A Chemist's Interstellar Saga
Chapter 143: The Miserable Siblings

Chapter 143: The Miserable Siblings

"Do you have any other questions?" Vezgor asked, his eyes still warm despite his calm expression.

The siblings shared a look. Arix nodded slightly and turned back to Vezgor.

"Do you want to leave the Moon Goddess Temple? Mom told us you didn’t join voluntarily," Arix asked, her voice filled with concern and a bit of awkwardness.

Drexel quickly added, "If you want to leave, we’ll do everything we can to help you."

Their concern left Vezgor silent for a long time. Just as they started feeling uneasy, thinking they might have upset him, Vezgor finally spoke.

He shook his head and calmly said, "The Moon Goddess Temple is not a burden or a prison for me. The Moon Goddess gave me hope when I was most desperate. Serving her is something I will never regret or resent, not in the past, nor in the future."

"Don’t you miss us and Mom? Especially mom, she grew up without a father," Drexel’s emotions surged, and he questioned Vezgor.

Drexel’s heart ached for his sister and especially for Fleur, who lived alone in the Alliance, away from her family in the Empire. Fleur was a child left to face the rain alone because she had no umbrella.

After venting, Drexel squatted down, hugging his head, and muttered, "Sorry, I lost control."

"Grandpa is..." Arix started to explain, but Vezgor interrupted her.

"No need to explain. The biggest regrets of my life are for my daughter and my wife. But knowing that you are there gives me peace of mind. It’s getting late; you should head back now," Vezgor said, closing his eyes and falling silent.

Drexel clenched his fists, anger simmering at Vezgor’s seemingly detached words. After a moment of tense silence, he let out a cold snort and abruptly left the grand hall.

"Drexel!" Arix called out, worried, as Drexel stormed off. She had never seen him so angry that he forgot about her.

Arix glanced in the direction her brother had gone, then she turned back to Vezgor. "I’ll come visit you again," she said before hurrying after Drexel.

After the siblings left, Vezgor opened his eyes once more, quietly watching the direction they had gone. His lashes lowered, concealing the complexity in his gaze.

Arix bolted after Drexel, but it turned out he hadn’t gone far. He stood nearby, waiting for her.

A warm feeling bloomed in Arix chest as she approached the brooding Drexel. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft with concern.

Drexel shook his head silently. Then, with a sigh, he bent down to pick up Arix. "Arix, let’s go home," he said, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"Sure, let’s go home," Arix agreed, nuzzling against Drexel to comfort him.

Her rare show of affection brought a faint smile to his lips. He gently patted her fur and said, his tone sentimental, "Arix, tell me about Grandpa."

Arix nodded, thinking for a moment. "I don’t know much about Grandpa. Mom said he and Grandma were the strongest in the Tiger clan. They fell in love and had Mom. But one day, Grandma got very sick, and Grandpa joined the Moon Goddess Temple to save her, becoming a pontifex. The pontifexes are dedicated to the Moon Goddess for life. They can’t marry or fall in love. If they do, the Temple hunts them down. So, Grandpa and Grandma had to separate. Grandma, heartbroken, brought Mom to the Alliance, but she passed away when Mom turned eighteen."

"That’s all I know. But honestly, I can understand Grandpa’s actions. If one day..." Arix trailed off as Drexel clamped his hand over her snout.

"Arix, think more positively, will you?" Drexel said, rolling his eyes as he held her mouth shut.

Arix nodded pitifully, mumbling through his hand until he let go. He then tapped her forehead lightly with his finger.

Rubbing her sore forehead with her paws, Arix glared at Drexel, a mix of pain and anger in her eyes. But remembering how sad Drexel was today, she held back the urge to bite him and let out a small huff, deciding to let it go.

Seeing his sister’s uncharacteristic gentleness, Drexel’s gloomy expression finally lifted. He smiled and, feeling content, carried her towards their home. Before leaving the Moon Goddess Temple, Drexel glanced back in the direction of Vezgor. Without a word, he turned and left.

Back in the alley with the dog door, Drexel moved aside two broken baskets and lifted Arix through first. When it was his turn, he reminded her, "If I get stuck, help me out, alright?"

But after waiting for a while, he heard no response from Arix inside the wall.

Drexel frowned and asked in confusion, "Arix, are you still there?"

He called again, but there was no response from the other side of the wall. Feeling a bit annoyed, he grumbled, "Didn’t even wait for me before going ahead."

Muttering under his breath, he began to squeeze through the hole. Halfway through, just as he got stuck, a pair of military boots appeared in front of him.

Drexel froze. Looking up stiffly, he saw a man in an Empire captain’s uniform holding Arix, glaring at him with a furious stare.

Drexel swallowed hard, forcing a smile onto his face. Trying to deflect, he turned to Arix and asked, "Hey Arix, this guy looks really impressive. Who is he?"

Arix, covering her eyes with her paws as if giving up, replied, "This is Sunak. Mom asked him to take care of me."

Hearing this, Drexel’s smile grew even more strained. Trying to ingratiate himself, he flashed a sycophantic grin at Sunak and said, "Hi, Sunak. I’m your nephew, Drexel. Nice to meet you."

Sunak smiled back, somewhat mockingly, and pulled Drexel out of the hole. "I was wondering how such a cute and obedient cub like Arix could be so mischievous. Now I see why," Sunak said, looking at Drexel with a meaningful smile.

Drexel lowered his eyes, standing there obediently while Sunak lectured him. He didn’t dare protest, barely even breathing, afraid that Sunak might report him to his mom if he showed any defiance.

Sunak lectured Drexel for quite a while before finally letting him off. Then, he turned his gaze to Arix, who was giggling at her brother’s predicament.

Sensing Sunak’s stare, Arix’s smile froze, and she quickly put on an innocent, adorable look, letting out a soft "awoo" sound, "Sunak, I’m a good cub."

"Oh, you? Really? You think I don’t know how much trouble you’ve been causing while I was away?" Sunak said, grabbing Arix’s ear playfully but firmly.

"Ouch, it hurts! Sunak, be gentle. I’m just a kid; you can’t use violence on me," Arix cried out, feigning a pitiful look.

"You won’t learn your lesson if it doesn’t hurt. And you, a kid? I haven’t seen any kid who could turn IRMA upside down, beat Kares until he couldn’t get out of bed, and end up losing control of his psychic powers!" Sunak scolded, grinding his teeth in frustration.

God knows how anxious and scared he was when he received the news about Arix’s psychic power going out of control.

If Krylak hadn’t assured him that the cub was safe, he would’ve abandoned his mission and rushed back from the border, risking the military’s wrath. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to this troublemaking cub again.

"Sunak, Sunak, please stop pulling my ear. I know I was wrong, okay?" Arix begged, tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing his sister’s ear turning bright red, Drexel finally spoke up, "Sunak, if you have to pull someone’s ear, pull mine. I can take it."

"Yeah, yeah, Sunak, if you need to pull an ear, pull Drexel’s," Arix added quickly, throwing Drexel under the bus without a second thought.

Drexel stared at her, speechless.

"Sunak, just keep pulling her ear!" he muttered.