The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"ASTER? Why--"

Wulfric said in a surprised tone. Of course, he would be surprised. This Terminal number should only be known to the upper echelon of his army. If it's not because he knew Aster's Terminal number by heart, he wouldn't even bother answering this video call.

"How did you get this number?" he asked more accurately.

Astrid looked at the background of where Wulfric was and noticed that he must be in some kind of small room. Something that he never thought he would see the other in. Even the other's current appearance was different.

His white hair had now changed into a different color, even his golden eyes were not the same. The atmosphere he usually had was now turned into something wild and dangerous. He now looked more like a space pirate than anything else.

Astrid controlled the urge to ask the other where he was now or what he was doing. Because he knew that it must be some kind of top-secret mission that he, as a normal citizen, shouldn't inquire about. Even the fact that he was now contacting the other must be breaking a lot of laws already.

Lieutenant Brewer must have known that more than anyone else, but he still have this Terminal number to him just so he could contact Wulfric. Which meant that Wulfric going public with this mission must be truly dangerous for them.

He smiled and said, "Where I got this number was really not that important. There's something that the two of us needed to talk about."

Although still confused, Wulfric very much welcomed a conversation with Aster. When was the last time he had seen his face like this? Seeing the other in person was still the best, but a face-to-face video call came in close second.

"Okay, what should we talk about?"

"I heard that you plan to make the exploits of your current mission public?"

Hearing that, Wulfric felt like something tingled in his brain. Suddenly the question of where Aster found this number became crystal clear. It must have been Leland.

That guy. The other had been very adamant in agreeing with him about this 'going public' thing. He couldn't believe that Leland would actually go to the Capital and meet Aster just so he could ask the other to convince him to change his mind. Because why else would Aster have this Terminal number and even trying to open up a subject about his plan to go public with this mission, which was something Leland and Slade only knew?

Heck, when did Leland even have the time to go to the Capital in the first place when he was supposed to be in Beowulf to monitor their mission's progress?

No, Leland contacting Aster didn't necessarily mean that the two met. Maybe that guy just contacted Aster. Either way, Leland still shouldn't have done that.

As Astrid didn't receive an immediate response from Wulfric, he had no choice but to observe the other's expression. And based on how his furrowed brows became increasingly deeper as the seconds passed by, it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking.

So, before the other started making outrageous assumptions, he said first;

"Whatever you're thinking, it's definitely not it. No one is at fault here but Wulf. So, I hope you won't go around blaming innocent soldiers of your army for something that you did."

At the way Wulfric's eyes widened a bit, Astrid knew that his guess was right. He sighed inwardly. It seemed that he not only had to convince the other to abandon his plan to publicize their army's current mission, he also had to stop him from punishing people he thought was responsible for Astrid having this conversation with him.

"How can it be my fault?" Wulfric asked in an almost aggrieved tone.

"Because Wulf is planning to do something that could endanger the lives of your soldiers. So, yes, it could only be your fault."

Wulfric truly wanted to curse at that moment. Why did it sound suddenly like he was the bad guy? Once again, the thought of punishing Leland crossed his mind. This urge became even stronger after hearing what Aster said.

"Wulf, stop thinking about punishing anyone, will you?"

Wulfric looked at Aster, feeling incomprehensible. Now that he thought about it, why did it seem like the other knew exactly what he was thinking?

"Aster, can you read my mind?" he couldn't help but asked.

Aster looked at him as if he was wondering if there's something wrong with his brain. "Of course not. I just understand you well enough to guess what you were thinking. And I seem to be right, most of the time."

Wulfric was startled when he heard that explanation.

[Aster... understands me?]

That particular phrase echoed in his mind over and over again. All the annoyance and unfairness he had been feeling since this conversation started disappeared in that instant. It was easily replaced by the overwhelming joy that spread from the bottom of his heart to the sole of his feet. That's just how happy he was at that moment.

Suddenly, he no longer cared that Leland went behind his back and contacted Aster so everything could go his way. Even the thought of spreading his heroic exploits for Aster to hear no longer mattered. Just thinking that Aster could understand him and his way of thinking was more than enough to satisfy him.

"Okay. I won't do it. I will no longer go through my plan of publicizing the details of our current mission."

Astrid had been thinking of ways to convince Wulfric into doing just that, but he didn't expect that the other would easily agree without him even presenting his case. He was prepared for a long argument but they didn't even reach the 'arguing' part.

Seeing the goofy smile on Wulfric's face, it didn't take long for him to realize the reason behind this. It could only be because of what he said about understanding the other.

A helpless smile appeared on Astrid's lips. Really, this guy. How could he be this adorable?