Noah had been quite proud of his performance thus far.

He may have had to beat up an innocent woman on the way, however, he did manage to fool the pirates and enter one of their ships. More than anything— he would be finally able to eat some real food. It felt like eons had passed since he had eaten something worth eating. He was on cloud nine just thinking about it.

At least— that is what he believed would have happened once he was given the green light for some food and clothing.

“Where am I? And what… even is this?”

Noah looked at the person standing beside him and spoke. She, or at least he assumed her to be a female from the shapely form of the armor the person was wearing and the voice with which she talked, was very tall; she could even be said to be massive, more than thrice his current height. There also was only one eye on the armor but there were not many more indications for him to discern her gender.

The strange, tall, and towering woman aside, Noah found himself in some sort of room that was dyed in a pure white radiance. No matter where his eyes darted toward, all he could see was the color white.

His face twitched ever so slightly at the sight of this room. Memories he thought he had forgotten began dragging themselves up from the worst corners of his mind, reminding him of his nightmares.

“You need to be kept in a sterilized room until we can ascertain whether you are carrying any kind of strange bacteria that could affect us or not. The chances are extremely low, to be honest. But I do not like moving with a possible biological hazard near me.”

“Oh. Okay, I can understand that. But… What is this…?”

“Food.”

“Food? This? You call this… thing, food?”

Noah pointed his finger at the plate in front of him and couldn’t help but double take while asking in disbelief. The thing the strange being mentioned as food… was composed of one grey-colored cube, two green-colored cubes, and finally, a weirdly pinkish-red cube that all seemed like jellos of some kind but much thicker and blurrier in consistency. It looked like mush in a jello form, he didn’t really have any words to describe what he was looking at. Apart from the cube-like substances that seemed to be things out of a horror show, there was also a small bottle with a straw on top of it so that he could sip the drink.

It looked unappealing and honestly disgusting in a way. At least that was the case for Noah, even though he had been living in what could be considered one of the hellish places on earth with raw substances in the name of food. He distinctly remembered eating this kind of ration when he was in the army or at least something closely similar to this madness and while it was heartwarming in a way to find something that reminded him of home… this did not make the appearance of the meal any better in his eyes.

In fact, it somehow made it worse as he could clearly draw a comparison to that terrible food.

Noah was filled with utter disgust as he looked at the food before him. So much so, in fact, that he would rather go back and eat some raw meat after killing a few beasts than eat these disgusting cubes. Ultimately, the raw meat had some umami flavor in them; these looked like they would either taste like garbage or cardboard.

“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to, you know? We are pressed for time already. You have five minutes to decide then we will start moving.”

“Ugh…”

Noah looked at the food and sighed to himself,

“This is enough to make me full? Are you sure about that?”

“A barbarian from a backwater world like you might not understand what kind of marvel this food is. This is renowned as the summit of the food industry specializing in space travel and warfare. They have no smell and no particular heat, making them hard to detect on radar. They also have no fiber so soldiers and crewmates can make do with excreting only the bare minimum amount of waste. This would lead to retaining more energy. Lastly, because of their composition and their compact size, they can be moved in large quantities without taking much space and can be preserved for years without any problem whatsoever. They do not rot easily and have a high preservation rating. This isn’t about just smashing food together somehow and compressing it. This is a state-of-the-art technology of such a high level that someone like you could never hope to understand even if I gave more explanation.”

Noah had expected many things but certainly not getting a lecture on food technology when he decided to get into the pirate ship. She spoke in quite a condescending way and so quickly that she seemed ready to crush Noah with the weight of her words.

However, he was not offended nor did he care about how she was looking down on his intellect. There was only one thing he cared about right now. One thing he needed to know.

“Are they tasty?”

“...”

“...”

The two looked at each other for some time in complete silence. Even without being able to see her face, Noah could hear her heartbeat accelerate when he asked her that question. It looked like she was very angry at his question, even though he did nothing but make a very legitimate inquiry about a problem that was bothering him regarding the meal he was served.

In the end, it looked like she decided that his question was not worth answering as she turned on her heels with a click and started walking away from him, leaving one last sentence behind.

“Those four cubes are enough to completely fill up even an adult warrior of my species for a few days to even beyond a week. So shut up and eat, or just leave. I couldn’t care less about your hunger. Once you finish with your decision, go take a shower and put some clothes on from the adjacent room. At least, make you look presentable enough, you stupid barbarian. They will keep you warmer than the rags you are currently wearing so it’s only good for you.”

“Huh…”

Looking at her departing back, Noah could only whistle to himself.

Is she… kind in reality? A tsundere? Damn, didn’t think I would meet someone with this trait even in deep space. Aquarius would have had a field day with this.

Capricornus, a young shy boy who had his heart on his palms, was one of the thirteen constellations when Noah was still active on Earth. Animes and the like were one of the few forms of entertainment that he enjoyed after he learned his biological donors were of Japanese origin. This gave him the impression of sharing a sense of culture and history with them.

Now alone, Noah took one of the cubes and looked at it with plain curiosity in his eyes.

Any ideas?

— Even if it’s poisonous it will not affect you.

