Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Whether Kalms Military Academy was asking to be demolished was currently uncertain to all insects.

But after seeing the energy gun aimed at the male insect, even though they knew it was just a simulated arena, even though they knew getting hit wouldn’t cause any harm, and even though they knew Philo had long since returned home safely, the female insects still nearly destroyed their video playback devices in barely restrained fury.

A male insect being associated with injury? That was practically stepping on the nerves of every female insect.

Clenching their fists, watching the female insect's now-blurred face in the video and the gun in her hand, more than one insect gritted their teeth, thinking—if this insect was truly blind enough to accidentally fire and hit His Highness Philo...

Even if it was just an accident, even if the academy had blurred her face, they would turn the world upside down to find her and give her what she deserves.

Goddammit, if you're blind, can’t you at least be careful?!

Didn’t you already know His Highness Philo would be participating in the assessment with you? Instead of keeping your head down, you had to showboat like an idiot! And you even threw a star beast right in front of His Highness—what, are you the only one in the entire insect race strong enough to show off your strength? If His Highness gets so much as a fright, I’ll feed you to a star beast and see if you can still throw anything then!

Frustrated, they slammed their fists on the table. Just moments ago, the insects watching the video had only wanted to vent their anger at the academy, but now, they wanted to take it out on every insect who had participated in the assessment.

With both hands clutching his head, a brown-haired female insect had already messed up his hair in distress. He didn’t need to wait for others to come after him—he was already considering falling on his own sword as an apology.

Yes, the two assessment videos of Philo weren’t just being watched by others. In fact, the female insects who had participated in Kalms Military Academy’s assessment were also watching.

After all, though they had only encountered Philo a few times during the assessment, they still hadn’t seen exactly what the male insect had gone through—especially that final, horrifying scene.

Every insect who saw that moment had completely forgotten about the assessment itself. The moment they emerged from the simulation pods, they had wanted to demand answers from the academy, but His Highness had already left by then.

Moreover, the academy had only stated that His Highness had agreed to the assessment conditions in its entirety. Before releasing them, they were even made to sign NDAs regarding the assessment process until the results were officially announced, with the warning that violating this could jeopardize His Highness Philo’s admission.

Clenching their fists, recalling how Philo had been covered in blood, even though they were furious, they had no choice but to suppress their emotions—after all, His Highness had worked so hard just to pass the assessment.

And so, they suppressed it all until now.

At first, when the insects saw the academy’s announcement of the assessment results and found Philo Tulas’ name on the admission list, they were so thrilled their hearts nearly burst out of their chests.

Though they had always assumed the academy would go easy on a male insect’s assessment—out of respect for his dignity—given Kalms Military Academy’s notorious strictness, they couldn’t be entirely at ease.

Fortunately, His Highness had passed after all.

Staring at the name "Philo Tulas" on the announcement, every admitted female insect likely spent only a few seconds glancing at their own names but stared at his name endlessly.

But then, before the female insects could celebrate for long, the academy’s official website—once flooded with excited congratulations—was suddenly flooded with skepticism.

Such doubts weren’t uncommon, especially from female insects who had been certain of their own success only to find themselves rejected. But this time was different.

This time, the skepticism wasn’t from participants questioning the academy’s decision—it was from other male insects doubting His Highness Philo, who had only recently been rescued from a barren planet.

Watching as many female insects, egged on by these male critics, began saying things like, "His Highness Philo probably did use privileges, but we support him as long as he’s happy," every insect who had participated in the assessment was furious.

Yes, if they hadn’t witnessed firsthand how seriously His Highness had taken the assessment, they might have thought the same. But precisely because they knew Philo had genuinely relied on his own strength to pass the academy’s challenges, their rage burned even brighter.

Growing up on a barren planet… Was that reason enough for His Highness to face such doubt? How dare they question him, suspect him, and malign him because of that?

Did they know how His Highness had struggled in that wasteland? For three full days, he had never once asked any of them for help. In fact, worried about disturbing their own assessments, he had even refused their offers of assistance.

If it had been any other male insect—one raised in the Alliance—they might have thrown in the towel long ago. But His Highness hadn’t. He never complained, not even once. Instead, he praised them for their skills while never mentioning his own hardships.

At this thought, the brown-haired female insect couldn’t bring himself to continue. Just recalling the sight of the blood-soaked male collapsing before them—while they stood helpless, unable to even approach—made his body shake violently.

And the worst part? These male insects, with no evidence whatsoever, dared to publicly question His Highness Philo. Even more infuriating, countless ignorant female insects mindlessly parroted their words, saying things like, "His Highness probably couldn’t have done it, but we don’t mind—we still love him."

Bullshit!

Do you even deserve to love him?!

His Highness achieved this all on his own. He earned every bit of it. Who asked you to come out now and patronize him?!

Reading the comments on the Star Network, the participating insects were boiling with rage. But compared to the sheer number of voices online, the female insects who had taken part in Kalms Military Academy’s assessment were a drop in the bucket. Their protests went entirely unnoticed.

