Hearing Xie Luanâs words, Xia Qi moved her gaze to the rugged man in front of her. After a few seconds of examination, she finally nodded, agreeing to Xie Luanâs proposition.
At first glance, the middle-aged man gave a bad impression with his unkempt stubble, long hair and wrinkled clothes, but Xia Qi could see that he had a good physique and he theoretically therefore had the ability to work as a guard at their club.
There was of course the problem of his behavior but seeing as he insisted on repaying, Xia Qi felt that although his behavior of just rushing in without thinking had not been appropriate, his heart should still be good and even quite honest.
Thinking of this, Xia Qi said, âThe guardsâ wages will be lower than the caretakersâ and our accountantâs, but it is still 3,000 and our employees are also provided with food and a place to live.â
âIf the work is done well and you want to stay after one year, then you will receive a raise.â This was not Xia Qiâs decision, Xie Luan had already given her the terms for each occupation when she was responsible for interviewing and picking people.
The reason that Xia Qi added the last part was that she felt that the person in front of her looked too unemployed. If he was to be dismissed later, his days may become very bitter. So if he did a good job and was willing to work hard afterward, it would not be impossible for them to continue to provide a job for him even after one year.
Hearing the salary of 3000, the supposed new âgatekeeperâ, a general who led armies to crush countless enemies, listened to their words with a stiff face. Zarad then nodded but it took a while before he was able to squeeze out a reply in between his clenched teeth, ââŚok.â
Originally, Zarad had been ready. No matter how much money the young man wanted, he would immediately agree without blinking. But he had never imagined that the young man in front of him would not follow the routine!
However, in order to restore his abilities, this requirement was nothing at all. Zarad made sure to repeatedly persuaded himself in his heart.
Wasnât it just to work one year as a guard at this cub raising branch? Guarding the gate was also a legitimate profession and any legitimate profession was worth respecting. Thinking this, Zarad pushed aside all his unnecessary thoughts and calmed down.
âThen letâs sign the contract.â Xia Qi had always been a straightforward person and hearing that he agreed, she immediately went to the office to fetch the contract.
The man did not read through the contract and just signed it directly. When signing he slightly paused but he then used his real name, there were many people with the same name in the universe so Zarad[1] did not worry too much about using it.
âZaradâŚ?â Xia Qi looked at the name on the contract and could not help but to give the other a look-over before sighing.
He had the same name as the general of the Star Alliance, as the great hero who maintained peace in the universe, but this person really didnât match the image she had in her mind.
âNothing.â Xia Qi shook her head. âItâs just that the name of our new colleague is exactly the same as a big hero I admire. General Zarad of the Star Alliance, Iâm his fan!â
Who in the interstellar did not know that the United Army, commanded by General Zarad, had not only defeated many but had also successfully completed more than a dozen peace treaties. He was simply brilliant.
However, General Zarad himself was still extremely low-key, which made it so that most people only knew his name and had never seen his face. But this did not prevent him from becoming the object of admiration for many of the younger generations.
Hearing her words, Zaradâs smile couldnât help faltering.
He was good looking, right?! He rarely showed himself to his fans but looking at Xia Qi, she seemed to think âsame name but very different,â Zarad felt a little traumatized.
After signing the contract, Xie Luan went up to the other to chat, âI donât really understand what you meant with âspiritual powerâ and the thing about using the lullaby to guide it⌠But itâs okay as long as I do it like I just did?â
Since he signed the contract, it meant that he was serious and that the things he said were probably true, but Xie Luan did not have any concept of the âspiritual powerâ the other had mentioned.
Xia Qi was also looking at the other person with doubtful eyes holding a bit of curiosity. She was an ordinary person who had not developed any abilities and only had a vague concept of what it was. So although she was a little surprised at what Zarad had just said, she wasnât as clueless as Xie Luan, and was instead very interested in what he could tell her about abilities.
She had not known that a person can use spiritual energy to seal and unseal another personâs ability. But at least she knew the very basic, that in order to do it one would need to possess spiritual energy in the first place. She doubtfully glanced at Xie Luan.
The youth had such powerful spiritual strength but still said that he did not know what it was?? Zarad was stunned and looked over to observe Xia Qi, who stood next to him, but her face only expressed the appearance of ordinary doubts, nothing more. Zarad finally realized that he had a problem.
They really didnât know anything about spiritual energy and abilities, in fact it seemed that they didnât even have a basic knowledge of it, especially the human youth in front of him. It was as if the other person was sitting on a huge treasure without knowing it.
âSpiritual energy is the foundation of abilities. When you hummed the lullaby just now, you unconsciously used it.â At this level of spiritual strength, Zarad even initially wondered if the black-haired youth in front of him really was human, but even if he was another race, that amount of spiritual energy would never be normal.
Even in the mermaid race, where individuals normally had higher spiritual energy than in other races, no one seemed to have such a scary amount of spiritual energy.
Hearing this, Xie Luan was about to open his mouth but stopped himself as Zaradâs words made him think of two things.
It was true that every time he had hummed the lullaby, the cubs lying on their beds would close their eyes and fall asleep. Xie Luan had felt that the lullaby really was too powerful, but according to what the other said, perhaps the real reason that they fell asleep was not because of the lullaby, but because of the spiritual energy being unconsciously guided through it.
Then there was that masochistic circulation device that had magically been repaired by him hitting it. At that time, he had felt a strange feeling of exhaustion for no reason. Now that he thought about it, it would make sense if it was caused by the consumption of his spiritual energyâŚ
He had an ability in this world.
