"At last, they're not interested in me anymore." Frieza finally let out a sigh of relief.
After spending only a few short days with them, he had already seen through everything.
That nonsense Levos had said about having him train the Cell Juniors had been a lie from the start. The truth was much crueler. He had simply been looking for a babysitter.
Frieza hated that he had realized it too late.
And he hated even more the naive fantasy he had once had of personally raising the little monsters.
Now, he wanted nothing more than to get rid of those scalding hot burdens.
"Congratulations, Mr. Levos. This batch of Cell Juniors is extremely healthy, full of vitality, and in no way weaker than their older brothers and sisters..."
What exactly was there to congratulate?
Levos' temples throbbed. He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to explode on the spot.
The overflowing energy inside him had only just barely calmed down. Getting angry now would not end well.
Cell Max's massive body began to shrink, gradually returning to normal size.
Gloop... gloop...
Its tail wriggled.
The next instant, two figures slid out from inside.
They were Caulifla and Kale. Somehow, their fusion had already undone itself automatically.
A soft halo caught the two girls and gently lowered them as their stamina was completely restored.
"Caulifla, is she alright?" Renso asked anxiously, unable to hide the worry he felt for his sister.
Noticing how tense he was, Levos took the initiative to explain.
"She'll be fine. She's safe."
"I know you're incredibly powerful, sir. At the very least, you're the strongest person I've ever known. But..." Renso clenched his fists. "Caulifla is simple-hearted. I've always worried she might get tricked emotionally..."
Cabba quickly cut in, "Senior Renso, you're overthinking this. Mr. Levos' character is obvious to anyone who's seen him. Besides, he just risked his life to save all of Planet Sadala!"
"That's true..."
Thinking back on everything Levos had done, Renso finally let go of the fear that had been hanging over him. This man really was someone worthy of trust.
"Anyway, I approve of whatever is going on between you and Caulifla. Her personality really isn't bad. She just gets impatient sometimes. The way she acts like a gang boss all the time is mostly to protect Kale from getting bullied out in the world..."
From there, like an old father worrying that his daughter would suffer outside the home, Renso began pouring out advice one line after another.
What was he even talking about?
Levos was stunned. He wanted to run.
The veins at his temple pulsed. "I think you've misunderstood something..."
"Misunderstood?" Renso blinked. "You think I don't understand my own sister's heart?"
Cabba nodded wildly at the side.
"Exactly! Whenever Miss Caulifla mentions Mr. Levos, there's clearly something different in her eyes. And now Miss Kale looks the same way too..."
"That's because they want to surpass me," Levos said, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Surpass me in battle. That's the Saiyan fighting instinct talking. Besides..."
He truly had never thought in that direction.
In fact, he had always been rooting for Caulifla and Kale as a pair himself. He wanted to see the yuri ship sail.
But that explanation was impossible to say out loud, not when it would probably destroy the poor older brother's worldview on the spot.
Renso and Cabba had clearly misread both girls completely.
These two straight men really were hopeless.
"Oho..." Renso dragged out the sound meaningfully. "I get it. You want to use sparring and training as an excuse to nurture the relationship first."
Levos gave up on explaining.
"Everyone, the crisis is only temporarily over. Return to Planet Sadala first. I'm going to search again and make sure Ultimate Baby really can't revive anymore."
The moment he finished speaking, he turned into a streak of light and vanished into the depths of space.
A moment later, Caulifla slowly opened her eyes.
"Did we win? Where's Levos?"
"He's fine. The crisis is over," Renso replied.
Caulifla stood up and flexed her arms, her eyes shining.
"I feel full of power. I'm way stronger than before!"
Hit nodded.
"After receiving that energy infusion, all of us got much stronger. And from the looks of it, the two of you gained quite a bit more while being absorbed."
A bright grin spread across Caulifla's face. She had thought she and Kale would die there for sure, only for everything to end in the best possible way.
Glancing at the cluster of Cell Juniors in the distance, she unconsciously touched her stomach, still unable to fully process it.
"Those are the little guys we had with Levos?"
Kale was just as shaken by the whole matter, and timidly asked, "Senpai... what do we do? I don't have any experience raising children at all."
Levos, who had only just landed back on Planet Sadala, nearly tripped over himself when he heard that.
He immediately clarified, "Don't get any weird ideas! The Cell Juniors have nothing to do with you. You can't apply human standards to them, and you definitely can't treat them like children!"
"This is just one of Cell Max's traits!"
Seeing how irritated Levos was, Champa stood nearby looking completely pleased with himself. All of this nonsense had started because of his loose mouth, and now everyone present had misunderstood Levos.
The moment Levos returned, everyone crowded around him.
The Saiyans of Planet Sadala looked at him with pure gratitude and reverence in their eyes.
Although they had just survived a massive war, the planet itself had not suffered too much damage.
"Thank you for saving us!"
"You will forever be a benefactor of Planet Sadala!"
After thanking Levos, Cabba turned respectfully toward Frieza and gave a deep bow.
"Mr. Frieza, you also made an unforgettable contribution to the salvation of Planet Sadala. We are truly grateful!"
"I will submit an application to the interstellar federation headquarters and recommend that all of you be awarded the Universe Peace Prize!"
A Universe Peace Prize?
How was that remotely acceptable?
Frieza froze, feeling as if he had just suffered the greatest insult of his life.
To make matters worse, the Saiyans all started surrounding him too, expressing their sincerest thanks.
"Mr. Frieza, you really are such a wonderful person."
"You suffered so much in order to save our Saiyan race."
"Your deeds will definitely leave an important mark in our Saiyan history!"
"I even made a drawing of your heroic battle stance. We'll absolutely build a statue of you!"
Faced with the overwhelming enthusiasm of the people, Frieza's eyelids twitched nonstop, and he looked more uncomfortable than ever.
Without drawing attention to it, he quietly retreated until he was standing beside Frost.
The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder.
Then Frieza secretly compared their heights.
As expected, he was slightly taller than Frost.
That discovery improved his mood at once. The depression from being beaten half to death by Ultimate Baby, and then praised by Saiyan monkeys afterward, finally faded a little.
At that moment, his heart was filled only with the satisfaction of being taller.
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