Chapter 131 Extra: Daily Life in the Interstellar World
◎The Archon and His Runaway Emperor◎
The traffic light at the airport flickered twice, and the Star Destroyer that had just jumped out of the black hole was like a model squeezed out of a huge bubble. It popped out in complete shape and slowly docked with the airport berth. The blue flame at the stern gradually went out, and the huge starship quietly rested on the berth.
The cabin at the belly of the starship popped open, and a streamlined, technologically advanced small spaceship slid out smoothly from it, flying towards the airport exit first.
People who were waiting in line to be checked by airport staff saw the tail of the spacecraft and immediately shouted in dissatisfaction: "How did it get in? It cut in line?!"
Someone with better eyesight saw the blue light of the spacecraft passing through the laser defense line of the airport: "They have permission to enter without inspection. They must be from the military, right? Military personnel are given priority."
As soon as these words were spoken, there were fewer people murmuring and complaining. They looked at the spaceship, which had long disappeared, with envy and sighed so that only they could hear it.
In this era of frequent wars, soldiers have higher privileges than ordinary people. I heard that fighting broke out again on the edge of the Ninth Galaxy last month. I don’t know if it’s a newly discovered race or an old rival. I hope it’s not some kind of invincible silicon-based creature, otherwise there will be another interstellar retreat... The Central Galaxy is still very stable now, and the royal family also attends various weekly activities on time, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.
The spaceship quietly passed through the central area, made three short jumps, and finally docked in Florence - this small planet cluster named after the City of Ten Thousand Cities in the ancient Earth era consists of a central planet and eight companion satellites, and Florence is the name of the central planet where the monarch of the empire lives.
The hatch of the spaceship opened, and a tall man in a black uniform, a short cape on his shoulders, and iron-gray hair tied behind his head was seen. He was slowly taking off his gloves, and the deacons waiting below looked up at him tremblingly: "Your Excellency the Archon..."
The group of people at the airport before were wrong about one thing. This spaceship does not belong to the military, but is the property of the Administrative Office. All political affairs of the ten major galaxies are under the coordination of the Administrative Office, but they seldom perform cross-galaxy duties, so it is normal for them to be misunderstood.
As the head of the administrative agency, His Excellency the Archon, who has been stationed in the Central Galaxy or even Florence all year round, has not left here for twenty years. In fact, if something had not happened that required his intervention, he might have stayed in the Central Galaxy until the end of time.
"Is His Majesty back?" The deacons looked behind the man cautiously. Although they had received the news a long time ago, it was difficult for them to feel at ease until they saw the Emperor in person.
"Um... Rafa?"
The Archon turned around and called out calmly.
After a while, under the eager gaze of the deacons, another slender figure slowly moved out from behind the archon.
"Thank God, Your Majesty! You are finally back!" These deacons, who graduated from the top universities in the Central Galaxy and have at least one doctorate in literature, history and philosophy, all sighed like screaming chickens, like a group of old mothers who were exhausted by their naughty children.
"As expected, no one can catch His Majesty except the Governor..." This was the words of a straightforward person who accidentally spoke out his true feelings.
What motivated the consul to abandon his numerous official duties and rush all the way to the border was that the young emperor, who had succeeded to the throne at a young age and was still a month away from adulthood, had run away from home in Florence without anyone noticing. The deacons did not discover this horrifying fact until twelve hours after he had disappeared.
His Majesty the Emperor, who is full of energy, has not been easy to take care of since he was a baby. His Majesty Queen Amenra, who came from three galaxies away to marry him, once got a headache whenever she saw her son. In order to evade the responsibility of raising children, she even took her army to the front line to fight. The other unlucky Emperor was confined at home by the Infant and Child Protection Law and had to take on the responsibility of raising children.
When Raphael turned three and was able to run and jump, the power of this lively, intelligent and energetic child was fully revealed.
He is lively and active. As long as he is out of sight for one minute, he can climb to any unexpected place, including the holes in the rockery, the wall lamps, the top of the bookshelf, and even follow the garbage truck out of the manor. He is very smart. He pretends not to understand anything that he doesn't like, and in a very short time he learns to act coquettishly in different ways to different people to escape punishment. He is energetic and never feels tired. He will even fight jet lag with others!
When the little prince was five years old, His Majesty Delacroix was completely defeated by his son. He could not wait to leave the central galaxy in the name of supporting the front line, and solemnly entrusted the little prince to his cousin who had just come of age.
Julius, who was forced to take on the responsibility of raising children as soon as he became an adult: …
Julius: I can’t laugh.
