Chapter 36: Who keeps yelling in someone’s head in the middle of the night???

Chapter 36 Who the Heck Keeps Yelling in Someone’s Head in the Middle of the Night?!

Holy crap! Someone can actually touch his halo!!

Help! They’re even trying to yank it off!!

The moment Joshua opened his eyes, he was met with this brutal assault, making him wonder—had he kicked the bucket already?

Then his scalp prickled with goosebumps, as if even his halo was sweating bullets.

Stop pulling—Ack—! It feels like my head’s about to explode!

Before this, members of the Crown Clan, including Amos, had seen Xiao Chuzao remove his own halo and tried to do the same out of skepticism.

In the end, they only managed to make themselves dizzy.

But at least they had some restraint—when the little tyke touched their halos, it was usually to fix them back together.

Now, however, the toddler had grabbed onto a new halo. Having nearly fallen, he instinctively used his own weight to pull down, thus allowing Joshua to achieve the Crown Clan’s first-ever feat of having his halo manhandled.

Amos looked at Joshua’s halo, then at the tiny hand gripping it, before readjusting his hold on the kid.

The Pine Star Lizard’s ooze was clearly fascinating to the feverish hatchling. Still groggy and not entirely conscious, the tot relied on instinct to curiously explore.

Tots at this age had insatiable curiosity, often oblivious to danger.

Amos and Joshua locked eyes as the latter finally opened his.

Joshua: ……

“No way, I must still be dreaming,” he groaned, being carried by the soldiers of the Saint Cas Empire, his whole body in a daze. “Not only did I dream of someone who can remove a Crown Clan’s halo, but I even saw the stiff, boring Emperor Amos…”

Stiff… boring…

Amos: ……

His eye twitched as he eased up his grip on the hatchling slightly.

Outside the den, Job gaped the moment he saw Joshua’s halo being grabbed.

Seizing this split-second opening, An Ya launched a flank attack.

Job instinctively blocked.

An Ya’s kick landed squarely on Job’s arm with a dull *thwack*, and using that as a pivot, she spun halfway before striking again—this time with an even louder impact that sent a cloud of dust flying. Neither Crown Clan member used their psionic energy, relying solely on raw brute strength to deliver terrifying blows. An Ya found an opening and drove Job to one knee.

Snapping back to his senses, Job clenched his jaw at Amos’ figure in the distance and gave up resisting.

Meanwhile, Amos loosened his hold on the kid just a bit more. Unable to resist, Xiao Chuzao took another big sniff of the ooze, his tiny hand once more gripping Joshua’s halo as he leaned in closer.

Joshua: ……

Joshua: …………

*"E-Emperor Amos?!"*

He finally realized that what was happening wasn’t just his imagination.

And *someone was actually gripping his halo.*

Amos didn't smile as he took his little one back: "Take him."

The soldiers carrying Joshua moved swiftly.

Joshua had inhaled a large amount of venom and was lost in hazy euphoria, his body limp. He could've resisted, but seeing Amos made it clear that fighting back was pointless.

Joshua was taken away.

Job, held back by An Ya, gradually went slack as he watched Amos stand before him.

Job didn't raise his head—

"Did you come here to find high-grade Pine Star Lizard venom for Joshua?"

Amos spoke.

"Can you handle the consequences if Joshua dies?"

Job's hands clenched tighter.

"But what else could I do—"

Job's voice was cold, words forced through gritted teeth.

"Joshua kept begging me. I'm... I'm his twin brother. I had to..."

After Joshua's repeated pleas, letting him see everything destroyed would be crueler... better this than that...

Even if it betrayed this generation of the Crown Clan, they'd already betrayed the Saint Cas Empire. The Crown Clan was destined to fall anyway, maybe clinging on for a few more decades at most.

So what—

Job thought—he'd play the villain.

"Brother."

An Ya glanced up at Amos.

Amos could tell Job's problem was much worse than Joshua's.

Those two were always like this.

An Ya was the youngest of this generation's Crown Clan, but Joshua was the one who was always babied. Joshua hadn't even learned combat skills—he loved the arts, his head always in the clouds, and his brother Job let him get away with anything.

Amos reached out and patted Job's shoulder.

"Let's go. The Crown Clan doesn't mope around like this, much less—we've found a real shot at beating fate."

A real shot at beating fate?

Job looked up in confusion.

His face was calm, but tears rolled down silently.

Joshua was still alive now—he didn't know if these were tears of regret or relief.

Then Job saw the little one cradled in Amos's arms.

Catnip works wonders on cats, after all.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The Pine Star Lizard's secretion could get even a Little Crown who'd never been exposed to this stuff high and woozy.

He was already out of it, now seeming even spacier as he curled up in Amos's arms like a plush toy.

Only the shimmering golden halo swaying atop his head showed Little Chuzao's mental energy was still quite active.

