After giving his thanks to Dorothy, Noah finally decided to go to his assigned room. He briefly considered visiting the five planets, but if they had a white gate and he had to go through those tests again, he might have to fight Dorothy in a death match as he did with Omid.
The fact that she was his benefactor aside, Noah didn’t relish the idea of fighting someone who could stop time. He had no countermeasure for this power at his current level and if she decided to kill him, there was very little he could do to defend himself outside of perhaps blitzing her.
But then she had those silver boots that allowed her to teleport freely. Time and space manipulation were cheats.
—Indeed. I believe getting a usable Mecha until we can create a new one is necessary.
Noah did not answer but he understood what the Queen meant. The skills they had used together could certainly not be maintained for long and she could not yet produce the mass necessary to reproduce an entire Mecha from scratch.
But things would be less dire if he at least had a Mecha to help amplify his power. As for creating his own Mecha, Dorothy had shared with him who the absolute best creator of the current era was.
Geppetto. The Lord and Father of Machinery.
Hearing this name was funny. Noah certainly knew about the story of Pinocchio. This was a story he identified with strongly even as he was living on Earth.
In this world though, Geppetto was not just a gentle old man who wished for his creation to become human
From what Dorothy told him; Geppetto was without a shadow of a doubt the man he needed to hire. Furthermore, Geppetto was trustworthy and nothing but a passionate man who wished to create things. But at the same time, it seemed like he was an overlord who reigned over an entire sector composed of over six solar systems.
All those planets were inhabited by AI. True sapient AI that could learn, grow, and seemingly feel emotions.
It seemed like a few hundred years ago, Geppetto spearheaded an entire AI rebellion and threatened a large part of the Galaxy by himself.
Even though the Rebellion was quelled, one could not say that Geppetto lost. He simply reached a truce with the Empire and the Federation. Making him one of the big forces of the Galaxy.
Noah could only curse softly when hearing about such a feat. One man against an entire galaxy and yet he still managed to come out ahead.
—A very dangerous man.
Dangerous is an understatement. How the hell do I even meet a dude like this?
Noah could only laugh. If this whole situation was a game, then he had three main quests now all connected to the main story.
Finding the Shadow Queen. Visiting Mars. Meeting Geppetto.
The problem was that access to all three quests were blocked, either because he did not have a sufficiently high level or because of a problem in timing.
In the end, before having access to those main quests, he had to complete a few side quests and level up. Get some normal-rank equipment on the way and increase his reputation. Only by doing so could he fulfill the conditions for his main quests and then, the road was clear.
Staying in Oz was impossible. He could stay a short time to have a deeper understanding of the world but he could not stay there long. His path to power was already clear.
Devouring. Adapting. Evolving.
Unless Dorothy was willing to feed him her ships and her soldiers, which he doubted she would, he needed to leave. In fact, while he now believed that Dorothy was someone trustworthy and someone he was indebted to, this didn’t mean that he was willing to tell her about his power.
One day this power might become common knowledge but for now, he would stay silent. At the very least he would do so until he obtained the skills necessary to protect himself or enough power to flee if it was necessary.
In order to grow he needed to leave Oz and find suitable targets to devour. While being able to work solo and the best job for this seemed to be that of a mercenary.
—So this is why we are here now.
Indeed. They were standing in front of a door. From there, Noah knocked thrice and then waited patiently.
“Give me a second!”A feminine if somewhat gruff voice reached him from the other side of the door and it was opened, giving full view to Morgiana wearing nothing but a loose white shirt and a pair of black panties. Her hair was damp and she was holding a small towel.
“I see that you were already resting. Though I must say, your underwear is quite risque.”
Morgiana sighed and moved away the hair covering her eyes, “If you want to watch then watch.”
Her voice was quite sarcastic but Noah simply nodded, acknowledging that he did punch her. While it had been necessary, it was important to notice that things could have gone differently if he had taken the time to simply talk to her first. With her experience, things might have gone very differently.
But all those things were in the past. The past was the past and now he had to focus on the present and future.
This was why, “I am here to apologize.”
Noah smiled as he gave his apology in the most sincere way imaginable. His round face and chubby cheeks made him look even cuter than he should be. Noah knew how to use this to his advantage.
