Chapter 046: Dinner Gathering
After becoming Suzaku's master, Lin Yuan had been in a state of constant excitement. Even while lying down in bed, he couldn't feel even an ounce of sleepiness.
By this time, it was already very late at night. Caesar on the next bed over breathed evenly. Evidently, he had already entered the land of dreams. Lin Yuan reached out and lightly gripped the dark red pendant on the necklace. At this moment, he suddenly heard a sound from the space button on his chest, it sounded like the voice of Suzaku......
The gentle timbre belonging to the mech is not transmitted to his ear through sound waves, rather it was directly sent into his mind......
Inside the room, it is still very quiet, but the sound of Suzaku's voice abruptly appeared in his mind. Lin Yuan had even originally thought that it was a figment of his own imagination until the voice in his mind became more and more clear: "Master, can you hear me speaking?"
Lin Yuan stared blankly for a moment, strongly wishing to reply, but he could only listen to Suzaku's voice as it spoke: "You don't need to speak. Currently, our consciousness are in a connected state, I can sense the thoughts flowing through your mind."
Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes wide in shock — Could this be the legendary mental communication?
Between S-Class mechs and their master, they do not need to speak and can also attain the "human and machine as one" mental communication?
Just as Lin Yuan was shocked to the point of being left speechless, Suzaku who was speaking through his thoughts, replied in a soft voice: "Correct, Master, because previously at the museum we had already conducted the spiritual match and the compatibility had already exceeded more than 100%, now we don't have any need to speak between us, we can communicate directly through our mental connection."
Lin Yuan: "......"
He has a mech companion who can read and understand his own mind, this feeling is really too mysterious, before he even has the time to ask, it will tell you the answer right away!
Lin Yuan excitedly grabbed the red pendant in his hand and said in his mind: "Suzaku, can you really understand my current thoughts? We can communicate like this and others won't know right?"
Suzaku said: "Correct, Master."
Lin Yuan's pair of eyes shined, not only did he obtain a fellow companion he could speak to privately, but it was also something that you would also never for eternity have to worry about leaking your secrets because it is your mech. After the mech reaches an agreement with the master, it will be eternally loyal towards the master!
Lin Yuan said excitedly: "That's really great. Suzaku, I always wanted to ask you a question, can I?"
Suzaku said softly: "Master, do not hesitate to ask alright, I will tell you all I know."
Lin Yuan sorted out his thoughts right then, from the bottom of his heart he said: "Actually, I have always been very confused before. At the time when I was being spiritually matched with you, I have some remaining memories that flowed into my mind and a few of them belong to you. In your memory, there seems to be a general, that person's voice sounds very familiar, it especially resembles my father's in my childhood memories...... Can you explain to me what is going on here?"
Suzaku was silent for a moment, then said: "Master, how much else do you remember about your father?"
Lin Yuan said: "My memory before the age of four is very fuzzy. I only remember that I used to live by the sea. My father told me to be a normal and happy Beta." Lin Yuan paused, " Before I was never able to understand the meaning of those words. Until last night I never understood, I realized that I was originally an Omega, my dad had me become a Beta by giving me injections of Omega pheromone inhibitors to carry out a gender-changing experiment...... "
Saying as much, Lin Yuan can not help but feel a sense of disappointment bubble up.
—Under a freak combination of factors, In the end, I was still unable to become a Beta and failed to fulfill my father's wishes.
Although he had received Caesar's help and His Majesty's backing, so he could still completely pretend to be a Beta to continue to attend school. In essence, he is nevertheless an Omega and will always be an Omega. For the rest of his life, he can only rely on inhibitors to live on. If by any chance a problem with the inhibitor arises, what should be done? What should I do if my identity is discovered by others?
Although Lin Yuan gives the impression that he isn't bothered in the slightest on the surface, in reality, his heart is still a bit sad. An entire 18 years of living with a Beta identity has been completely shattered just like that, and he became an Omega overnight. It couldn't be entirely accepted by anyone.
