Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, New Guinea, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Station
1st Year of God, Monday, 2nd Week, 3rd Month Of Abraham.
The celebration party reached its zenith just past midnight. Miners, workers, and off-duty soldiers drank and feasted on alcohol and fresh ant meat.
Professor Penelope sat next to Odysseus, listening to one soldier's version of his experiences in the dungeon. The female researcher dropped the finished piece of ant leg on the side, which looked and tasted remarkably like snow crab, and set the shell aside.
Odysseus happily dug out the fleshy meat and dropped the shell next to a growing pile of empty leg casings. The ant legs had been boiled in seawater and served with soy sauce.
"This is delicious!" he exclaimed, wiping his mouth with a napkin and settling back into his seat with satisfaction.
"Yes," Penelope agreed, before asking, "Haven't your people tried ant meat before?"
Odysseus shook his head. "No, this type of monster cuisine is hard to find in my kingdom." He grinned happily and gave a small burp. "This is my first time trying it. It's really good!"
"Hahaha," Penelope laughed at his satisfied expression. "This is my first time having ant meat too, but it turned out surprisingly well." She remembered the chef's confidence during the tasting, and him insisting the meat was as tasty as crab. The volunteers had been skeptical until one brave soul confirmed the chef's claim. "It's great that it could add some variety to our food supply in this healing country."
Odysseus chuckled and glanced around, observing how the humans celebrated. Compared to the noble banquets he had attended, this party was more modest and filled with genuine camaraderie.
…without, of course, the whole orgy at the end.
He sighed, shaking his head to dispel the unpleasant memories of all of the nasty hedonism in his head, and turned to Penelope's bright face. For a moment, he couldn't help but admire it regardless, despite having seen countless world-class beauties among the noble female elves.
But with Penelope…
'For a human, she really is beautiful.'
At that moment, the music in the background shifted to a lively cha-cha tune, or perhaps authentic Cuban music.
"Oh, I like this song," Penelope said with a bright smile, turning to Odysseus. "Sir Odysseus, would you care to dance with me?"
Surprised by the invitation, Odysseus smiled at the young human woman before him and moved closer to her.
"Sure, why not? If you are inexperienced, I can assist you if you like."
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Moments after the music began and the two started a type of dance that humans called "Tango", and Odysseus was taken aback by Penelope's unexpected dancing skills. He could feel every beat and rhythm through her body as they moved and held on together with their steps perfectly in sync.
As they effortlessly took the center stage, the crowd instinctively parted to make way for them. In an instant, they became the focus of everyone's attention.
The tempo of the music suddenly quickened, and as Odysseus and Penelope moved faster, the rest of the other dancers seemed to slow down.
In fact, everyone else stopped dancing altogether.
"Everyone is looking at us," Penelope said with a smile, her purple eyes glowing as she stared straight into his blue ones.
"I know."
With that, Odysseus lifted her into the air with his hands grabbed around her waist as he spun her gracefully. Afterward, he brought her back down and pulled her close to his chest.
The crowd was stunned by Odysseus' flawless execution of a move that only the finest professional dancers could attempt. Thankfully, he was athletic enough, and his body was perfectly in sync with his mind.
He pulled the move off splendidly, and the gasps of claps from people seemed to indicate that he did a good job.
"I didn't think you had this much energy," Penelope said breathlessly, holding onto his shoulders as they continued to dance.
Odysseus chuckled and served for the side, making sure Penelope's body nearly fell before he grabbed her from behind and paused for a moment
Their eyes met, and he smiled.
"Being a mage doesn't make you lack strength or be unathletic."
He lifted her back up, and they resumed their dance. At this point, everyone's attention was fully on the two. Even those who had been deep in conversation stopped to watch the captivating performance.
"So, Odysseus, about that conversation I mentioned earlier…" Penelope began.
"Hm?"
Swerving and turning, they continued their movements with perfect fluidity as they were both in sync with each other while the flickering flames cast a warm orange glow on Penelope's face.
"I apologize if I seemed rude or overbearing, but I'm serious about it," she said in an earnest tone.
"Why do you want to discuss it so urgently?" he asked.
"To learn, obviously! You possess knowledge and power I've never encountered. I want to study it, see if I can incorporate it into my existing knowledge."
"Why?" he pressed.
"W-well…" she hesitated.
For a moment, there is silence between the two of them. Then, right as Penelope twisted her body, with Odysseus holding her hand upward before drawing her closer into his arms, he leaned in and whispered into her ears.
"Come on. If you don't tell me your motivations, how can you expect me to be convinced?"
She smiled at him with her face inches from his.
"I can't lie, can I?"
"Nope."
They resumed dancing at a more relaxed pace, and then she heaved a sigh before continuing.
"Let's just say it's an obsession of mine."
"Oh? What kind of obsession?"
"It drives me crazy when there's something I don't know, but someone else does."
"Oh?"
"It has to be something I'm interested in, of course, so I'm not losing sleep over politics, war tactics or anything like that."
"Ohhh…" Odysseus murmured softly. "Look, miss…"
"I'm not asking for an answer right now. I already know I have less to offer you than you have to offer me." Her tone seemed especially desperate, but she kept her composure nonetheless. "Just keep it in mind. I'll find something that will interest you. Once I do, you won't be able to hesitate this much."
Odysseus felt a smile forming on his lips as he watched Penelope's determined expression.
"You're really confident, huh?"
"Yup!" The moment she flashed a smile, Odysseus felt his heart jump a little.
"Just you wait. I'm going to pick your brains to my satisfaction… very soon."
There was something both intriguing and unsettling about the way that human woman narrowed her eyes at him.
The music was slowly fading, meaning the end of the dance was arriving. Bit by bit, they began to detach from each other, yet their gaze remained unmoving.
"Well, I look forward to it," he said.
They finally concluded their dance, and Odysseus bowed while Penelope curtsied. This was followed by cheers and applause from the crowd.
"Come with me to the beach resort," Penelope said, reaching out to Odysseus and planting a light kiss on his cheek.
The moment she did, he caught a whiff of her scent, which was enchanting and unforgettable.
She left shortly afterward, leaving Odysseus standing all alone.
He stood there for a moment, watching her walk away with her hips swaying left and right, while time felt like it slowed down as he felt more heart thumping in his chest.
'I wonder if she's really single…' he thought, lightly touching his cheek and smiling.
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On a grassy hilltop near the seashore, a pair of soldiers stood in a lone watchtower that overlooked the vast ocean.
"Hey, dude."
"Yeah, man?"
"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"
"That's one of life's greatest mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here, exactly? I mean, are we the product of some... cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God up there, watching everything and putting us all here in this world for a reason? You know, with a plan for us and all that? I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night."
The first soldier who asked was silent and just stared at his partner, confused, before realizing what he actually meant.
"What?! I mean, why are we here, standing by the beach in the middle of the night?!"
"Oh, that," the second soldier chuckled. "We're here to guard this beach from external threats."
"Really? Am I the only one who never gets the full brief of this shit? Besides, there are already patrols out at sea."
Before the other could respond, he noticed something in the distance.
"Look."
"At what?"
"That."
The first soldier followed his gaze and saw some lights flickering on the horizon. It didn't look like floodlights, more like something natural.
…And they are countless.
"What... is that?"
Just as they were about to grab their binoculars for a closer look, their radio suddenly crackled to life.
[...ar… und..… an…. su..ort…. ow!!]
"What the hell did he say?!" his partner asked urgently.
"Shit, I think we're under attack!"