It felt a bit unreal but having already met a deity and traveled to another world, Xie Luan quickly accepted it and sunk into thought. He tried to find the common points from both of the times that he had unconsciously used his power, however what he concluded was actually very close to the philosophy of idealism.[2]
First of all, he had to concentrate, but he also needed to have a strong idea of ââwhat he wanted. Xie Luan felt that he might even be able to create things from thought, but thinking about the deep mental fatigue that he had felt when he fixed the circulation device. Xie Luan understood that what he could do had great limitations and could only be used for some small things.
âMm, I think I understand.â Seeing that Zarad was waiting for his reply, Xie Luan nodded and said this. If his idea was correct, then he should be able to restore the otherâs ability even without the lullaby.
It was one thing to sing lullabies for the cubs, but to do it for an adult⌠If not necessary, Xie Luan wanted to avoid the singing.
Before putting the new employee to work, Xie Luan had him clean up his image and gave him two sets of work clothes.
After shaving and slightly fixing his sloppy brown hair by combing it and tying it together at the neck, the man still looked rough but he gave an entirely different feeling from before and Xie Luan nodded in satisfaction.
But Zarad, who was now wearing the uniform that Xie Luan had given him and was standing by the gate, couldnât help but feel a little embarrassed.
He, a former commander of the Star Alliance United Army, was a guard, a gatekeeper, and it wasnât even at a famous nursing club! If he had told his past self that one day he would come to this, he was not sure he would have believed it..
Thinking of this, Zarad couldnât help but remember one of his old acquaintances. He had recently heard that he was now a major general[3] in the Star Alliance and also a mentor who taught basic battle to cubs at a famous cub raising branch ranked 10th in the interstellar rank. His monthly salary at that place was several hundreds of thousands.
In comparisonâŚ
Zarad thought of his salary of 3000 per month and got even more embarrassed.
However, as a soldier, even if the work was beneath him, Zarad would not slack off and took it seriously. Since he had accepted the job, he would be loyal and work hard.
Meanwhile, he had also planned to look into which people benefited from harming him and try to find the culprit. He had worked for the Star Alliance for so many years, he had nothing else. But it also meant that he had many connections and would easily be able to get information on the matter.
After a few days, the newly hatched nox cub was finally able to move out of the warm hatching room and meet with the other cubs. But since Xie Luan was still a little uneasy about the cold, he cut a piece of his own clothes and made it into a small cloak that could be attached to the neck of the cub. It was first then that he felt reassured enough to pick up the cub and take it out of the room.
âMeow.â When the young man had squatted down to give him the small cloak, the nox cub had squinted his eyes in satisfaction and called out to him.
The fair slender fingers had swayed in his vicinity as he attached it, and the cubâs pupils unconsciously tightened as they followed their moments. He suddenly wanted to feel his scent again so he stood up on his back paws and caught a finger with his mouth and paws.
The nox cub did not bite hard at all, he didnât want to harm the youth, he just wanted him to keep still so he could sniff him. But the nox race was far superior to humans and even though he only bit lightly, his baby teeth were still sharp enough to penetrate a humanâs thin skin.
Seeing this as well as feeling a light sting, Xie Luan kept his hand still. He wasnât scared or angry at the cub, after all, even if its teeth were sharp they were still small and they hadnât penetrated that deeply.
Even if they had done more damage, Xie Luan would still not blame the cub. He had seen how its eyes had followed his fingers and thought that the cub must have been playful and tried to catch him by instinct. He therefore now patiently kept still so that the cub would calm down and let go by itself.
As soon as the cub had bitten down, he had felt that something was wrong and hurriedly let go. Noticing the bright red blood coming from the puncture marks, the cub looked up at the youth with his ears flat against his head. âMahw..â
The corner of Xie Luanâs lip hooked up and he stroked the cubâs back with his other hand before making the final adjustments to the cloak.
However, he suddenly felt a soft sensation on his finger.
The cub was licking the small wounds and feeling satisfied he looked up at the youth and then stroked his head against his hand in an apology.
He never wanted to hurt him.
Feeling touched, Xie Luan picked him up and called out to him in a soft voice, âYa Yiâ
This name was not given to the cub by any of the members in their club, the egg had already been given this name long before it came to their club.
But it wasnât a name that the Star Alliance or any caretaker in the other clubs had assigned it either. Because, when the investigative force found the egg in the ruins of the nox capital, there had been a necklace lying closely next to the egg, and on the necklace were two words engraved, Ya Yi.
The caretakers had already fed the cubs so now was time for them to get something to eat as well. Everyone would prepare lunch and eat together so Zarad left his post and walked into the building where they took care of the cubs. It was then that he saw a small white cub with a cloak tied around its neck and his eyes immediately widened.
A nox cub -? !
Zarad knew that this race, which could be regarded to have committed genocide, left one egg with weak vitality. He also knew that the Star Alliance sent the egg to a nursing club, but he remembered it being sent to a commendable nursing club ranked third. How come it was here now?
That this egg even hatched was even more incredible⌠The life response of this egg had been very weak, Zarad knew that almost no one had thought that it would be able to hatch.
âMah.â Being called by the youth with such a gentle voice, the nox cubâs ears lifted and he quickly responded with a lighter voice.
Zarad watched the young man not far from him, as he carefully held the nox cub in his arms. He still seemed worried that the cub would be cold and used his body temperature to warm the other. Seeing their interaction, Zaradâs eye couldnât help but twitch.
This person knew exactly what kind of race the nox was, but still treated this nox cub as a normal cub⌠Zarad didnât know why, but he had a premonition that something would happen sooner or later.