Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

Planet Rooster, Gram city, Seven

to think that my previous assumption was on the spot.

as we left the park after getting to know about 'Gram the traitor' I noticed all traces of that weird sickening feeling vanished. stretching my limbs as I finally reverted to normal I reminisced about my first time beating resident evil two for some reason, probably because it was one of the few shooter games I played, or that I liked the plot. well, whatever, I hope some useful memories resurface, not that I really care right now.

I actually would prefer not to remember anything unnecessary, anything that could effect my relationship with my extremely gorgeous alien wife, but I hope to remember something that could help me, you know, not screw up everything like my spidey sense is telling me I'm about to do.

"soooooo... what is this?"

"vodka" said Lilia with a smile

"doesn't look like vodka to me"

"o~h, I get it!" she claps her palms, eyes sparkling "it's one of those right? things that have the same name but are completely different"

"yeah..."

"then, what does it look like in your homeworld?"

"first of all, it's not food"

"then what is it?"

"something I should stay away from?"

"...what?"

yeah, it's one of those.

Walking is good and all, but after hours of it and the acc.u.mulated stress from continuously trying not to make Lilia feel uncomfortable -wasted efforts-, my appetite returned the moment I no longer felt like vomiting. rather than waiting to get to the hotel I discussed the matter with my blonde partner and asked her to look for something on the map.

Well, the process was everything but complicated, again, since it's the first time on this planet for either of us. And as anyone would have expected from a planet infected by Zesioniens, most restaurants are Zesionien owned and serve Zesionien food.

The idea of just returning to our room and ordering another "pineapple pie" was tempting, really, but nah. I might have never went on a date before, and I might have lost a lot of my memories, but one thing I know is my personal d.e.s.i.r.es come second after my partner's, that and I don't want to disappoint her by any chance.

one of our unspoken rules -we have those now- is to never visit those highly praised restaurants, the ones where higher class and business people with deep pockets go. It's an understatement to call her a princess, from what I was told Lilia is the daughter of... let's say a multibillionaire company owner.

I have more than enough money, but once we get our hands on a ship I would be left with both to spend it of.

what's more money will keep flowing in as time goes, there is a lot to get from a new planet with untapped resources, but as my wealth increases I will need to find some plan to use it so I wouldn't just die with an enormous treasure c.h.e.s.t unopened.

We have more than enough money to live leisurely for hundreds of years, so someone might say we should indulge ourselves in the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.es of life. For me, completely convinced that I rarely left my room I know that most of my money went to games, so even though our family's finances were on the upper class side of the spectrum I don't think I spent on anyone besides them and some life necessities. I may have invested in some game related projects but other than that I had no interest.

It took about ten minutes to get to the restaurant. In the back of my mouth a sour and bitter taste formed while my subconscious mind frowned saying not again.

I want some meat, a well cooked, well seasoned juicy slice of steak that melts in the mouth without chewing. it's not too much to ask but NO! all those Zesioniens had to be vegans! I mean, it's amazing what they can do with those fruit vegetable things, but I got a really reasonable question: how in the name of black chocolate did they get the protein for those muscles? now that I think about it their females being physically stronger than the males while having smaller stature only leads to the conclusion of all those muscles being full of air.

We sit at a table, I look at the menu then put it away and ask Lilia to choose for me.

" there was something on my mind..." I try to relax, resting on the back of my seat while tapping my finger on the wooden table "back on the Zesionien Space Fleet Center of Operations, I noticed that most soldiers are males"

"that's right" to Lilia, that wasn't out of the ordinary as I assumed, she doesn't think much of the question and replies almost instantly.

"isn't it strange? from what you told me before, Zesionien females have stronger bodies and are much more capable fighters, if that's the case then shouldn't the army have more females than males?"

"you thing so?" Lilia stopped, humming to herself for a moment as her eyes drifted to a corner "I can't say it makes sense either, but if I have to guess the reason for that is us females being more... peaceful... I think?"

"...really?" I find myself doubting that answer, after all the ghost currently possessing my body made it clear on several occasions how violent this blonde beauty could get.

"yeah. back in the academy it was quite rare for a male student to beat a female, even so when it came to choosing a career path most males would still go for the military" Lilia smiles wryly "but that's because of the academy itself, I'm not really familiar with how other schools work"

no, that still doesn't make sense.

"once you graduate with a warrior degree you have the chance to join the army, some do, but for most females..." Lilia stopped suddenly, and soon enough smoke started raising from her head as her face flashed red. twirling some strands of her hair around her fingers, her lips curved into a small smile

"we were told this back when we were still students... except for me and Iris most of our female classmates dreamed of getting married and... becoming housewifs..."

"... even after all the trouble they went through to get that degree?"