Job: "...What is this?"

He'd just grabbed at Joshua's halo moments ago.

"A Little Crown?"

Job studied the golden halo again, unable to believe it.

"How is this possible? Whose child is this? Why's there a Little Crown? Is this some kinda lab experiment? Maybe his father's Uncle Kaman or—"

The tiny cub nestled in the adult's arms, small hands clinging to Amos's neck.

He let out two soft giggles.

He sounded kinda dopey.

"Papa... over there on the mountain, there's Grandpa Mei Lun and Grandpa Kaman doing the bunny hop—"

What? Papa...? As in Dad? Amos?

Job: ???

Amos held the little one: "He hasn't had any training for this. The secretion messed him up a little, but he'll snap out of it."

Job: "...Oh."

...Wait, is that really the main point here?!

*

Since childhood, Amos had been terrifyingly strong, like an elder—where the hell did he get such a cub?!

Job and Joshua were loaded onto the 9th Army's starship.

Against the surrounding alien beasts, the 9th Army laid down heavy fire before making quick return.

Job and Joshua were pretty banged up, but way better off than the Crowns struggling in Saint Cas's royal court.

Only, the two were totally checked out, worse even than the last generation of Crowns who'd faced the end.

Apart from showing any reaction to Crown matters, they were stone-cold indifferent to everything else.

After several jump drives—

About one day remained before reaching Saint Cas's imperial capital.

No more jumps were needed, and the little cub sprang from the isolation pod.

His temperature had nearly stabilized.

His amped-up psychic energy seemed to be calming down.

He perched on Amos's lap, a mini fruit basket tucked in his arms. Taking a bite himself, he then fed Amos a bite.

Here is the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

The fruit varied between sweet and sour. When the little one bit into a sweet one, he would squint his eyes in delight, but the moment he encountered a sour one, his little wings would shiver from the sourness.

Too sour...

Little Chuzao stared at the half-eaten fruit in his hand, blinking his big eyes and swallowing repeatedly—

He didn’t really want to eat it anymore, but Zao Zao hated wasting food.

The little guy was deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Amos was listening to his subordinate’s report.

"We’ll soon reach the Saint Cas Imperial Star. We’ve received word that Her Royal Highness Fei Man is also about to arrive. She happened to encounter several elders of the Grail Clan and is returning with them."

There were very few mythic races in the entire galaxy—so few you could count them on your fingers and still miss some.

And half of these mythic Longlived races weren’t particularly skilled in combat. Most kept to themselves in star sectors off-limits to outsiders. Few mythic Longlived races, like the Crown Clan, ever chose to protect and found the Saint Cas Empire.

After the interstellar pollution and mutated beast crisis, along with the Hymn Organization’s behind-the-scenes scheming, several mythic Longlived races had gone extinct. The Grail Clan was one of them. They had always lived in seclusion, never interacting with humans. They were a learned and wise race, their psychic energy could take the form of a holy grail, granting them multiple abilities.

Moreover, they reacted swiftly in the face of danger.

Amos nodded in acknowledgment.

The soldier in front of him continued reporting.

Then, a fruit was pressed to Amos’s lips.

Amos instinctively took a bite, only to realize it was a half-eaten fruit.

The sourness made Amos grimace.

But he still chewed a couple of times and swallowed.

Then, Xiao Chuzao seemed to have discovered a brilliant idea.

Amos, who had been getting whole fruits just moments ago, suddenly found himself eating several half-bitten sour ones in a row.

Even Amos, who wasn’t fussy about taste, was reaching his limit.

He held the little one’s hand.

"Alright, that’s enough, kiddo."

The little one still looked a bit dazed. The fever patch had been removed, but his temperature was still a bit high.

For a little kid, this wasn’t pleasant.

The little one licked his lips, then noticed the people nearby. A little shy, he burrowed deeper into Amos’s arms.

"Alright, we’ll handle things up to this point. The rest can wait until we return to the royal court."

Amos put the little one down and took his hand, leading him toward the medical bay.

Of course, the little one’s ghost bear was right beside them. Though he didn’t need to carry it constantly anymore, he still kept an eye on it. Now, as they walked, the little one hugged his bear and toddled after Amos.

Job and Joshua were being monitored nearby. An Ya was leaning against the wall near the door. When she saw Amos coming, she stood up straight.

"Bro."

The room was silent.

Job wasn't much of a talker.

Joshua seemed to have come down from the trip caused by the Pine Star Lizard's secretions and stayed quiet too.

Amos came in with the kid.

Job glanced up in their direction.

Joshua just lay there motionless.

Amos walked over and looked down at him.

Rigid? Dull?

When the two Crown Clan members locked eyes, those unflattering words came to mind again.

Joshua: ...

"Leave me alone. I don't care about this world, Your Majesty may as well think I'm dead."