Every time during the dead of night, he thinks of those Omegas who are locked up at home to give birth to children, they can't make friends, each year they will be sent into an irregular period of estrus. When in estrus they resemble a wild animal that longs for the embrace and possession of an Alpha. Afterwards, they get pregnant and then give birth to a child...... Monotonously boring days and mediocre life, this is the situation faced by the 5% of Omegas in the population.
......they are really too pitiful.
Sensing the Master's sad feelings while reading his thoughts, Suzaku also could not help but feel deeply sorry for him.
It does seem as if the optimistic Little Master suddenly finding out that he is an Omega had actually made him feel sad in his heart then? After all, in this society, being an Omega, some might as well be a housepet. Especially as those Omegas who have strong opinions say, to be shut off at home and bear children, living is simply not as good as dying.
Suzaku was silent for a while before softly said: "Master, don't be sad, I will always accompany you."
Lin Yuan's whole heart warmed up, he smiled as he said: "Thank you Suzaku...... Fortunately, I have Caesar and His Majesty's support. I can still continue to study. Compared with many Omegas, I am already very well off......"
Lin Yuan paused and changed the topic to say: "Right, Suzaku, I always feel that in your memory, that General is like the same person as my Dad, their voices are very similar, and the way they talk is especially alike...... Who is that General after all? Did he truly sacrifice his life on the battlefield?"
Suzaku: "......"
Lin Yuan wondered aloud: "What? Is it inconvenient to say?"
Suzaku: "......"
His surroundings were so terribly quiet, that Lin Yuan could almost clearly hear the sound of Caesar's breathing on the bed next to him.
He had even thought that Suzaku just didn't respond to his question, Lin Yuan could not help but to repeatedly ask the question again: "Suzaku? Who is that General"
Suzaku was silent for a long time, after a while, it said in a low voice: "......He is Ling Yu."
Lin Yuan stared blankly ahead, he didn't respond for a while.
Until the thoughts in his mind began flowing again, Suzaku's voice seemed to be choking with sobs: "My former Master, the head of the Dark Night Legion...... Is also the father in your memories...... He is Ling Yu......"
Lin Yuan stayed deathly still, unable to say a word.
***
That night, Lin Yuan and Suzaku mentally communicated and exchanged all of their memories with each other.
Lin Yuan's impression and memories about his dad during his childhood flow through his mind and the memories flowing through Suzaku's mind about its impression of Ling Yu, gradually merged from two indistinct shadows into a distinct and as well as a clear-cut solid form.
That person had a pair of jet-black and clear eyes and his cold and insipid gaze seemed to hold no emotions. His clothes were a military uniform that he wore with his back proudly straight to the extreme and whenever he gave orders down the chain of command, his voice was always calm and steady. His timbre purely shone his decisiveness to refuse to be rejected and his determination!
Recalling the father in his memories, he also had the same appearance, he just simply just took off the heavy military uniform and put on simple casual clothing. When he hugged himself, the corner of his lips would involuntarily show a trace of a smile, his pure and clear voice is also a bit more gentle.
— This is precisely that Ling Yu, the young General of the Dark Night Legion, his own biological father!
In Suzaku's earliest memories, Lin Yuan clearly saw the scene of Suzaku's first encounter with his father.
Many years ago, after Mr. Aston manufactured this red S-Class mech, many high ranking military officers in the Military wanted the right to pilot it. The mental threshold of those generalissimos was naturally not low and they were more than capable of achieving a 100% match or more with Suzaku, however, when Major General Ling Yu, the lowest rank in the Military entered the cockpit of Suzaku, it caused a shocking scene to take place —
The first time he combined his mind with Suzaku, unexpectedly, the compatibility between Ling Yu and the mech immediately soared up to 300%! This also means that Ling Yu's mental strength is three times higher than the set value of Suzaku!
Mr. Aston immediately proclaimed this mech's owner to be Ling Yu, the mech was then personally given a name by Ling Yu.
The red S-Class mech also immediately recognized Ling Yu to be its master at the same moment when their compatibility exceeded 300%. Ling Yu gave it a name, calling it Suzaku. The higher-ups of the Mech Association were witness to the affiliation of the Ling Yu and Suzaku's subordination confirmation, and to additionally request Ling Yu to leave behind a copy of Suzaku's system.