I know but that is exactly the problem I am facing. Pretty hard to act when you don’t know what kind of feeling you need to show.

— Speaking of acting, I am surprised at your talent at being able to act so convincingly. I thought a prideful man like you would simply jump right in and fight all of them to death. It seems like you can use your brains after all.

Noah grinned as he put the cube in his mouth, hiding a grimace as the tasteless thing seemed to liquefy once it entered his oral cavity and moved down his throat like a gelatinous substance. It was like eating a jello without any flavors. Quite a disgusting experience for sure.

Just who the hell do you think I am? Jumping all guns blazing in a fight without ascertaining the firepower of the enemy isn’t being prideful, it’s just pure stupidity. Contrary to what one may think, I don’t act without thinking things through, that has never been my role.

Noah's codename was the Serpent Bearer – Ophiucus – and he perfectly honored this name with his actions and way of life. Practically all his life, he had been trained with the sole objectives to hunt, kill, assassinate, lie and cheat. Doing anything and by any means possible to take down his targets. He had definitely become a bit rusty but thanks to his current appearance, people naturally underestimated him.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

After all, how many people would think that a cute, and young child was in fact a deadly assassin beneath that harmless exterior? Even if there were some doubtful points in his performance, they would unconsciously choose to ignore them because he presented no apparent danger to anyone with his cowering demeanor.

‘Hunting is an art, you see, and all weapons should be used when necessary. What people forget is that— words too can be a very deadly weapon when used properly. Perhaps the deadliest of them all once used in the right manner.’

He sighed and ate all but one of the cubes that had been given to him. He had to admit, while this gave him the impression that he was eating some disgusting form of garbage, the taste was non-existent so it was at least bearable for him. It just felt like he was eating distilled water. There was no smell, no taste, no texture. It almost felt like he was eating air for a second.

However, it delivered a great surprise to him,

Half? No, a quarter full.

When added to what he already ate on the way, Noah could be said to be half full at this moment. This event only happened after he hunted many beasts and devoured them directly many years ago. He had been long since running on a quarter capacity only.

Now he understood what the woman meant when she said those things were a marvel of technology. He could already imagine that those rations could sustain a large army easily without much problem.

Space exploration could take a long time and could be prolonged for years without having the chance to resupply in deep space. He was learning more and more about the way of things in the Sea of Stars as time passed. More than he could have ever learned about space while on Earth.

Once he was a little more satiated, Noah went in the direction of the shower room.

Truly, only by taking a good hot shower would he feel like he had once again returned to civilization.

As for the meal. He did not count on it. Only a true hot meal with smoking meat, some delicious sauce, a few fries, and rice on the side could truly make him happy and fulfilled. Nothing else.

***

When Noah entered the shower room that the Cyclops woman mentioned, he looked at the surroundings of the bathroom with curiosity in his eyes. There were a multitude of small installations all over the bathroom. Esoteric symbols were carved into the button-like protrusions of the installments, probably signifying a general overview of what they were used for.

At that moment, he came to the belated realization that although he was capable of easily learning any language out there and speaking it fluently in a very short amount of time, writing that specific language was in a completely different ball-park altogether. Even with his Adaptation, it would take him a relatively long amount of time to master a particular language.

‘Ideally speaking, I should settle down somewhere for a few years and slowly learn about everything out there. The language, the culture, the structure of the so-called Empire… I need to be prepared if I want to explore space.’

It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do right now anyway. Once he managed to get back to his home world— Earth, he would quietly enjoy his position as a hero and live off whatever bonus he would get for his efforts.

He idly thought those dreamy thoughts while testing different buttons and nearly screamed out loud when scalding hot water fell on him out of the blue, catching him completely off guard.

Fucking hell!

Cursing to himself due to almost being cooked for a second there, he tried pushing the different sets of buttons before him and observed what they generally did. One particular button he pushed seemed to be making the protrusion vibrate for some reason; it took him some time before he finally found the right set of buttons that allowed him to enjoy the hot shower experience.

Yep. I really need to learn the language.

His mood was still a bit down due to not being able to get the long desired food he wished for but as soon as the perfectly heated hot water started flowing down from the shower and made contact with his body, his mind seemed to have melted and he nearly leaked out a groan of joy and satisfaction. He had the feeling that he was finally having a taste of Heaven.

How long? Just how long had it been since he was able to experience something like a true hot shower? He didn’t even know since he had lost the sense of time long ago. It wasn’t like he didn’t try to find a way either; taking large chunks of ice from the cold side and bringing them to the hot side was one way he tried to experience something like a hot bath. It didn’t go as he planned, obviously.

However, what he was experiencing now was entirely different from anything he had ever come to experience — This was civilization!

It was only after losing something that you would understand the significance of what you lost. It was the same case for Noah, who understood just how great civilization and its machinations were to his day to day life. Everything was far easier and you could act as lazy as you wished and let the machines make your life convenient by doing the tedious tasks for you.

This was indeed great.

— Aren’t you a bit too relaxed right now?

Am I now? Why did you have that thought?

