Chapter 16

The food area is humming with life. All the beings are here and I'm stuck awkwardly at a table with other beings. No one warned me that Irene had a shift during dinner time and would be behind the counter until everyone had their food.

Everyone includes the evening patrol crew, who are usually late to be back after they make sure all the gates and fences are secured with the alarms set up for if the beasts show up.

Now... I stare at the bowl of dumplings, hoping I can finish them in time before anyone will talk to me. These other beings know one another and I hate that. Maybe I should put in effort to get to know others, but... I'm so bad at that.

But this reminds me of my days on a uzain battleship once again. I miss the old days, but I'm not missing how it will end up for me if I'm dumb enough to head back.

The argument between Acea and Irene gives a lot more detail as to what's happening.

Honestly, I think she's just hoping she can contact their home again. But she hasn't been able to and is making excuses to make sure no one else knows about that.

I don't get it, though. She may as well tell everyone. No one will blame her when it is the system or has to do with the receiving end of her communication request.

But... I'm the same one who lied to my crew a long time ago and seemingly convinced them that Zil dropped us all and left.

Now that I think about that... Zil is probably with that human female, who I have all the intention of taking as my own. That didn't work out according to the plan at all.

Wait...

My horns buzz when... Zil seemed to manage to convince that human female to be his mate or to like him, yet...

A surge of heat grows in me again. Irene has herself to blame when she's the one telling me to hold her.

I want her, no matter how it makes no sense at all.

I was the same male who grabbed the human female who ran that snack stall. I should fear nothing to grab Irene for myself, too.

But... It doesn't feel like the right thing to do.

Maybe that's because I'm no longer on my own battleship, or... Zil revenged on me even when he wasn't around...

Or... I want to make sure that Irene wants me.

Am I... different now?

I take a dumpling into my spoon, blowing it cooler before putting it into my mouth. It is still hot, but I nibble at it, blowing the inside of it. It is meat with corn for the day, which isn't that bad. Dumplings seem to be a staple for dinner. Maybe they are easy to prepare for them.

I chew on it, remembering the first day I ended up here. That was an evening where I didn't even get to enjoy any food. And... Irene smacked my head with her staff.

One day... I need to get a rematch and she should know that I'm a great warrior. I only lost because I didn't have dinner, just like that.

I continue with my food when the other beings seemingly don't care to talk to me. Maybe I'm a bit too intimidating for them to talk to, which yields a good result for me. I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone, anyway.

I want Irene to be here with me.

I start with another dumpling. This is a lot better than the food I used to have on my battleship. Maybe it is a human thing. Zil's tiny human female also makes good food.

At the counter, Irene is serving beings that are in the line. If I head over to help her, will she be done with her shift quicker?

Acea, the annoying four-arm guy is inside the kitchen. I have a glimpse of him from time to time as he walks around in the kitchen for his shift.

He really should know better than...

Well, I think I'm not a rule-follower either, and I've been refusing to do just as Irene says for the longest time.

She knows what she is doing, so...

Is she really in trouble?

I can almost hear her sob in my mind and... It pains me to even think about that. I can hold her and do a lot more to distract her, but is that what she wants?

Hm... Is the ruin of my spaceship still inside the forest? Maybe... Maybe we can figure out a way to contact some planet that's not the home planet of these beings, which is seemingly not communicating with them. Otherwise, there's no reason why Irene tried so hard to stop Acea from trying to connect with their home planet.

I finish my food and pick up my tray to return it. There are still beings that are only arriving and getting to the line. I suppose it's planned for different working teams to arrive at different times so that there will be enough seats for everyone. It's like on the battleship, where we use shifts to control how many will be looking for food at a time.

Why am I thinking about that again?

I'm not heading back to basecamp and I'll never lead a battleship in my lifetime, so...

Melzul... This is your life now.