Meanwhile, at the same time, inside a mansion belonging to one of the elites working for the AI in the northern district, a glass shattered against the floor. An obese, middle-aged man with a bald head stood up in a rage, glaring at a man in his thirties who was standing in front of his desk. The younger man, dressed in a sharp suit and glasses with slicked-back hair, flinched at the sound of the glass breaking and turned pale.
"You're telling me you lost the trail of the monster that killed my daughter?" the fat, bald man demanded.
"That is correct, Mr. Ramon. The wolf monster can fly and... teleport, so the trail went cold once it left the northern district," the man in glasses replied, dabbing at his sweat with a handkerchief.
"Where was it last seen, Dave?" Ramon shouted, his face turning a deep red.
"In the area around the academy your daughter attended, sir," the man named Dave answered.
"Investigate that entire area! I'm certain that monster is no ordinary beast. My daughter's death must be avenged, and I don't care what it takes! That monster had the nerve to break into my home and kidnap my child, then kill her and dump her body by the riverbank. It's absolutely outrageous!" Ramon screamed until his face turned beet red.
"Sir, please, watch your blood pressure," Dave cautioned.
"Shut up! Get out there and do your job!" Ramon roared.
"Y-yes, sir," Dave stammered.
Without another word, Dave bolted out of the office. Ramon slumped back into his chair behind the desk. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and rubbing his head, his face a mix of exhaustion and grief.
"Sarah... why did you have to go, Sarah... you were my only family left... I won't let that monster get away... I won't," Ramon thought to himself, his eyes brimming with tears.
***
Meanwhile, back at Rex's apartment, "click," the door opened. Rose walked in carrying bags of food and kicked off her shoes. After closing the door, she walked through the hallway and entered the living area. She saw Rex sitting on the sofa watching TV. She placed the food on the dining table and walked over to the couch.
"I'm home, Rex," Rose said.
"Welcome home," Ruby replied, waving a hand.
Rose's smile turned bitter and her face flushed with anger when she saw Ruby lying on her side, watching TV with her head in Rex's lap. Rex was leaning back, casually watching the screen as if everything were normal. Her blood boiled even more as she saw Rex's hand occasionally stroking Ruby's hair before resting it on her head. Feeling Rose's glare, Ruby looked up and flashed a triumphant smile, sticking her tongue out to mock her.
"Damn this brat," Rose muttered in her head, fuming.
"Welcome home, Rose. You just get back? I haven't been home long myself. I put the stuff you asked for in the bedroom," Rex said, greeting Rose.
"Oh, okay, thank you so much, Rex," Rose replied with a smile.
Snapping out of her internal rage, Rose immediately sat down next to Rex, pressing against him and hugging his arm. Rex reflexively turned and tried to pull his arm away, but Rose clamped down on it tightly until she was pressed completely against his side.
"Hey," Rex protested.
"Is it so wrong? I've been working all day, I'm tired, and I need to recharge," Rose said.
"Tch," Ruby clicked her tongue, glancing at Rose with a glare that clearly said "you're just in the way."
Rose shot a cynical smile at Ruby and stuck out her tongue to mock her. Then, she let go of the hug just to lift Rex's arm and drape it around her shoulders, pulling herself even closer to him.
"What is this... why are you both clinging to me like this?" Rex complained.
"It's fine, isn't it?" Ruby and Rose answered together.
"Besides... why are you both here every day? Rose, you're my neighbor. And Ruby, don't you usually go home?" Rex asked.
"Hmm... it's no big deal. My place is far and getting to school is a hassle. It's just easier here," Ruby said, even though her apartment was actually just one floor down.
"Hmm, whether it's next door or right here, it's all the same, isn't it? Actually, if you want to come over to my place with me, that's fine too. We can just leave Ruby here by herself," Rose said, purposely glancing at Ruby.
"How about you come home with me, Rex? My place is spacious. Let Rose have both apartments here for herself," Ruby countered, shooting a look back at Rose.
Then the two of them stared at each other as if they wanted to swallow the other whole. But suddenly, Rex stood up, causing Ruby to roll onto the floor and Rose to tumble back onto the sofa. The tension broke instantly as both of them turned to watch Rex walk toward the bags of food. They both stood up immediately, but shot each other a furious look that seemed to say "this isn't over." Then, they followed Rex to the dining table to eat together.
The three of them ate quietly. Rose told Rex about her day, and Ruby did the same, talking about her school activities. Rex glanced at Rose sitting right next to Ruby and observed them both. They were talking at the same time, as if competing for his attention and waiting for him to give them more of a response than just "yeah," "hmm," or "I see."
He watched them talking over each other and joking around, even though they were actually elbowing one another under the table, smiling at him while the veins on their temples throbbed.
"Oh, right, Rose. You work at the social services department for marriage affairs, don't you?" Rex asked suddenly. He was still curious about the topic Katie had brought up and knew Rose worked for the government branch that handled those things.
"Yeah, that's right. Why the sudden interest?" Rose asked.
"Is it true that men are supposed to have two wives?" Rex asked.
"Hmm... it's highly encouraged because of the population ratio, especially since humanity is on the brink of extinction. I have a sample marriage certificate if you want to see it," Rose answered.
"Let me see," Rex said, curious.
"Hold on," Rose replied.
Rose stood up and walked to the sofa, pulling a file from her work bag. She brought it back to the dining table and handed the sample marriage registration form to Rex. Rex read through it immediately, and it was true—under the wife section, there were two columns that could be filled with two different names. It turned out the official forms in the city of Subterra really did allow for two wives, even if it wasn't a strict requirement. Then, his eyes drifted down to the requirements, and they widened.
"Wow... for men, the minimum age is seventeen, and for women, it's fifteen... hmmm," Rex thought to himself. "It's completely different from Earth. Or maybe if Earth went through the same thing as Terra... the rules would change there too, I guess. But since I grew up knowing only monogamy, seeing polygamy like this feels a bit weird, even if it is official," Rex added in his heart.
Rex kept studying the marriage certificate in his hands, even flipping it over. This naturally caught the full attention of the two girls in front of him; they went silent, staring at Rex and putting their rivalry on hold.
"Dammit, this must be because of that Katie woman... she got in his head, and now he's thinking about marrying both me and this curvy brat next to me. If it comes to this, I'll have no choice but to share... ugh, I really hate the idea, but if that's what Rex wants... I'll just have to swallow my pride, even if it means playing nice with this little punk," Rose thought to herself, still clearly clinging to the monogamous mindset from Earth.
"Wait... wait... why did Rex suddenly ask to see the marriage certificate? Oh man... this is big. Does he plan on marrying me and this beautiful grandma next to me at the same time? Ahhh... I don't want to share... but if that's what Rex wants... and if he loves us both... fine, I'll accept it. The most important thing is being with Rex. If I have to share and be nice to this old lady, then so be it," Ruby muttered in her head, also clearly still holding onto the idea of monogamy.