Chapter 16

[August 12, 20XX]

I think I might actually be in love.

In the Starfarer profession, members of my species are rare. In fact, according to The Alliance’s career guidance, my racial traits aren’t particularly suited for this line of work.

While the Genetic Revolution optimized physiological functions, it also drove our entire species to pursue mental communion—to put it in Earth’s terms, the race I belong to is an exceedingly romantic one.

Intelligent lifeforms from other planets once said, “All cross-planetary, cross-species marital partners must thank Planet 18CM, as it was only through its existence that The Alliance realized the necessity of passing the Interstellar Marriage Act.” Of course, this statement is exaggerated, but it’s an indisputable fact that our homeworld contributed the highest number of interstellar marriages after the Marriage Act was passed.

As long as there’s mental compatibility, everything else is secondary—our homeworld’s extreme mate selection criteria are widely regarded as evidence of our species being “overly emotional” and “lacking rationality.”

This trait clearly contradicts the professional requirements of a Starfarer.

However, this objectively baseless evaluation has not been acknowledged by The Alliance, and there’s no reason for the Starfarer profession to reject someone who scored highly on the entrance assessment.

Before coming to Earth, I had already discovered two unmarked planets with intelligent life—for my career age, this record is quite outstanding. All along, I firmly believed that nothing could captivate me more than the work I was engaged in, but now it seems I simply hadn’t encountered it yet.

Regardless of the initial purpose, right now, I care deeply about Dan Ning.

His daily behavior, his emotional fluctuations—they all affect me.

My focus on him has even surpassed my long-cherished passion for work.

I’ve already acquired the ability for a second Mimetic Camouflage transformation. The existence of the primary network gives me ample room to maneuver, and the Biocomputer’s real-time updates are sufficient to handle communication with the local civilized species—from any perspective, I no longer need his protection.

So why stay in Dan Ning’s nest?

I could very well leave, create an identity that conforms to the social norms of the dominant species, and hide myself in human form.

Why stay?

The excuse of “repaying kindness” is far too flimsy: I’m merely Dan Ning’s “pet,” and according to the Biocomputer’s search results, pet owners don’t expect any form of repayment from their pets.

In other words, Dan Ning doesn’t need my repayment. Using “repayment” as a reason is just an excuse I’ve fabricated to keep myself by his side—it’s not that he, as my “owner,” has any demands of me, but rather that “Qikeliyah Frandostali” wishes to stay.

How could I have failed to realize such a simple truth for so long?

[August 13, 20XX]

The scorching weather has left Dan Ning looking listless.

I observed him in his air-conditioned bedroom.

I still have doubts about the “love” hypothesis. Is my current state truly love? If so, when and why did I fall for this human?

We haven’t spent much time together, and most of our interactions didn’t occur on equal footing. I recall that during my survey of the last new planet, I worked alongside individuals from other advanced civilizations for quite a long time without developing anything beyond friendship.

Could it be that the dire circumstances when I first met him gave rise to what’s called “imprinting”?

What a joke!

“Chocolate, what’s wrong?” Dan Ning reached over and stroked the top of my head. “You don’t seem too happy… Don’t like the noise from the AC?”

The temperature of his palm was lower than the mimetic form’s natural body heat. The pressure of his touch was just right, and his tone was gentle.

The mimetic form emitted a pleased purr.

—Suddenly, I feel that all the questions I was agonizing over before have lost their meaning.