Ye Muo met Elias’ gaze head-on. He even straightened up a bit.
Elias paused for a few seconds before responding, “It looks good on you.”
Ye Muo’s eyes brightened slightly.
Elias hesitated before adding, “The size fits perfectly. I’m sure this colour will provide excellent concealment while you’re moving about.”
Ethan, still carrying a crate in one hand, was very pleased. “Right? It’s perfect for going out too.”
Elias shook the large bag he was holding. “Are there clothes in here too?”
“Most of it, yeah. Plus some food, snacks and such. The shelf life isn’t long, so we can eat those over the next few days.” Ethan spoke as he headed inside.
Several extra lamps had been placed in the room, making it brighter and warmer than usual.
Ethan tossed the crate down near the back. “Ambrose, look! Doesn’t it suit him?”
Ye Muo obliged by stepping forward and twirling around. The cloak fluttered slightly before settling back down.
Ambrose paused only a beat before extending a hand. Ye Muo instinctively took it. “Soft, isn’t it? It’s also warm. Are you cold, Ambrose? You can drape this cloak over your knees.”
Ambrose chuckled. “It really is soft! Thanks, I’ll let you when I’m cold.”
Casper, who had been tidying the table, snuck over at some point. “Is it really that soft? Let me try it too.”
Salem, who had been standing behind Ambrose, silently edged forward a bit as well.
Fiona grabbed Ethan’s ear from behind, a bottle of wine in her other hand. “You had better not been picking on him.”
The Grantz froze. Salem lowered the foot he had lifted.
Ethan allowed her to make him bend over, protesting, “I didn’t! Just ask Xavier.”
Casper retreated behind Ambrose before adding, “I asked, didn’t I? I never bully anyone.”
Ye Muo stood where he was and covered both his ears. “It is very warm.”
Fiona released Ethan. She bent down and nuzzled his cheek. “You’re right.”
She’d intended to kiss his cheek, but seemed to remember something and kissed his hair instead. “Alright, little teddy. Call me if they get too out of line. You need to learn to say no, or these jerks will only take advantage of you more. Your clothes are cute. If they get drunk and try to kiss you, just come and find me.”
Rika, who hadn’t joined in and was sitting maturely at the table, paused. He set the wine bottle he’d just picked up back down.
Elias stepped in to try and smooth things over, “Alright, everyone, let’s eat. We’ve got fresh vegetables and meat today.”
Ye Muo looked up first, responding eagerly, “Really? I haven’t had vegetables in ages.”
After all those cans, Ye Muo was getting to the point where he would rather drink nutrient solution.
Ethan watched them gather with good cheer. “There’s fresh fruit too.”
Supplies day was probably the happiest time around here.
Things wouldn’t be so leisurely in a few days. Ethan glanced at the sky outside. It was already obscured, with only the occasional sound of crates hitting the ground in the distance.
……
When Ye Muo awoke the next morning and sat up, Theodore, at the head of the bed, did too.
Ye Muo listened intently for a moment. “It’s raining outside.”
Perhaps due to the weather, nearly everyone was gathered in the main hall when he arrived, including Belinda, whom he hadn’t seen in ages. She appeared fully recovered, leaning against the wall and whispering something to Brian. She smiled upon seeing Ye Muo approach.
Ye Wang stood in his usual corner, though today it was one closer to the group. Elias sat at one side of the table with documents piled sky-high around him while Alanson helped organize them nearby. Ethan had even pulled a hammock out of somewhere and was lounging on it.
Ambrose lounged near the doorway like a mountain.
Ye Muo was inexplicably reassured by the sight of him. Everyone else relaxed too, their earlier restlessness and tension dissipating. How nice. There was good food and new clothes to go around.
Hearing Ye Muo approach, Ambrose turned and patted the spot beside him. As Ye Muo moved closer, Ambrose casually pulled a cloak draped over a nearby chair and spread it out.
Ye Muo sat down, glancing outside where supply crates continued to fall. “They’re still not done yet?”
“It’ll last several days. Most of the supplies we’ll need for years to come are being dropped now. That’s no small amount.”
Salem chimed in from the side, “There will be more after the insect tide as well, but then it’ll mostly be canned goods and nutrient solution, along with some medical kits. They’ll also drop complete incubation equipment to maintain the conception centres. Pretty incredible, huh? Anyway, things won’t be quiet out there for a while.”
He glanced outside. “It’s only been a day. The real work hasn’t even started yet. I doubt even the insects in the Rift Valley have had their fill. Look, they’ve already set up a temporary port.”
Salem’s voice trailed off as he stared intently in one direction.
Ye Muo followed his gaze. A fleet of starships that had finished dropping off cargo were heading in a certain direction. Normally, the port was only visible through the clouds on clear days near its location.
