Back to the night before—after Rex had tucked them into his bed and left the room, Rose and Ruby, who hadn't actually been asleep or unconscious at all, opened their eyes. "Hehe," unconsciously, their faces twisted into strange expressions with wide smiles and flushed cheeks, clearly imagining things they shouldn't. They both instinctively stared toward the door, waiting for Rex to come back in. But then they turned to see each other; their faces instantly snapped back to normal as they locked eyes.
"Fine... tell me about yourself," Rose whispered.
"Why don't you go first?" Ruby whispered back.
"You go first. I'm older than you, so you go first," Rose answered, annoyed.
"This has nothing to do with age," Ruby snapped back.
The two of them went back to glaring fiercely at one another, but suddenly, "click," the door opened. Both immediately went back to faking sleep. Rex walked in carrying a basin and a towel, then grabbed some clean clothes from the closet. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to wash Rose's body, then moved on to wash Ruby's. After that, he changed them out of their old clothes and into the fresh ones. Once he was finished, he took their dirty laundry out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Naturally, both of their faces turned beet red. They glanced at each other for a second before quickly looking away, embarrassed by their shared blush.
"He really cares about us and treats us both the same, doesn't he?" Rose said.
"It seems so... it's no wonder he was asking that woman so many questions," Ruby replied.
The two of them fell silent again, staring at the door without saying a word. After a while, when Rex didn't come back, they got curious and climbed out of bed. They walked to the door, cracked it open, and peeked through. Rex was already asleep on the sofa in the dark living room, looking like he was keeping guard even in his sleep. They quietly closed the door and stood there with their backs against it.
"Honestly... this is the first time anyone has ever cared for me like that," Rose muttered.
Without waiting for Ruby to respond, Rose told her whole life story. She talked about growing up on Earth, being raised in an agency and becoming a spy as a teenager. She left the agency but was hunted from the age of 17 because she refused a final mission that weighed too heavily on her conscience. After that, she worked and lived independently until she met her boyfriend. She worked herself to death to provide for him because she was terrified of being left alone again. Finally, at 19, she died and was transported to the world of Phanteos, where she met a tragic end. Rose looked down, tears falling even as she smiled happily; it was clear she truly loved Rex with all her heart.
As she listened to Rose's story, Ruby slid down to the floor and hugged her knees. she stayed quiet for a long time before finally speaking.
"I feel the same way... this is the first time anyone has actually cared about me... usually, people just look down on me," Ruby muttered.
Ruby immediately shared her story of being an orphan from infancy and being raised by a ninja clan. Her whole life had been nothing but training and more training; she grew up without love and was constantly used. Then one day, the clan leader ordered her to watch someone at a school. That person turned out to be nothing like she expected, and they ended up becoming close friends.
But suddenly, the clan ordered her to kill that friend. Instead, she chose to protect them, killing the ninjas sent to do the job, though her friend was killed in the end anyway. After that, she lived as a fugitive, hiding until she became consumed by loneliness. She eventually died when her apartment exploded and was sent to another world called Valandia, where things also ended tragically.
After hearing each other's stories, they both fell silent, but the tension between them dropped drastically.
"So why would someone with your kind of power end up as a scout adventurer?" Rose asked, curious.
"Well... I don't know, maybe because it's all I knew... like I said before, I'm a ninja," Ruby answered.
"Hoo, I see how it is. You're actually kind of funny," Rose said, smiling as she looked away.
"Hey, don't make fun of me," Ruby shot back, but she was smiling too.
"No... it's just funny. A daughter of a god working as a scout, only to die getting jumped by a bunch of goblins," Rose shot back.
"Hey... you're one to talk. You knew your boyfriend was a loser but you still fought for him, and now you're planning to do the exact same thing. Luckily, Rex isn't like your ex," Ruby countered.
"Hmm... yeah, you're right. But that's just how I am when I love someone," Rose said.
They cracked the door open again to peek out. They could hear Rex snoring; he had apparently fallen fast asleep even while sitting up. After stepping back inside, Rose spoke up.
"Okay, I've decided. I want to be with Rex for the rest of my life, so I'm going to marry him. What about you?" Rose asked.
"Huh... me? To be honest, I want Rex all to myself. But since I can see you truly love him—maybe as much as I do—then fine. I'm in too," Ruby said.
"Good. That means I'm the first wife and you're the second," Rose declared.
"Wait a second, you've got the order wrong. I'm first and you're second," Ruby snapped.
"Ha... I'm the oldest and I'm basically like an older sister to Rex, so obviously I'm the first wife. You're just the little sister, the baby of the group," Rose said, annoyed.
"Give me a break. Love doesn't care about age—stop comparing our ages. I might be small, but I'm definitely curvier than you," Ruby snapped, hitching her chest up to pointedly show off for Rose.
"Damn brat. A woman's worth isn't measured by the size of her racks, it's her personality," Rose said, clearly annoyed and outmatched in that department.
"Ha... your personality is trash, what's there to be proud of? If you lost, just admit it. Stop talking so much crap," Ruby bit back.
"Your personality is trash too, kid," Rose replied.
They went back to glaring at each other as if they were ready to swallow one another whole, but then "thud," a sound came from outside. They both jumped and peeked out one more time. It turned out Rex had slumped over and was now lying flat on the sofa. They closed the door again.
"Okay... now isn't the time to fight. I'm going to fill out the marriage registration form. Give me your ID," Rose said.
"Fine, hold on, let me get it from my bag. But what if Rex doesn't want to be with us? I'm scared he'll end up hating us, and I can't handle that," Ruby replied.
"We just have to try. If it doesn't work, we seduce him until he gives in. It's hard to do alone, but with the two of us, it's a different story, right?" Rose said.
"Hmm... true. Besides, we have all the time in the world. Judging by Rex's physical appearance not changing at all in two years, he's just like us... so sooner or later, he'll be with us because humans have an expiration date," Ruby replied.
"Exactly what I meant. If he refuses, we'll just explain it to him—the three of us are stuck with each other... forever. After all, he's a god, so he obviously knows what that means. Who else is he going to be with besides us?" Rose replied.
"Okay... hang on, getting the ID from my bag," Ruby replied.
After that, they filled out the forms; they also secretly grabbed Rex's ID and filled out his portion of the form for him. Then, they stepped out of the bedroom carrying the signed papers and placed them on the coffee table. Finally, they intentionally adjusted Rex's body and lay down on either side of him, staring at his sleeping face—completely forgetting that just a few moments earlier, Rex had nearly killed them.
***
The next day, after giving Rex a full day to think, Rose and Ruby stood in front of his apartment. They both took a deep breath, braced themselves, and unlocked the door before stepping inside.
As they walked into the living room, panic instantly set in—Rex wasn't there. They immediately checked the entire apartment, from the bedroom all the way to the fridge. Finally, their strength left them and they sank onto the sofa.
"Where is he?" Rose asked, her voice filled with despair.
"I don't know... this is exactly what I was afraid of... he ran," Ruby answered.
Suddenly, their eyes locked onto the coffee table, and they froze. The marriage registration form was sitting right there alongside a scrap of paper and a pen. They snatched up the form, and their faces instantly brightened as tears began to fall. Rex had signed it. Then Rose picked up the note on the table and opened it.
"Rose, Ruby, I've signed the papers. I'm heading out for a bit to buy something; just wait for me at home."
"Finally," Rose said.
"After two years," Ruby replied.
"Now all that's left is to guard him and make sure no pests get near our husband," they both said at the same time, locking eyes with one another. Then Rose put on her earphones and opened her smartphone, while Ruby immediately opened her tracking app. Both of them looked absolutely cheerful.