The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

EDMUND noticed the silence of everyone.  When he looked around and saw that all four were staring at him, he began to panic.  "Sorry!" he quickly said even though he wasn't sure what he should apologized for.

          He just suddenly felt this heavy force inside his head.  His instincts told him that if he didn't answer Astrid's question honestly, that force would just get stronger and stronger.  So, he just said everything he knew.  It was probably because, deep inside, he knew that doing so would not really have that much of a consequence.  That's why it didn't take long for him to just reveal everything. 

Hildred bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing.  Really, Edmund could be so wonderfully cute sometimes.  But to make him panic like this.  He glanced at Astrid.  The mental pressure this teenager let out should be extraordinary. 

Reas' expression was blank.  Did he hear that right?  That arrogant prince actually apologized to his brother?  Was that the reason why Astrid could laugh so freely with him around?  If he put that into account, then it would explain a lot of things.  But how could that guy who didn't care about anything and only cared about the things he wanted do that?  It almost felt like one of the great mysteries of the universe.

Wulfric's face was only filled with black lines.  If Aster was not here, he really wanted to kick Edmund until some of his IQ returned.  What was he doing blurting out all that?  Did he even want to leave him some face?  Why did he even look so afraid in the first place?  It's not as if Aster was threatening him or something.  He stopped.  Wait- could it be--?  And then he glanced at the teenager.

Aster was now looking at Edmund with eyes filled with amusement.  Well, that was a stone off his back.  At least, Aster seemed not that angry anymore.  Wait- that's not it, did the other actually used his mental strength on Edmund to force him to confess?  He was too focus on worrying that Aster might hate him again that he barely noticed any fluctuation on the other's mental strength.

If that was indeed the case, then he should probably put Edmund under some mental training.  Even if Aster had SSS level mental strength, he was still a captain of Fenris Squad.  He should at least know how to resist.

Anyway, as expected, Aster was really great.  To be able to make one of his captains succumb like that. 

Astrid indeed used a bit of his mental strength.  He just didn't expect that this Edmund would quickly give up and just tell him everything.  Was the army under Wulfric going to be alright?

But because of Edmund's honest confession, he was not so angry anymore because of what happened to Reas.  It was a good thing that he picked this guy to ask instead of Hildred.  It's not just because Edmund looked more honest.  Hildred just looked like some smiling sly fox who would not hesitate to trick a child if it was to his advantage. 

Hildred, who seemed to read what he was thinking, turned to him and smiled.  "This little brother's injury should not be fully healed yet.  There's a medical cabin in our aircraft.  It's better to let him use it.  We can also drop you guys to where you currently live, that is if you're already done with your filming."

Reas seemed to have woken up when he heard that.  "No--!"

"Okay," Astrid said before Reas could finish what he wanted to say.

Reas turned to his brother.  "Aster!"

"He's right.  It's better for you to use a medical cabin to make sure that there wouldn't be any sequelae," Astrid said.

"Then we can just use a medical cabin here!  I'm sure there is one," Reas insisted.  This was a high-establishment.  Not having at least one medical cabin around was just simply impossible.

Wulfric cleared his throat.  "Since this incident was the fault of my subordinates, it's only right that we take responsibility for it."

Reas glared at the prince.  "Heh, Your Highness, are you sure that's the only reason you want us in your aircraft?"

Wulfric ignored the obvious taunting in the other's voice.  He even thought that he had been quite mature in dealing with this guy.  If it was before, he probably had already beaten him up or something. 

But he couldn't deny that he was indeed correct.  He wanted to spend more time with Aster and he also wanted to know where he currently lived.  How could he eat his homecooked meals if he didn't even know his current address?  And it would be better to get Aster's address in an open manner rather than him secretly looking at it like a stalker.

So, to appease Aster's brother, Wulfric did his best to give Reas a friendly smile.  But little did he know that in Reas' eyes, his smile looked more like a sneer.  Which made the other even angrier.

Astrid saw that his brother was already on verge of attacking Wulfric.  He gently held Reas' uninjured hand.  "Reas, it's okay now."

Reas gazed down at his brother and when he saw the emotion in the other's eyes, he immediately knew what Astrid wanted to convey to him.  His brother was basically telling him that the problems they thought they would encounter once they met the prince again would no longer happen.  He wasn't really convinced about that. 

He wanted to ask Astrid if he changed his mind just because that prince apologized.  But he didn't really want the others to hear his brother's answer to that.  So, he just promptly shut his mouth.  Even so, he still couldn't understand why his brother would suddenly change his mind just because of a simple apology.  Did that annoying prince kneel down and prostrate himself in front of Astrid or something?

But despite all the complaints inside his heart, at the end, he could only say, "Fine."

Wulfric almost pumped his fist when he heard that.  He could barely contain his excitement when he said, "Good.  Then, if there's nothing else, let's leave now."