Ch24 - [The Hunting Festival] After becoming an intergalactic civilization, the Asha people maintained a traditional holiday.

As the only traditional holiday remaining after the Asha people became an intergalactic civilization, the Hunting Festival can be considered a grand occasion for the entire nation. Although the method of celebration was very different from ancient times, the spirit and significance remained.

The holiday was held once every 3 years. Each time, it lasted 7 days. The first few days would be large scale activities and ceremonies. Meanwhile, the Royal Hunt was the first event to open the holiday.

Unlike the ancient competition of ‘hunting and killing animals and then relying on numbers to win glory’, it’s not a real hunt. Instead, it was a game between the “hunter” team and the “prey” team. Regardless of which team, the participants were often nobles of the Empire and high ranked celebrities. In addition, there would be countless miniature cameras that broadcasted live to the entire net on that day.

This was a method that the royal family used to connect with the public people. Every three years, his Majesty, the Emperor, would always frustrate over how to maintain his magnificent image in front of the entire Empire. This time was no exception.

“Remember to place the main stage camera at a good angle to guarantee the filming result. You can ask Sirius about the safety and security measures. The guards of previous hunts were all selected from his subordinates.”

Nalun: “Your majesty……”

The Emperor: “En?”

Nalun: “I remember that someone else has always been in charge of this event. Why suddenly ask me?”

The Emperor sighed: “Cornell took a vacation to his hometown. Right now, what’s missing is a head supervisor to manage the overall progress. The subordinates are all familiar with the details so it’s not actually a hard task.”

Nalun: “……”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes: “You don’t want to?”

Nalun said sincerely: “Of course I’m willing to serve your Majesty.” He paused briefly and then continued to say: “Other than preparing for the celebration, I’m also willing to do other things. I hear that the Scepter disappeared just a while ago and Sirius is in charge of the investigations. Several days have passed already, are there any leads?”

The Emperor said: “Today, I just happened to summon him over to report his progress. If you’re interested, you can stay and listen in with me.”

Nalun said: “According to the ceremonial customs of the royal hunt, you’re required to announce the beginning of the festival while holding the Scepter. If the Scepter is not found before the Hunting Festival, then the customs that’s been maintained for over thousands of years would need to be adjusted.”

The Empire: “……”

A hint of worry flashed across the depths of Nalun’s grayish green eyes: “Hopefully it won’t damage the royal family’s prestige. The Scepter being stolen by the Insect race is really not something worth publicizing.”

A profound look appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.

Not long later, Sirius’s figure appeared inside the big hall. The Imperial Admiral was wearing a dark colored uniform, his countenance cold and handsome, as if he was a perfectly carved sculpture, standing tall and upright next to Nalun’s side.

Sirius didn’t reveal any irregular emotions upon seeing Nalun present at the scene. He only nodded faintly, which counted enough for a greeting.

Nalun: “……” Why did those two high definition selfies suddenly appear inside his head?

Good thing Sirius looked very reserved in person, and seemed far different from the one in the communication device. This allowed Nalun to secretly let out a breath of relief. He said: “His Majesty has given me the task of preparing for the Hunt. We might be seeing each other much more in the future.”

Sirius said: “Then we’ll also have more chances to eat together.”

His Majesty was very surprised and curious: “You guys are going to eat together?”

Sirius nodded.

The Emperor: “……” He suspected that this was a certain code word between the two people; the true meaning shouldn’t be so harmonious, friendly, and healthy.

Following this, Sirius started reporting to the Emperor about the progress of his investigation on the Scepter.

Nalun sat to the side the entire time, listening with a cold and indifferent face.

When he heard Sirius say: “I’m already in control of the Metal-devouring bug’s whereabouts. He seems to be searching for the way to reach the destination where he will meet with his accomplice.”

A terrible premonition grew and spread in Nalun’s heart.

Nalun could practically see another huge block in front of him, waiting for him to jump over it.

The Emperor smacked the table. The ‘bang’ shook a certain person all the way to the depth of his heart.

“We must capture them all in one scoop and make them hand over the Scepter.”

Sirius said nonchalantly: “He looks very timid. After we catch him and interrogate him a bit, it should be enough to make him spit out everything he knows.”

Nalun felt a chill in his heart. How long have you guys been following and observing him? You even managed to figure out his timid nature?

Although Xi Jin looked very harmless, Nalun had no assurance that the other would keep his secret. At the same time, he also wasn’t 100% confident in successfully disengaging from this situation.

“…… since it’s convenient, let’s eat a meal together?” Unwittingly, after Sirius finished reporting the progress of the investigation, he immediately turned and started to invite the person beside him to dinner.

Nalun looked at him in silence.

The Emperor also fell silent. He sat down with a stern expression, almost like he planned to quietly observe a battle.

Sirius continued to say: “I drove over here today in my car.”

Nalun didn’t consider too long: “Okay, let’s go.”

No matter what, avoidance was not the method to settle problems. Only by meeting it head on, knowing yourself, and knowing your enemy, can you achieve victory in the inevitable confrontation.

The Emperor: “……”

Under a certain person’s complicated gaze, the two people left together.

After arriving in the parking lot, Sirius opened the door next to the driver’s seat and generously handed over the rights to drive his beloved car.

Nalun didn’t immediately start the car however. Instead, he pulled out his personal comp and started searching for delicious foods nearby. In the end, he settled on a restaurant and asked Sirius for his opinion.

“Whatever you say.”

The voice sounded right next to his ear. Nalun abruptly turned his head and discovered Sirius had unknowingly moved very close to him, almost like he had leaned over for the sake of reading the shop’s recommendations.

Using the excuse of adjusting settings on the car, Nalun took the chance to swiftly put distance between them.

The car trembled for a moment and then shot out like an arrow.

The taste of the food was very satisfying. Other than his meal companion, everything was pretty good.

After having eaten to his heart’s content, Nalun feigned nonchalance and asked casually: “How do you plan to capture the Insectoid?”

Sirius: “In comparison to that bug, I’m more interested in his accomplice.”

Nalun: “Accomplice?”

Sirius held up his wrist and opened his personal comp, pulling out an image: “This is him.”

A man with a face full of beard and long greasy, curly hair appeared in Nalun’s view.

Sirius said: “This picture was taken from a certain live stream platform. I feel like it’s a pretty nice photo.”

Nalun: “…… Yes. It’s very clear.”

Sirius put away his personal comp. The two people then started chatting about the security arrangement for the hunting grounds. Then the topic of the conversation turned to the Hunting Festival.

“Will you participate in the hunting game this year?”

Nalun looked skeptically toward Sirius, as if he didn’t understand why Sirius would suddenly ask this. However, he still replied: “I missed the previous rounds because of last minute preoccupations. This time, I should give it a try. After all, it looks pretty interesting.”

Speaking of which, that guy, Alida, was already rambling about signing up for the Hunting Festival activities a few months ago. Who knows if he’d be able to get back in time to participate in this one.