The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

SEEING the conflicted expression on Wulfric's face, Astrid already had an idea on what's happening. "Is there a problem with the aquarium?"

Wulfric showed a guilty expression. "There was an accident and the aquarium had to close today."

Astrid was quite surprised by that. And then, he suddenly had a huge urge to laugh. This was the second time that the other's plan failed. It's kind of cruel to even think of wanting to laugh. Because he was sure Wulfric put a lot of effort in this. But it's still kind of funny. 

He bit his inner cheek to prevent himself from laughing. "That's okay. We can just go to some other place."

"I'm sorry, I should have planned more carefully," Wulfric said, looking very apologetic. He was like a puppy with his ears and tail down.

Astrid smiled. "I told you, it's okay. It's not a big deal. We can just go to another place. It's not even nine o'clock in the morning yet. There's still a lot of activities we can do. So, there's no need to feel guilty. Here, let me do a quick search."

He didn't wait for Wulfric's respond and simply opened his Terminal, searching for a place they could go to near this area. It didn't take long before the results appeared. He clicked the top result. It was a horror theme park. He read the description and the reviews.

The theme park was located on a floating island. Because its theme was 'horror', the whole island was covered by a special shield that mimicked the night time. So, even if customers visited during the day, the inside would still be night. There were also a lot of positive reviews. 

Astrid put changed the setting of his Terminal to public and showed the virtual screen containing the information about the horror theme park to Wulfric. "How about this one?"

Wulfric looked at Aster's Terminal. 'Nightmare Safari', a horror theme park? He raised his head and saw the other smiling. Since Astrid suggested this place, then he had no problem with it. Besides, did he even have the right to refuse after his two blunders? Even if Aster asked him to go to the garbage disposal site, he would be more than willing to do so.

"I'll ask someone to get us tickets," he said and then quickly contacted Leland. 

[Wulfric: Leland, can you get me two VVIP tickets to Nightmare Safari?]

[Leland: Ahem. Your Highness, although I'm happy that your love life is finally blooming, please refrain from asking assistance like this at every turn. With that said, I will send the tickets to you shortly.]

Within minutes, two VVIP tickets were sent to Wulfric's mailbox. He grinned. Despite this guy complaining, his work was still as efficient as ever.

[Wulfric: Thanks, Leland!]

-----

Back at the military base, Leland, who just read this reply, spewed the water he's drinking. And it landed exactly on his younger brother's face.

Ash wiped the water on his face and then looked at his older brother worriedly. "Brother! What happened? Did you choke or something? Wait- that water has your saliva, argh… I need to wash my face!"

Leland with black lines on his face could only watch his brother rushed to the washroom. He shook his head and elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth as if he's not the one who spewed water just earlier. 

He once again looked at the reply of the prince. And then smiled helplessly. For all the years that he knew the other, he would never say 'thank you' for such a simple thing. He would only do so when it involved life and death situations. Because for the prince, between the five of them – Slade, Hildred, Edmund, the prince, and him – there's no need to say thanks for such simple matters. 

Leland could see that this 'thanks' was definitely something that the prince said out of excitement. It seemed that this Astrid Townsend really had quite the effect on the prince. 

Under normal circumstance, he would have already done a background check on the teenager. But if he did, the prince would definitely not like it. Since this was something related to the other's personal life, it's best to just let the prince handle it. 

It's not like the prince was stupid enough to let someone dangerous get close to him. So, right now, he could only wish the other good luck in this new venture.

-----

After arriving at the floating island where the Nightmare Safari was, they parked the aircraft and immediately walked to the entrance. Because they had VVIP tickets, they didn't need to line up and was able to go inside quickly.

The parking space and the entrance were not included in the special barrier. So, when they entered, the sudden change in the lighting made Astrid closed his eyes. When he opened them, he suddenly felt like they were transported to gothic wonderland. 

There was a castle with a spooky atmosphere, bats flying, purple flashes on the obsidian sky as if lighting would cast down on everyone at any second. The full moon was even red as if it was bleeding.

Well, they certainly got the atmosphere right. – Astrid thought.

"Where should we go first?" he asked Wulfric. 

"You choose. I'll follow."

Astrid grinned. "What if I choose something that you don't like?"

"It's fine. I'll still follow you."

Astrid was amused by that answer. "Then, let's go."

He grabbed Wulfric's hand and ran towards the spooky castle.

Wulfric was startled. He looked down at their hands clasped together. He felt something warm travelling from his palm to his arm and then straight to his heart. It was such a weird feeling. But he didn't dislike it. In fact, he welcomed it very much. It's like submerging himself in a pool of the sweetest chocolate in the galaxy.

The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a smile. Yes, he liked this very much.

He entwined their fingers together. Aster glanced back at him. He thought the other would pull back because of his sudden move. But instead, Aster only smiled at him.

At that moment, he suddenly felt very fulfilled.