Chapter 12 Carrying

Chapter 12: Holding

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep…

Huh? Did the little cube break?

Samuel set down his crayon, removed the Stellar Ring, and gave it a thorough 360-degree tap. The Stellar Ring continued beeping incessantly, like an alarm.

He turned on the screen and saw notifications flooding in nonstop. He tapped one at random—and the first thing that caught his eye was a press release from the MPA welcoming the return of the new Excellency.

Scrolling down, the comments section was filled solely with cheers and excitement—as if every insect had just won hundreds of billions. Several consecutive news articles and their comment sections were all identical, leaving Samuel utterly baffled.

“99, S-class male insect—very rare, liked?” Samuel turned his head and patted the robot that had been watching him draw.

99 blinked its red, beady eyes, tearing its gaze away from the drawing paper. “Of course! The Empire hasn’t seen an S-class Lord in ages. They’re extremely rare!”

Samuel let out a soft “oh” and asked, “Your Master… likes S-class… male insects?”

99’s beady eyes flickered with pixelated lines, then switched to a crying expression: “Probably not. Last time 99 asked Master when he’d get a Male Master, Master cut off 99’s power for three days. 99 starved so badly it shut down. Wuwuwu—it was terrifying.”

Samuel froze mid-chew on his fruit.

Given that his current identity was a male insect—and Brother hated male insects—that meant Brother hated *him*.

Samuel: On the verge of tears.jpg

No, no—this illness can’t get better!

Detecting the sudden spike in the male insect’s heart rate, 99 frantically spun in circles beside him, clamoring to call a doctor.

Samuel was nearly driven mad by the robot’s noise. Listlessly, he patted 99’s metal head to calm it, then rested his forehead against its shell, zoning out.

Suddenly, Samuel thought: *99’s been at home the longest. If I could find out some of Idris’s hobbies and play to them, wouldn’t that increase Idris’s favorability?*

At that thought, Samuel’s eyes lit up. He immediately patted 99’s head. Hearing the noise, 99 inquired—and, unsurprisingly, fell straight into the trap.

Having effortlessly gathered a basketful of information, Samuel happily hugged 99, petting and rubbing against it. 99 wriggled its cylindrical body, its screen blushing pink—adorable. It even offered to fetch more fruit for Samuel.

After 99 left, Samuel picked up his pen and resumed drawing—but no matter how he looked at the new strokes, something felt off. He tossed the pen aside and opened the Stellar Ring app. He still needed to learn more about this world’s situation.

A world composed entirely of insects?

No wonder, back at the hospital, the medical staff kept saying “insect this, insect that.” He’d assumed it was some specialized jargon—but turns out, that’s exactly what it meant.

The absence of females was somewhat expected—but without females, how did they reproduce?

Samuel searched casually and discovered the insect race had three genders: male insect, female insect, and sub-male insect.

Male insects were few in number, held high status, and bore responsibility for reproduction and mental soothing. Through pheromones, they calmed female insects; their bodies were relatively fragile. Outside work, they indulged in food, drink, and entertainment.

Female insects were numerous—primarily soldiers. They possessed strong bodies and powerful but unstable mental energy, undertaking core societal functions: combat, production, construction. They relied on male insect pheromones and mental soothing to maintain psychological stability. Due to their towering stature, they were unpopular among male insects.

Sub-male insects were beautiful and gentle, mentally stable, often working in clerical, scientific, or research roles. With slender figures, they were highly favored by male insects.

Each gender had its designated role—similar to back home. Yet shockingly, the advanced insect race’s marriage system was even *more* “backward” than his own.

Back home, besides the principal wife, there were concubines—but the principal wife’s dowry remained under her sole control, never transferred to the husband’s family. In contrast, among insects, upon marrying a male insect, a female insect forfeited most of her property to him. Secretly concealing or transferring assets was, in fact, a serious legal offense.

This was absurd. Male insects did nothing—yet owned everything. Female insects did *everything*—yet surrendered everything.

Worse still, male insects sometimes erupted into sudden, violent irritability. When emotionally unstable, they would attack any insect—especially female insects—without warning.

This… no wonder Brother hated male insects. Who *wouldn’t*?

Samuel leaned against the sofa armrest, sighing dejectedly. He’d lost his appetite for the fruit 99 had brought.

“Your Excellency—the bathwater is ready.” Idris appeared silently beside the sofa. Samuel jumped at the unexpected voice.

“…Oh. Okay.” Samuel placed a hand over his chest, then stood. As he’d done back home, he gave a polite nod. “Thank you.”

Though not the first time Idris had heard those two words, he was still stunned by the male insect’s uncommon courtesy.

Among insects, it was rare for a male insect to utter those words to a female insect. They were often cold—or even violent—toward female insects, and rarely mastered basic etiquette.

As if female insects were born owing them a debt.

After thanking him, Samuel headed upstairs. Idris followed immediately. That afternoon, he’d already shown the male insect the temporary bedroom and asked about his preferences, adjusting and adding items accordingly.

Considering the male insect’s severe memory loss, 99 had explained—step-by-step before dinner—how to operate common appliances in the room. The male insect was remarkably intelligent, grasping many things instantly. Bathing alone shouldn’t pose a problem.

Watching the male insect reach the second floor, Idris summoned 99 and instructed it to guard outside the guest room door, reporting immediately if anything occurred. Only then did he settle back onto the sofa.

“Ray: Major General—the team investigating near the dark alley just sent word. None of the surrounding exchanges have any records on His Excellency.”