He had that zombie-like exhaustion, looking away.

Then came a tiny, babyish voice.

The child, still running a fever but starting to make some sense—not much—blinked up at Amos.

"Daddy... die... bury?"

Little Chuzao knew going back to the dirt was how you rest forever.

Amos looked down.

Joshua automatically looked over.

The little one held up his hand.

"Mori grampa give Zao Zao shovel!"

Meaning the snow play tools.

Amos: "That's right! Such a smart boy!"

The kid's eyes lit up instantly.

Joshua thought: Whoa, hold up there!

You're gonna bury me NOW?!

Joshua had to look at the child.

He and Job had talked about this, plus he'd personally experienced those tiny hands pulling at his halo.

This was a Little Crown Clan—Amos's kid.

Now that was a weird thought.

The Crown Clan of their generation had never seen a youngling before. Faced with such a soft little thing, even Job and Joshua couldn't hide their curiosity.

Yet in the end, he averted his gaze—just a child.

Joshua stared at the ceiling.

What was the point?

He couldn't understand—let alone relate to the older generation's obsession with younglings.

Even now—he found it utterly bizarre how Amos carried the little one around, his demeanor laced with affection and concern.

This child had made His Majesty Amos act... strange.

Joshua's expressionless stare met Amos' gaze once more, and in the end, he simply threw in the towel.

"Your Majesty, why don't you just lock my brother and me away? It'd be even better if you pumped me full of sedatives. We've already been wrung out by fate—nothing matters anymore. All I want now is a long rest—"

Too tired, too exhausted—this fate, this sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, never knowing when it would fall.

"What to do with you two... I will consider it."

Amos' voice was steady, announcing this fact in the same tone he'd used when they fled the Saint Cas Empire and he called off the pursuit.

"But now, you two don't get a say anymore."

Joshua quirked his lip. "...How very tyrannical and arrogant... Your Majesty."

The air grew thick.

But the next second—

"Wrung out...?"

A soft, childish voice instantly drew the Crown Clan's attention.

The little one hung onto the edge of the bed with one hand.

He was too short, still clutching his spirit bear, and couldn't quite see Joshua on the bed.

So he stood on tiptoe, leaning as far as he could, revealing soft, fluffy black hair and half his face. His big, bright eyes met Joshua's gaze.

"Grandpa Mori gets wrinkles out super fast—"

He was only five, still half-asleep.

Mumbling the important part: "Have Grandpa Mori iron you out, and it'll be fine!"

Iron you out, and it'll be fine—

Joshua stared at that little face, momentarily stunned.

That face looked even more like Amos as a child.

But Amos would never smile all soft and silly like that.

A smile that made one feel... something funny, as if the hardened emotions within were being gently tapped by a tiny hammer.

Joshua didn't quite understand this feeling—of being completely melted by how cute he was.

It wasn’t until Amos carried the little one away that...

He lay on the bed, blankly staring at the ceiling for what felt like ages before suddenly speaking to Job, who leaned silently against the other side. "Brother."

Job looked up instinctively.

He saw Joshua—who hadn’t smiled in ages—twitch the corner of his lips with an absurd yet amused expression. "Is he going to iron me with an iron? He’s so small... How could he think fate’s 'wrinkles' could be ironed out..."

Joshua paused for a long moment.

Job only heard him speak again moments later, his voice barely above a whisper. "But it’s still... kind of interesting, brother. Truth is, every time I fall asleep, I regret not dying. I’m happy when you wake me up, but I never told you... because after waking up, I just want to die again..."

Joshua’s eyes were hollow at that moment. "The world when I’m awake is too painful. Everyone’s gone—Mom, Dad... Uncle... Grandma... The Saint Cas Empire isn’t enough to keep me alive... But this time is strange. Just now, I didn’t regret it as much."

Two of Job and Joshua’s relatives had ended their own lives in a single day. At that time, Job was still in the military, and Joshua had witnessed it all firsthand. Since then, Joshua, who had never been one to involve himself much in the affairs of the Saint Cas Empire, became withdrawn and silent, as if he had forgotten how to smile.

Job pulled him close, wrapping his arms around his younger brother in comfort, like sheltering a flickering flame about to go out.

*

The next day.

The starship reached Saint Cas’s capital planet.

Job and Joshua were handed over to the medical center for several days of examinations.

After Amos held the little one while he slept,

he opened his eyes again. His fever had broken. Because of the time difference, it was still night outside, but Xiao Chuzao was already awake.

The little one clung to the ghost bear, arms and legs wrapped tightly around it.

His back pressed against Amos’s chest.

Amos pinned the blanket with one hand to keep the little one from wriggling free.

The little one was fully awake now.

He stared at the ghost bear, lost in thought.

Amos stirred awake behind him.

Amos lifted the little one, first pressing his forehead to the child’s to check for fever.

