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Chapter 356: The Escaping Ruby

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..."

But Frey quickly withdrew his hand, avoiding hers. As a result, an awkward silence began to fill the living room for a moment.

"Well, it\'s nothing special... The potato soup doesn\'t really suit my taste, I guess."

"Huh?"

Ruby began to look slightly surprised at Frey\'s remarks.

"The rye bread is also dry and tasteless. Plain bread is softer and tastier."

"I-I see...?"

"But... somehow, I\'m enjoying it."

Eventually, when Ruby started to look perplexed, Frey began to smile and speak.

"The taste is absolutely terrible... but somehow, it\'s enjoyable. At the same time, it feels like something makes my heart tingle? Anyway, just that alone make it worth eating."

"Uh, uh-huh."

After hearing those words, Ruby lowered her head with tears in her eyes.

As expected, there is hope...

Hope began to stir inside her.

Devoting herself to him was indeed the right answer.

But now, she had a more advanced thought than that.

Frey... actually hated potato soup and rye bread.

The reset Frey hated vegetable potato soup and rye bread so much that she could tell just by looking at his expression.

But until a few days ago, he said that rye bread and potato soup were the most delicious food.

That statement must have meant that in the countless regressions when he had tried to save her, his taste changed to match Ruby’s standards.

It was a moment where she could glimpse just how much he cherished her.

"Th-thank you..."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you, Frey..."

It was a small thing, but it meant a lot to Ruby. That was why she wanted to express her gratitude directly to Frey.

"What are you thanking me for?"

"..."

But the Frey in front of her just tilted his head and asked.

"Just… for everything..."

Looking at him with teary eyes, Ruby couldn\'t hold back her boiling emotions any longer and whispered through her tears.

"Thank you for everything..."

Her greatest wish at that moment had been to express gratitude and say ‘thank you for everything you did’ to Frey, even just once.

The sight of herself having to give such thanks to Frey who lost his memory, and the fact that she was the one who had caused this whole situation, made Ruby despise herself immensely.

- Rustle...

"Um."

After a moment of silence, Ruby started holding his hands and watched his reaction, causing Frey to tilt his head.

"It\'s strange, just holding hands with you gave me goosebumps."

"..."

"And I hated you so much. So much that I want to kill you, even if it means losing my own life.”

And then, Frey calmly made his remark.

"I’m Sor–"

"I have a question."

It reminded her again that she was the one who treated his life like a toy.

As she attempted to kneel down again with her eyes closed, Frey interjected with a question.

"Who are you, exactly?"

As soon as the question came out of his mouth, Ruby\'s expression turned blank.

"Who are you? What exactly are you to me? Why did I feel such complicated emotions whenever I saw you?"

Frey kept throwing question after question at her while looking at her with a complicated expression.

Ruby took a deep breath and started answering calmly.

"...I’m a sinner."

"A sinner?"

"At the same time, I was the worst kind of trash who committed sins that could never be washed away."

"..."

"I was an idiot who made a foolish decision, one that I can never undo. Now, I\'m just desperately trying to salvage the situation, like a whimpering dog."

Still holding Frey’s hand, Ruby closed her eyes tightly and continued.

"And now, depending on your choice, I can be anything."

"Anything?"

"Yes, Frey."

The Demon King pulled her chair closer, gently caressed Frey’s cheek, and whispered softly into his ear.

"For example, I can be a competent butler. Just say the word, and I\'ll bring a suit or a butler uniform, and be your personal butler."

"And, I can also be the strongest archmage. I will be at your beck and call. Unlike those mages at the Magic Tower, who can’t even show their business card without permission.”

"If you want me to, I can be your strategist. But I don’t recommend it. I’m a very foolish woman."

"I can help you ascend to the throne if you so wish. If you desire to be the Emperor, and I will make it happen."

"I can also be a saintess. If you command it, I will start training in soul manipulation right now. Just say the word."

As Frey looked uncertain with the continued whispering, Ruby quietly embraced him.

"Of course, if you want, I can be your knight. Or a barking dog. Or even a sex slave used roughly for your sole gratification. I will and can be anything you desire."

"..."

"The important thing is, no matter what happens, I will dedicate myself to you as your woman. Frey."

Then, Frey spoke coldly in her embrace.

"If I tell you to leave me now, what will you do?"

Ruby, slightly trembling at his words, soon replied with a choked voice.

"I would leave you right away."

"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.