AHEIAID Chapter 15: Who the Heck is Riding a Giant Eagle!
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"So, this is the ‘rare beast’ you specifically contacted me to brag about?"
After finishing his report, Saxis' eyes slid to the corners, glancing with interest at the little creature lying on the soft carpet. Ever since they entered the room, it had been somewhat wary.
"So this is what our ancestors looked like? It looks nothing like the ones in that movie Return to Prehistory. Can it use magic? The ones in the movie could."
"It cannot, Saxis." Garius glanced at Joey and said indifferently, "Humans are fragile and docile."
"I knew it."
Trimmed nails, omnivorous teeth, and those round, harmless eyes… My god, how did the ancient humans conquer Earth? By acting cute?
Saxis had the urge to reach out and pat the little guy on the head.
Although over half of Sector 13 was made up of non-human supremacists, Saxis just so happened to belong to the other faction.
He had been fascinated with human legends since childhood. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to watch movies about them.
"It looks pretty boring. Your Excellency, may I…?"
Saxis was loyal to Garius personally. Aside from their superior-subordinate relationship, they also had a good personal friendship. The handsome man smiled radiantly.
"Please, just as a reward for this mission. We can skip the performance points. My sister likes humans too. We’ll just take it to the lounge to play for a while. I promise."
Garius was silent for a moment before beckoning to Joey, who had been secretly perking up his ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Although Joey had already learned from the system that this guy wanted to take him out to play, he still had to put on a proper act.
He pitter-pattered over to Garius, clumsily climbed onto his lap, propped his arms against the man’s chest, and—mimicking a kitten—suddenly bumped his forehead against Garius’ chin. Then, in this position, he rubbed his cheek against the man’s jaw and neck repeatedly.
In an ultra-soft whisper, he murmured, “Garius, Garius…”
Holy sh*t!
It’s super cute~!
Saxis and his three-member squad behind him widened their eyes, utterly overwhelmed by the sheer adorableness.
Even Garius’ normally serious expression softened.
A cute pet could heal the heart and soothe the soul. As a first-time owner, even someone like Garius Heine couldn’t help but feel a trace of joy at his little pet’s clinginess.
"Joey, be good. Go play with them for a while. I’ll have Amon bring you back later."
Garius knew the little creature didn’t understand Ottoman, but out of fondness, he still offered a comforting explanation. Then, he picked up the dazed-looking human in his arms and handed him over to Saxis across the table.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!"
Saxis excitedly reached out, feeling the softness beneath his fingers, his grin stretching wide.
"We’re heading out!"
"Hm." Garius nodded.
Hehehe, time to go play—
Wait!
Oh, crap, almost forgot.
Joey suppressed his excitement about going out. As the tall, unfamiliar Ottoman turned away, he clung to the man's shoulder, stealing glances at Garius’ face and forcing his usually lifeless eyes to sparkle just a bit.
"Garius!"
Already focused back on his work, Garius paused upon hearing the timid call.
He looked up to see the little curly-haired creature wearing an anxious, frightened expression.
It looked at the man holding him, then at Garius. Looked at the doorway, then back at Garius... As if not understanding why his caretaker had suddenly changed or why he was being taken away.
Or rather, as if he didn’t understand that he was only going to play for a while—not being permanently separated from his master.
So he stretched out both arms toward Garius, eyes growing red with urgency, calling his name in a foreign tongue while struggling in panic, as if pleading to be taken back.
Garius said nothing.
He watched as Saxis carried the human away, whispering soothing words.
Then, as usual, Garius returned his attention to the documents on his desk, the silence in the room so profound that even time seemed frozen.
One paper after another was reviewed and set aside. A few minutes later, Garius checked the time, paused, put down his pen, and pressed his fingers to his brow.
The mighty and authoritative Lord Heine had just experienced the universal struggle of every pet owner leaving their beloved companion in someone else’s care.
Time seemed slower than usual.
The surroundings felt even quieter... Would Saxis feed the human something unsuitable? Perhaps he should send Amon over with some nutritional meat porridge...
He couldn’t deny that, just like its owner, his cold and lonely heart felt an unfamiliar twinge of reluctance at this brief separation.
———
Meanwhile...
[System: I don’t get it.] The system suddenly spoke. [Pet Daddy already agreed to let you play. Why did you act like that? What if he changed his mind?]
Joey blinked. "Oh, little system, you’re still too young."
[System: ?]
Joey: "Tell me—if you had a pet and this happened, would you be happier if it clung to you and refused to leave or if it ran off joyfully without looking back?"
Nothing makes a pet owner’s heart melt more than their little baby’s unwavering attachment.
The system had an epiphany. [Genius. Absolute genius. Host, you’re becoming more and more of a manipulative bastard.]
Joey smirked. "Please, call me a beast. Now check if my pet daddy’s favorability went up."
[Let me see... Whoa! It went up two points! It’s at 21 now!]
Joey’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. He mentally gave himself a high-five.
Step one of "Taming the Owner"—success!
———
Over in the lounge, Saxis' teammates had resisted touching Joey in his presence.
But as soon as they entered the Zone 62 lounge, their serious expressions vanished.
A red-haired woman shrieked in excitement, startling Joey before snatching him out of Saxis’ arms!
"Don’t grab—Lena, don’t grab—"
"Let me touch him! Let me touch him! So this is a human? I saw him on the livestream!"
"Me too! Thank you, Zone 13! Thank you, Lord Heine! Does this mean we’ll see humans all the time now?"
"I bet we will!"
"Holy crap! This is amazing!"
The four predators descended upon the human, petting him into oblivion.
Joey was shell-shocked.
Hands. So many hands.
His already paranoia-induced fear of balding escalated as his curly hair was mercilessly ruffled. His round eyes nearly popped out from being stretched and squeezed. His belly, butt, feet, even his fingers—
Joey, staring at the enormous grinning faces above him, felt his pupils shrink in terror.
Oh. My. God.
So this is what it feels like to be a pet?!
What kind of sadistic monsters are these people?!
"GUARDS! SOMEBODY HELP! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME—!"
———
Ten minutes later, Joey lay sprawled on the couch, traumatized.
His glazed eyes brimmed with unshed tears. His disheveled clothes and messy hair screamed of victimization.
Meanwhile, the four culprits snapped photos with gleeful smiles, even making him pose occasionally.
Then came the final blow—
"Hey, isn't Shuru in his nest?" The blond man, Schuerman, grinned. "He’s from ancient Earth too. They’d totally get along."
Joey, still recovering: ...The hell is Shuru?
He soon found out.
A towering white-and-gray eagle, standing nearly six feet tall when perched in its steel nest.
Joey froze as its sharp beak and piercing brown eyes locked onto him.
The eagle tilted its head, considering him.
...Was it deciding if he was food?!
Joey swallowed hard.
What kind of movie has humans riding THIS?!
I AM NOT A DRAGON RIDER, DAMMIT—!
T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊
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