The little prince sat in his arms with a smile on his face, his round face was blushed with pink, his pair of lavender eyes were rounder than grapes, and his short light blond hair was tied up in a sky-high bun. No matter how you looked at him, he was an incredibly cute and beautiful baby.
Facing Julius' stern gaze, the little prince who was "notorious" within the royal family curved his eyes, and with a "pop" sound, he blew out a small bubble, looking as innocent as possible.
But based on Julius's more than ten years of bitter experience in fighting wits and courage with him, the first condition for controlling Raphael is not to believe any expression made by this pretty face!
The tempered Archon held the emperor's back with one hand and said calmly, "There is a live broadcast tonight that requires you to show your face, and there is also a newspaper interview. I have already written the manuscript. Go back and take a look."
Raphael opened his eyes wide and looked at him in disbelief: "I just got back!"
Julius: “Yes.”
Raphael: "I need to rest!"
The Archon finally lowered his head and looked at the young monarch: "If you hadn't run away from home, you would have rested for many days."
Raphael was even more shocked: "But I walked on my own ability! What does this have to do with my rest!"
He can still be justified.
Julius felt his temples begin to ache.
The little Majesty who grew up in a honey pot is very good at acting like a spoiled child. Perhaps all children who are loved have this talent. They can instinctively tell who will give in to them and enjoy such giving in calmly.
To put it simply, he is very good at taking advantage of others' favor and becoming arrogant.
Arrogant and spoiled, Raphael, Julius thought about these two words together and felt his head hurt even more.
This is what I brought up, he muttered to himself, and discovered with sadness that it seemed that he was really the one who needed to take the blame for Raphael's current personality.
The Archon sighed tiredly, and Raphael leaned in front of him with his head tilted, his long light blonde hair hanging on his chest. He looked like a cat pretending to be ignorant after doing something bad, his lavender eyes were full of sly smiles, and his handsome face was shining with such a lively smile.
"You haven't finished your homework yet." The Archon said coldly, not at all moved by the Emperor's beauty.
Raphael immediately showed a nonchalant expression, and quickly walked past Julius, trying to shake off his mentor and uncle: "What homework? I'm going to take a shower first. What time is the live broadcast?"
A deacon glanced at the archon and answered cooperatively, "Six thirty standard time."
Raphael rushed down the escalator in two steps. On the last step, he suddenly felt his collar tighten. A familiar feeling of oppression made his head sink an inch.
Julius grabbed the young emperor by the collar like a cat by the neck and said gently, "It's still early. There's still time for you to take a class on ancient literature history. In order to save your bathing time, how about we take the class while walking?"
Although he used a consulting tone, his expression did not show any sign of seeking advice. His eyes, which were exactly the same shape as Raphael's, were full of hidden threats. The young emperor's eyes soon welled up with tears, but the hard-hearted consul was obviously unmoved. The emperor, who had used his trump card but still failed to escape, moved his arms helplessly: "Alright, alright, why are you so easily angry? Your subordinates actually praised you for your good temper. Are they crazy?"
Raphael, who had successfully gained freedom from Julius, straightened his clothes and raised his eyelids lazily: "Please, Lord Archon?"
Although he said please, the proud monarch still walked ahead. Julius casually threw his gloves to the butler who was waiting at the side, and turned his head to simply instruct: "Raise the water temperature a little, and prepare some snacks. He didn't eat well outside."
The uncle and nephew soon disappeared in the olive-growing fields.
Between the olive and oak tree-lined avenues, the white pigeons kept in the pigeon cages were released at the designated location. Flocks of snow-white birds flew over the tops of the tall Metasequoia trees. Raphael stretched out his hand and caught a falling white feather.
“A symbol of luck.” Julius glanced at the feather.
Raphael held the feather and turned around twice: "Is it considered lucky to be caught by you?"
Julius was calm and pushed his silver-rimmed glasses on his nose. "In a few days, the star field outside the third ring of the Ninth Galaxy will enter a wartime alert state. At that time, all the men of marriageable age stranded there will have to wait for assignment notifications. If I hadn't taken you away first, once the identity recognition device was installed, the entire star field would have broadcast the announcement of the emperor's arrival - so, yes, you are very lucky to be caught by me."
Raphael winked at his mentor and inserted the snow-white feather into the button of Julius' collar: "Then I will give you my luck - but I am only going to see my mother."
Julius let him touch his clothes and looked at Raphael, who was pretending to be obedient, without saying a word: "Her Majesty the Queen has been stationed in the Eighth System. The notice of the change of guard was signed by you personally."