Ling Yu smiled at once and said faintly: "No need, as far as I'm concerned, Suzaku is the only one."
Then just like that, he piloted Suzaku, and in the eyes of everyone, whether they be either shocked or resentful, he spread his wings to fly far away to the blue dome of the heavens!
From that day on, Suzaku accompanied Ling Yu to the Dark Night Legion.
The military uniforms and warships of the Dark Night Legion were a sort of dark blue that looks close to being black. Their warships are emblazoned with a bright crescent moon as a symbol for their legion. The tone of the entire legion is contrarily darker — like a hunter in the dark of night creeping forward, this is the origin of the Dark Night Legion's name.
After the fiery red Suzaku came to the Legion, it suddenly became the most beautiful smear of color in the Legion! At the time when Ling Yu took Suzaku back to the Dark Night Legion, because the General had an S-Class mech, the entire Legion in regards to this even held a celebratory party!
Not long after, Ling Yu led the Dark Night Legion to rush to the front line and confronted the Federation's hostile forces directly.
In that age of being enveloped in the flames of war, those deep dark blue warships that almost blended into the darkness of the night plus the bright red S-Class mech that was bathed in flames became a deadly weapon that made the Federation's hostile forces lose their gall the moment they heard any wind of their arrival! Thanks to the excellent commanding ability, Ling Yu repeatedly won victories and gained outstanding military service. The Dark Night Legion's fame became more and more widespread. Until the day that Ling Yu led the Vanguard Battalion to mount a sneak attack in the Isville Galaxy, all that glory suddenly ended......
Lin Yuan was just like a spectator as he spent one night witnessing firsthand the glorious as well as the short-lived military background of his biological father.
The beautiful dreams of his youth, leading his legion in high-spirits to charge and assault their enemies, the joy of their victories, the sorrow following the deaths of his comrades-in-arms, and ultimately the helplessness and despair of his Omega identity being exposed due to the failure of his inhibitor......
Those memories entirely remain in the intelligence center of Suzaku, it is clearly conveyed to Lin Yuan's mind through the mental connection between both Suzaku and Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan can even vividly feel all the emotions he has felt!
His heart felt as if it were gripped mercilessly by a pair of hands, it was so unbearable that he could hardly breathe.
It turns out that my father has experienced so much hardship filled with so many twists and turns.
It turned out that Dad was that legendary Omega General in the Empire's history. He was faithful and true to the Emperor's XX Department and repeatedly made successful military exploits on the front line. But in the end, he was ruthlessly expelled from the military registry and the General was even sentenced to lifelong house arrest......
Once Suzaku's memories ended, Lin Yuan found that the rims of his eyes had already become red.
Holding the pendant space button in the palm of his hand, he abruptly tightened his grip as hard as he could, Lin Yuan could not help but swear from the bottom of his heart —
Dad, everything you were met with, there will be a day your son will personally take it back for you.
***
The consequences of his toiling with insomnia all night long is that the next day, Lin Yuan didn't wake up until 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
The school team was required to stay in the capital star until the conclusion of the 600th anniversary of the Empire celebration. On March 9th, the day of the military parade ceremony, the top three teams who won their place in the National Mech Competition will all be able to spectate on-site. Thus, the hotel's room has been booked until the morning of the 10th, the daily accommodation and meals have all been arranged by the school.
After Lin Yuan got out of bed to wash his face and rinse his mouth, he casually chatted with Caesar for a while on the internet, and then the agreed time for the dinner gathering soon arrived. Caesar had White Feather turn into an ordinary suspension car, carrying the two people to over to the arranged restaurant.
Rosen had already long since been waiting in the private VIP room.
The name of this restaurant is Firefly, which is an extremely well-known specialty restaurant in the capital star. The restaurant adopts a VIP membership regulation. Only the special personnel with a membership card can enter. The private rooms in the restaurant are independent of each other. Each private room has its own separate passageway. There is absolutely no need to worry about running into any people you do not want to meet while dining here. Therefore, the Firefly Restaurant has also become a place where many high-ranking military leaders meet their important friends privately.
