The next morning, Bert and the others shamelessly made their return.
Bert declared without blinking an eye, “I’m too used to the breakfast Adlet makes. It tastes just like how I remember it. No one can match your culinary skills, Adlet.”
Jacob obviously felt guilty. His voice was far quieter than Bert’s, “Same here.”
Adlet poured them some milk, “Thank you, but today’s breakfast was prepared by the chefs.”
Ye Muo picked up on something and actively answered, “But it’s still delicious. Would you like to try some of this, Helene?”
Helene, who was about to say something, immediately raised her hand. “Of course!”
She presented her plate with a proud expression.
Ano paused before sliding his glass of milk towards Ye Muo.
Norton glanced at them but declined to comment, choosing instead to focus on his meal.
Aria breathed a sigh of relief. She had the mental capacity to care about other things now. She glanced at Ano, who seemed quieter and more lethargic than usual.
She deliberately made a private group chat without him. [What’s going on with Ano? He hasn’t been himself all morning. He isn’t even arguing with Bert today.]
Helene glanced at Ano before giving Aria a serious answer: [He seems fine? He’s alive and well, right?]
Meanwhile, Dylan was more straightforward. [An old problem of his is acting up again. Don’t mind him.]
Adrian also jumped in: [He’s often like this. You’ll get used to it. Maybe he watched too much of the news today. Just wait, he’s going to start giving everyone lectures on precautions later.]
Ye Muo turned his head to blatantly scrutinize Ano.
Ano obviously noticed. “What’s wrong, Xavier? Did Bert say something?”
He hasn’t spared Bert a single glance yet.
Ye Muo leaned forward to try and glean any hints from Ano’s countenance, like dark bags under his eyes. However, perhaps due to the superior Grantz physique, there was nothing.
“Ano, did you not sleep well last night?”
Ano was momentarily taken aback. He shook his head. “No, I did.”
He pushed Ye Muo’s favorite foods towards him and said as usual, “You should eat up.”
Ye Muo watched Ano for a few seconds before accepting, “Thank you, Ano.”
Bert made another group chat excluding Ye Muo as well. [Remember to block Xavier next time. The kid doesn’t know how to talk behind people’s backs. I remember him nervously glancing at Adlet three times in one minute after being told to keep a secret from him last time.]
Jacob couldn’t help but speak up: [Although I agree that Xavier is an overly honest child, he wouldn’t have been so nervous if you didn’t bring up stealing Adlet’s comms device to contact Sylvia…]
Secretary-General Lin came over after breakfast. Norton headed to his study first while Ye Muo prepared to go see Pangzhua.
Ano tagged along. “Do you want to visit the amusement park, Xavier?”
Ye Muo stopped and stared at Ano.
Ano continued nervously, “Or you can do whatever you want.”
“Would you like to more dessert tonight? I can give you my portion too.”
“Ano.” Ye Muo suddenly interrupted him.
Ano paused. He turned to face Ye Muo.
Ye Muo made a shushing gesture, beckoning Ano to lean down so he could whisper in his ear.
He heard Ye Muo whisper, “I really like Ano. Even without the amusement park or extra desserts.”
“Even if more good things come up, it won’t change Ano’s place in my heart.”
The tension finally drained from Ano’s body. He couldn’t help but quirk his lips. “En. I knew Helene was talking nonsense. There’s no way Xavier would hold a grudge.”
“So do you still want to go to the amusement park?”
“Let me check how much money I have left first.”
“Are you out? It’s all because of Bert and his expensive tastes. I’ll go ask Secretary-General Lin for some more funds. We should be rolling in dough lately.”
“There should be some extra, definitely enough for us to have fun.”
Ye Muo had no concept of the Alliance’s currency. He only remembered spending a lot last time.
He was taken aback for a moment after opening the Alliance-certified account. “The balance is a lot higher than I remember.”
Ano and the others didn’t have accounts here. Their shares went directly into the shared Grantz account.
The two of them exchanged a look before heading to the study together.
Norton and the other Grantz were present.
As was Secretary-General Lin. He adjusted his glasses out of habit as he took a look at Ye Muo’s account. “It should be due to the shares the Alliance gives to tournament contestants.”
He paused, “Excuse me, Your Little Highness. Could you please zoom in a bit?”
Ye Muo complied, expanding the holographic screen in front of him.
Secretary-General Lin often purchased supplies and arranged their transport back to Grantz. He was also very familiar with Alliance currency after exchanging for them using resources. “I have to say, although I was aware the Alliance had access to far more resources than Grantz, this sum still somehow exceeds my expectations.”
“In any case, we have enough money to go to the amusement park, right?” Bert asked.
Secretary General Lin nodded. “You could even buy it outright without issue.”