Once sure the fever was gone, he checked the little one’s halo.

"Zao Zao? Does anything else hurt?"

Xiao Chuzao paused before shaking his head slightly.

"Daddy..."

His big, round eyes still looked a little dazed.

Clutching the ghost bear, he murmured in response to Amos’s questioning tone. "Zao Zao... was Zao Zao being too willful before?"

Over this bear, Xiao Chuzao had dug in his heels against his caretakers more than once.

But even though he was no longer feverish, the little one was still just a five-year-old child. He kept clutching the ghost bear—still smelling like Amos—tightly.

"Why do you say that?"

Amos raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He got up and switched on the bedside lamp.

The warm orange glow softened the stern ruler's sharp features, giving him a hint of warmth.

Amos knelt beside the bed, gazing at the small figure sitting there.

"Because... because... baba promised to get Zao Zao a new one, but Zao Zao ignored baba..."

Little Chuzao blinked his big, round eyes.

When his thoughts were muddled, his way of defying his parents was to pretend not to hear.

"If you don't listen... you won't be loved..."

But being willful... Little Chuzao recalled the interactions he'd observed among the Angel children.

The young angels were just like ordinary kids—curious, full of energy, and always getting into trouble at this age, driving their parents crazy.

More than once, Little Chuzao had overheard scolded angels being dragged home: "Keep this up, and we won't love you anymore, hear me?"

The Angels had never welcomed Little Chuzao. This was his first chance to truly be a child, so he didn't understand normal parent-child dynamics. He'd never seen what happened after Angel parents uttered those words.

Deep down, he'd learned one thing: Be good.

That was the only way to earn their affection.

At first, Little Chuzao hadn't cared much about this.

But as he grew fonder of Amos,

he began to worry.

If not for this moment, he might have quietly turned himself into the perfect, obedient child.

Now Amos understood.

He studied that delicate face, still chubby with baby cheeks.

He heard the little voice quiver, "Baba... Zao Zao's been good..."

But that's not how it should be.

Amos reached out and pulled the child close.

"Zao Zao doesn't need to be perfectly obedient..."

Little Chuzao nestled into Amos's arms

as Amos continued,

"This is Baba's first time raising a child. Baba's messed up a lot, missed a lot too."

Words like these usually stuck in his throat—he couldn't say them.

But seeing this child, fresh from being sick, whose first concern was whether he'd been a bad boy while ill—

How do you put this ache into words? Amos found the words came easier than he'd thought, flowing naturally, because he'd realized—this was his truth now.

"All Zao Zao needs to do is not force himself."

Little Chuzao nestled into Amos’s arms—so spacious that he and the ghost bear fit snugly with room to spare.

Little Chuzao’s eyes slowly widened.

"And remember this at all times, baby—"

Amos exhaled almost like a sigh.

"Baba loves you."

"Zao Zao... Zao Zao loves Baba too... Zao Zao loves, loves Baba the most."

The little one reached out and slowly hugged Amos—he liked being called ‘baby.’

Meanwhile, at the royal starship base of the Saint Cas Empire, a massive starship was slowly descending.

The starship's hatch opened.

A tall woman stood at the front, staring at the snow-blanketed Saint Cas before finally saying, "Let's go."

"Yes! Her Royal Highness Fei Man!"

Dwight’s estate.

The little one had woken up and couldn’t fall back asleep.

Amos gave up on sleep too.

Cradling the little one, he fetched the study books Mori had picked out for him.

The little one was still a blank slate, and they were still searching for a suitable teacher—not just for academics but also for combat training. Amos was strong, but teaching—especially a five-year-old—wasn’t his forte.

Now, as he held the child, he watched the tiny halo bobbing in front of him, guiding the little one through pinyin and tones.

The little one hadn’t noticed—the shadowy ‘thread’ had crept back around his crown halo.

He remained earnest in his practice.

"Ah—ah? Aah~ ah!"

"Er—er?..." That didn’t flow. Maybe just stick with ‘ah’!

Elsewhere in the royal court.

Late at night, Hale slumped against the wall as usual, his silhouette bleak and solitary, exhaling a long sigh...

A sigh…?

A tiny, singsong voice: "Ah—ah? Aah~ ah!"

Hale: …?

Hale cocked his head, baffled, but the sound quickly vanished. He bowed his head again, clutching his clothes as the fractured crown above him kept crumbling.

It’s hopeless…

The tender little baby voice: "Ah—ah? Ah~ah!"

Hale (male): ...

The childlike voice: "Ah—ah? Ah~ah!"

The little voice kept getting smoother and more confident, except... it kept echoing incessantly in someone else's head.

Hale: @#$%...

Who? Who?! What the hell?!

Never mind how it's even possible!

Who the hell keeps going "ah—ah" in someone's head in the middle of the damn night?! Can you at least have some boundaries?! What??!!