The greatest feature of this restaurant does not only lie with its privacy and its wide variety of dishes but more importantly, the glass walls in the private rooms are filled with fireflies raised in batches. When the roof's ceiling is lifted up, one can look through the portholes to see the boundless night sky. When dining at night, encompassed by the encirclement of glowing fireflies, above your head being the most resplendent starlight, sitting in this restaurant is like placing oneself in the middle of nature.
This is the most romantic restaurant in the capital star.
Of course, Rosen's selection of this restaurant had nothing to do with its romantic environment, rather because of its privacy.
— He is meeting with Lin Yuan privately. This matter cannot be known to anybody.
As soon as Lin Yuan entered the restaurant, he widened his eyes in shock.
The fireflies fluttering in the transparent walls on both sides of the passageway emitted a faint fluorescence. Lin Yuan had never seen so many fireflies before in his entire life, he walked through this kind of long passageway surrounded by fireflies, listening to the soothing music that thrummed in his ears. His original mood of excitement has become even more stirred up!
This restaurant is far too extraordinary and beautiful!
Lin Yuan couldn't help but lament from the bottom of his heart.
Under the direction of the intelligent robot, Lin Yuan and Caesar passed through the verification channel and walked up to the door of the private room at the end of the passageway.
Nervously pushing open the door, fully prepared to say "Hello Senior" yet he found himself unable to say anything at all. Instead, Lin Yuan found himself standing stupidly frozen in place!
—Sitting on the opposite side of the dinner table is an extremely handsome man. The man has deep facial features. The bridge of his nose is cut straight and sharp and under it, there is a pair of thin and sensual light-colored lips. His jawline looks as if it were carved by a knife and it gives his whole face a very resolute silhouette, and his abstruse eyes are ice-cold like a frozen surface on a lake during a winter day.
When the man saw the two people and unexpectedly let out a rare smile as he said, "Come over and take a seat."
Lin Yuan's mind suddenly became blank.
— Rosen Bessemer, the youngest Marshal in the history of the Empire, was sitting right in front of him and smiled at him.
In order to pass the entrance exam for the military academy, he'd studied the modern military history of the Empire for a full month to the point where he could recite it by heart. Lin Yuan is completely confident in himself that he would not mistake that person in front of him! Moreover, Marshal Rosen's photos were spread all over the Internet. Back when the Pearl Spacecraft was hijacked by the Federation's hostile forces, it was also Marshal Rosen that had saved them all. Lin Yuan had already seen this man's face on the spacecraft's screen. He had even heard his voice with his own ears......
No wonder, I felt that the master's voice sounded somewhat familiar to me......
It really turned out to be the Marshal!
Lin Yuan suddenly felt like he was dreaming!
Rosen had been his most admired idol for as long as he could remember. He is the person he reveres the most from the bottom of his heart. The senior who had formerly gave guidance to himself was actually that Marshal Rosen? This is simply unbelievable......
Lin Yuan's gaze meeting the smile of the man in front of him immediately made him feel at a loss.
Facing the Marshal, should he greet him with a standard military ceremony? But he didn't wear his military uniform today, rather he's dressed in civilian clothing from top to bottom and he's even sitting there smiling...... Does a Marshal who wears civilian clothing need to be saluted?
Seeing the bewildered and tense face of the youth in front of him, the corner of Rosen's lips could not help but stretch out wider and in a soft voice, he said: "Come and sit down, I invited you both out for a meal today, just chat casually, there's no need to mind any military etiquette"
"......Understood! Marshal!" Lin Yuan was flattered as he walked to the other side of the dinner table.
Caesar immediately pulled out the seat for him, letting him sit down, and then he sat beside him.
Rosen selected a private room with a four-person layout. The dining table was not large at all. There will be less of a sense of distance when sitting face to face and eating.
Seeing the youth's head drooping nervously down, Rosen's heart became soft and he passed the electronic menu over in front of Lin Yuan. He said softly: "I don't know what kind of foods you like, I haven't ordered anything for the time being. You can order now. You can just directly check the box if you like it."
Lin Yuan hurriedly took the menu with his hands and nervously said: "Tha- thank you, Marshal!"