But with his keen eyesight, Ye Muo nonetheless caught a glimpse through the clouds. “It’s so close…”
Ambrose smiled. “It’s near the Rift Valley for the sake of convenience.”
Salem made a sound of agreement, “Whether out of habit or pure laziness, they’ve placed the port there several times now.”
Ambrose gently pressed down on Ye Muo’s head. “Remember to stay clear of that area lately. Their weapons are sophisticated and will attack anyone who wanders too close.”
Theodore looked up from his spot in Ye Muo’s arms. Ye Muo looked away before suddenly asking, ” Then why did you guys put your base here?”
Ye Muo felt Ambrose’s hand pause for a moment before Ethan’s voice chimed in, “Kids don’t need to worry about stuff like that.”
Saying that, he tossed a bag of snacks into Ye Muo’s arms.
Ye Muo protested on Theodore’s behalf, “Theodore isn’t a kid anymore.”
Theodore didn’t seem upset though. “Are you planning to seize that port?”
Ye Muo froze, glancing at Ambrose. “But it’s dangerous. We could steal from the galactic pirates instead. They’ll come here after the supply drop, right?”
Ambrose just smiled in response, but Ye Muo stubbornly held his gaze.
Ambrose sighed. “You’re still too young.”
Ethan nodded. “Exactly. Kids don’t need to worry about stuff like that. It’ll stunt your growth.”
Ye Muo immediately turned on him. “But Adlet said I’ll still grow! My dad’s tall, and so was my mom!”
“That Adlet probably just told you that to cheer you up.”
“The doctor said so too.”
Ethan stroked his chin dramatically. “Hm, that might be more believable, but maybe not if you keep being a worrywart.”
Ye Muo ignored him and turned to Ambrose. “I’m not little anymore. You can’t keep me in the dark forever.”
He added, “What if all this worrying means I won’t grow tall?”
Ethan snorted, “But you do the same thing! You keep so many things to yourself that I worry constantly. I can’t even sleep at night.”
Ye Muo remained silent, lowering his head to stare at Theodore’s fur.
Fiona had approached at some point. She delivered a sharp whack to Ethan’s head, knocking his head forward. He hissed and sheepishly fell silent.
Ambrose watched them, patting Ye Muo’s shoulder with a hint of resignation. “Alright, alright. It’s nothing much, really.”
Salem sighed, “The galactic pirates’ ships do seem like an easy target. Their weaponry isn’t as advanced, and they’re careless to boot. Sometimes, they even brazenly park their ships on the surface without any precautions. Idiots, all of them. We’ve been targeting them for a while now and have acquired quite a few ships.”
He glanced at Ambrose. Seeing no objection, he continued, “However, we were discovered. Elias and the others noticed that the pirates were visiting less and less. They suspected the outside world must have caught wind.”
“Those suspicions were confirmed recently. We received word in advance and managed to capture about 39 starships, only for it to be a trap. They were able to discover the location of the base where we stored the starships and attacked it, destroying even the older ships we had. Ambrose also lost control during that battle.”
Salem glossed over the rest, “Those were rough times. Our organization had to lay low for a while. Once things settled, reports of pirate raids dropped to zero everywhere. Even the ships patrolling the skies without ever landing disappeared. This place is completely sealed off from the outside world now. It’s likely only those ships can enter here.”
Salem gestured toward the starships flying outside, then lowered his gaze. Seeing Ye Muo looking intently back up at him, he smiled. “Those starships look pretty impressive, right? Makes you want to get your hands on them.”
Ye Muo gazed at the starships above. “Should we go steal some?”
Ambrose scratched his nose. “We’ve considered it. We’ll launch an attacka after a few more days of preparation. Otherwise, this planet might go without starship visits for a very long time.”
They had to seize this chance to leave this place.
Theodore listened intently, ears perked. At this time, he was still slumbering as Bragi. The existing records in databases about this part of the Old Lands’ history, gathered from the galactic network, were far from detailed. At least, details like these were completely absent.
Theodore hadn’t made any special effort to gather information about this period either.
The atmosphere grew heavy. Ye Muo hung his head, visibly downcast. A well-equipped military force was far more difficult to deal with than galactic pirates.
Ambrose spoke up, changing the subject, “After I lost control, everything descended into chaos. All of you were too reliant on me. You must learn to lead the people yourselves.”
Ethan ignored him outright, instead turning to Ye Muo with a playful invitation. “Want to go out in the rain, Xavier? It’s a lot of fun.”
Ye Muo shook his head. “You’ll catch a cold.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at him before he even finished speaking. Even Elias, who had been busy, paused and stared.
Brian muttered, “You’re a Grantz. I’ve never seen a Grantz catch a cold.”
Ye Muo belatedly caught on. “But Mom never let me get wet.”
“Aw,” Belinda couldn’t help sigh, “he’s so sweet.”
Beside her, Fiona took another sip of wine. “Right?”