— By now they should begin noticing some weird aspects of your situation. Pieces of a puzzle that just don’t fit together no matter how you try to. They should be able to filter out the holes in your explanation by now…

Ah. I see what you mean. Well, you are indeed right. As long as they don’t have poop for brains, they should at least wonder how I managed to learn and use the universal language so fluently even though I should be a denizen of this world to them.

— So…

But you see… It doesn’t matter even if they have their doubts and suspicions. Even if I am suspicious, the gold I have shown them is real, I am inside their ship and Morgiana is under their control. I am powerless and they are strong. Just why should they fear me? That doesn’t make any sense. All the acting I have been doing was precisely for this scenario.

Noah chuckled to himself as he excchanged with the Queen in his mind. Over the short discussion he had with Omid, Noah had been able to grasp the way those people’s minds worked. They were fucking arrogant and their leader was the most arrogant of the bunch, even if he didn’t let it show for a second. They believed in their own strength and in only what they could witness with their own eyes. Nothing else.

From their perspective, no matter what kind of trap Noah may be preparing, it was inconsequential to them.

Why? Because they were strong and in their eyes, he was just a weak barbarian.

Arrogant people are so funny in their own way, don’t you think?

— You should look in a mirror before speaking ill of others. At least, you don’t have the right to say that.

‘Firstly, there is no mirror for me to admire my handsome self in the current situation, and lastly. I am different from them.’

Noah fiddled around with the buttons and looked on with unbridled curiosity in his small eyes as the bath near him started to fill up with some gelatinous substance that disturbingly jiggled around and reminded him of the creatures that could be often found in video games.

‘I am strong. I am prideful and perhaps even arrogant in many, many ways. But the stupidest thing someone strong can do is underestimate the weak.’

Never underestimate the weak. The weak have a way of fighting that belongs only to them. The reason the weak managed to survive is because they were able to outmaneuver and escape from the truly strong. They had their own principles and their own ways of living in this jungle.

It was a pretty simple principle but something many forgot.

‘You should understand this more than anyone, right? After all— you lost to humanity.’

— .... We lost to you and the other constellations, not to humanity. There’s a difference.

‘And we were created by humanity. Ergo you lost to it. Hahah…’

He continued to taunt the voice in his head while testing different combinations with the buttons surrounding him. He was not just having fun here. Though this was quite a fun experience in itself.

Noah was primarily trying to memorize the different sets of characters and what they did. This could be useful in the future or be completely useless. But he had long since learned that being over prepared was better than having no preparation at all.

— So what is your plan from now on?

‘I guide them to where I think is the ruin. Everything will be dandy up until then.’

— And then?

‘Well… It’s pretty obvious what they will try to do, right?’

.

.

.

“Once we find the ruins, we kill the boy to avoid any possible traps.”

Sitting in the main room of his ship, Omid started giving out orders to his crewmates. The order was curt and direct but no one was surprised by his expected brutality. In the first place, there was no way they could let the boy go as he knew way too much about them. It would only be a recipe for disaster.

As Noah had anticipated, Omid was indeed not stupid. Noah was simply too suspicious and many points he had made during their conversation did not make much sense. But he was willing to act stupid and ignore all of his charades because—

“This is indeed gold, and it’s from this planet.”

The results of the analysis were unanimous and unambiguous. This gold was real and this did not come from another planet.

This couldn't be a trap. Omid knew very well that he was simply not worth such an elaborate scheme. Such a trap would have been used on big fish such as his leader Cassim or legendary pirates like Captain Nemo.

Even so, this did not erase all the suspicious points about the small boy and the strange unease he felt whenever he came close to him. His danger senses would always flare whenever he was near him.

This was why he had to die.

As cruel as it may look, such was the way of pirates and this was not the first murder he had committed, or ordered.

“Phaeia, keep an eye on him and see what you can find out.”

Everyone chuckled forcibly while the Cyclops scientist of the band of pirates, Phaeia, couldn’t help but let out a small sneer.

“That’s really funny, Captain.”

She shook her head and continued to work on her pad. This kind of joke was nothing compared to the much less savory jokes some of her crewmates would throw her way. Being one of the sole women in the crew full of pirates was not an easy task after all.

One of the saving graces was that… for many of her crewmates, she looked very ugly or simply disgusting.

The wonders of space truly.

“I already put a few sedatives in the food I gave him. They are not poisonous but they will easily be able to knock him out at any moment as long as I press a button.”

“Good. I knew I could count on you.”

He sighed and looked around, “We do not have much time guys. So this is a get-and-dash operation. If we judge that Dorothy is coming, then we will flee. Understood?”

“Yes!”

Money was good. But one needed to be alive to enjoy the boons of money.

This was why Omid could not kill Noah yet. They could not afford to waste any time. Even now, their ships were preparing to fly toward the destination.

Things would have been so much easier if they could have a wide-scale detector. Simply being able to measure the distribution of the gravity on the whole planet would have helped find the heaviest places which generally was where the ruins were.

But life was never easy. Especially for pirates and outlaws like them.

Let’s move swiftly before that bitch comes for our lives.

He could already see a difficult battle ahead.