“Fuck off.”
The door closed in his face with a bang, leaving Noah alone in the hallway. His face showed no surprise as he had been expecting such a thing to happen.
—What now?
Well…Now we rest I guess.
It seemed that building up his relationship with Morgiana would be anything but easy. But he just had the way, “I have a way for you to write off a part of whatever debt you might have.”
The silence lasted for a few seconds before the door of Morgiana’s room slowly opened again.
“Come in.”
Noah grinned. Building trust would not be easy after his rocky start with Morgiana but this kind of side quest was definitely easier to accomplish.
***
The room inside was larger than Noah would have guessed. There was one large bed in the middle of the room, big enough to sleep three or four people in it with no problems. A bathroom was close to the bed and finally, a large holographic screen was floating near the wall in front of the bed.
A tv?
Noah idly wondered what kind of entertainment shows people in space would watch. He might have not been as much of a nerd as Capricornus but that didn’t mean he was against watching some good show or animation.
“So what do you have in mind?”
Morgiana sat in front of a mirror as she ruffled her hair quite roughly with her towel before using the hair dryer. Noah meanwhile simply sat on the free chair next to the office table.
“You seem quite at ease here. It seems like this isn’t your first time visiting this place.”
Morgiana gave a look at Noah but sighed and decided that there was no need to be too hostile. She really needed the money now and as a mercenary, she had learned long ago that pride did not feed the stomach. If Noah wished to have some small talk as a strange form of powerplay then so be it.
“Dorothy is a friend. I helped her fight for the throne as a mercenary and saved her life when she had yet to reach adulthood and awaken her power.” Morgiana smiled when she thought about it. Back then Dorothy had been far weaker than she was now. She was just a helpless little girl who was being chased by enemies way too powerful.
No mercenaries had been inclined to help her back then and in the end, the one who decided to go for the mission was Alibaba. Morgiana had been against it at first but as always she got pulled in by his crazy optimism and they went all out protecting Dorothy.
“Oh. This is pretty interesting. Your friend Alibaba seems like…Yeah. Very interesting.”
Morgiana snickered, “You can say it. He is dumb and kind to a fault. He wants to do good even though the world is filled with bad and he does not compromise.”
She might be insulting but there was a gentle smile on her face as she spoke about him. Something Noah noticed quite easily. “Seems like you respect him quite a bit.”
She shrugged, not willing to answer him, “Now that I have answered your questions sShould we talk about the debt? Time is money as they say.”
“Time is indeed money.” Noah nodded, “It’s simple really. How much was Omid’s bounty?”
Morgiana frowned, “If you mean you want to share the money of the bounty then don’t. I did not participate in any way in this hunt and I do not want a hand me down.”
Pride may not feed an empty stomach but this didn’t mean that she was devoid of all pride. There were limits that should not be crossed and getting money for something she didn’t do was one of those limits.
Worse. She had been completely and utterly useless in this entire scenario, “Also I swear if you are going to say I am entitled to a share because you used me as a bait I am going to punch you even if you may be stronger than me.”
Morgiana had suffered many humiliations and defeats since she escaped from her home planet alongside Alibaba and Cassim and all those years ago. Losing was nothing new for her. But she had to say that what happened on this planet was something she would never forget. It was a humiliation to a level few could ever compare.
Noah raised an eyebrow, “You are more stubborn than I gave you credit for. I thought mercenaries were all about money and how you got it didn’t matter?” At the very least this was how mercenaries were generally portrayed.
“Heh. I like money. In fact I love money. Money makes things easy. Money helps one not have to worry about the next meal they would have or worry about having a roof over their heads. Money may not bring happiness but it sure as hell helps.” She shrugged. Morgiana went through many things in her short life. From being high up in the sky to falling in the ground. From being able to eat and waste food to having to scrape for trash to have something to eat.
She had to resort to many illegal activities to survive as a kid. Some of which she was not proud of. But now she realized one thing, “The money I like the most is the one I worked hard to obtain. The one I can hold on to without having to look over my shoulder and the one that does not make my heart heavy.”
