The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

ASTRID almost face-palmed when he heard Wulfric directly introducing himself. The only saving grace was him not saying his royal surname. Although it didn't really change anything, considering that the golden eyes and the strands of his white hair that showed when he raised his head and lowered his mask a bit completely revealed his identity.

He looked at his two friends and saw that both had frozen. Even after Wulfric put back his mask to cover the lower half of his face, the two still remained frozen.

It took Kiran a while to recognize the man in front of him. At first, he only felt that he was familiar. Thinking that he might have seen him on the StarNet or on a TV series or something. Since he was friends with Astrid, he might also be an actor. But when the other introduced himself, he finally managed to put a finger on who he was.

Wulfric de Lunaris.

The Butcher of Orus!

And he completely froze after that.

Snow, on the other hand, quickly recognized the man the moment he saw that pair of golden eyes. The prince of the Empire.

It's not because he was an aristocrat, it's because of Ash. He knew that Ash's brother was the second-in-command of the Fenris Squad. And that the general leading them was Wulfric de Lunaris. Besides, there was that kidnapping incident the last time when he woke up at the military base.

From what his father had told him, it was a member of the Fenris Squad who saved him. So, the memory was still fresh in his mind. That's why he quickly connected things.

But despite that, his shock was no less than Kiran.

Both of them had the same thoughts swirling in their mind. What the hell was Astrid doing with the prince? Was Astrid in trouble? Was he being blackmailed?

With all of those thoughts, they both knew they couldn't just freeze here. They both still had to respond.

Snow was the first one to get back to his senses. "Hello, I'm Snow Campbell. It's an honor to meet Your Highness."

After Kiran heard that, he started to panic a bit. Should he also introduce himself? How? What if he got tongue-tied? What if this guy, who he heard a lot of crazy stories about, got annoyed at him and sent him to some barren planet?

At the end, he just robotically said, "K-Kiran Hope. Nice to- I mean, your honor." He stopped, realizing that he looked really foolish right now. Then, he took a deep breath and said what he had to properly, "Your Highness, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm glad to meet you two as well," the prince said, acting like he really didn't mind their awkwardness. "Thank you for being a good friend to Aster. I hope you'll continue to be a good friend to him."

The curiosity and awkwardness they're feeling somewhat vanished when they heard what the prince said. It's not the content of what he said, it's the way he said it. Like a parent thanking the friends of his child. Only that he was obviously not Astrid's parent. Making it even weirder and transforming his parent-like tone into something... else.

As if he was meeting his lover's friends and entrusting his lover to them.

A very dangerous and weird notion. But then again, wasn't the fact that Astrid was actually friends with the prince already in the realm of impossibility? And yet here they were, sitting side by side in front of them. So, suspending their disbelief was really not conducive.

The only thing they could do right now to move the situation along was to accept that this was really happening.

"Yes, we're more than glad to do that," Snow said in response to what the prince had said.

"Right, right," Kiran could only add.

A small smile crossed Wulfric's lips behind the mask. He could see that the two young men were very much nervous right now. But they managed to get ahold of themselves and not let that nervousness control them.

If the ones in front of him were any other people, they would have probably already been hysterical. So, for that, he could only commend them.

With that, it's probably right to just go now. If he continued to stay here, these two would definitely not be able to relax. Since he had already introduced himself, there's no need for him to overstay his presence.

"Then, I'll go." He stood up and turned to Aster. "Call me or message me if you need a ride back." Seeing Aster nod, he turned to his two friends. "Nice to meet you two."

Then he turned around and left.

Snow and Kiran both watched the other's back. They didn't speak until they were sure that the other had thoroughly left the restaurant. When they could no longer see the prince's back, and after a few minutes had passed, they were finally able to let out the breath they had been holding.

The first thing they did was to turn to their friend, the 'culprit' of the heart-attack they had almost suffered.

"What was that, Aster? Did you really just bring the butcher here?" Kiran said in a hushed tone to make sure none of the other people in the same floor could hear it.

"Yes. I also like to know how that happened," Snow added.

"Well, first let's not call him 'the butcher'. I know Wulf's reputation is not that stellar, but he's really not a bad person. He had his... faults. Maybe even a lot of them. But he's a good man."

Astrid was surprised that he found himself saying that. And it was not something he said just for the heck of it, he truly meant it. Saying it without even thinking twice showed how much his perception of Wulfric changed from when they first met. From only an obnoxious guy to someone he honestly considered a good man.

"Okay, am I in a dream right now or is our friend really in a nickname basis with the but- sorry, the prince?" Kiran asked, looking scandalized.

"Since I heard the same thing, I doubt it," Snow said.