SOS CH 66 (Patreon)

When Dorothy gave all the instructions she thought were necessary to Lion, she went toward one of the Kitchen. The Lion Pride Legion was composed of war vessels for short-term travel so the kitchens were not decorated or equipped with the latest machines but it was still great in her opinion.

Furthermore from what she knew, most humanoid and carbon-based races in this galaxy had very similar metabolism. While there were minute differences it wasn’t to the point where one would die because of food unless they had a specific allergy.

Finally, people who had managed to acquire control over Dark Matter had a certain resilience to most basic poison so there were no worries. At most, he would simply have an indigestion if the food was not compatible

Thinking about this, she could only chuckle. This would be an interesting prank but she hoped he would be alright.

When she finally reached the Kitchen though, Dorothy realized that all her worries had been for naught or perhaps not enough.

“Sir Noah?” She asked tentatively as she saw him gobbling the food while crying and wondered if something was wrong with the food.

“Oh. Dorothy. No worry. Everything is alright. Those are just manly tears of joy.”

Noah sniffled while slurping on a special dish seemingly made out of foam and meat. His expression was one filled with bliss as if he was tasting the most wonderful things ever.

“This is the stuff.” Once he finished, Noah nearly burped but tried to keep some manner and simply coughed a little, “What kind of meat is this?”

“It is…” “Wait. Nevermind. Forget it. Let me finish eating first when we can talk about the kind of meat. Don’t wanna destroy my appetite.”

Dorothy was flabbergasted and the next few minutes made her watch with horror and curiosity as Noah continued to inhale. Not eat. Inhale a quantities of food that certainly did not match his small body.

She had the feeling that she was watching a small cosmic beast in action or some living black hole devouring the food with no end.

This situation continued for some time and now Dorothy was looking at it with a more analytical eyes. The capacity to eat large quantities of food was one very prized in this universe.

More food means more energy and more reserve. It also means that one has a larger capacity to stock energy. Though it could also mean that one was very inefficient in managing their energy.

She did not know how long she watched but soon Noah stopped placed his hand together and bowed his head, “Thanks for the food. I am half full now.”

Dorothy looked with a bemused expression at all the dishes that were perfectly cleaned. Noah alone had eaten enough to fill an entire army for a few days and he was only half-full?

‘He will be a very dangerous opponent to fight.’

She smiled, “I am happy you enjoyed the food. Though I must say, I am quite curious about the last gesture. Is it a prayer? Do you believe in a particular god?”

Praying to gods was not something particularly rare in this universe. However, it was more common in backward planets that did not understand that the so-called gods they prayed to were nothing more than extremely powerful entities.

Dorothy herself was acclaimed and recognized as a god in some of the solar systems - that were under the control of Oz and while she had tried to change this practice she knew that it was useless.

“I do not believe in God.”

Noah smiled quietly. He did not believe in God. Whether God existed or not did not matter to him. At the end of the day, no amount of prayer could change the reality in which one lived.

If praying was useless. Why waste time doing so?

“I only believe in…” Noah stopped himself and soon a bitter smile formed on his face, “I guess I can only believe in myself and one other at the moment.”

Dorothy was curious but she could guess that this was quite a heavy topic and she was not close enough with Noah to broach this topic. Though it was easy to see that he was someone who had lost many people who were dear to him over time.

This knowledge made her feel a little closer to him. Dorothy knew a life where one could only walk even while suffering the pain of losing those they loved.

It was a pain she wished to no one. Not even her worst enemies.

“It seems like you are a man with quite the story to tell.”

“Oh. You wouldn’t believe.” He gave a wolfish grin at her words, “Perhaps one day if we become closer I will share my woes with you.”

“I will await this day with impatience.”

The two shared a smile. It was hard for Dorothy to ignore the way he looked now but her own race was the perfect example of never judging a book by its cover. Now that she was closer to him. She could feel that the weight of time on his body seemed to be like a complex maze.

Her senses were telling her that he was beyond a few hundred years old but her scanners were telling her that his body was that of a newborn. This was quite the contradictory result and there was not much she could do about this.

“So. Since we three the niceties away. Why don’t you tell me what you want from me?”

Noah wiped his mouth and observed Dorothy but she showed an ever calm facade, “I do not know.”

“Oh? Are you playing games with me?”

“No. I truly do not know what I want from you.” She shook her head, “We are tied by a faint karmic thread and the stars murmur to me that you are my destiny. But I do not fully understand what it entails. What I do know though, is that forming a positive relationship with you now will be very useful for me.”

“I like how you aren’t trying to portray yourself as some good samaritan.”

“I believe a good relationship can only be built on truthfulness. I have many friends I would fight for without hesitation. But you are not yet one of them. You are an investment.”

Dorothy initially planned to go through a more mellow way but when she heard his choices of words about belief, she was able to understand a little bit what kind of man Noah was and knew that in such a situation. Trying to cajole him would only make him wary.

“So…You are a seer?”

Dorothy stopped and looked down at Noah. His expression was still full of smile but her intuition was telling her that something was wrong.

“You could say so. I was gifted with the power to read the stars. Though what I see is but one of the innumerable possibilities existing.”

Noah nodded nonchalantly and asked, “Then — Do you know someone named Appolo or Libra?”