After the long string of tests came to an end, Noah was allowed to freely fly around with the Shadowblade in the designated air space, away from the city. This space was created to avoid any potential danger or accidents that could end up involving the citizens.

Right now, however, Noah landed the frame on a cliff close to the sea after flying toward the end of the air space. Getting out of the cockpit of the frame, he sat on the head of Shadowblade, silently admiring the scenery.

Oz was a beautiful planet, one filled with happiness and a certain wind of joy and peace. Civilization and science had not overtaken nature by any means, much unlike Earth. No matter where his sight went, he could only see an ideal place he would wish to live and die in.

Already, the sun had gone under the horizon, setting long before he had arrived on the scene. And high up in the distant sky, the radiantly present tower that belonged to Dorothy was the only thing that one could witness except the wonders of the Sea of Stars. He wondered just how large that tower was to be so visible from the surface of the planet.

“A credit for your thoughts?”

Noah sighed, “I swear you should stop randomly teleporting like this. I nearly attacked you.”

“But you did not.” Dorothy chuckled, as she walked along the moderately flat surface of the frame’s head and stopped before Noah. Currently, she was dressed in a short emerald skirt, alongside her signature boots, and a yellow cardigan to top it all off. Her ebony-black hair flowed along the gentle breeze, prompting her to tuck a few strands of her loose hair behind her right ear.

Looking at her like this, it was easy to think of Dorothy as nothing more than a young girl at the peak of her youth with much to learn and experience.

“Oh? Are you entranced by my beauty?” Looking down at Noah, Dorothy revealed a radiant smile to which Noah simply snorted dismissively.

“I was just surprised at the fact that the mighty queen Dorothy walked around with a teddy bear panty.”

“I heard that young boys teased girls they liked when they felt shy. I didn’t think this applied to old men like you as well.” Dorothy was completely unperturbed by his teasing attempt but she did sit down beside him to hide her undergarments. After all, she had yet to reach Mogiana’s level in terms of shamelessness.

“Heh… Anyone ever told you that you are quite the narcissist?” Noah said.

“Some did. But I only see this as words fuelled by jealousy and envy. Don’t you think so?”

Dorothy and Noah chuckled together as they conversed and continued to tease each other. There was no awkwardness in their words or actions and in fact, they seemed even closer than they were initially.

It was only more than ten minutes later that the two stopped and gazed at the moon in silence, enjoying the perfect weather and admiring the view.

“Do you ever feel tired of looking at the same scenery?” Noah asked but Dorothy’s answer was prompt.

“Never.” Her voice was sweet, “I fought, bled and nearly died for this scenery. There is no way I am getting tired of it.”

For Dorothy, Oz was nearly everything. She did not know how long she would stay as the queen of this beautiful land but she would make sure to leave a beautiful planet and system behind as her legacy.

“You remind me of a woman I knew.”

Dorothy could have rightfully been offended at his comparison, but seeing the expression on Noah’s face from the corner of her eyes, she felt no need for that.

“If so, she must have been an incredible woman.”

“Heh. I see you are not missing an occasion to throw flowers at yourself. But you are right. She was an incredible woman. A petite, smug, know-it-all firecracker but someone I respected highly and was very close to.”

“…What happened to her?” Dorothy could already guess the answer but she knew that Noah needed to get those words out of his chest.

Stolen novel; please report.

“She died protecting me and the rest of our companions during our last charge for victory.” His voice was seemingly emotionless but Dorothy could feel the meaning hidden behind them.

“Not only her. Like you, I had to sacrifice many things and many people I cared for along my war-trodden path. Unlike you though, I only succeeded by sacrificing everything.” He continued, sharing the memories he would never forget even if thousands more years went by.

“I was not strong enough. I was unable to protect those I swore to keep alive and, in the end, even my own survival was only possible thanks to a stroke of luck.”

“Noah…”

“There is no need to try to make me feel better. The past will not change after all. I will never get back my loved ones. All because I was weak.”