Fortunately, this time, the academy acted quickly with a solution.

His Highness Philo’s assessment videos would be released to the public. All other participants would have their faces blurred to protect their identities—after all, while a male insect was above reproach, the same couldn’t be said for female insects who might attract jealousy.

Even so, while outsiders couldn’t recognize who was who, the participants themselves certainly could.

The brown-haired female insect, who had just been cursing others for being unworthy of loving Philo, now watched the video of himself nearly throwing a star beast onto His Highness and felt his blood run cold.

At that time… His Highness must have been terrified.

Unlike the perspective inside the simulation, this video was primarily from Philo’s viewpoint.

Thus, the female insect—who had already been horrified in the simulation at almost harming the male—now realized just how egregious his actions had been.

First, the star beast crashing down in front of Philo had made him jump. But the ensuing dust storm from the impact had also irritated his eyes and left him coughing from the dust in his throat.

And then—

*Bang.*

The bullet was fired straight toward the star beast.

Though the female insect on the other end had realized her mistake at the last second and corrected her aim at the last second, every insect watching from Philo’s perspective felt their hearts stop for a moment.

As if in slow motion, their eyes tracked the bullet’s path—watching it approach, watching it veer off course, and finally…

*Crack.*

Someone squeezed their stress ball to pieces. But by the end, they let out a sigh of relief.

Lucky bitch. At least he didn’t hit His Highness.

Yes, Philo hadn’t been injured. Only then did the insects’ hearts start beating again, steadily once more in their chests.

But if the insects now were filled with nothing but rage for the female who had nearly harmed His Highness, their emotions took a sharp turn in the next moment—straight into envy.

Because while the female insect had almost hurt Philo (but ultimately hadn’t), everyone instinctively assumed she was about to face severe consequences.

And strangely enough, for once, every female insect watching the video was in complete agreement: she had it coming.

Seriously, this idiot had it coming. If His Highness wanted to punish her, so be it—hell, they wanted to punish her too after watching this.

That star beast missing His Highness was pure luck. That bullet not hitting him was also luck. But it still scared him, didn’t it? This idiot had been acting recklessly—she absolutely deserved whatever punishment Philo gave her.

Arms crossed, they watched as the female insect immediately dropped to her knees in apology. No one saw anything wrong with this. Instead, they waited eagerly to see how His Highness would deal with her.

A scolding? That wouldn’t be satisfying enough.

A beating? But the video showed Philo without a whip or baton—just his hands, which couldn’t possibly harm a female insect.

Most likely, His Highness would use his psychic abilities to teach her a lesson. Many female insects from outside the capital, unaware that Philo’s powers were currently unstable, quietly reached this conclusion. But alas, none of their three predictions came true.

"It's fine, no need to apologize. I wasn't hurt."

...

Your Highness, is that really the issue here? Shouldn't it be about whether you were frightened or angry?

The crowd of insects, who had just widened their eyes in disbelief at the first words spoken by the A-Class Male Insect, hadn’t even had time to process the logic in their minds before the male insect in the video continued speaking.

"You're really impressive! Such a fierce Star Beast, and you took it down so quickly. Nice work!"

After saying this, as if to prove he wasn’t lying, the male insect flashed a radiant, sunrise-bright smile and even gave a thumbs-up.

The insects watching the video: ...

Your Highness, are you mistaken?

Not scolding or hitting him is one thing, but you’re actually praising him? Saying he’s impressive?

It’s just an F-tier Sand Beast—any of us could’ve done that! What’s so impressive about him? Don’t let him fool you!

Wide-eyed, the crowd of insects who had been ready to watch this female insect suffer now wore expressions that shifted repeatedly.

If their initial expressions were mostly anger and glee, now, watching the female insect freeze in place after being praised by the male insect, their faces twisted almost instantly into snarls.

Jealousy-induced facial distortion—this was the shared expression of all the female insects and subfemales watching the video.

Especially when some noticed the female insect even blushing, they completely lost it, swearing like their sweetheart had been stolen.

But while many female insects were losing their composure, others had different reactions.

At this moment, Gore and Shang Ling, who had arrived late and missed the scene, paid no attention to that female insect at all, their gazes fixed solely on the male insect’s calm and gentle eyes.

No false courtesy, no disguised etiquette—having seen through countless masks, the two could clearly discern the genuine calm in the male insect’s eyes.

No anger at the female insect’s rudeness and offense, no hidden agenda to manipulate the other into helping him—instead, he even offered sincere praise to reassure her.

This Philo...

Hah. Shang Ling chuckled softly and shook his head, truly at a loss for words.

As for Gore, his pupils darkened slightly. Though his expression remained seemingly composed, a hint of a smirk flashed in his eyes.

Without lingering, the male insect soon bid farewell and continued on his way alone.

Watching Philo return to being solitary, the previously distraught female insects found their emotions growing complicated once more.

Logically, now that he’d encountered another female insect, they should’ve wanted His Highness to ask for help—so he wouldn’t have to walk so exhaustingly.

