Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

Planet Rooster, Gram city, Lilia

"Are you ready to order, sir, m'lady?"

"hmm... I would like some of the ghnem you suggested, extra spicy sauce please. As for what to drink I would like some Tina juice" Seemingly done choosing Seven looked away from the menu and at me "what about you, Lilia?"

"um...uh..."

It was only a matter of time. Seven told me on several occasions that he craves for meat, he said it isn't strange for humans to consume other unintelligent like forms, but I never thought the day when I would sit on a table to taste another being's flesh would ever come.

"M'lady, you don't have to worry" the four armed red skinned waiter said, apparently he is well aware of my concerns "though they are few in number, we do have Zesionien customers. Our humble house is proud to serve dishes suitable for all tastes with little to no negative effects on any of the species residing on this planet, please don't hesitate"

Even if you tell me that...

Rooster has a high Zesionien population, and by consequence the food culture isn't much different from what we had on my home planet.

That's the reason behind a place like Red Romoul's existence, a restaurant that specializes in meat only cuisine.

There is demand for meat products among the minority groups, and average restaurants can't provide it for them. Ingredients are hard to get, all of them must be imported from outside after all, which leads to each dish costing a lot more than any normal Zesionien food.

"I... I will take the same as Seven, no spicy sauce please"

"Understood, your order will be ready in a few minutes"

When the waiter left I unintentionally let out the breath I held in, and Seven seemed catch on to my uneasiness

" I already know you don't usually eat meat but... is there any particular reason why? like, being unable to digest it or something?"

"no, its not like that..." if that was the case then I would never put any in my mouth "It's another one of our traditions, I think? my people always despised unnecessary murder, we like to avoid harvesting like for our own p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e"

" you think?" a lot can't begin to describe it. I can confidently say one of the main reasons why Iris decided to travel outside is her inability to handle what we would go through when we grow.

" Traditions are second only to the script of law itself. Everyone is expected to follow them without questions, then teach them to the next generation and so on" and here lies the problem.

Neither I nor Iris had any interest in getting a mate and having children, which meant we had no intention on passing our heritage.

If that went on without us leaving we would have ended as outcasts of society bringing shame to our houses, one thing we had to avoid doing no matter what.

"Hmmm, for a race that glorifies fighting and the arts of war to have such a mindset when it comes to non sentient creatures, pretty ironic"

"It's because we spill a lot of blood that we make sure not to whenever it's possible, unless the traditions call for it"

Our graduation exam for example, we has to win against one of the most violent of beasts on Zesion, it was the only time before our encounter with Verta that I felt my death was so close.

"Traditions...huh..." Seven began to say, his words stopped as as he let out a long sigh

"W had some of our own, a lot of them. In fact you would find different ones in each part of the planet you went to, but as time passed people started to care less and less"

" things we used to be ashamed of were normalized, what we had pride in lost their value year after year people continued to drift apart" deep in his eyes a shadow of loneliness seemed to devour all their light "Even parents lost interest in the time they spent with their kids, chasing after the material world like their lives literally depend on it"

I'm not too sure, but something told me Seven just regained another piece of his memory.

Seven told me before that he is fine not remembering. I look at his expression now, sad and lonely without a shred of nostalgia. He didn't yearn for the past, no, it would be more accurate to say he feels happier in this state.

Whether it's good or bad one is bond to feel a connection to their past, that connection would surely spark curiosity in someone in Seven's place.

This makes me wonder, did something happen to him? something so grave he constantly has to suppress his memories to forget?

"Well, as harsh as they may be, I'm truly grateful to those traditions of yours"

"... eh?" it was a faint murmur that I barely heard , but when I raised my head to face him he wore a smile, one that made me too relaxed to think about the meaning of his words.

.....

"Then, please enjoy your meal" the four armed waiter left is with those words.

Two plates were placed in front of us. Steam raised from a reddish brown circular shaped piece of what I assume is ghnem meat, covered in a deep crimson fluid that could be mistaken for blood. Green powder was sprayed lightly on top and two leaves of the same color were placed at the side as decoration.

Both our plates are nearly identical except that the sauce in Seven's had a much deeper color and looked thicker.

Visually speaking this dish does look appetizing but just thinking it's made of flesh is...

Now that it's in front of me I can clearly say that the way it smells isn't like anything I'm used to. Not like any type of food I can think of, and far from how burned wounds do.

