following close behind.

Looking at the bewildered, slightly scared little fluffball, he gently patted Xiao Chuzao’s head. "Stay here."

"Mew."

Okay, Papa.

Amos stepped through the door.

The noise escalated into chaos.

Xiao Chuzao wriggled anxiously, trying to sneak a peek inside, but still in the arms of someone relatively unfamiliar, he didn’t dare move too obviously.

Frey froze, suddenly holding the little one. Just like Amos when he first held Xiao Chuzao, he could feel the cub tensing up too.

Thinking for a second, he figured he should calm the kid down.

He pulled up the records and showed them to the cub.

"Don’t worry. We’re family—see?"

You’re one of us. Nothing to be afraid of.

"Mew?"

Zao Zao see?

The little white fluffball blinked up at him, confused.

The little white puff studied intently for a while before tucking back its tiny head.

"Meow!"

Didn't get it at all!

The little white puff blinked its big, confused eyes.

After careful observation, it reached a conclusion—it was a hopeless little illiterate.

Frey: [sigh]...

The noise inside gradually died down. Outside, the group didn’t seem particularly worried; instead, they looked resigned and numb.

They had experienced this too many times—generation after generation of the Crown Clan dying out, leaving only them behind. As mentioned before, the Crown Clan had now become the strongest, coldest, most hardened race in the galaxy, seemingly resigned to their fate of inevitable destruction.

And now, the strongest, coldest, most hardened among them were caught up in something ridiculous—

Frey, being too aloof and quiet, was completely clueless how to interact with the little one. He turned around, hoping to find some inspiration from those behind him.

Instead, he saw them manifesting their crowns above their heads one by one after confirming Uncle Mei Lun was fine.

Dead serious, they reached out, copying the little puff in trying to remove their own crowns.

Frey: [facepalm]...

Frey: [long silence]...

What the hell are you doing?!

Get a grip!!

Quit trying to rip your crowns off!!

"Author's Note"

Frey: You're numb, not stupid!! Pull yourselves together!!