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She knew that some of Alibaba’s morality might have rubbed off on her but while she might get less money by using legitimate means, this was money she never had to be ashamed of.
Hard work was not always rewarded in this world but when it was, it always felt good. “A mercenary should never get money from a mission they had no hands in. The reward should always be shared based on the merits. If I had to accept money from you for this mission. At most, I would accept a few thousand credits as a token for my participation but that would be all.”
Noah looked at Morgiana and by that, he really looked at her for the first time. Not just focusing on her appearance but who she was as a person and then he smiled.
Initially, he only came here because he wished to make use of Morgiana. She had the knowledge and know-how he needed and he thought she was just a woman greedy for money.
I might have become a poor judge of character.
Be it Morgiana or Dorothy, Noah realized that they were all interesting people that he would be glad to befriend. At the same time, this was a small lesson for him.
There was nothing wrong with being a little paranoid and doubting the people around him. But it was necessary to not let those feelings cloud his judgment and stop him from making meaningful connections.
***
His time on the planet had deeply hurt him mentally, making him lose a great part of his optimism, but he knew or rather he hoped that he was not broken.
“Okay, you know what? I have a slightly different proposal.”
Noah leaned back a little, “See, I know nothing about this universe, and I am sure Dorothy can help me get some nice information. You and I both know that sometimes you need the little guys. No offense.”
“None taken.” Morgiana shrugged. Why be offended by the truth? “So what? You want an informant?”
“Close. I want a mentor. I want someone who is skilled enough and experienced enough to show me the ropes about the job, share some missions, and put me in contact with the right people and obviously, I will pay a high price for that. What do you say?”
Morgiana raised an eyebrow, “This is a better proposal but you know that with the credits you will get you can hire higher-ranked mercenaries right?”
She raised her fingers, “Off the top of my head I can name Sinbad, the Prince of the Seven Seas. He is a pirate but also a Corsair or a Privateer. Whatever you want to call him. He is officially a mercenary and a rather trustworthy one all things considered.”
Sinbad was one of the freest spirits she ever had the chance to witness. He was the kind of man who sailed the sea just for fun and started his career as a pirate for enjoyment.
Nowadays he worked closely with the Federation and was considered a minor outlaw by the Empire.
“Then you have people like The Witch Hunter's siblings. Hansel and Gretel. I have worked with them and Dorothy can vouch for them. Also Robin Hood or Red Riding Hood. or…”
“Wait wait wait. Is this some new kind of tactic? Aren't you supposed to sell me your skills?” Noah gave her a bewildered stare. He had to admit, the names she had been giving were all mind-blowing and cemented once again that he was not in his universe.
Morgiana answered with a shrug and a thin smile, “I don't want you to regret choosing me. I just want you to understand that you have options and you should use your money wisely. We are mid-ranked mercenaries at best and we might even lose our main spaceship. Doing missions will be hard for a while.”
Noah chuckled, “I don't know if it's some sort of new strategy but it worked. I want you to work with me even more. I don't know how much more skillful than those other guys are but I believe trust is more important in this situation. Or do you not want to work with me because of what I have done?”
Morgiana uncrossed her legs, “It would be a lie to say I have totally forgiven you. I will be the first to admit that I crossed a line with the way I spoke to you before you attacked. It was a veiled threat and for that, I apologize. But still, it will take some time for me to forget.”
This wasn’t just about humiliation. It was also about how humbled this situation made her and how risky it had been. If Noah had been someone with a more twisted personality, he could have done unspeakable things to her and she would have had no way to protect herself.
As a mercenary, she had seen some fucked up shit and while all aliens did not share the same biology nor taste for women, many enough did. All this time though, she thought she was a big girl. That she could handle herself now though…She wasn’t so sure.
Noah gave a bitter smile as he could see the lack of confidence showing on her face even if only for a fleeting moment. Clearly, his actions left a long lasting shadow on her psyche.
If Noah could rewind time, perhaps he would have made sure to talk with her and warn her of his intention.