Even up till now, Lin Yuan has still not recovered from the shock of seeing his idol, his soul has still not returned to his body......
Picking up the electronic menu and giving it a quick once-over, sure enough, it really lists out dishes of various flavors. Each dish even has an extremely lifelike picture with them. Furthermore, to the side, there are even detailed text descriptions. Lin Yuan has never eaten many of them before and there were even some he had never heard of.
Lin Yuan swiped his finger across the screen and looked over each page one by one. Looking at the photos of those delicious foods and delicacies he couldn't help but excessively salivate. However, the Marshal of the Emperor's XX Department was sitting right in front of him and Lin Yuan would truly never dare to express free rein and foolishly order the food.
Lin Yuan handed back the electronic menu, smile full of embarrassment as he said: "Marshal, I don't really understand too much, you two are much better off ordering."
Rosen looked at Caesar and said faintly: "Caesar, do you know what Lin Yuan likes to eat?"
"......I know, I'll order it then." Caesar had no choice but to accept his request, he took the menu and quickly under the basis of Lin Yuan's usual preferences, ticked off a lot of specialty delicacies.
The dishes selected in the electronic menu will be passed directly onto the kitchen. Within five minutes, the service robot will bring the piping hot dishes inside.
Exquisitely formed pastries, chicken legs, barbequed meat, poached fish, pork ribs......
Looking at the fine foods that were set up on the table until not an inkling of space was left, Lin Yuan's stomach suddenly couldn't help but loudly grumble.
"......" Lin Yuan immediately felt ashamed and wished for death, he lowered his head and in an instant, his face became red.
As Rosen saw the youth's face reddening in shame in front of him, he suddenly felt a trace of softness emerging in his heart— this little guy is obviously starving to death, right? When he saw me as the Marshal, he was certainly very nervous and shocked. When he sat down, he drooped his head completely at a loss, not daring to speak with his mind thrown in such disorder, and he didn't even dare to eat anything. Seeing the table full of delicacies, his stomach past his expectations honestly made a loud rumbling noise on the spot.
Hearing the sound of his stomach, Rosen couldn't help but let out a small, minuscule laugh and just took a small spherically shaped pastry and put it down on Lin Yuan's plate. "Taste this, this is the capital star's regional specialty. The fruits of these plants are grown underground and then are steamed with mint leaves."
— Mar-marshal is giving himself a dish?!
Lin Yuan was immediately humbled by receiving such favor and merely took the pure white round pastry and raised it up and put it into his mouth......
As soon as the pastry entered his mouth, the change was instantaneous, like it was entirely made of snow, the tip of the tongue tasted a faint bit of sweetness and it mingled with the cool and refreshing mint......
Extremely delicious!
While eating the delicious food, Lin Yuan couldn't help but raise his eyes: "This is...... really tasty!"
Meeting the youth's glistening gaze, Rosen became tenderhearted and couldn't help but take a piece of barbecue and place it on Lin Yuan's plate: "Taste this."
Lin Yuan spoke with a red face: "Tha-thank you, Marshal, I will get my own just fine......"
Rosen smiled and said: "No need to be so nervous, think of me only as an elder who has invited you out to dinner. Alright? Eat a little more, no formalities."
Seeing that Rosen had said as much, Lin Yuan gradually set aside his tense mood.
Rosen turned his head towards Caesar and said: "You two have performed pretty well this time in the National Competition. I went to see the first day of the competition."
Caesar smiled and said: "En, Lin Yuan has made great progress."
Lin Yuan hurriedly followed up: "I really didn't expect that the master who guided me was actually the Marshal......"
Rosen explained: "At the time, I was just passing through your school. I heard Caesar say that the level of your mech piloting was pretty good, so I wanted to meet you right away."
Lin Yuan embarrassedly scratched his head and spoke earnestly as well as with gratitude: "My level was originally awfully amateur. It is only thanks to your guidance that I can make so much progress in a month......"
While it was originally a simple and conventional greeting, coming from the mouth of this boy, his clear and sonorous voice, his earnest gaze, the cute way he scratches his head to show his embarrassment, by just looking at Rosen's eyes, he feels a special poke aimed right at his heart.
