Paros reached up and gently touched the little fruit resting atop his head, his voice tinged with unease. "Terry... why am I sleeping here? Where did big sister go?"
Terry’s soft, velvety voice drifted down from above. "Daddy, don’t you rember? Mommy’s partners ca. She’s with them right now."
"...Partners?"
Paros frowned. The usual languid dominance on his face had vanished, replaced instead with unmistakable grievance.
"Aren’t I also big sister’s partner? Then why is she with them... and not ?"
If they were all the sa to her, why was he the one left behind?
Terry answered without hesitation, his tone matter-of-fact.
"Isn’t that obvious? The other daddies must be better at making Mommy happy than you are."
"That’s why Mommy lets them stay with her—and not you."
...Was that really it?
The thought struck him harder than any blow. Paros’s eyes reddened faintly, his voice growing softer, edged with sothing fragile.
"Then... what should I do to make her like ? To make her stay with ?"
He didn’t want her with anyone else. He wanted her only with him.
Among dragonkind, possessiveness ran deep. And as their ruler—the strongest of them all—Paros’s was fiercer than most.
"I’m going to find her." He moved to stand.
"Daddy, you absolutely can’t just go like this!" Terry’s voice rang out urgently. "If you disturb Mommy while she’s resting, she’ll like you even less!"
Paros froze mid-step. "...Then what should I do?"
For once, he sounded uncertain.
Terry wobbled slightly, thinking hard. "Terry doesn’t know either... But Terry does know—if you go now, Mommy will definitely be unhappy."
"And if Mommy’s unhappy, she’ll like you even less."
Having a daddy who didn’t know how to compete for affection was truly worrying. Seeing Paros standing there, troubled and lost, Terry suddenly brightened.
"Daddy, how about you spend so star coins and ask on your light brain? Maybe soone who’s good at winning favor can teach you!"
Paros paused.
...That actually made sense.
Without hesitation, he activated his light brain and posted a reward thread—seeking advice on how to win favor.
Not only was he offering a massive sum of star coins, he was also willing to reward the successful answer with two tenth-rank beast cores.
The mont the post went live, it exploded.
In less than a minute, the replies surged past a thousand, and the number was still climbing at a frantic pace.
BeastRushGo:
"Bro, are you serious about those two tenth-rank cores? Dare to swear it in the na of the Beast God?"
SweetieOfMyFemaleMaster:
"If the poster dares swear to the Beast God that the reward is real, I’ll hand over my family’s secret—The Eighteen Techniques of Winning a Female Master’s Favor—passed down from my ancestors!"
Paros scanned through the flood of responses, then quickly posted a reply of his own.
Paros:
"I swear in the na of the Beast God—if anyone can make my Female Master like and willingly stay by my side, the two tenth-rank beast cores will be theirs."
The mont his reply appeared, the comnts skyrocketed.
Within ten minutes, the post had shot straight to trending.
***
Aboard a warship, Nix’s eyes lit up the instant he saw the reward listed on the post.
Who was this?
Soone just as outrageously wealthy as that lunatic Xarion?
Two tenth-rank beast cores—just to learn how to win favor?
If it had been seventh- or eighth-rank cores, he might not have cared.
But tenth-rank?
That was a completely different story.
Since the post was anonymous, Nix had no idea who the poster was—and he didn’t bother trying to find out.
Anyone willing to swear to the Beast God wouldn’t dare lie.
Without hesitation, he went to find Yuel.
"Yuel, take a look at this post."
When it ca to this sort of thing, no one was more skilled than Yuel.
In Nix’s eyes, those two beast cores were practically being handed to them for free.
Yuel had just finished reviewing docunts delivered by his assistant when Nix shoved the light brain screen right in front of him.
"Yuel, soone’s offering one hundred million star coins and two tenth-rank beast cores for advice on how to please his Female Master."
Nix looked at him eagerly.
"You’re the best at this—why don’t we take the job? I don’t need the star coins. Just give one of the beast cores."
Yuel glanced over the post, then shot Nix a sideways look.
"I do the work, and you walk away with a tenth-rank core for free? Do I look like a fool to you?"
Whoever posted this... had to be a complete idiot.
"Co on, Yuel, just agree." Nix grinned, trying to win him over. "Aren’t we brothers? Why split hairs between us?"
"And it’s not even for —I want to build Rory a ch squad. I’m just short of two tenth-rank cores. Help out."
A mont ago, he only needed one—now it was two. And people said this guy was simple-minded?
Yuel pressed a hand to his temple, already feeling a headache coming on.
"...Just this once. Send the post."
"I knew you were the best, Yuel!" Beaming, Nix imdiately forwarded the link.
Yuel opened it and skimd through the replies. There were quite a few decent suggestions.
But if soone truly wanted to win—and keep—a Female Master’s affection, a single trick would never be enough.
He sent a private ssage to the original poster.
As the foremost commander in the interstellar forces, there was no way he’d use his real na for sothing like this.
MoonCrownedHeart:
"Bro, if you want your Female Master to care about you and enjoy being with you, one thod alone won’t solve your problem."
MoonCrownedHeart:
"If you’re willing, tell how things currently stand between you and your Female Master. I can tailor a complete strategy specifically for you."
MoonCrownedHeart:
"But I have one condition. If my plan works, you’ll need to give two additional tenth-rank beast cores."
Nix stared at the ssage in shock.
"You’re asking him for two more cores? What if he sees that and just ignores you?"
Yuel chuckled softly, utterly unconcerned. "Soone who can casually offer two tenth-rank cores just to learn how to win favor..."
"First, he’s definitely a powerful individual. Soone like that doesn’t just have two cores lying around—he’ll have more."
"Second, the fact that he’s asking for advice publicly ans his emotional intelligence is... lacking. He has no idea how to compete for affection."
"Third, offering such a high reward proves he desperately wants his Female Master’s attention."
Nix blinked, still confused. "And...?"
Yuel sighed, looking at him as though explaining sothing painfully obvious.
"Think about it. If you were powerful, had plenty of tenth-rank cores, and desperately wanted Rory’s affection—but she ignored you... And I told you I could help you win her over, for the price of four tenth-rank cores... Would you agree?"
"I would! Of course I would!" Nix didn’t hesitate for a second.
Beast cores could always be obtained again by hunting. But a Female Master’s affection? That wasn’t sothing strength alone could win.
Understanding dawned on him. He looked at Yuel, eyes shining with admiration. "Yuel... you’re incredible."
Yuel’s lips curved faintly. "I’m only asking for four tenth-rank cores. I’m already going easy on him."
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