As a person of Kyle's level, going a month without food would not have the slightest effect on his physical health.
However, there was nothing he could do to curb this annoying feeling of hunger in his stomach!
It was a psychological torture that could not be mitigated by even the strongest of magi!
Depressed about not being able to satisfy his craving for food, Kyle could only drag himself out to the ship's deck in order to try and find something to distract himself from the hunger.
After such an embarrassing situation, there was no way that Kyle would be able to clear his mind for meditation even if he were to return to his room right now.
When Kyle opened the door to the deck, he was welcomed by an extremely spacious chamber. The Oasis Seeker's deck stretched across half of its entire length and was able to comfortably accommodate thousands of people at once.
At other times, the deck would be open and there would have been the refreshing wind brushing against their faces, making this quite a good place to relax.
But because the Oasis Seeker was currently passing through the Reality Rift, the shutters were closed for added protection, and thus there was no view available for the passengers on the deck either.
Kyle could not care less about the view or the wind, but seeing that there were people hanging around and kids running about, he did feel slightly relieved.
At least he could spend some time watching what these other passengers were doing, relieving him of his thoughts about food.
Taking slow and steady steps, Kyle gradually made his way across the deck to the far end, finally stopping at a seat that was almost leaning directly against the shutters.
Kyle took his seat, his fingers fiddling with his room key as his gaze stretched out across the deck to observe the different activities being carried out.
Some people were just chatting, while some made use of the space to exercise a little.
In other words, there was nothing interesting going on.
Nothing interesting, yet Kyle continued to look on.
As time passed, his eyes slowly lost focus and his thoughts gradually drifted off. Even so, his nimble fingers never stopped fiddling with that room key of his.
There was no clock on the deck, but even if there was one, Kyle would not have bothered to check it. He did not know how much time had passed, but his thoughts were finally disrupted by the approach of a sole stranger.
Seated at the far end of the deck, Kyle was initially quite far off even from the nearest group of passengers on the deck. Thus it was extremely eye catching for someone to break into this no man's land surrounding him.
Unexpectedly, the young lady did not take a single glimpse at Kyle even as she approached the end of the deck, eventually settling on a seat barely two metres away from Kyle.
His was not the only bench at this end of the deck, but since the shutters were closed and the views were blocked, no one had bothered walking all the way across the entire length of the deck.
No one, except for her.
She had long brown hair that reached past her shoulder blades, curling a little at the ends. Her clear eyes were brown like her hair, shining brightly with a vibrant light. Her facial features were sharp and her lips were lush. Her figure was still obviously slim and curvaceous even while hidden under the long trench coat that was draped over her dress.
No matter how one looked at her, there were no flaws to be picked on.
This was probably the epitome of beauty, a being made to turn heads wherever she went, a natural magnet for attention.
Even Kyle could not take his eyes off of her from the moment she entered into his sight till the moment she took her seat.
No, even after she sat down, Kyle was still staring at her with eyes filled with greed, to the extent of subconsciously taking a big gulp of his saliva.
But the main factor that drew Kyle's attention towards the young lady was neither her pretty face nor her attractive figure, but what the young lady was casually holding in her right hand – an apple.
In his eyes, the apple's bright red skin glistened with saliva-inducing moisture, definite proof of its unrivalled freshness!
The slight but distinct fruity scent wafting out of the apple was tantamount to a guarantee on the tastiness of the fruit!
Its rounded shape only meant that it had ample flesh hidden within, packed tightly underneath its skin, able to provide lasting fulfilment for the lucky one who would get to sink his teeth into it!
In his head, Kyle could clearly imagine the burst of sweetness that would certainly accompany every bite of the apple.
How he looked forward to that heavenly feeling of sweet apple juice bursting into his mouth!
This young lady was definitely not a simple character.
She was either extremely prepared to have brought this apple along, or extremely rich to spend precious copper coins on mere fruits!
If it were the latter, then it was truly extravagance beyond his imagination!
Perhaps even the established Wick Family would think twice about splurging in this manner.
At this point, Kyle's brain was already directed by his stomach to fully focus on the apple that was just around two metres away from him.
How simple it would be for him to just snatch it away by force right now!
No!
How could he, the great Kyle Wick, resort to stealing apples from young ladies?
No!
He was no longer Kyle Wick after being removed from the Wick Family's register! He was a different person now, so perhaps it might be all right to do so?
No!
This was a matter of principles! It did not matter if he was still in the Wick Family!
Even as his thoughts wandered, Kyle's eyes never did, staying locked onto the red apple the entire time.
With how focused he was on the fruit, his actions naturally were not able to escape the eyes of the young lady.
While she was sick of staying in her room, the young lady still wanted to look for a quiet place to be at, thus choosing this end of the deck with relatively less human traffic.
Initially, she had thought that Kyle was just like most other men who were unable to keep their eyes off of any girl who was just slightly pretty. Thus she had not even bothered to spare him a second look while she was taking her seat.
But with how intently Kyle was staring at the apple in her eyes, there was no way that the young lady would not notice the fact that Kyle's line of sight had not even moved towards her for a single moment!
What was with this person?
Staring so hard at her apple, was he a beggar or something?
In any case, it was a refreshing feeling to see that a man was actually more interested in a mere apple than herself, so her initially depressed mood slightly relaxed.
How long had it been since she had met a stranger who did not run their eyes all over her at the first opportunity?
Even without her realising it, an intrigued smile had slowly broken out across her face.