82 COWARDICE AND COURAGE (2/2)
”Well, we don't know how many people he may be holding grudges on,” Sean chortled and patted on Lirzod's shoulder. ”It's better to be safe than sorry, right?”
”Y-Yeah,” Lirzod looked quite surprised. He never considered that Beren might be holding more grudges. This drove him to go and know about him even more. ”I think I'll go and talk with him a bit.”
”Sure, but come to the chamber of chefs in an hour. It's only a few blocks away. That's where we'll compete.” Saying that Sean ordered one of the senior trainees to assist Lirzod and then left.
Soon after Sean separated, Hundred walked up to Lirzod. ”What were you guys talking about?” His voice contained both excitement and fear.
”Nothing you'd want to know about,” Lirzod let out a long breath, and the trainees became so lively in the background. ”But did you notice that these disciples look happy all of a sudden even though one of them was hurt badly. What the heck is wrong with them?”
”Nothing wrong if you ask me,” Hundred shrugged his shoulders and put his hands on the back of his head. ”The forest does not grieve for the loss of a tree.”
”Big Nick isn't big enough, huh,” Lirzod took a breath and curled his hand around Hundred's shoulder, surprising him a little.
Feeling Lirzod's weight on him, Hundred sighed. ”You are even struggling to be on your feet for long. What would you have done if the commander decided to fight with you?”
”There's no point in thinking about that now,” Lirzod was clutching his chest. ”I hope this uneasy feeling in me goes away after my stomach's full.”
”Ah, I forgot to mention this before, but it's better that you avoid fancy foods when you're this worn out, or you might upset your stomach even more. I'd say that you just take some simple foods that won't put too much burden on your stomach.”
”Simple foods? There's only bread on this deck.”
���Yeah, so bread should be enough,” Hundred bluntly stated.
”E-Enough? Bread alone isn't gonna fill my belly to the brim. I want to eat something better.”
”I'm not sure how many times you've tasted the bread on this ship, but everyone in these lower decks lives on bread, you know.”
”But these loaves of bread... they don't last long, right? Don't that mean many people eat spoiled food? What if I get some of that bad food?”
”We have booth owners to make sure that such things don't happen. And the bread doesn't last long because it is natural, or pure might be more appropriate. Nothing's taken out of them, and nothing's added. They don't have the junk as you'd find in the outside world that brings bread more shelf time, so the bread here is easy on the stomach, which is why it won't upset your stomach.”
”Mm, I won't say that the bread on this ship tastes great, but it's definitely not bad. Actually, it's much better compared to dried meat. However, variety is the spice of life, and right now, I want to eat something different. ”
”Well, you may not know it now, but you'll miss this bread when you leave this ship. And let's not forget that it's being given to us for free. Those who grew up in destitute families that barely had enough food to eat will gladly enjoy this bread. But in my opinion, no matter the lifestyle of a person, it's a perfect food that can be eaten at any time as long as you don't eat too much.”
”Too much?” Lirzod smiled a little, rather helplessly. ”When that's the only thing people are giving and selling, what else can you eat?”
”You've roamed some of the streets, so you should know that there are different fruit-bearing trees you can find here and there.”
”Yeah, but I couldn't find a single fruit on any of these so-called fruit-bearing trees,” Lirzod complained.
”Well, the competition for them is high after all,” Hundred paused for a while. ”However, for those who can be patient, there's another way.”
”What's that?” Lirzod's voice contained eagerness.
”It's the Foster Wheel, also known as the wheel of fruits and vegetables,” Hundred spoke in a formal tone, ”but you can gain many other things from that wheel, too.”
”Wow,” Lirzod immediately stood straight. ”Where's that wheel?”
”Don't get too excited,” Hundred responded quickly.
”Why not?” Lirzod impatiently asked.
”Every sector on this ship has only one Foster Wheel. Since we're on the twelfth deck, our Foster Wheel takes care of all decks from ten to nineteen. We're told that the wheel is always rotating and that it drops food and items on any deck randomly; however, it makes sure that there's at least one drop on every deck within a continuous span of ten days.”
”Oh... now I get why you said it's only for the patient people,” Lirzod put his finger on his chin. ”You never know if the food will even be dropped on a given day. Still, among those who wait, won't there be a fight for the food then?”
”Of course,” Hundred said as if speaking from experience. ”On some decks, they fight for it. On some other decks, they use simple games to decide who gets the food. It all depends on the rules that the deck commander set, basically. You get to sell clothes and other items, but as long as you don't sell the food that you've acquired from the wheel, you won't be in trouble.”
”Where does this wheel drop food?” Lirzod couldn't control his curiosity all that much.
”In the Foster Hall,” Hundred said, looking once at Beren from afar. ”The physically-disabled ones and the kids between the ages of seven and fourteen can survive on this ship, thanks to the bread booths, but these same people get to eat other foods now and then thanks to the Foster Hall. These are two important sources for shippers[1].”
”The trip to this hall should be great,” Lirzod said while imagining things.
”Yeah, but what really surprised me is that I've seen cowards turn into courageous characters in that hall,” Hundred widened his eyes as he spoke. ”I guess, as Dad of Doom once said, 'cowardice and courage are only intestines apart.'” Hundred sighed deeply. ”Hunger surely is a hair-raising desire.”
”So this ship is doing a good job in bringing out the valor in people, even though it's for their own survival.” Lirzod faintly smiled and seemed impressed. That's not an easy thing to pull off.
Hundred shook his head. ”There are still many people who fear to roam these streets much less attempt deck tests. So I don't really agree with you on that note.”
”Well, there's no perfect approach to some things in this world. There will be those that disagree. Besides, I doubt if one can be forced to be fearless.”
”So you're telling me to shut my mouth indirectly,” Hundred gave an icy look.
”I can't help you if you feel that way, hehe.”
”I guess I like it when you are more candid,” Hundred voiced his mind.
”I'm speaking heart-to-heart, you know,” Lirzod did the same.
”No, you're not. When you are open, you are easier to cope with.”
”Now, you are being too frank with your presumptions, haha, but I like it,” Lirzod put his arm back around Hundred's shoulder, causing him to bend his spine. ”You remind me of someone from my clan.”
”Oh, who?”
”Someone who serves the Pudota family.”
”Pu, what?”
As they discussed, they both almost reached the prisoner cells.
A few trainees were playing cards near the cells, while some were busy releasing some prisoners for work. They would only play during the break time, but those who won the game would generally get to beat the prisoners.
Currently, the trainees were talking about Beren, cracking jokes even.
”I still can't believe that a kid did such a thing.”
”A kid doesn't hold a knife to kill. That fool is not a kid.”
”True. He doesn't talk much with us, but he's been talking about this and that with the prisoners, and the funny thing was that he thinks that the Song of the Ship is real.”
”Keke. The kids born on this ship grow up to be more clueless than monkeys. They always dream of dreamed-up things. Those are shippers for you!”
”Haha, couldn't have said it better.”
”Hey, kid. Here's your Song of the Ship,” the fattest one in the group lifted his butt and farted in Beren's direction.
”Pfft! Puhahaha!” every trainee burst into laughter, so hard that their stomachs hurt.
Sitting in a knee-hugging pose, Beren could hear their words, but he tried not to show any emotion on his face. His arms, however, clutched his biceps in frustration.
.........
[1] Shipper: A person born on Exvo.