There was a knock at the study door. Before Adlet even set down his tray, Ye Muo had stood up from where he was playing nearby and opened the door like the adults always did.
Secretary-General Lin happened to glance down as he walked in with a stack of documents and was a bit surprised to see Ye Muo. He adjusted his glasses. “You’ve grown quite a bit, Your Little Highness.”
Ye Muo was gradually growing out of his toddler appearance. He thanked Secretary-General Lin a little shyly before trotting over in his small leather shoes to pick up his little lion.
Secretary-General Lin composed himself once more and approached Norton’s desk.
Norton had already set down his pen and given the Secretary-General his attention. The other Grantz in the study also stopped their work and looked over.
Secretary-General Lin has been busy these days with the construction of the refuge cities and mostly reported in virtually. Only something major would have him set down his work and pay a personal visit. “Your Majesty, new intel has come in from our source within Arachnid.”
Secretary-General Lin’s expression was sombre. “Arachnid has established contact with the other branch of humanity, those who left during the previous Plague. They had survived and now possess mecha technology capable of dealing with king insects. I have organized the specific details into a report. The entire intelligence bureau is on standby. We will inform you immediately if there are any updates.”
The study suddenly fell silent. Even Bert, who was teasing Ye Muo, raised his head. The child did the same.
An entirely foreign civilization with unknown motives…
Secretary-General Lin’s voice echoed through the study, “They plan to establish a base of their own in the Exile Sectors and announce this at the virtual international conference that will be held soon.”
The virtual conference had been in the works for a long time. Since each nation was busy preparing for the insect plague, they unanimously decided to hold it online.
Bert frowned. “It seems quite credible.”
Arachnid’s actions in the Exile Sectors lately had been so over that many rumours true and false were spreading across the galactic network. Grantz had only let them be for so long in order to focus on preparing for the Plague.
Dylan crossed his arms and became serious for once. “It would be for the best if they can help deal with the Plague, but their motives for coming are unknown and they’ve already cozied up to Arachnid.”
Helene scoffed from the side, “I’m going to rip all eight of Arachnid’s legs off once the Plague is over anyway.”
Secretary-General Lin adjusted his glasses. “Shall we prepare countermeasures, Your Majesty?”
Norton finally spoke, “Not for now. Classify all events related to the foreign civilization as Level A. We’ll revisit this after the conference.”
The other side would show their cards a while later at the conference anyway.
Secretary-General Lin nodded. “Understood. I’ll handle it right away.”
The Grantz continued their discussion after Secretary-General Lin’s departure, “An entire foreign civilization popped up out of nowhere. How interesting. I remember there was an incident where a fleet operating near the galactic boundary accidentally tapped into an unknown channel making it onto the news before.”
“Arachnid did possess some technologies I’ve never seen elsewhere when I fought them before. They might have been in cahoots for a long time already.”
“But it would be great if they really had mecha technology capable of dealing with the Plague. I wonder if they’ll be willing to sell if we offer enough money.”
“In any case, I doubt they’re here purely to help. They must have ulterior motives.”
Bert’s usual laissez-faire attitude returned once Secretary-General Lin left.
Ye Muo stood up and told Bert sincerely, “The little lion says it wants to play airplane.”
So Bert scooped Ye Muo up under his arms. “Who cares what their motives are? We just have to crush everything standing in our way. If they don’t want to sell, we’ll convince them otherwise. Besides, who can blame us if their precious mecha was lost on the battlefield and we hauled a few back?”
Helene turned to stare at him for a few seconds before she reluctantly agreed. “Looks like you can speak human once in a blue moon, Old Geezer.”
Bert just weighed Ye Muo a little. “Have you gotten a bit chubbier again, Muomuo? If this keeps happening, we can’t play airplane anymore.”
Ye Muo shook his head and loudly declared, “I’m not chubbier, I’m taller!”
He quickly lowered his voice again, “Daddy played airplane with Muomuo yesterday. He didn’t say Muomuo was chubbier.”
