The perspective returned to He Kui, who had just returned to his asteroid with Setona, who was even clingier than usual.
"He Kui~ I want to sleep at your place~"
That night, after finishing dinner at He Kui's home, Setona grabbed his hand and cooed in a playful tone.
Setona's face, strikingly similar to Lacus's, displayed a cuteness that was rarely seen on Lacus herself. Her delicate palm gripped He Kui's arm, shaking it gently as she pouted adorably, her expression clearly saying, "If you don't agree, I'll cry."
"..."
Before He Kui could respond, Sulei stepped forward.
"No! Nana has to go back to her own home to sleep!"
"Why not~?"
Setona looked at Sulei with the same innocent eyes as Lacus, causing Sulei to pause for a moment before replying.
"Because it's just not allowed!"
"But I'm scared of the dark, okay~?"
As she spoke, Setona didn't look at Sulei but instead turned her gaze toward He Kui.
She had already thought of a solution before coming here.
As long as she could make He Kui fall in love with her, she could then take him back to Mars.
Moreover, Setona was quite confident in this plan—after all, she was undeniably cute.
If you didn't count the time she spent in hibernation, she was practically Lacus's twin sister.
Though she never said it out loud, Setona was well aware of her own cuteness.
"Then stay," He Kui said with a smile.
He could guess Setona's intentions, but he also genuinely needed her genetic skills to perfect his nanomedical technology.
Additionally, he wanted to study the girl's DNA.
So, it wasn't a bad deal.
After dinner, Setona, who had brought her luggage, went to take a shower, while Sulei and the others stared at He Kui with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
"She probably doesn't know about that kind of thing. I'm just letting her sleep in the guest room," He Kui explained, feeling uncomfortable under their gazes.
The girl was from Mars, a place where genetic modification was deeply ingrained, and having children was treated as a mission. Setona likely didn't understand the nuances, and the most important evidence was that her gaze toward him was completely devoid of any malice.
"Do you know her background?" Shihe asked cautiously.
Hearing this, Luna also looked at He Kui with curiosity.
If it weren't for the age difference, she might have thought Lacus had a child.
It could also be a sister, but how could a sister end up wandering outside?
This wasn't some ancient drama where a princess was swapped at birth.
"She's from a very faraway place, but I'll wait for Setona to explain the details when she's ready," He Kui explained.
"All mysterious and vague. A faraway place? Could she be some kind of Martian princess?" Sulei rolled her eyes at He Kui.
"Of course not," He Kui replied with an awkward laugh. Women's intuition was truly terrifying, he thought to himself.
As he was silently complaining, Setona emerged from the shower.
"I'm done! He Kui, let's sleep together, okay?"
"Ahem."
Hearing Setona's words, the women's intense gazes once again turned toward He Kui.
Facing Setona's bright, pure, and slightly shy eyes, as well as her delicate skin wrapped only in a towel, He Kui awkwardly averted his gaze.
There was one thing He Kui had guessed wrong: Setona actually had a half-baked understanding of that kind of thing.
The extent of her understanding was that two people with compatible genes could deepen their feelings by sleeping together.
Even on Mars, there was sex education.
At this moment, the young girl was also filled with her own nervousness and worries. After all, what if He Kui's genes weren't compatible with hers, and they couldn't deepen their feelings?
And why would sleeping together deepen their feelings?
The girl still didn't know.
However, He Kui's planting technique was too tempting, and he had been very kind to her. This made the girl decide to take the plunge.
"That..."
After some hesitation, He Kui finally spoke.
"Sleeping together might be too fast. How about you stay in the guest room next door for now, Nana?"
Setona's approach was indeed completely different from Lacus's, yet equally alluring. However, it wasn't easy to explain things to Setona when she only had a partial understanding. It was better to take things slowly.
"Can't we sleep together yet?"
Hearing this, Setona felt a mix of disappointment and relief—her emotions were complicated.
"No, not yet."
"Then when can we?"
Thinking about how she was wasting time here while her people on Mars were tightening their belts, she couldn't calm her mind.
"...When you're ready, Nana?"
"Don't worry, I'll let you know when the time comes."
Afraid that Setona would keep pressing, He Kui quickly added.
"Oh, will it take long?"
Meeting Setona's gaze, he swallowed.
"It won't be too long."
He just needed to fill her in on some relevant knowledge. And if she was still willing afterward, he would be too.
After all, she was the princess of Mars. It was better to be clear about things—mutual consent was the most important.
"Alright then, Nana will wait for you, He Kui."
As she spoke, Setona hugged He Kui tightly. The fresh scent of the girl who had just taken a bath continuously wafted over him, making his nose itch slightly.
The next day, after successfully coaxing her away, He Kui was about to head to the radar room to prepare for Malchio's arrival when he saw a drowsy Setona emerging from the neighboring room.
"Nana, why are you up so early?"
Having already found release the previous night, He Kui's eyes were now bright and clear.
"It's so noisy..."
Setona pouted, clutching a pillow half her height, clearly in a bad mood from being woken up.
"Sorry."
Actually, he had done it on purpose. After all, starting with sound was the best way to approach such matters.
"Hmm... Do you all make such happy noises when you sleep?"
Recalling the pleasant, rhythmic sounds she had heard the night before, Setona's face turned slightly red.
"Yes."
"Were you that happy too, He Kui?"
"Yes, I was."
"I see."
So, sleeping together meant doing something that made everyone happy, and then their feelings would improve?
He Kui didn't elaborate further. He would just send some educational materials to the girl's terminal later, and that should suffice.
After bidding farewell to Setona, He Kui quickly made his way to the radar room.
A day and night on the Moon lasted thirty Earth days, but Copernicus's dome acted as the outer wall of the Colony Satellite, maintaining a 24-hour day-night cycle, with the time zone aligned with the Atlantic Federation.
He Kui had returned just as night fell, and Little Bird was nearly complete with Shihe's help.
Only some complex parts were left for He Kui to handle himself.
In this way, under He Kui's operation, Little Bird quickly took its complete form, and He Kui still had time to chat with Cagalli.
"Malchio has left Orb," He Kui said to Cagalli, looking at the news about Orb he had just checked.
"Yes, that's right," Cagalli nodded.
"By the way, are you two close?"
Thinking that Cagalli might not understand if he beat around the bush, He Kui decided to ask directly.
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