But though they desperately wanted him to rest, the thought of someone else assisting him instead of themselves was infuriating...

Deeply aware of their own selfishness, the female insects despised themselves even as they watched Philo continue alone with a strange sense of relief. But that relief lasted only moments before their hearts twisted again with rage and heartache as they saw him grow increasingly exhausted, sweat beading on his face.

Clenching their fists, the crowd watched Philo trudge forward, their emotions a tangled mess.

Before long, the male insect found a suitable temporary resting spot and began eating to replenish his energy. As for the food he was eating...

Frowning, the male insects outside the video stared in disbelief at what Philo was consuming.

Even F-tier male insects had been raised on rare and precious delicacies since birth.

Stone Flower Juice, priced at thousands of credits per bottle to stabilize mental stability, was something they drank casually as a beverage—and even grew tired of.

Tens of thousands of credits per pound for skin-rejuvenating Calyx Fruit, yet they only ate the most potent cores, often discarding the less effective flesh after a few bites.

Then there was the exclusive male insect-grade Kilo Beast meat, the gem-like Void Fruit jerky, the protein-packed Bean Meat Cakes... These were staples they’d grown up with, and even then, they occasionally found them bland and repetitive.

But... what was this male insect eating now?

Dry, throat-clogging ration bars—strictly portioned, requiring water to wash down. And the water he drank? Packaged in the most rudimentary foldable canteens imaginable.

Gaping, hardly any male insect dared imagine how utterly shattered they’d be if forced to endure such conditions—walking so far, so exhausted, only to be left with this.

Screw this test!

They’d be lucky not to quit the exam outright and have the Kalms Military Academy’s hide!

Daring to serve them this garbage—did the academy have a death wish?

Wait, no. Those damned academy officials hadn’t dissed them. They’d dissed this insect from the Torras family.

But... this Philo was supposed to be an A-Class Male Insect, right?

Swallowing hard, many low-level male insects—who often skipped meals when upset or even wasted food as a form of venting—found themselves unusually resolved to waste less in the future. After all, some things really weren’t so bad.

And for some inexplicable reason, the longer they watched this male insect eat, the more inexplicably appetized they felt.

Unaware of his latent potential as a food influencer, Philo also had no idea he’d inspired male insects to reconsider food waste. Watching Yi Jia Fa’s reddened eyes and the Head Chef’s ashamed look, he genuinely felt this video could’ve been skipped.

Look, ration bars aren’t junk food. Why are you all pitying me? I really don’t think eating this is tragic—the taste isn’t that far off from fancy meals... Okay, maybe I shouldn’t say that, or the Head Chef’s eyes might redden too.

Turning away, the male insect dodged the crowd’s concern, silently willing the day to end sooner.

But he didn’t have to evade for long. Soon, as the video progressed to footage of him resting and falling asleep, the crowd’s attention shifted, no longer dwelling on the simplicity of his meal.

Watching the male insect’s sleeping face—many seeing a male insect asleep for the first time in their lives—they momentarily forgot their rage at Kalms Military Academy.

Screenshot, screenshot, frantically screenshotting!

How does His Highness look this good even asleep?!

Though he leaned against nothing but a pile of withered branches, to the insects watching, even those dead twigs seemed transformed by his presence.

But alas, this serene scene didn’t last.

Soon, the peaceful image of the lone sleeping male insect was abruptly disrupted by approaching female insects.

Yes, as the exam progressed, aside from the first near-mistake female insect, Philo’s recorded perspective finally showed other participating female insects again.

But unlike before, this group redeemed the entire batch of examinees from further scolding or beatings through their actions.

Not daring to wake the male insect rashly, nor presuming to approach him disrespectfully—the proctoring view zoomed out slightly, allowing the audience to clearly see some carefully erecting wind-blocking rocks, others meticulously assembling a makeshift cooling device.

The remaining female insects, though unable to contribute more, at least ensured they came and left in silence.

Watching this, even notoriously temperamental male insects who typically disdained female insects publicly commented on the StarNet:

"Good."

"It seems some young female insects still understand propriety."

...

Being praised

The rugged-looking female insect with thick, dark hands—who had moved rocks to block the wind for Philo and was usually unpopular among male insects—rarely shy, lowered her head.

But at this moment, the happy female insects weren't just one or two.

Earlier, they had cursed the military academy, the examiners, and everything under the sun. But now, even if they weren’t the ones who had helped Philo, they still claimed some credit.

"If the male insect masters need anything, I’d gladly dedicate everything I have to all of them!"

"We’ve all received proper education since childhood and have always been very polite to the male insect masters! We know our manners!"

"These examiners from Kalms Military Academy aren’t half bad—they’ve got a fraction of my talent."

"Let me tell you, if I had been part of this exam, I wouldn’t have let the master break a sweat or suffer even a little!"

"...Okay there, keyboard warrior."

Author's Note:

I’ll occasionally fix typos, so if you notice chapter content being replaced, don't worry about rereading.