I gulp down audibly.

Seven already took his fork and knife in each hand then entered a phase of absolute concentration as he stared down at his plate.

The waiter poured the orange colored contents of the bottle he held in two of his hands, then left after sting a few words.

I decided to wait and see how Seven reacts first, based on his opinion I will make my choice.

First he poked the surface with his fork trying to get a feel of its tenderness, then lowered his knife and began cutting.

By the easiness the knife made it's way through I could tell it won't be as hard to chew as I previously thought, the fragrance diminished my worries and made me want to test my own.

Nodding to himself once Seven cut a smaller piece from the inner side and with little hesitation put it inside his mouth, he then froze in his place.

A few moments later he leaned forward, his shoulders slightly shaking as his mouth slowly moved with the fork still inside

".......mmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I heard a faint sound coming from him before he suddenly slammed his left hand still holding the knife into the table

"s-Seven...."

A broad smile spread on his face, He closed his eyes and leaned on the back of the chair, he immersed deeply into the taste of the bite he took that he lost track of all his surroundings.

"so... how is it?"

"Mmm~~~mmM!!"

I didn't need a response as the way he acted told everything I needed to know.

"not just the smell and the appearance, even the tenderness and the taste!" Seven passionately said as his knife dug into the piece of meat " there is no denying it! this could only be an A4, if not an A5!!"

"..."

With how usually behaves I would have never thought that Seven is capable of showing excitement of this level, I don't understand what he meant by 'ay four' or 'ay five' but I could only guess that it's some grading system for the quality of the meat.

With how Seven made it feel like he is praising the dish it would only make sense for the ingredients it's made of to be od really high quality.

I look at my plate once more, then at Seven. Seeing him enjoying it this much tickled my curiosity so much that I got the courage to pick up my fork and knife and proceeded to prepare for the new taste. I stared at the little bite on my fork for a few seconds before closing my eyes and bracing myself for the impact.

.....

"Ha~~~~~~hh! I'm full"

" Fufu, of course you would be after eating this much"

" I hope I don't regret doing it, I would like to eat here again as soon as possible"

"Ho~h, so in the end, you liked it?"

"A bit salty m, I have to say"

"You think? I didn't notice"

"But I can't deny that it's really nicely cooked"

"Yeah, whoever the chef is they must be really skilled at what they do, high quality beef alone isn't enough to make good steak"

"...beef?"

"Ah, they call ghnem right? I wonder how it looked while alive"

"Do you want me to make a quick search?"

"Nah, not now. I don't want to ruin the after taste "

I have to confess, I never expected to enjoy it this much. The flesh of another living being, different from anything I ever ate in my entire life yet delicious in its own way.

I felt a certain rush each time I swallowed, I didn't need to chew as it melted inside my mouth like thin ice and toward the end I noticed a huge boost of energy filling my body as a surge of heat covered it.

It's like a magic drug. I can imagine someone getting their hands on it before a tournament or an exam to gain some advantage over the rest of the competition. Another reason as to why we don't consume it.

I felt somewhat guilty about this but I can't say I regret doing it.

As for Seven he took his time enjoying the taste of the first plate then went on to order five more until he was unable to go on.

I noticed that the mood completely changed compared to this morning. There was no trace of the awkwardness and Seven is smiling far longer than he is used to.

I take a sip of the orange colored juice which had a taste leaning more toward the sour side than the sweet one while leaving a slight bitterness at the end of the tongue. The refreshing effect is the perfect addition to the saltiness of the meat, a few minutes later and I was able to think cleared as my body cooled down.

"If you want we can come here one more time before we leave"

"on that note m, were you able to find out where we can get ourselves a ship?"

"Apparently we won't have any luck around here.

Jar said we would have to go to a larger planet in order to find a market for such things"

" Tsk!.... that would be a huge pain" cl.i.c.k.i.n.g his tongue once more, Seven picked up his glass and gulped down the orange juice "and I was looking forward to having my own ship, even though I didn't have any interest in them for a long time... wait a minute..."

He went silent for a moment, then put down his glass and took out his book " we don't have to travel all the way to another planet so we could get what we want"

He looked me in the eyes, then smiled as if he waited for me to figure it out myself

"wait... you don't mean..." if we can't get one here, all we have to do is make someone bring it to us. and from our short contact list there is only one person we could rely on

" That's right. Time to call your brother!"