Chapter 3 Banquet

In the first block of the capital planet, most of the government agencies of the interstellar empire are located here, including the imperial military.

The military headquarters building boasts a long history and a distinctive architectural style. Its exterior is constructed entirely of a single material: black meteorite from Silverstone, creating a silver-gray metallic texture. Its design emphasizes sharp, uncompromising geometric cuts, creating a cool, sharp, and striking visual experience that aligns with the Imperial Military's consistent public image.

At this moment, in the brightly lit banquet hall of the military building, a routine quarterly exchange dinner kicked off.

Nuhra always adapted well to such occasions, even if he didn't particularly enjoy them. Sipping his glass of pre-dinner fruit wine from the planet Lakovi, he took the opportunity to observe the entire venue.

"Did you see anything?"

A smiling female voice sounded beside Nuhra. Nuhra calmly turned around, raised his glass slightly, and greeted the red-haired female officer beside him, who was also wearing a military uniform and had medals hanging on her chest. He said, "Unfortunately, not yet."

"Well, I thought you'd figured out how many people wanted to get into your bed tonight." The red-haired officer pouted regretfully and then teased.

"Admiral Samantha, you think too highly of me. I'm not worth all the effort people put into currying favor with me," Nuhra laughed heartily, downing the remaining wine in her glass. "You're the captain of the Royal Guard. Logically, you should be more sought after than me."

"Heh." Samantha sneered with disdain, "They don't dare to act rashly in front of me."

"It seems that I still don't know how to refuse people." Nuhra took another glass of wine from the robot waiter who was shuttling around, clinked glasses with Samantha, and started drinking the new glass of wine in his hand.

Nuhra savored the wine carefully. The sweet and refreshing fruity aroma made his taste buds identify it as a high-end molecular brewed wine produced by Notiq, a well-known wine brand in the capital star... If his memory served him correctly, Notiq should be the property of the Nar family.

"...Did you save that kid from the Nar family at Vincent Military Academy a while ago?" Samantha followed Nuhra's lead and took a sip of her wine. As she swallowed the rich, refreshing wine, she recalled some rumors she'd heard recently and curiously asked Nuhra, one of the people involved, for confirmation.

"It's just a small favor." Nuhra stared at the orange-yellow wine in the glass, his tone flat, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Old Nar doesn't think so. He's almost giving his son to you as a way of repaying your kindness." Samantha smiled maliciously, her eyes full of gloating joy. "Here he is."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pale-faced young man followed by Old Nar came up to Nuhra and Samantha. A rare smile appeared on Old Nar's usually serious face as he greeted them, "Good evening, both of you."

Samantha said nothing, simply raising her glass in response. Nuhra then took the conversation and said, "Hello, Commander Nar."

"I heard that the military's recent operations in the trade galaxy were a great success, and General Nuhra and the Seventh Army played a great role." Old Nar complimented appropriately, raising his right hand with a ring on it to salute Nuhra. The young man behind him kept his head slightly lowered and remained silent.

"You're too kind," Nuhra said with a smile, "This is all thanks to the full support of His Majesty the Emperor and the joint efforts of all my colleagues." He gladly picked up his glass of wine and clinked it with old Nar.

Samantha was bored watching from the side. After clinking glasses with the two of them, she found an excuse to leave.

"Speaking of which, I have to thank you for what happened to my son, Chris, at school a while ago." Old Nar, after secretly observing his surroundings, moved slightly closer to Nuhra and spoke in a low voice. He waved to the silent young man behind him, inviting him to come forward.

"...Thank you, General Nuhel." The young man, who had been silent the entire time, raised his head, met Nuhel's gaze, and smiled faintly. He was dressed in a black suit that didn't fit in with the outfit. His thin face wore a faint smile, and his dark eyes were calm and composed.

"Who is this...?" Nuhel's smile remained unchanged. He had already guessed that this young man was old Nar's son.

When he had rescued the young man from the wrecked spaceship at Vincent College, his face was covered in blood, and Nuhel hadn't paid much attention to his appearance. Now, while this Corriss had similar features to his parents, his temperament was completely different.

If the Narr couple gave people a feeling of shrewd intimacy, their son Curris had an aloof and distant air. He was not rude enough to offend, but was impressive enough to leave a lasting impression.

"This is my son," said Old Nar, standing nearby. Corris, standing beside him, fell silent again, simply listening to their conversation. Nuherdo glanced at the unnaturally quiet young man, then returned his gaze to Old Nar, who was still arguing.

"Nice to meet you." Nuhel extended his hand to Kris, giving him the proper courtesy. Kris was stunned for a moment, a bit bewildered, and cautiously shook Nuhel's hand back.

Unlike Corris's seemingly cold temperament, his palms were very warm, as if he was holding a ball of fire.

Nuhra subconsciously looked at Chris's face. Chris's eyes were clear and his ears were slightly red. Apart from that, Nuhra didn't notice anything unusual. Instead, Chris was a little puzzled by his sudden action.

