Chapter 356: The Escaping Ruby

Chapter 356: The Escaping Ruby

- Bubble, bubble, bubble...

"F-Frey, J-just wait a little, okay?"

After rushing into the grocery store at the speed of light to buy ingredients for breakfast, Ruby headed to the kitchen with an apron tied around her waist.

"I'll cook something delicious for you. Okay?"

"..."

Frey nodded his head while staring blankly at her, and only then Ruby finally entered the kitchen with a relieved expression.

"Um... since it's morning, how about simple potato soup and rye bread sandwiches? Yeah. Let's not overdo it and stick to the basics, right, the basics."

However, soon her expression was filled with nervousness.

"...Can I do this?"

In truth, she had never tried cooking before.

Well, at the very least, she definitely could put something on top of a piece of bread, right?

In the days when she was the arrogant Demon King, cooking her own food was unthinkable to Ruby, so in a way, it was something she took for granted.

"Um, so... do I just put all of this in and boil it?"

Slightly flustered, she started dumping the ingredients into the pot.

"E-everything tastes good separately, right? So if you brew them together, it'll be even tastier."

The grocery store owner definitely said that these ingredients could make a delicious vegetable soup when combined.

"...Is this right?"

Ruby believed those words and started to stir the pot full of ingredients with a ladle, but soon, she tilted her head.

- Sizzle...

"Um, um."

A strange smell, completely different from the potato soup she loved, slowly filled the air.

What was this smell?

Could it be that the grocery store owner was an assassin targeting Frey?

It was possible.

After all, she and Frey had been exposed to the public too often in the past few days.

"Um, where's that burning smell coming from?"

"...Oh."

Ruby, staring blankly out the window with a cold expression, finally snapped back to reality upon hearing Frey's voice from the living room.

"I-I see."

It wasn't poison, but a burning smell.

It was natural since she didn’t even add any water to the pot.

“I-I shouldn’t do it like this.”

Ruby, who ended up making a heavily burnt vegetable stir-fry instead of vegetable potato soup, raised her hand while sweating coldly.

"I wanted to do it with my own hands..."

Unlike yesterday, when she had no choice but to use magic, she wanted to cook with her own hands.

Because she was no longer the Demon King, but Frey's woman. It was only natural for her to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her own hands.

- Sizzle...

Glancing at Frey sitting in the living room, Ruby quietly waved her finger and cast a spell on the ‘soup’.

She wanted to show her cooking skills, not the burnt taste, so she had no other choice.

Until she got used to this thing called 'cooking,' she would use magic, but from now on, she would practice whenever she had time.

The more she practiced, the higher the chance of Frey recovering his lost memories...

...Will it really work?

As she raised the now-perfect soup, Ruby wondered with a restless expression on her face.

Am I just escaping reality?

There was no guarantee that his memories would return. In fact, whether his memories even remained was unknown.

What returned now was just Frey's soul regenerated by the power of the ring.

In the end, no matter how much she thought about it, perhaps it was already too late...

- Slap!!

"Let's not entertain such unnecessary thoughts."

Slapping her own cheek with one hand, she took a deep breath and headed to the living room.

"Now it's my turn to devote myself to him."

Ruby muttered to herself as she looked at the emotionless Frey in front of her.

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- Slurp...

Frey took a sip of the steaming soup and began to slurp.

"H-How is it? Delicious?"

"Um..."

Ruby stared intently at Frey and anxiously asked.

"It’s okay?"

"W-What’s wrong with it? Was it the Magi–, I mean, did I mess up the seasoning?"

Her expectant expression crumbled as she hurriedly tasted the soup upon Frey’s ambiguous response.

...It’s delicious though?

But the soup tasted excellent.

After all, she used her magic to recreate the most delicious food she had ever eaten, the soup that Frey made for her in the desert,

"I-I'll redo it if you don't like it. Just say the word."

However, because Frey's expression seemed rather grave, Ruby reached out her hand to his.

"Oh, it's okay."

"Huh? Uh..."

"Hmm."

Then, after pulling her head back slightly to meet Frey's gaze, Ruby continued.

"But even if I leave, I will always be your woman."

"It’s fine. Now that I don’t have any memories, rejecting you who knows about me would be a loss. Honestly, I'd like to reject you, but..."

Turning his gaze away as he responded, Frey looked at Ruby, who, despite the harsh words, was still smiling brightly.

"But, despite your words, you don't seem very strong."

"I-Is that so?"

"Yes, you look like an ordinary student, no matter how I look at you.

Hearing those words, Ruby let out a sigh of relief.

That's a relief.

To avoid alarming Frey she had temporarily suppressing her power.

For now, the most urgent problem seems to be resolved...

Frey was clearly scared of her and disliked her, and it tore her heart.

Nevertheless, Ruby began to breathe deeply, having completed her plan to establish her relationship with Frey.

- Shaaa...

"Hmm?"

As she looked at the stellar mana that spread out suddenly, Ruby tilted her head.

"...We're being watched."

"What?"

At Frey's calm words, her eyes widened.

"I felt something was strange, I spread something inside my body in all directions, and now I can feel gazes from everywhere."

"Darn it. When did... Oh."

With a cold expression, Ruby stood up from her seat, and then her eyes widened.

- Crack, crack...

"Huh?"

The ring shining brightly on Frey's left pinky finger was slightly dimmer.

- Swoosh...

"Uh, uh?"

At the same time, Frey collapsed to the desk with empty eyes.

"W-Why is this happening..."

Shocked, Ruby hugged Frey desperately, then lost her words in shock.

"Ah... ahhhhh..."

The ring hadn't restored Frey's soul.

It was simply infusing life into Frey's body with the power it contained.

- Crackle, crackle...

The ring was flickering.

Because Frey used his mana, the power of the ring weakened by a notch.

"No, no..."

Ruby's legs gave out, causing her to collapse as she attempted to rise from the chair.

Clutching her head, she muttered.

"Again, because of me... Because of my stupidity..."

In her efforts to not arouse suspicion from Frey, she had allowed people to spy on them by suppressing her powers.

And Frey, discovering that, shortened the already pressing time limit by using his mana.

If things continued like this, the person more precious to her than anyone else would become nothing more than a beautiful doll forever.

Ruby wanted to stop that at all costs.

"There's no time for this."

Therefore, she had to find a way to get out of this place as quickly as possible and recharge the ring's power.

If the ring's power ran out before she could recharge it, she would never be able to see Frey again.

"W-we have to escape this place."

With that in mind, Ruby, who had lifted Frey onto her back, began to fall into panic again.

"W-where should I go? The outskirts of the Western Continent? A secluded area? Or maybe the E-Eastern Continent?"

"Ugh..."

"T-There's no time. If I continue like this, even my last hope will be extinguished.”

Then she muttered desperately, touching Frey's cheek again as his soul began to flicker.

"...This time, I'll save you, Frey."

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Meanwhile, in a secluded location in the streets of the Western Continent, the temporary headquarters of the Hero Party.

"...This is driving me crazy."

The Temporary Captain, Vener was holding her head and talking to everyone.

“The Hero has fallen to Frey.”

"W-what!?"

"What does that mean...!"

Thanks to that, the atmosphere quickly became chaotic.

"...Calm down."

Vener, calming the atmosphere, whispered in a subdued voice.

"Starting now, I will begin briefing on the raid operation against Frey."

The meeting lasted for several hours.