I don't know why, but when I saw this boy, I couldn't help but feel a trace of warmth welling up from the bottom of my heart......
The sincere smile on the boy's face is like the warm sunshine that breaks through the clouds and is gently cast upon on the planet on a winter day.
For so many years, I have been all by myself and have no children under my knees. I don't know if I could be able to recognize him as my adopted son. He said last time that his father died many years ago. Obviously, this child has never experienced his father's love as a child...... If I could become his father......
This crazy thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but Rosen quickly used reason to stifle it.
Several of the generalissimos in the Military fight and scheme against one another, the situation is grim. If he recognized Lin Yuan as his adopted son, he would definitely make Lin Yuan become the main target of those Generals' attention.
— He had better keep with secretly protecting him.
He would wait for when he graduated and all grown up and then he will bring him to his side, leaving him with fewer twists and turns along the way.
Rosen made up his mind and he didn't say much more, single-mindedly watching Lin Yuan immersed in eating.
When this child eats everything, he is just like a little squirrel...... It's so cute......
In addition, he was also like a greedy cat, the amount of food was quite large, but mouth his incessantly keeps moving non-stop, and he didn't even fill himself to the point of bursting after eating so much?
Lin Yuan, who is buried in a variety of delicacies he has never eaten before, is completely unaware of the warm gaze casting light on his head.
After eating his fill, he raised his head and wiped his mouth. He listened to Rosen right away as he said, "Is it enough? Is it not enough? Do we need to order some more things again?"
......Did the amount of food he consume really shock the Marshal?
Lin Yuan said with a red face: "N-no need, I-I am already full."
Rosen pressed the button on the table and the robot responsible for settling the bill immediately came in. The soft mechanized voice said: "Greetings, the total amount spent on this meal is as follows, please verify your card after swiping......"
Lin Yuan originally wanted to say that he came to treat them, but the Marshal has already taken out his crystal card, Lin Yuan was forced to dispel any further intention.
It seems that it would not be too good to fight over footing the bill in front of the Marshal?
After the dinner gathering concluded, Lin Yuan once again politely expressed his thanks towards Rosen: "Marshal, thank you......"
Rosen smiled and said: "You're welcome, I don't have much time to keep you company, let Caesar take you all around the capital star for a stroll. Later on, there will be an opportunity to see you again."
Lin Yuan immediately excitedly nodded and said: "Alright! See you again Marshal!"
Lin Yuan and Caesar together turn away to depart together, Rosen looked at the receding figure of the youth, at the moment Lin Yuan turned and bowed his head, his gaze abruptly changed —
He had only seen the underside of the boy's neck, covered by the shirt collar, faintly revealed the outline of a mark, but as he moved to lower his head, the mark became much clearer in front of his eyes......
With a calm face, Rosen began to speak: "Lin Yuan, you come over."
Lin Yuan stared blankly for a moment and turned to walk back to Rosen entirely in confusion, "Marshal?"
Rosen had him to turn around and reached out his hand to stretch his collar down. Sure enough, in the position of the Omegas gland behind the youth's cervical spine was clearly marked! In the wake of Lin Yuan's close proximity and the mark in front of him, his unusual pheromone scent was also finally noticed by Rosen!
— Even though it smells like a Beta, it is mixed with the faint smell of Alpha and Omega pheromones!
— Clearly, Lin Yuan is an Omega, nevertheless an Omega that has just recently been marked!
Rosen's face entirely changed out of the blue, and his penetrating gaze immediately swept toward Caesar's tense expression. He asked coldly: "Caesar, what is going on?"
The author has something to say: Today is Christmas Eve, is just in time for the birthday of our classmate Lin Xiao Yuan!! I wish you all a joyous Christmas Eve! Peace, safety, health, and abundance!
(TN: Don't look at me, terrible cliff hanger is not my fault~ Anyways I'm back and I'll try to push out another quick update to make up for last week. Although I would have probably done the same regardless with this deadly cliff hanger~ Ouch. It hurts me and I even know what happens next!)