17 CH 16: So, is it Tasty?

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 much 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 that 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 that he could sip the drink.

It looked unappealing and honestly disgusting in a certain 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 contrast 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 conserved 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 explanations."

Noah had expected many things but certainly not getting a lecture out of 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 and this was why, once he was sure that she finished harping about how incredible those disgusting-looking cubes were, Noah only had one question for her and he was quick to ask.

"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 now, 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.'

Aquarius was one of the 13 constellations when Noah was still active on Earth. A young shy boy who had his heart on his palms. Animes and the like were one of the few forms of entertainment that he enjoyed after he learned his ancestors 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 code name 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 any means possible to take down his targets. He had definitely become a bit rusty because he had no one to use his skills on for years but thanks to his current appearance, people naturally underestimated and had belief in him.

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 once 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 the 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.