" I-I didn't get it either, at the time, but I think... I understand now..." from there her voice went down until all I could hear were senseless murmurs. I could tell from all the blushing that whatever she intended to tell, it was too embarrassing for her to actually say it, and me being the good husband I'm I secretly took out my book and started taking photos of this priceless moment. thankfully Lilia didn't notice and after a brief period of silence and a lot of fidgeting she finally explained what came up in her mind

"I remember that in one of the classes the teacher said the reason why we are usually stronger than the males is because females are responsible for the protection of their child..."

"...hmm..."

"it's something we all have in us... some sort of instinct..."

"umu, I understand..." yes, I understand. almost, probably, a little?

So to sum it up Zesionien females have superior physical abilities so they could provide protection, as for the males, once the child is born they are pretty much useless, so they are free to do whatever they want.

I don't want to criticize how aliens go on with their lives, but I admit the freedom their males get compared to humans, who would get s.u.c.k.e.d for child support even if they didn't want anything to do with the newborn. and one thing we have in common, for both species males are disposable.

Looking at how embarrassed Lilia is I suddenly realise we were touching a really s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e topic especially since we are practically newly wed. Well, instead of newly wed we are more like lovers at the start of the relationship. it wasn't a new thing for people to decide on marriage after living together for sometime, and while living together it was expected of couples to have s.e.x and even get pregnant.

my mind froze for a second, and I alowed myself to have a strange speculation about Lilia wanting to do it but being too shy to say.

yeah, that's most likely a ninety nine point ninety nine percent chance of me just imagining things, and that's only because such a thing is way too good to be true.

but what if... just what if Lilia actually wants to have kids, with me? she is a normal Zesionien female after all. well saying she is normal would be putting her in the same level as the rest, which is wrong. But what if all that explanation was just a hint? maybe, all this time she has been waiting for me to take that step?

"sorry for the wait" my string of thoughts was cut by the voice of a third party. Another female Zesionien wearing a uniform -a plain pink dress with a white apron- approached our table. following behind her is a floating rectangular shaped box.

the box opened, the top vanished into the sides then they vanished next until only the base was left. on top of it were two bowls filled with milky white fluid, steam raising from it.

the waitress placed the bowls in front of us then bowed her head before leaving. the floating board followed behind her.

I look at my bowl, then at Lilia, then at the bowl. seeing her expression relax into the usual smile I looked into her eyes and asked

"soooooo... what is this?"

"vodka" said Lilia with a smile

"doesn't look like vodka to me"

"ih, I get it!" she claps her palms, eyes sparkling "it's one of those right? things that have the same name but are completely different"

"yeah..."

"then, what does it look like inn your homeworld?"

"first of all, it's not food"

"then what is it?"

"something I should stay away from?"

"...what?"

wait a minute. A wild idea appeared telling me that I'm well beyond the minimum age for drinking, while I'm aware I won't magically become able to enjoy alcohol I at least know that now I can have a taste without worrying about anyone's opinion.

But that's no reason to get hyped about... whatever this liquid is it isn't alcohol, it doesn't have the smell, which is, of course, something I expected.

the first thing I think about when I hear familiar names is trying to guess what they would look and taste like, sort of like a game. but guessing can be really hard when you see a watermelon shaped like an apple named papaya and tasts like potato and cheese.

"better eat before it gets cold" as Lilia commended I took one of the spoons from the box placed there and braced myself for what to come.

.....

"red beans..."

"...what?"

"it tasted like red beans"

after taking one, two, three spoons my brain figured out what this 'vodka' soup tastes like. it tastes like red beans, red f.u.c.k.i.n.g beans.

if there is any food in this world I can't stand it's any type of beans.

I don't even want to ask why red beans soup is white in color.

"you... don't like it?" Lilia said with a troubled look.

"yeah, I should have noticed from the smell" come to think of it, why do I hate it this much?

I forced myself to take in another spoon, the taste isn't bad, in fact it's somewhat delicious, but my brain goes into a frenzy just by imagining it red.

"maybe... I should order something else" looking down at the bowl I hold my hand on my mouth expecting to vomit.

Lilia took the menu "maybe you should order something you are familiar with..." she stooped for a moment, then turned my way "anything made of papaya is fine right?"

"yeah...that should be fine"

It took two or three minutes for the new dish to arrive. It's called a small papaya cake and looked like a yellow cube rinsed in white souce with some green powder sprayed over it.

the sauce had a much stronger cheese flavor enhancing that of the papaya. the green powder added a weak sour taste that resembles the shredded husk of lemon. a few bites in and the bad mood from the 'vodka' vanished into thin air. seeing me enjoying the dish Lilia smiled then returned to hers.