EROS [Zerg]

Darcy never expected that Eros, this female insect who crawled out of the dark hell of underground auction houses, would still have the self-respect to refute him when he heard insulting words.

Darcy, who was of noble birth, had seen many low-class female slaves and prostitutes. Those females who had stayed in the basement of the male insects, no matter how proud they were before going in, would become walking corpses after a few days.

Eros is a very rare breed.

The First Military Academy on the Empire's main star is home to the most elite female Zerg warriors from the seven star systems. As a dedicated instructor, Darcy didn't want a single, dispirited rotten apple to spoil the rest of the academy's elite females.

Darcy had intended to discourage Eros, even if he was recommended by Enel, but Eros's performance truly surprised Darcy.

The well-dressed female insect was not angered by Eros's outburst. Instead, her attitude softened, and she reached under her desk to retrieve a seal, pressing it onto Eros's student ID.

“Little female insect, congratulations on passing the entrance test and becoming one of us.” Darcy stood up, walked to Eros, and handed him his student ID.

Eros accepted his student ID with both hands, somewhat puzzled by Darcy's change in attitude: "You mean the entrance test?"

Darcy said with a hint of pride, “Do you think our college’s doorframe is something you can just reach with a noble title or a letter of recommendation?”

"If your attitude just now had been one of silence or weakness in the face of my difficult questioning, I would have certainly rejected your application." Darcy looked at Eros with a smile:

“You did a good job. In the Imperial First Military Academy, you should never care about your background. Strong personal strength and mental fortitude are the most important things. Come on, I’ll take you to see Principal Joseph.”

Eros nodded and followed Darcy's steps.

Darcy looked at Eros and suddenly felt that he looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that Eros's eyes were a rare violet color.

He had only ever heard of an insect with violet eyes before.

The Zerg's eyes rarely contain both blue and red pigments, making violet eyes extremely rare.

Darcy was secretly amazed, and after taking another look at Eros, he found that the female insect was indeed extremely beautiful.

Eros was tall and slender with long legs and a narrow waist. Her face possessed a rare gentleness and obedience among female soldiers, and her jewel-like eyes were innocent yet captivating under the shadow of her platinum blonde hair.

Although Eros's slenderness was clearly visible through his oversized clothes, his natural frame was just right to fill them out, preventing him from appearing excessively thin.

Darcy led the way, with Eros following behind. Suddenly, Eros heard Darcy turn to him and say:

"Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

Eros paused, then shook his head slightly: "I've never had the chance to meet a noble female insect before."

Darcy turned away upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Principal Joseph's office is located at the end of the corridor in the teaching building's office area.

Eros followed Darcy, and as they passed through the teaching area, they saw many female soldiers in uniform hurrying along, each busy with their own tasks.

Darcy walked to a black metal door and pressed the doorbell in the middle of the door. Soon the door opened automatically.

Darcy led Eros into the house.

The principal's office was very spacious. As soon as Eros entered, he saw a female insect with white hair at her temples sitting at the desk in the center of the room. Her neat military uniform and the Blood Rose badge that symbolized honor made Eros feel awe and unconsciously slow his steps.

Principal Joseph sat at his desk, looked up from the heavy pile of documents, and watched the two female insects enter the office. His gaze shifted from Darcy to Eros.

“Headmaster, I have brought the female insect recommended by Enel in his letter of recommendation to see you.” Darcy walked to the desk.

"Is this Eros, whom Enel mentioned in his letter?" Principal Joseph's gaze fell on Eros. Looking at the reserved little female insect, Joseph personally walked up to Eros and extended his hand, a kind smile appearing on his resolute face.

"I've seen your medical examination report. Although your current level is A, the medical examination report issued by the military shows that the extreme value of your mental strength level has reached S+."

“Every female insect in this academy has her own shining point, and so do you. I warmly welcome you to our side as our comrade-in-arms.”

Eros looked at the headmaster in front of him, flattered and momentarily at a loss for words. Almost instinctively, he gripped Joseph's paws tightly with both of his own: "No, it's a great honor."

Joseph laughed a few times, and looked at Eros with a hint of affection: "Seeing you always reminds me of my favorite student."

Eros paused, then slowly smiled and said, "It's an honor."

Just then, the doorbell to the principal's office rang again, and a red-haired female insect walked in: "Principal, instructor."

