Chapter 10: Ruby
Chapter 10: Ruby
I woke up before dawn. I opened my eyes to see that there's someone beside me. Yes, she's Sophie. After last night, it took me a while until she finally fell asleep. And it ended up with me having a date with her tonight.
She's sleeping naked and she's hugging me in her sleep. And so… I enjoyed the moment.
...
Oh Shit! I spend ten minutes laying on the bed? I need to leave quickly!
I rose from the bed, making sure that Sophie won't wake up. I left the bed and stand up. I turned back to Sophie who seems to be having a good dream.
...
Damn! Now I spent another half an hour just seeing her naked? I need to leave immediately!
I covered Sophie under a blanket and left the room. We'll see each other tonight, so I don't need to say goodbye.
I walk downstairs and see that the owner is still waiting at the desk. She then looked at me.
"Oh? Is your business this early in the morning? The sun still hasn't arise yet"
"Probably? I'd like to prepare myself first."
"Do you want some breakfast? I'll make them for you."
"Does this establishment serve breakfast?"
"Not at all. So this is free from me. As thank you for accompanying Sophie. She's forcing herself too much and she need a rest. You're just sleeping with her, right? You didn't do anything to her?"
"I just spoke some sweet words to her and somehow I ended up promising her to a date tonight."
"I'll hear the details later. I'm going to cook first and we'll take during the meal."
"Sure."
I moved to a table nearby and waited for her cooking.
Actually, there's a reason I choose this brothel among any other brothel in the city. It was because of the owner. She's one I considered as hero during my past life.
Her name is Ruby and she is the owner of this brothel. And she's one who wholeheartedly support all the girls working in the brothel. Emotionally and financially. No matter what kind of past the girls have, she accepted them all with open hands.
I know her because of the attack by the cult. She protected everyone from the monster by sheltering them all in her brothel, and she also protected them from the cult members who attacked them after the monsters leave.
There are two waves of attacks. First is by monsters, and then by the members of the cult. For the monsters, as long as you're hiding in good place, they won't come looking for you. But for the cult, they will loot everything they find. They will also kill everyone in sight.
Ruby protected everyone by blocking the entrance from the cult. Although she was just an Intermediate mage, she fought until her last breath. When she died, reinforcement finally came and kill all the cult members. Everyone in the brothel are safe thanks to her sacrifice, including me.
This time, I can't let her die.
One of the reason I choose this place is to see if she still the same woman who will protect everyone, and she is indeed the same.
After she finished cooking, we're chatting during our meal. I told her everything that happened with Sophie last night and she thanked me for helping Sophie rest well.
"Thank you. It's good that you came here. It's been few days since Sophie got a good rest. Even when I told her to rest, she would refuse. Do you know that she also took a part-time job during the day? Day and night she keeps working. I'm worried of her well-being."
If she's not here during the day, it make sense why I never met her in my previous life. She must have been somewhere else when the attack happened.
Then Ruby continued asking me questions.
"What is it something which threatening your life today? Maybe I can help you."
She's the same as before. Always helping other without caring about herself. I can't let her sacrifice herself for me again. This time she have to live! That's why I have to tell her about the danger we're facing.
I'm not some kind of idiot who think I can do everything on my own. That's why I always have escaping and asking for help as options during any kind of situations. This time I will ask for her help. Unlike some idiots in the stories I read about people having second chance, but insist on doing everything alone. Keeping everything as secrets.
I can't tell her everything. There's no way someone can believe me if I said I've returned to the past. That's why I mix lies and truths.
I told her that I eavesdrop someone by chance and that someone is planning to attack the city (Truth). I am indeed eavesdropping someone, but I know the attack from my past life. Then I told her that I have told the authorities, but they think I'm lying (Lie). I haven't done that but I know they won't believe me if I told them. I told Ruby that some people in nobility is actually taking part in the attack (Truth). This will make her think twice if she wanted to tell someone else. Of course I told her to keep it secret, but I can't do anything if she doesn't believe me. I continued explaining while mixing truths and lies.
"Is all you've said the truth?"
"I don't know. Part of why I'm going today is to see whether it's the truth or not. I'm actually hoping that I just misheard things, but this is really not something I can't leave alone if it's the truth."
"Let's think of it as the truth for now. What should I do?" she said.
"Obviously making sure that you can protect your own live and those you care about."
I told her to treasure her life. If not, she will sacrifice herself again. Though I'm not sure if she would listen to my advice.
"You said to protect myself, but what about you? Why are you insist in fighting them? You're even risking your life today, aren't you?"
Why? Now that I think about it, I don't really have to fight them, don't I? I can just run away from them. Leaving everything behind. I never thought of myself as a good guy. I will let some people die if it mean I can survive. But that doesn't mean I will let them all die.
Why am I fighting? Why am I trying so hard?
I guess it was back when I awakened my Aura ability that I ever felt truly happy in my past life. I thought that I can finally be stronger. And then I enjoyed fighting enemies after I became stronger. I was weak all my life and when I got Aura ability, I felt that I'm the strongest man in the world. That was stupid of me.
In the end, the only reason I fight is because they are evil. I have no other reason. I can just escape and leave everything behind but I didn't do it. Maybe there's still kindness in me.
So I just told Ruby why I fight.
"I fight because they are evil. I'm not a guy who thinks I can save everyone, but if there's evil in front of me, I will fight. I guess that's why I fight. But I'm still a coward. So if the evil is too strong, I will run away."
"I see. As long as you're alive, you can hit them back after you got stronger. Is that it?
"You're right."
I guess in the end, I don't really know the reason I fight. Because they're evil? That may be just one reason. But I guess that's enough for now. What's important is to survive.
"Roy. Do you want to live here?"
"What?"
Did Ruby just told me to live here?
"I have plenty of room and there's meal for you as well. You only needed to help us from time to time."
"Why?"
"Because you seem lost. You said the reason why you fight, but you're unsure about it. Maybe by staying here, you will find the real reason why you fight. But you have to be our helper from time to time."
"…Okay. Sure."
I don't know about my real reason, but I won't refuse a shelter and meals. Now I don't have to go back to that village again.
"Then, I'll be leaving now."
"Okay. Take care of yourself. If it's too hard for you, you can run away. From today, this is your home."
I left the brothel and run to the governor's house. Trying to stalk them to where they're going.
As I waited for them, I thought about what Ruby said.
"Home, huh?"
I never had a real home before. Always moving from place to place. For her to lend a room to someone she just met… She's really the same as before. Always thinking for others.
Subconsciously, I smiled while thinking about my new home.