"Really?" The six-hundred-year-old elder practically sprang to his feet at the response, grinning like a child on a holiday.
"That's excellent news. It means Female Roanna Smith's mental comfort works on you." Seth immediately opened his light-brain and transferred fifty million star coins to Rory. "Praise the Beast God for guiding His Majesty to the lady capable of providing him mental comfort."
Upstairs, Rory staggered back into her bedroom. Too exhausted to even prepare breakfast, she pulled out a nutrient solution, gulped it down, then collapsed straight into bed, falling asleep the instant her head touched the pillow.
Her mental power had been drained so completely that she slept like a stone.
Her light-brain chimed several times while she slept, but she heard none of it.
***
Far off-world, in an unnamed desolate region, a man with deep violet eyes glared at the flickering signal on his light-brain, frustration carved into his features.
He had been stranded on this land for a full month, hunting Level 8 beasts. The location was a technological wasteland—his light-brain barely connected to the network at all. Even when it did, the signal lasted only seconds before cutting out again.
Today, Jasper finally caught a stable connection and saw the Beast God System notification from the Female Matching Center appear on his screen.
Cold-blooded beast males had it hard. Their beast forms were too frightening, and most female Etherians wanted nothing to do with them.
Even after being matched, the moment a lady learned her partner was a cold-blooded beast, her instinct was usually to dissolve the match immediately.
That was why, once matched, cold-blooded therian males typically rushed to their lady's side, doing everything possible to win her favor. But Jasper? It had already been three days since the match. He hadn't gone to see her and hadn't even sent a single message.
Great. Female Master Smith must be furious by now.
Seizing the brief moment of signal, Jasper tapped Rory's contact and initiated a lightcall projection. The call rang several times without an answer. His stomach sank. Perfect. Female Roanna Smith was definitely angry. He tried again—but the signal dropped. Jasper stared at the dead screen, speechless.
He leapt down from his perch high in a tree and strode toward his team, who were still hunting Level 8 beasts.
"The mission's paused. Pack up. We're leaving within the hour."
Just returning from this barren planet would take at least twenty days. Cold-blooded therian males weren't exactly popular. By the time he got back… would Master Roanna even still want him?
***
Rory slept straight through until the next morning. When she woke, her mental power had fully recovered, and her body felt strong again.
She got up, washed, changed, and—before heading downstairs—checked her light-brain.
Her usually quiet match list was lit up. Aside from Dax, the one always scheming for her money, another name was blinking. Jasper had attempted to contact her via lightcall projection. She'd been too deeply asleep to hear it.
Nine matches. One she'd already dissolved and unfriended. Another turned into a paid arrangement. A third constantly trying to bleed her dry. As the saying went, lightning didn't strike the same place twice.
Yet here she was, dealing with three strange matches in a row. Surely the fourth wouldn't be another disaster, right?
She studied the three missed projection calls, hesitated, then called back. A second later, the system replied:
'Light-brain System: The account you have dialed is currently out of the coverage zone.'
Rory stared at the message. The light-brain network spanned over ten thousand regions through the interstellar beast realm. This guy wasn't even within coverage? Was he off-world? No wonder he hadn't reached out. Forget it. He probably wouldn't be able to contact her anytime soon anyway.
Closing Jasper's chat window, Rory noticed a string of messages from Dax.
Dax:
Master Roanna, I miss you so much. I can't wait to see you, but I don't have any star coins right now to take the starrail to you.
Pouting.jpg
Dax:
Master Roanna, why aren't you replying? Don't you like me?
Dax:
Master Roanna, I've come up with a great way to earn star coins. I'm heading to the Dark Forest south of the Central District to hunt beasts.
Once I kill enough and earn the star coins, I'll come find you.
Dax:
Master Roanna, wait for me! Bowing.jpg
Then, hours later, another batch of messages arrived from Dax again.
First, he sent a photo of a Rank 3 beast. Then he texted, 'Look, Master Roanna, I killed a beast. Unfortunately, I'm injured right now. I can't handle high-tier beasts. Only Rank 3 ones. Female Master, wait for me. Once I kill a few more, I'll come to you.'
Finally, this morning—an hour ago—he sent two more images, this time from a hospital. One was a selfie taken from his hospital bed, showing his injuries.
Rory stared at the 6D projection. It was almost as if he were standing right in front of her.
A man with long white hair leaned against a hospital bed, dressed in a loose white interstellar patient gown. His complexion was pale, with two faint scratches across his face. His vulpine red eyes shimmered with tears, his delicate, androgynous beauty shadowed by fragility and pain.
His long white hair spilled messily over the gown, the blood-red tips like crimson threads woven into weakness. Beautiful. Truly beautiful. Strikingly so—without a hint of femininity despite those flawless features.
If he weren't constantly trying to scam her out of star coins, if those fox-red eyes weren't always filled with calculation, Rory might have fallen for him at first sight. Star coins? He could have had as many as he wanted.
Unfortunately, his acting was awful. Rory, burned too many times, saw through the fake injuries instantly. Sometimes she hated how rational she was. But more than anything, she despised being lied to.
Dax, receiving no response, sent more messages.
Dax:
Female Master, don't worry about me. I was careless last night while hunting beasts because of my injuries and got hurt again. Luckily, someone saved me. I'm receiving treatment now and will be discharged soon.
Dax:
It's just that all the star coins I earned went toward hospital fees. Now I have no way to come see you. What should I do? Crying.jpg
He never mentioned money directly—yet every message revolved around it. Rory pretended not to notice. She replied, 'How did you get hurt like that? My heart aches for you.'
Then she added, 'Don't rush to see me. Since the Beast God matched you to me, we'll meet eventually.'
Finally, she sent, 'Focus on recovering. Once you're better, then come. Don't worry, I won't dissolve the match just because you're late.'
If he didn't want to be honest, she'd keep playing along. In the end, she wouldn't be the one losing.