“…”

“So now, I wish to become strong. Stronger than anyone else. So strong that I will never lose anything precious again no matter what the circumstance. This is why… I need to become the strongest.” Noah did not want to ever be on the side of those who lost everything again.

“… Why tell me this now?”

Noah stopped looking at the moon and shifted his gaze toward Dorothy, “I am not blind you know. Neither am I dense enough to not notice the signs you have been quite obviously throwing at me.”

Noah had his fair share of relationships in the past and his isolation on the desolate planet did not erase his know-how.

“I have been quite obvious, haven’t I? I would have been disappointed if you didn’t notice.” Dorothy was not a shy maiden and she was clear about her intentions from the start. Turning around and waiting was not her style after all. “Though it seems like I am about to face my first rejection.”

Noah scratched his hair at the words, “I would rather be honest. I am not in the right mind or situation to enter a committed relationship with someone. It would be unfair to you or anyone else for that matter.”

It would have been one thing if it was just a one-night stand or a casual fling. But whatever Dorothy’s goal was, Noah knew that it would not end in only a flimsy relationship.

“I see. Why not string me along? It isn’t every day someone gets more or less proposed by a Queen of an entire system, you know?”

“Oh, I thought of that, and if things had proceeded as I envisioned at first, I would have used you without a moment of hesitation. But I never repay kindness with evil.”

Noah did not think of himself as a great hero or a person with outstanding moral conduct. He had done many things he was not proud of and had definitely acted in a way that would horrify most normal people. But even then, Noah had a clear code of conduct he would always adhere to— the law of Talion.

Repaying evil done to him with even more evil and kindness with even more kindness.

His stay in Oz could only be said to have been idyllic. A true paradise where he was able to rest his body and mind and ready himself for the next step of his journey. He had nothing but goodwill for them, even the clearly hostile Crow for that matter.

“How chivalrous.” Dorothy gave a defeated sigh. It would have been so much easier if Noah had been a rotten scum.

“To be honest, I don't really like you. Not romantically at least.” She lifted her hand and pointed at the night sky, “The stars told me that you were my destiny, and so I decided to become close to you. I truly did not care about you as you are now. Only in the future, you could be useful to me and Oz. In a way, you could say my goodwill was nothing but an investment in stocks I knew would rise inevitably.”

Because of her gift, creating meaningful relationships had always been very hard for Dorothy. People did not believe in her goodwill and neither did she, for they all knew she acted with a calculated future in mind.

Relationships based on interests would also die when those interests changed, and for that very reason… no one would trust her wholeheartedly.

“Knowing the future must be a pain.” Noah was not surprised by Dorothy’s confession. No matter how handsome he was, he doubted someone like Dorothy would fall in love with someone at first sight.

“Trust me, you have no idea.” Dorothy chortled and stood up, stretching her body with a yawn. Noah soon followed and now the two of them stood, gazing into each other's eyes.

“The future is obscure and who knows… our relationship might evolve to something more.”

Dorothy decided to not stress herself more than was necessary. The stars never lied and if she was truly destined to end with Noah, things would happen naturally. There was no hurry.

“But for now, since we have been honest with each other. What do you say we start with a new base? Friends?”

Noah looked down at the dainty hand stretched toward him. Hesitation flashed in his eyes for a moment as he knew that once he took this hand, things would never be the same. Dorothy wouldn’t just be someone he needed to repay kindness to. She would be someone he cared for and someone he would protect with all his strength if it was necessary.

This was what it meant to be friends in his mind. True friends helped each other and always had each other’s back, no matter what.

Soon though, the hesitation vanished as if it were a lie. Never forming new meaningful relationships in fear of losing them would only mean that he would live all alone… again.

He did not wish for that, and to ensure such a future never came to be… he took her hand in his with a firm handshake.

“Friends.”

Noah had to admit— the smile that illuminated Dorothy’s face under the moonlight in that instant was one he would most likely never forget.