Nuhra stared at his reflection in the other's dark pupils. That "Nuhra"'s expression was vaguely wary, calculating, and even arrogant... Samantha's words just now might have affected his judgment. He quickly averted his gaze, naturally withdrawing his hand without saying anything.

Seeing this, Old Nar took the opportunity to ask Nuhra: "I heard that you will be a visiting professor at Vincent College for a while after your return this time?

Old Nar was still talking to himself, but Corris beside him didn't care at all. He relied on Old Nar's body to block his view and looked casually at other places in the banquet hall. All the micro-expressions on his face were full of boredom.

On the surface, Nuhra seemed to be listening carefully to Old Nar's roundabout temptations, but in fact, he was distractedly observing Corris behind Old Nar. Old Nar's son was much more interesting than his father.

Nuhra retracted his gaze and nodded to Old Nar, confirming the accuracy of the information he had said. "Yes, I will temporarily teach at the Vincent Military Academy for a period of time until the next rotation of the Third and Seventh Armies."

"Ah... Actually, I came here to ask you, do you need a teaching assistant? Or a teaching assistant?" Seeing that things had come to this point, Old Nar didn't need to be coy anymore and directly stated his purpose. "After what happened last time, Catherine and I are very worried about Chris. I have no choice but to let this useless child stay with you so that you can take care of him a little more... If it's inconvenient for you, just consider it an impulsive act."

Nuhel raised his eyebrows and did not respond immediately. Instead, he asked Chris: "Chris, are you willing to come and help me?" He was a little curious about what kind of answer the young man in front of him would give.

Nuhra had heard about the recent undercurrents within the aristocratic circles of the Capital Planet. He had already rebuffed numerous offers of friendship, out of a desire to protect his own interests, but he hadn't anticipated Old Nar's devious tactics.

For a moment, both of them focused their attention on Chris, who had been silent for most of the night.

Chris first glanced at his father who was pressing forward beside him, then slowly and politely declined Nuhra, his tone soft and his voice vague: "Thank you for your kindness, Admiral, I don't think I'm suitable..." As he spoke, he smiled awkwardly and looked apologetic.

Old Nar was shocked and furious when he heard what Kris said. His eyes widened, his lips tightened into a line. He quickly realized his mistake, adjusted his expression, and apologized to Nuhra, "I'm sorry, Admiral. Kris was just a little nervous because I made him make a decision so quickly..."

Nuhra smiled and shook his head, indicating that it was fine. He was happy to see this happen. After all, he hadn't really wanted to agree to Old Nar's request. It was even better that Kris had refused himself. He actually enjoyed observing the intense tension between the father and son.

Having seen enough of the drama, Nuhra didn't want to stay any longer and said goodbye to the two who were still in a stalemate: "You two, I have to go to the lounge first. Sorry."

Old Nar had no reason to stop Nuhla, so he could only watch his target walk away. After watching Nuhla's back disappear, he turned to face Corris, who was in a state of confusion. With a gloomy face, he uttered a threat through clenched teeth, "You'll regret this."

Upon hearing this, Corris nodded coldly, indicating that he had heard it but did not want to say any more. His movements were a little slow, as if he was enduring something.

If old Nar had not been immersed in anger at this moment, he would have noticed that his son's face was extremely pale.

In fact, even while he was talking to Nuhra, Kris had been feeling unwell. Waves of nausea followed, intermittent alternations of chills and fever, and the double vision in front of his eyes increased exponentially... He couldn't bear it anymore and muttered, "...I need to go to the bathroom."

After saying this, he pushed away old Nar, who was still glaring at him, without caring about anything, and walked out of the banquet hall with unsteady steps, trying to hold on.

As soon as Corris stepped out of the banquet hall, his body, which had just managed to stand straight, immediately began to stumble uncontrollably. He subconsciously knew he couldn't fall down here, so he held on to something nearby and took small steps forward...

Perhaps it was due to the sudden change in body temperature or the extreme pain, but with every step Chris took, he kept sweating and losing water.

Beads of sweat streamed down his forehead, sliding across his eyelids, blurring his vision. Perhaps only a second or two passed, or perhaps more than ten minutes, before the invisible, nanoscale security system in the corridor finally noticed his abnormality and issued a series of warnings... Soon, several men in the black uniforms of the Imperial Army appeared beside him.

Kris's world had fallen silent. He could only see the person in front of him opening and closing his mouth, as if saying something. He tried to speak in response, but all that came out of his throat was a rough, hoarse, and disturbing gasp.

Seeing that the conversation had yielded no results, the security officers, somewhat at their wit's end, decided to send him to a medical facility. Just as Chris was about to be taken away by the floating medical pod summoned by the security system, a tightly closed metal door suddenly and slowly opened. After a while, he was moved to a brightly lit area, where he lay on a soft bed. The comfort of the surroundings eased his discomfort slightly.

With the help of the light in the room, Chris met a pair of familiar golden-brown eyes through his hazy eyes... Before he could recognize who the other person was, he was plunged into darkness.

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