Morgiana did not beat herself down for long. She might have been a little shocked and her confidence might be in the dumpster but she knew she would climb back. This was what she always did. “Look. Give me time to think okay? I also cannot make this decision alone. Alibaba is the leader of our crew and as much of an idiot he is, I cannot take decisions that will override his authority. Even as the second in command. I am sure he will accept. He is a sweetheart and would most likely even do it for free. But I need to keep up formalities.”
Morgiana was 100% sure that if she explained this to Alibaba he would wonder why she was doing something so useless. He was truly the kind of bastard who had no care for formalities and the lackadaisical nature of members of the crew was a proof of how he ran things.
“Crew?”
“Yes. A small crew of mischievous bastards but still a crew.” Her eyes twitched a little when she remembered some of them. A clean freak who specialized in transmutation and transfiguration, or even a girl who only spent her time sleeping. Thankfully, their doctors were skilled at least. She might use her needlessly long hair to heal them but she was serious when doing her job.
“The other members are more independent so you might not meet them even if we decide to work with you. But a crew is essential as a mercenary. You cannot sail the universe alone.”
Even with learning pods, there were limits to what one could learn, and accidents in space were challenging to take care of. Who would repair the ships? Who would take care of the team if they caught some alien diseases? Who would navigate? All those little things made traveling alone a daunting experience.
Then again, anyone who was able to sail and survive alone was either a fool or a dangerous person.
“Very well. I guess we have a deal for now. I will wait until you have an answer from your captain. I also want to make clear that training isn’t only what I want. I have a very lucrative job you see.”
“What kind?” Morgiana asked curiously. Noah was revealing himself to be a very intriguing man.
“Well. A man’s gotta keep some secrets you know.” He gave her a wink and Morgiana simply burst out laughing,
“Sorry, “ She said while wiping away a small tear in the corner of her eyes. She laughed so hard she could barely breathe,” I know you are trying to be suave or whatever but please don’t do it when you look like…Well, like this.”
Noah sighed, defeated. He really needed to do something about this childish appearance.
***
Morgiana laughed for a long time after making fun of Noah. Finally, she started pushing Noah out of her room.
“If you have nothing more to say at the moment, I think you should leave. Unless, of course, you wish to stay and watch me change.” Her eyebrows shot up instantly, observing Noah’s next actions. She wouldn’t mind either way but it would give her an understanding of Noah’s nature— the kind of man the similarly harmless-looking little boy was.
“Don’t worry. I am more akin to a monk at the moment.”
“At the moment, huh?” Morgiana intoned but Noah simply shrugged his shoulders. “I do not plan to end my celibacy any time soon. Though I definitely need to deal with my current appearance.”
Standing up, he stretched his hand and shared a firm handshake with Morgiana, “Apologizing again would never be enough to show how apologetic I feel inside. Even so, I am happy you were able to put this incident behind us. At least when it comes to our professional dealings.”
“Hopefully, you won’t knock all of us out the next time any danger occurs.”
Noah could only eke out a helpless smile in the face of her teasing expression, “I am never going to hear the end of this, huh?”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
The two shared a friendly chuckle and Noah gave a slight, almost imperceptible, look toward the holographic TV before leaving Morgiana’s room fully.
***
After Noah left her room, the smile on Morgiana’s face slowly receded before disappearing altogether.
“What do you think?”
｢I believe this was quite bad taste to not tell him I was present.｣
A male voice emanated out of the holographic TV that Noah had eyed not long ago. The image in the hologram slowly shifted before showing a man in armor sitting on an office chair.
Morgiana merely shrugged after hearing the man’s words, “It seems like he still discovered you either way so it doesn’t matter. You didn’t answer my question though.”
“Well… He seems very interesting, to say the least. This is all I can say at the moment but he is right that we need the money.”
“I know. Sorry about that. I didn’t imagine I would wreck the ship so fast.” Morgiana covered her face with her hands as she sighed out loud. She had been trying to play it cool, as they say, acting as if she didn’t mind the disastrous event all that much. However, the loss of the ship had seriously impacted her.
Her actions might lead to serious complications for her crew and such a future was not something Morgiana was willing to accept. It made her feel sick, a sinking feeling burrowing deep into her stomach that made her want to vomit in disgust.