Bert tossed him high into the air as he responded, “Well Norton’s in his prime, you know? I’m just an old man who’s a grandpa already.”
Saying that, he caught Ye Muo again and eagerly stated, “Again? Try to touch the ceiling this time.”
Ye Muo immediately latched onto his collar. “No, Muomuo won’t do that. Muomuo’s going to tell Sylvia Bert is being a bully again.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll toss you a little lower then.”
……
Ye Muo seemed to grow up in the blink of an eye. Adlet had to update his wardrobe every once in a while and also arrange a place for him at the dining table.
The butler even cleaned out Ye Muo’s room.
It was easy to convince Ye Muo to sleep by himself at night. The child was hesitant until he confirmed Norton would come over every night to give him a good night’s kiss and two more jars of candy appeared on his nightstand. Thus, Ye Muo drifted off to sleep alone, feeling a mixture of fear and excitement. He woke up very early the next morning and went to call Norton for breakfast.
Many of Ye Muo’s memories have also returned. His state was a lot more stable than before as well. He refused to refer to himself as ‘Muomuo’ anymore and seemed much more reliable now that his outfits weren’t as childish.
The tiny sword he started with was retired early on and kept by Sylvia as a momento.
Bert had already prepared a selection of swords big and small for Ye Muo to choose from.
However, the child was just growing too quickly, to the point that he started directly using adult swords before the selection even took place. Although the sword was a bit too big for now, he had already improved to the point that he could easily hold it with one hand.
The Grantz continued to set aside time everyday to teach Ye Muo swordsmanship and combat skills.
Because the doctor indicated that Ye Muo required ample exercise to adapt to his ever-growing body, they extended the lesson time each day significantly.
It was Ano’s turn today. They started after taking a post-lunch break.
Ano took the initiative to approach Ye Muo. “Let’s get to class.”
Ye Muo nodded and stood up. He already reached Ano’s waist. The man looked at Ye Muo and gestured, “You’re growing up so fast. I feel like you can go back to the Academy soon.”
Ye Muo was kept in the Grantz palace before in case he lost control. Yet after confirming he was stable, he unexpectedly began cocooning. Ye Muo had been cooped up here for a long time, so the Grantz agreed that Ye Muo should go back to school after he finished cocooning.
Ye Muo looked up at Ano as he walked. His memories were still a bit muddled. As far as he knew, his combat class grades have always been abysmal. “I’m a bit worried about going back to school. What if I fail combat class again? Big Brother’s going to refuse to be in the same class as me again.”
Ano touched his chin. So Ye Muo’s memories were at that point…
Ye Muo made an impromptu visit to the Ye family once he recalled the time Ye Yun refused to be in the same class as him. He worriedly told Lady Ye that Big Brother Ye Yun was ignoring him and that he wanted to apologize.
Ye Yun was still at school at the time. Apparently he got an earful from Lady Ye when he came home that day.
Ano tried encouraging Ye Muo, “How can that be? You’ve got the techniques down pat already. There’s no way you’d fail.”
Ye Muo’s current level of physical fitness was nothing to scoff at, and he often received memories of Norton and the others during psychic soothing session. Almost 70% of a Grantz’s memories featured combat.
Ye Muo might not realize it himself, but he’s learned a lot through osmosis. Ano sometimes saw the child subconsciously using techniques and tricks characteristic of him or another one of the Grantz.
Ano continued, “I remember your score yesterday being quite high. 90, was it? The same goes for two days ago.”
The Grantz would take turns grading and recording Ye Muo’s performance in class each day.
Ye Muo seemed a little dejected. “I only got 60 points. Bert said he added an extra 30 points for cuteness. Auntie Helene was teaching me two days ago, so she must’ve added a lot of cuteness points too. She even said she would give me a perfect grade if I kissed her on the cheek. Besides, I’ve never, ever won against any of you.”
“That’s because you’re still young while they’ve been adults for so long. Their psychic power hones and tempers their bodies. I’ve never won against my siblings or Bert either.”
Ye Muo didn’t seem to find that comforting. “I still feel like I’m cheating. I’m definitely going to fall behind the other children if I go to school. They’re going to get cuteness points as well.”