Raphael pretended to be shocked: "What! When did it happen? Why don't I remember it?"
Julius simply didn't want to comment on his exaggerated acting.
The young monarch put his hands behind his back and backed away from Julius. “I just think Florence is too boring. The last time it went on a tour was ten years ago, and there were so many people following. You promised me that you would take me out, but you just give me a perfunctory reply every year!”
The monarch deliberately raised his voice to express his dissatisfaction, and lightly ignored the difficulties and obstacles of fleeing from Florence to the Ninth Galaxy. He changed the subject: "By the way, I also found a lot of loopholes in the Administration Office. Even without legal identification, I can run from the Central Galaxy to the Ninth Galaxy unimpeded. Regarding this matter, shouldn't the Archon give me an explanation?"
His expression was too nonchalant, as if he had just suddenly remembered this incident during a casual conversation and mentioned it casually. He even enthusiastically talked to Julius about his amazing operation of avoiding various checkpoints.
Julius listened patiently, always walking one step beside Raphael. They had walked on this tree-lined path countless times. When Raphael was still young, he had to bend down to hold his hand. At that time, he mostly told Raphael historical stories. Little Raphael had a quick mind and a lot of questions. Often, he couldn't finish a story in one trip, and all his time was spent answering Raphael's strange questions.
When Raphael was a little older, the child became impatient to be led by someone. He ran back and forth, circling around people's feet, like an energetic and lively kitten, trying to trip the unfortunate guy every time he was not paying attention. But the child's body was warm and soft, and when he was tired of running and clinged to people's legs with his face tilted up and chattering, even the most heartless person would resign himself to his fate and carry him on his back.
Raphael fell asleep on Julius' back many times - or in his arms, and until he went out to receive secondary education, all his course enlightenment was completed by Julius.
Although Raphael never said it, Julius was the person he trusted most.
It was just that perhaps this was a political instinct running in his blood. The naturally intelligent monarch did not regard Julius as an elder to be relied on, but as an ally, companion, or collaborator who stood shoulder to shoulder with him - of course, this was when personal matters were not involved.
After all, His Majesty Raphael is still a minor who needs the supervision of his uncle to sleep peacefully.
"I'll be an adult in a month!" Raphael protested while lying in the quilt.
The Archon, who had also finished bathing and changing clothes, with wet hair, sat down on a chair by the window with a paper book in his hand. Without even raising his eyelids, he squeezed out a low voice from his throat perfunctorily: "Hmm."
"I'm almost an adult!" Raphael couldn't stand it anymore and sat up on the bed, staring at him with lavender eyes angrily, "How can someone of this age be watched sleeping?"
“Yes,” Julius turned a page slowly, his two slender legs crossed, and the thin chain hanging from the edge of his glasses rustled with his movements. “How can someone of this age still think about running away from home every day?”
He raised his eyes and said thoughtfully, "But that's true. In another month, when you become an adult, it won't be called running away from home. It will be called leaving the house with nothing."
Raphael was so angry that he fell backwards and threw a pillow at him: "You are the one who will be kicked out! I will remove your position right now and make you leave Florence completely!"
Julius nodded politely, half smiling, and extended his right hand politely in the direction of the study: "Your Majesty, please."
He grabbed the pillow and placed it behind his waist. Raphael, who had lost his pillow, fell back on the bed angrily. He turned over twice in helplessness and rage, grabbed the quilt to cover his head, as if he didn't want to see him again.
Julius smiled silently, looking at the rolled-up quilt with an indulgent and gentle look. After a long time, guessing that Raphael had fallen asleep, Julius stood up, walked to the bed, and gently pulled down the quilt that covered Raphael's head and face.
Raphael's face was red from the heat, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his temples. Julius was so stubborn that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He adjusted the quilt for him a little, wiped the sweat from Raphael's forehead, looked at him for a long time, gently touched the monarch's messy golden hair, and kissed him on the forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Rafa."
The Archon's voice was low and soft.
The sky outside the window was adjusted to a deep black, and the bright starry sky was gorgeously spread out. The stars were rotating and moving along their trajectories. The time here was still long, enough for them to have one peaceful dream after another.
The author has something to say:
I’m going to try a background that I’ve never written before. I’ve always wanted to write an interstellar background. This is just a very simple daily story hahahaha. Let’s see what kind of naughty nature Raphael, who has been cared for and loved growing up, has. Is he sweet? [Fat Pigeon rubbing his hands] There will be a special story about Julius’ past life later, but it involves the cause of Raphael’s death, which is a bit of a spoiler. I’m considering how to change it better.
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