“Idris: Hmm. Understood.”

“Ray: By the way, Major General—on mission day, I found a broken pendant near where Laifu detonated himself. Unclear if it’s related to His Excellency. [Picture]”

Idris opened the image and studied it for several moments.

“Bring it with you when you deliver the suppressants in a few days.”

After replying, Idris leaned back on the sofa—one hand supporting his head, the other resting on the armrest, tapping rhythmically.

Neither the Imperial system nor the underground exchanges held any information on the male insect. He’d likely been hidden from birth—by someone. Moreover, his concealers had injected him with a drug slowing his recovery. Such a compound might have surfaced before; otherwise, Bulan wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

Recalling this, Idris raised his hand and messaged Ray, instructing him to dispatch undercover agents posing as buyers—to investigate whether any drugs inhibiting male insect recovery existed in the underground markets.

Only after receiving Ray’s reply did Idris fully relax. He rubbed his sore neck, rose, and poured himself a cold drink in the kitchen.

On his way back to the living room, passing the spot where the male insect had sat earlier, Idris noticed a sheet of paper lying face-down on the sofa. Nearby, on the table, lay an open pencil case and scattered crayons.

The male insect had clearly drawn something on it earlier.

Idris stopped, staring at the paper. His gaze swept top to bottom—repeatedly. Then he glanced toward the staircase, listening intently. The second floor was unusually silent—the male insect must still be in the bathroom.

Idris took a step back, bent down, and reached out. Just as his fingertips neared the paper’s edge, he paused—then slowly withdrew his hand and sat back on the sofa.

Among insects, male insect privacy was protected by law. A female insect viewing a male insect’s personal belongings without permission was illegal—and punishable upon discovery.

The cold drink eased his fatigue considerably. Idris swirled the ice in his glass—his gaze inevitably drifting back to the paper.

What had the male insect drawn? That strange food from this morning?

His curiosity flared fully. He stood and walked to the table. After a long internal struggle, he bent down, flipped over the face-down paper—and lifted it.

On the white sheet, black lines and the untouched whiteness of the paper outlined a man’s profile. The figure had sharp, handsome brows and eyes, a high nose bridge. His head was slightly lowered, lips faintly upturned, gazing downward with gentle intensity—as if looking at someone profoundly important.

And the contours of the figure bore an uncanny resemblance to *him*.

Why did the male draw him?

Idris was astonished, his gaze darting over the sketch as if trying to discern something from it. Yet aside from resembling him, the drawing was indeed quite ordinary.

*Crash!*

A heavy object fell and shattered on the second floor.

The unexpected sound startled Idris, causing him to tighten his grip. Realizing something might have happened upstairs, he quickly turned the drawing face down, making sure it was exactly as he found it, then turned and bolted for the stairs.

Unnoticed by Idris, as his fingertips left the paper, the residual spiritual energy silently seeped into his body.

Bathroom.

Samuel lowered his head, hands braced on either side of the washbasin, breathing heavily. Droplets slid from his forehead and hair, forming small puddles in the basin.

What’s going on? Why is the headache starting again?

“Mmm…” Another sharp pain shot through his mind. Gritting his teeth, Samuel turned, trembling, and slid down against the wall to sit on the floor.

*Bang, bang, bang.*

“Your Excellency! What’s wrong?” Idris’s anxious voice came from outside the door.

Brother…

Samuel tried to push himself up to open the door, but the intense dizziness from the headache left his limbs weak. He could only muster the effort to call out, “I’m fine…”

Although the male’s voice was faint, Idris, as a double S-class female, possessed extremely sharp senses and instantly detected the weakness in his tone.

His heart tightened. Without another thought, he lifted his foot and effortlessly kicked the bathroom door open, rushing inside and gathering the insect curled into a ball into his arms.

A faint scent of wisteria spread around as Idris approached, and the intense headache gradually eased.

Samuel drowsily opened his eyes, and Idris’s worried face filled his vision. Knowing he had frightened him again, he tugged at the female’s sleeve and softly said he was fine.

Seeing the male’s pale face, 99 screamed and spun in circles at the door: “Wahhhhhhh, Your Excellency, what’s wrong? Don’t die!”

The robot’s voice was sharp and shrill, and its screams were quite unbearable. Samuel felt his temples throbbing from the noise.

Seeing the male distressed by the clamor, Idris frowned, turned his head, and snapped at the robot, “99, shut up!”

“Wahhh, 99 understands. 99 will mute itself now.”

“Your Excellency, hold on a little longer. I’ll call a doctor right away,” Idris said.

Samuel didn’t want to be sent to the hospital again, so he tugged at Idris’s clothes and shook his head.

“Then let me help you back to bed to rest for a while?” The male was unwilling, so Idris didn’t force him.

“My head hurts… I have no strength…”

Actually, he felt much better than before and wasn’t incapable of walking. Samuel was just somewhat greedy for his brother’s concern and deliberately acted this way.

Silently observing the insect in his arms, whose complexion had regained a bit of color, Idris decided not to argue with a sick insect. Holding him steady, he pushed off with his calves and carried Samuel out of the bathroom.

Passing by the door, seeing 99 dozing off again, Idris couldn’t resist giving it a kick.

99 jolted awake, extended its metal claw to rub the kicked spot, its red beady eyes flashing with question marks.

Why is Master in such a bad mood today?

Author’s Note:

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August X, 4056, Weekday X, Sunny

99 really is a useless piece of scrap metal, can’t even keep an eye on an insect properly. [Angry]