"Alai, this is Eros. From now on, he will be a member of your Comet Class," Principal Joseph said to the female insect who entered.

Darcy gestured to Allai and then said to Eros, "Allai is the class monitor of your Comet class. Now follow him to the dormitory to put down your luggage, and then you can go and get your school uniforms and textbooks."

After bidding farewell to Principal Joseph and Darcy, Eros followed Allais out of the office and arrived at the dormitory building in the east of the college.

“Our Comet class dorms are all on the first floor.” Alai led Eros to a dorm room door, took out a key from his pocket and opened the door: “The dorms are two insects per room. My room used to be occupied by one insect, but now that you’re here, you can be my roommate.”

Alai handed a spare key to Eros, and said to Eros from the empty bed next to his index finger, "This will be your bed from now on."

Eros reached out and took the key, glancing around at the room's furnishings—simple and tidy.

"The cabinet on the left is yours. I'll tidy it up for you in a bit." Alai opened the cabinet on the left and took out his things.

Eros didn't have many belongings, and while tidying up his things, he suddenly noticed two strange metal pillars next to Alai's bed.

Eros wanted to ask what it was, but was worried about offending the other person.

After packing his things, Alai looked up and saw Eros staring curiously at something in the corner. He chuckled to himself, "That's my prosthetic limb."

"A prosthetic limb?" Eros looked incredulous, his gaze involuntarily falling on Alai, the female insect appearing perfectly undamaged from the outside.

Alai didn't mind at all, and sat on the bed rolling up his trouser legs.

Eros was shocked to discover that Alai's legs were actually metal prosthetics.

"I was born without legs. When I was still an egg, my male father accidentally broke it. By the time I hatched, my lower limbs had already died and had to be amputated."

Alai made no attempt to hide his missing legs, instead looking at Eros with interest: "You don't look like you're missing any limbs, so how come you're in the Comet Class?"

Eros asked curiously, "Why do you have to be missing an arm or a leg to be in the Comet Class?"

"..."

Alai looked at Eros in silence: "That's not quite right. The Comet Class was originally set up by the academy specifically for female insects who cannot go to the battlefield due to physical or psychological reasons."

"So, why were you assigned to the Comet class?"

Eros never expected that the female insects in the Comet Class would all have physical disabilities, and he was even more surprised that the academy would set up a special class for students with physical disabilities.

“I don’t have any insect wings,” Eros said frankly to Alai. “They were removed.”

"You're an A-rank female insect, right? The Empire protects high-ranking female insects. Even if they can't compare to male insects, their wings, as a powerful weapon in combat, are not allowed to be damaged at will."

Eros has no memory of having his insect wings removed; all his memories begin from the day he awoke in the underground auction house.

He clearly remembered that every time he was sold as a commodity, the waiter who packed him up and sent him out would tell the insect that bought him his basic information.

[Eros, a B-rank female insect, has been stripped of her wings and had her reproductive cavity shattered in accordance with imperial law for harming male insects...]

Because once Eros has this crime and his mutilated body, he can buy his insects and use them without restraint, torture them, listen to their screams, and enjoy their fear.

Even if those charges are fabricated false evidence, those insects will not be punished by any law.

Five thousand star coins.

"What?" Alai didn't quite understand.

"The government gave me 5,000 Star Coins in compensation."

Eros's voice was calm, revealing no trace of resentment, but Alai looked on incredulously: "Only five thousand star coins?!"

"When I first got my prosthetic leg, I accidentally stepped on the foot of a B-grade male insect on the street. Even so, my female father had to pay him 100,000 star coins. What can 5,000 star coins do?"

Alai looked closely at Eros and then noticed that although the female insect's clothes were neat, they were all faded shirts and trousers.

Eros's gaze fell on Alai, and he suddenly felt that the female insect in front of him, who came from a noble family, was very naive: "The government's resources are limited. Even if I am an A-level female insect, my wings have been cut off. To the government, I am no longer of any use as an A-level female insect. I will be a burden on society in the future. I can understand if the compensation is less."

Looking at Eros's small bag of luggage, Alai couldn't help but worry for him:

"It's good that you're able to think positively. If you're having financial difficulties, the college offers scholarships every year. You can try to apply for them, and I'll help you apply."

"But I want to make it clear to you that our academy's scholarships are open to all students. No one from the Comet Class has ever been awarded one before. If you don't get one, don't worry too much."