The more Ano listened, the more his doubts grew as well. He was still at home around Ye Muo’s age. He didn’t go to school until he learned to control himself a bit.
……
Sylvia and Hebert were seated in the parlour.
Adlet was serving Hebert tea when Bert strolled into the room.
Sylvia glanced over. “What were you off doing?”
Bert froze in the middle of bending down to kiss her earlobe. He feigned ignorance, “Just a normal mission.”
Adlet added from the side, “That’s right. His Majesty Bert simply went to capture a few king insects and had them shipped back from the other side of the galaxy.”
Sylvia and Hebert both turned in Bert’s direction.
Sylvia especially. Her gaze sharpened like a protective mother wolf. “What are you planning to do with those king insects?”
Bert kept up the facade a beat longer before folding. “I wanted to see if Xavier could handle king insects by now. You know how textbooks can’t compare to practical experience…”
Bert’s voice trailed off, “We have to at least hold a coming-of-age ceremony for him. It’s long overdue at this point. I’ll speak to Norton about it.”
“He can have his coming-of-age ceremony before the Plague arrives. How fitting.”
Bert’s tone was laced with irony. It seemed like the Grantz could never be free from the insects from birth until death.
For the public, coming-of-age ceremonies were held when a person was around 23 to 25 years of age, or once their psychic power development period was over. Research showed that psychic power was relatively stable by that age range in humans. They would also be on the cusp of growing into their adult form as their body adapted to their psychic power.
However, things were different for the Grantz. They were considered adults whenever they could kill a king insect without outside assistance, meaning they could head to the battlefield.
It was a tradition passed down all the way from the birth of the empire. Whenever a Grantz was strong enough to kill king insects, there would be a public announcement followed by a simple celebration.
At first, the announcement was to let the public know that another Grantz could join the battlefield. It was an effective way to boost morale during turbulent times like war. Later on, when there was no longer a need to send little Grantz to the frontlines anymore, the custom became a tradition and was passed down anyway.
Sylvia continued to stare Bert down. “Have you forgotten how you almost let Ano’s arm get bitten off?”
“That was my fault. Ano was too young and I shouldn’t have taken him along.”
He kissed the top of Sylvia’s head. “But being injured is a lesson all Grantz need to learn sooner or later, darling. You know this as well.”
“It’s still too early.”
In modern times, the Grantz coming-of-age ceremony was held in an open arena of sorts. The young Grantz would face off against a king insect while their Grantz mother or father bore witness from above the high walls. If they had no parents or elder siblings to watch over them, the process would be streamed to the public.
“It’s not. He’s already able to hold his sword steady. The Plague is almost upon us as well.”
Hebert also set down his teacup with a frown. Although he understood it from a logical perspective, he still couldn’t get used to the Grantz lifestyle no matter how long it’s been. He was already incredulous when Sylvia angrily told him about how Bert took small children to hunt insects and came home with Ano’s severed arm.
Perhaps the change in mentality was due to how close to home it hit. The traditions that the aloof and powerful Grantz went through were now being experienced by his younger sister’s children.
Bert: “Norton will be watching over him.”
Sylvia’s heart settled a bit. Norton wouldn’t let Ye Muo be hurt. Still, she appeared a bit hesitant.
“Everything will be fine, Sylvia. The Plague is coming. It’ll only benefit him to learn how to deal with king insects. I would rather he get hurt while I’m around than the same thing happening during the Plague when I’m not. Norton must feel the same, or else he wouldn’t have agreed.”
Sylvia was finally fully convinced. Ye Muo was still small and wouldn’t head to the battlefield, but unexpected events were bound to happen during tumultuous times like the Plague. It was better for him to be as strong as he could be.
Even Hebert’s constant frown wavered. “Perhaps Xavier should be allowed to learn. If it’s Norton teaching him, he will do a fine job.”
Bert nodded in agreement. “It’s Norton we’re talking about. You have to at least trust him, right? He won’t let Ye Muo get hurt.”
