More than forty hours had passed since Noah arrived on the Black Shores warship.
At the entrance to the passage leading to the bridge, he happened to encounter Lia, who had just come off shift.
This capable female Bloom Bearer saw him and nodded politely.
“Captain Lia!”
Noah quickly stepped forward, his expression carrying just the right amount of hesitation and sincerity.
“There’s something… I’d like to trouble you with.
I don’t know if it’s convenient?”
“Go ahead.”
Lia stopped and looked at him curiously.
“Rover saved my life and has given me a temporary place to stay.”
“I… I want to thank her in person once more, and also ask about what kind of development directions might be possible in the future for someone like me within Black Shores…”
His speech was slightly fast, sounding sincere yet filled with anxiety about an uncertain future.
“I know she’s very busy.
Just a few minutes would be enough…”
Lia sized him up, seemingly judging the reasonableness of this request.
After a moment, she nodded.
“I’ll go ask Rover.
Wait here.”
The waiting time was not long.
Five minutes later, Lia returned and gestured for him to follow.
“Rover has given you ten minutes.
She’s in the small meeting room on the bridge.”
In the small meeting room, Rover was alone.
A stereoscopic map of Lahai-Roi hovered in front of her, densely marked with information.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, she lightly swiped her finger.
The holographic map shrank into a small ball of light and flew to the side.
She turned around.
Her golden pupils calmly looked at Noah and made a “please sit” gesture.
“Rover.”
Noah sat down, hands on his knees, body slightly leaning forward, and began his performance.
“Thank you very much for being willing to see me despite your busy schedule.”
“I know your time is extremely precious… so I’m truly very grateful that you’re willing to see me.”
He raised his eyes, quickly glanced at Rover, then lowered his gaze again.
“Without you and Black Shores, I might have already frozen to death on Roya Frostlands in Lahai-Roi by now.
This kindness… I don’t know how to repay it.”
He paused.
His Adam’s apple moved slightly, as if swallowing some difficult emotion.
He continued speaking, slowing his pace.
Every word seemed carefully considered.
“I saw the order you’ve built, the technology you’ve developed, the results of combating The Lament… all of them are truly remarkable.
Completely different from the world in my memories that was filled with fear and chaos.”
There was genuine amazement in his voice, but it was also mixed with a hint of undisguisable melancholy.
“It’s like waking up from a very long dream and finding that the entire world has changed.
Aside from this Resonance Ability, I have nothing.
To this world, I am also worthless.”
The hands resting on his knees unconsciously curled up slightly.
Rover listened quietly.
Her body relaxed as she leaned against the chair back.
Her golden pupils calmly watched him without interrupting.
Noah took a deep breath, as if having made up his mind.
He raised his head again.
His gaze tried to focus on Rover’s face without dodging.
“I heard… that Black Shores has a group of exchange students going to Startorch Academy?”
He asked tentatively.
Seeing Rover give an almost imperceptible nod, he continued.
“Startorch Academy… the holy land in the field of virtual mass magnetic storm research… I consulted a few exchange student classmates and learned some things.”
“Then I thought of a possibility that might be very presumptuous and very overreaching.”
He sat up a little straighter, but his posture remained tense.
“I come from a hundred years ago.
I personally experienced the technological limits and cognitive frameworks of that era.”
He extended his right hand.
The black Tacet Mark on the back of his hand grew slightly warm.
“And now, on the snowfield, when I was near those Fractsidus personnel and equipment, I seemed to be able to vaguely sense some subtle fluctuations in the surrounding environment… like a kind of… intuition?”
He chose his words carefully, mixing terminology he had heard from the system information and from Levi, while adding some vague subjective feelings.
“So I was thinking, Rover, if I… as a living ancient sample, as an observer carrying a special sensor…”
His tone became urgent, but he tried to control his volume.
“Follow Black Shores’ team into Lahai-Roi, into Startorch Academy… could I, with the eyes of this outdated person and this insignificant bit of sensing, see some corners that modern precision instruments might overlook?”
“Or provide a tiny bit of completely different ideas from the past?”
His voice suddenly lowered here.
That forcibly maintained urgency receded like a tide, revealing an almost fragile exhaustion underneath.
“Rover.”
He said softly, his gaze lowering again.
“After I woke up, I lost everything.
Family, friends, hometown… even the era I belonged to has disappeared.
Black Shores has given me a shelter, but I… I don’t want to, and I can’t, forever remain just a burden waiting to be protected.”
“I have to… try to do something. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Even if it’s just using these outdated eyes of mine to see more of this new world and record a little more.”
“Perhaps one day, this bit of observation, this bit of recording, could be of some small use to someone… and that would count as living up to the new life you’ve given me.”
The small meeting room fell quiet.
Only the low hum of the air circulation system could be heard.
After finishing, Noah said nothing more.
He simply lowered his head, shoulders slightly drawn inward, as if awaiting judgment.
Rover looked at him for a few seconds.
That gaze was calm yet extremely penetrating.
It was as if she was weighing the significance of every word in his speech and examining every subtle change in his expression.
“Noah.”
She finally spoke.
Her voice was steady and gentle, yet carried an undeniable clarity.
“Your identity is special.
Your strength is average.
You are personnel of unknown circumstances taken in by Black Shores.”
“I’ll be frank.
The trip to Startorch Academy appears to be academic exchange on the surface, but in reality it involves the current delicate situation in the Lahai-Roi region.
It is not a purely campus visit and carries unpredictable risks.”
She paused, then continued.
“Furthermore, the exchange student list has already been finalized and submitted.”
“Black Shores acts with emphasis on rules and planning.
Temporarily adding personnel requires sufficiently strong reasons to submit a written explanation to Startorch Academy.”
Noah’s heart gave a heavy thump in his chest.
Cold sweat seeped from his palms.
But no panic showed on his face.
The light of anticipation in his eyes merely dimmed slightly, replaced by deeper sincerity.
“I understand, Rover.”
He responded quickly, his tone sincere.
“My identity can be completely defined and arranged by Black Shores… anything is fine.
I don’t need a formal identity.
I just want… to follow along and take a look, within the scope allowed by the rules.”
“Regarding safety, I swear I will strictly follow every instruction and will never act on my own.”
“As for my low strength…”
He gave a self-deprecating tug at the corner of his mouth.
“Perhaps this is instead a kind of inconspicuous protective coloration?
An insignificant follower is always less likely to arouse vigilance than a conspicuous genius exchange student, and is more likely to notice some details?”
He tried to make his reasons sound practical, even carrying a touch of pragmatic cunning, attempting to dispel her concerns from another angle.
Rover listened quietly.
She could feel the urgency in his words – that desire to seize some possibility was almost overflowing.