Chapter 11: Cake

Sitting in a restaurant, Ruby was in an even worse mood than before. She definitely didn't appreciate remembering the slave collar. The very sudden reminder just wasn't pleasant since she wasn't really prepared for it.

"Cheer up, Ruby. I'm sure once we get our food, you'll feel better." Yuki said with her shark tooth smile.

"... Maybe." Ruby reluctantly said in response. She couldn't deny that she was still excited to try new food. Ever since she escaped, food has become her favorite thing. She hasn't eaten anything other than regular meals so far, so sweet things like cake and candy are still very much foreign to her.

Soon everyone's food was brought to the table and they began to eat. Ruby's mood visibly improved with her first bite. Even if she wasn't smiling, she at least stopped scowling the whole time while eating. While they ate, Morella decided to ask Ruby about her decision from earlier.

"So Ruby, I was wondering." She began. "Why did you choose Crimson for a last name?"

Stopping herself from taking another bite, Ruby answered the water Nymph. "... Well, I chose it, so I'll never forget about our time during Project Crimson, a reminder that we survived... and that no matter what happens, I know we are strong enough to overcome anything." After she finished speaking, she took another bite of food and looked out the window.

"My, my, that's interesting, but I can understand your reasoning." Morella said before turning to Yuki. "How about you? Don't you already have a last name?"

"Well... I don't really remember it. Plus, my parents are dead, and you and Ruby are my family now. I'll go by Yuki Crimson from now on." She said, giving a large toothy grin.

Morella smiled warmly, while Ruby just looked down at her plate, trying to hide how touched she was to hear that. Soon, they all finished their food, with the atmosphere around them being much lighter than when they first entered. They all decided to order cake for dessert.

'I wonder what it will taste like? I wonder if it's as sweet as fruit like Judieth said?' Ruby thought barley containing her excitement.

"Here you go, strawberry cake for everyone." Said the waitress as she set down cake in front of everyone.

"Thank you very much."

With that, everyone started eating their cake. When Ruby took her first bite, the sweetness of the cake assaulted her taste buds with joy. The sweet tang of the strawberry with the moistness of the fluffy cake was absolute bliss. This was the best thing that she's ever eaten as far as Ruby is concerned.

"Wha- what is this?! Oh, I could eat this forever!" Even though she wasn't shouting, this was the loudest and most enthusiastic she's spoken before.

Yuki, Morella, and Judieth all looked at the beaming girl in front of them in shock. The smile on her face was so unusual that they could only stare. For her part, Ruby didn't even notice, too focused on her cake to care. Soon, she finished eating her cake. She sat there with closed eyes with a satisfied smile on her face for a couple of seconds before looking down at the now empty plate with slight regret.

"Y- you can have my cake if you want." Yuki offered, wanting to see Ruby smile more since this was the first time she's seen it happen.

"{ahem} Thank you." Ruby, who realized everyone was staring at her, got her emotions under control once again. she was slightly embarrassed that she allowed that to happen. Still, she could stop herself from smiling just a little while eating Yuki's slice of cake.

-- -- --

After leaving the restaurant, the group headed back to their Inn for the rest of the day. Deciding they needed to prepare to go monster hunting the next day, since they wanted to make money and rank up as soon as possible.

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Jason's POV

It's been a little over two weeks since the raid. I managed to get Dr. Vancer, but the Monster Girl, known as 24-C, is still missing. Currently, I am in a meeting room located inside the Church headquarters in Prosperty City. Across to me was one of the High Cardinal's for church representing the Time Goddess Kintris, with four Holy Knights, two on each side of her.

Next to me was my 'Hero Party,' May, Jane, and Sara; along with the Knight Captain. We were all here to discuss our next move since we lost the Monster Girl from the prophecy 19 years ago. There's a good chance I'll be sent out on a quest to search for her throughout the land. By myself. Like always.

"So the Monster child is still missing?" The Cardinal of Time said after the Knight Captains report. "Two weeks of searching the area and still no sign of her. We must find her before she becomes the Enemy on Mankind."

"Is she really that big of a threat?" I said, remembering the girl I saw briefly. "Sure, the prophecy may say she becomes the enemy of Mankind, but that's all we know. We don't actually know what happens after that. She might not be that dangerous. What if w-"

"Why would I get a prophecy from Lady time herself about someone who wasn't going to be a major threat?" She snapped back.

"Ma'am, every prophecy given to us never tells us the outcomes of anything. From what I can gather, they are more of warnings than anything else, which allows us to change the outcomes." I said, thinking about the research I conducted over the years. From what I can tell, the future is not concrete except for what's told. "Yes, she will become an enemy, but what kind of enemy and how strong? We might even be able to convince them to come to our side. But we can't do that if we continue to hunt her like an animal."

I firmly believe she won't be a problem if we don't give her a reason to become stronger. She will come to find Mankind as the enemy, or maybe she already has. But if we can keep her from having a reason to become as strong as she can, she won't become a threat. I explained this to the Cardinal.

"Maybe so, but do you really think she won't look for power now? From the few research papers left over in Dr. Vancer's Lab we could find, she didn't really have a chance to enjoy life. How do you know she doesn't want revenge?" The Cardinal countered.

"..." I didn't have a response. She was right. I didn't know. We could already be too late, and she now sought out power. Whether or not we looked for them or we didn't was a risk.

"Glad you understand. Now I'm going to need you and your party to extend your search. She couldn't have left the kingdom just yet. That's all you may leave."

With that, I got up and bowed before leaving the room.