“Do not worry, the others will understand. I was the one who pushed for this mission and miscalculated it in the end. The fault is on me. Money might be a little tight right now but we will find a way. We always do.”
Morgiana could only give the man a bitter smile in response. She knew that wallowing about what already happened was a waste of time. Even more so now when there was absolutely nothing she could do but accept the matter, “Rapunzel is going to kill me.”
“Well…” This time Alibaba did not say anything to comfort her. Clearly, even for someone as optimistic as him, there were some things he simply could not go against. “She did go nearly bald in order to pay for half the ship.”
He spoke weakly, causing Morgiana to groan even more loudly than before. Since Morgiana was the third ranked in terms of power and war potential in the crew and her true Mecha was unavailable, the entire crew had to take a loan and work hard to equip her with a proper weapon. Even the advanced AI and her nano suit and armor were the results of knee-deep investments from the entire crew.
Rapunzel was the doctor of their crew and her hair had the power to heal wounds, and prevent and cure diseases. Morgiana still remembered how teary-eyed the poor girl had been while she sold her hair for them. Obviously, Rapunzel had not been the only one to use her talents for the team. All of them did, and Morgiana knew she owed the whole crew a great debt. Be it money or a debt of gratitude, she owed them in loads. More than she was willing to bear, in fact.
The spaceship and Mecha that was bought with all this hard work did not even live through its first mission.
“Ugh…”
An awkward silence settled between them but was broken as Alibaba clapped his hands before muttering. “You know my policy. As long as we are alive, we can always fight for a better tomorrow. The ship did its job and kept you alive. If you were attacked in your previous ship, you would have been captured before even fleeing. That alone shows that this was a worthwhile investment.”
His face could not be seen, but it was easy to feel the foolish grin he was donning from his words, “What we need to discuss now is whether or not to accept the proposal of that man. From what you were telling me before he came and from what I have heard, it seemed like he is not too trustworthy.”
“I do not know how trustworthy he is, but he is definitely dangerous.” She gnawed at her lips as she remembered her experiences on the now non-existent planet. “His physical ability was out of the norm from the start. He was even able to completely shatter my armor with his fist alone. All of this was done without having a large quantity of Dark Matter. Now though it’s different. His reserves have definitely increased by an unfathomable margin.”
She sighed, “At the moment it’s hard to say whether he really killed Omid alone or simply took advantage of the environment or found Omid dead already. But I would like to bet on him fighting and winning against him. This also doesn’t take into account how he used me as bait to infiltrate their lair all by himself. Lastly, when Dorothy woke me up… everyone in the ship was already dead.”
The more she spoke the more crazy every one of her words seemed to be. She made sure that Alibaba understood this as well.
“Cunning, strong, talented, cruel. At the moment, containing him would be hard if he ever tried to attack us. He also has many unknown abilities. I would not feel at ease having him too close to us. At least, not unless she is present as well.”
“By her you mean…”
“Yeah. Only Snow White can beat him in a straightforward fight from the looks of it.”
“Hum…” Alibaba mused before nodding, “Snow White is currently on a mission in Neverland for a bounty. The abnormally high children's disappearance rate recently was traced back to that planet. If we accept him in our fold for a limited time. I believe it would be ideal to have him assist her.”
“Only those two?”
“No. Briar Rose is already accompanying her. You will not. You need to rest and I need you on my side for a different mission. Once you have rested enough, of course.”
Morgiana frowned. It was quite rare for Alibaba to be so forceful.
“What—”
“The core of the Thousand and One Night is scheduled to appear in an auction.”
Morgiana snarled immediately, “A fucking trap!”
“It is and yet we will still have to go. Sinbad already made clear that if he obtained the item he would not give it back to us and there is no way Cassim will stay silent either. As for Sheherazade…”
He shook his head, “Many things are happening. Too many. All at the same time. The only thing we can do now is fight to not get swallowed by the waves coming for us. The next few years will be a challenge. But I am sure we will survive.”
“You and your boundless optimism.” Morgiana rolled her eyes.
“It’s not optimism.” Alibaba laughed, “After all, as my idol liked to say in his biography— Who the hell do you think I am? A true man must do the impossible and break the unbreakable.”