He turned to Ye Muo. “It seems you are very popular, Your Little Highness.”
Ano: “Of course. This is Xavier we’re talking about.”
“Big Brother might be the least popular one. He hasn’t even made an appearance yet.”
Secretary-General Lin, who had some understanding of the situation, adjusted his glasses again with a sigh, “That isn’t the case. Although His Majesty is rarely brought up in discussions of combat power, there are many people interested in him for different reasons due to the separate camera focused on him on the leader platform.”
These ‘different’ reasons? His face, face and face.
……
Ye Muo was a popular topic of discussion on the galactic network. He was almost guaranteed to become a superstar contestant.
You could say that Grantz as a whole has received a lot of attention, but Ye Muo stood out even among his family members, thanks partly to Lakely’s efforts.
Since the successful cleanup operation spearheaded by Grantz, almost everyone following the resource tournament has been scouring the network for information related to Grantz.
A nation’s performance against the insects remained the quintessential gold standard for strength.
However, Grantz had just joined the Alliance and was unfamiliar with their systems themselves. Naturally, no one was able to provide ready-made intel on them.
As a result, Lakely stood out among the multitude of dedicated commenters covering Grantz that had popped up. He was one of the first to follow them and had the most comprehensive intel on the elusive nation. His viewership and subscriber count naturally skyrocketed.
Although he did relatively well before, he let his personal feelings get in the way and covered the countries he liked far more than those he didn’t. He refused to even touch on the countries he despised at all. So while he was an entertaining commentator, his coverage was incomplete and not as comprehensive as his contemporaries.
In truth, that flaw still affected him to this day, and to a much more severe degree. Now he only covered Grantz. However, this fixation actually played out in his favour this time.
Within Grantz, Lakely paid the most attention to Ye Muo. Half of his channel was filled with Ye Muo’s personal information, ranging from his strength stats to his habit of drinking milk at breakfast.
Although Ye Muo was far from the Grantz with the most appearances, Lakely was attentive and has basically captured Ye Muo’s entire journey from the beginning of the tournament until now.
He was also enthusiastic about using all the footage he’s accumulated to make various edits for Ye Muo.
He even spent a huge amount of his own money to hire people to make an album of background music dedicated to Ye Muo. The album featured 10+ tracks of excellent quality.
The theme of the latest edit was about growth, based on the command battles of the second round.
The scene started off in a warship. Ye Muo was greeted by that soldier as he entered. Their figures overlapped, the sounds of their boots clicking on the floor exceptionally clear.
Then there was a swift transition to the battlefield. The base was under attack by mecha. The Grantz soldiers fearlessly charged forward to meet them.
In the middle of it all was Vera. After the location of the command centre was exposed, she took up her sword alongside the rest of the commanders and joined the fray.
The insects loomed in the distance before the scene shifted to the rear. Ye He and Ye Muo shared a look before Ye Muo rose to carry out his duties.
Then Ye Muo was leaping off the warship and carving a path of carnage through the swarm.
The intense battle came to a sudden halt with the ambush. Lakely made sure the moment played out in slow motion with a close-up shot of Ye Muo’s expression.
As the tournament was temporarily suspended, Ye Muo clenched his sword tight and whirled around, traces of insect gore still dotting his cheek.
The music gradually transitioned from passionate to soothing like a lullaby.
Ye Muo rested his head in Norton’s lap. The scene faded to black as he closed his eyes.
[The contrast between the slaughter of the swarm and Xavier resting his head on an elder’s lap is killing me. Something really needs to change about the tournament. No matter how many protective measures are taken, they can only treat the symptoms rather than address the root cause.]
[That’s Xavier’s father, Norton Grantz, the Emperor of Grantz. There’s no detailed info on him yet, but there are already a bunch of pictures and videos circulating.]
[Damn. I can’t get used to the sheer brutality of their fighting style no matter how many times I see it. Although it’s exhilarating, it’s too much for my heart. I thought Grantz was just some minor, underdeveloped nation here to be cannon fodder when they first came.]
[Adversity breeds excellence. You know how many geniuses come from the drifters each year.]
[It’s better if they don’t. They’re just a group of galactic pirates under a different name. I can’t understand their refusal to join the Alliance even after losing their homelands. At least the Alliance can give them a temporary place to stay. They deserve all the hardships they suffer for being so stubborn.]
[Lakely is as picky as ever. I’m going to die from dehydration after crying so much. Xavier fans are eating so good lately.]
[Is there footage of the infested area?]
[Ye Muo was busy playing mediator in the infested area. There probably is, but Lakely isn’t going to edit it. Speaking of which, the Alliance is preparing to re-open the peripheral ship channels soon. They’ll probably do that as soon as the investigation is finished.]
