After defeating the dungeon boss, the dungeon spit them out and began closing in on itself, never to appear again. Once back in the real world, the two kids ran to meet with Naomi and found her skipping down a path, holding three jeweled eggs in her arms.
Ears twitching, having taken in the noise of footsteps, Naomi opened her eyes, and a wide smile broke across her face.
"Where have you guys been? I've been looking everywhere for you. Come on. I found the last egg~!"
Reunited, the trio turned in their assignment, and their field trip came to an end. A few days had passed since that incident, and Rhia learned some more new things about her role.
Each champion selected by one of the three goddesses that governed this world would be assisted by a small group. Those who the goddesses approve of as worthy servants for their champions to aid them on their difficult tasks and journey.
The danger inside the dungeon triggered Alex's potential and made him a perfect candidate for Lilith to choose him as the first of Rhia's servants, her Sword of Wrath.
Rhia would admit that she wasn't too happy that she was now dragging Alex into her problem but was happy that she would at least not be alone.
There was also the shocking news that she learned from Lucia, that the strange man she had run into at the Temple of Darkness was none other than the Cardinal!
When Rhia asked how Lucia knew this, the spirit explained how the Cardinal's existence was a very special case, being one of the few people who could receive the goddess's voice.
Every spirit in Lilith's domain was familiar with his face; it was he who governed the temple that gave praise, offerings, and thanks to Lilith.
"I really have to be more careful of my surroundings," Rhia muttered to herself while in class and halfway listening to their teacher explain a math formula to them.
Honestly, all of it sounded like alien language to Rhia's ears, who, even in her old world, had beef with the subject.
When the bell rang, never had Rhia been so thankful to hear such heavenly music.
The trio, consisting of Rhia, Alex, and Noami, who by now had made herself a member of their group and was not going anywhere to the displeasure of Alex, sat in their usual spot underneath the shades of the oak tree.
Sitting on a picnic blanket, they ate their lunches which each had brought from home.
"In a few days, my house will be throwing a celebration for my mom's birthday, which is a couple of days away. My parents told me it was okay to invite friends, so I wonder if you would attend?"
Alex shyly asked, though, from the veil of his bangs, his eyes were pointed in Rhia's direction.
"Sure, I'll come!" Naomi bit into her apple and answered nonchalantly.
Alex did not care for her input, but if she wanted to come, he wasn't going to stop her.
"Sure! I'll come, Alex~!"
Rhia's words filled his heart with happiness, happy that he would finally introduce Rhia to his parents, who had been just as anxious to meet her.
"But there's an issue that I need help on. You see, I still haven't gotten my mother a present yet, and I'm kinda confused about what to give her. Any ideas?"
The two girls pondered on ideas, but Rhia's mind kept coming up blank when she thought of the idea of flowers, as her mom would always light up whenever her father would surprise her with a bouquet of her favorite flowers.
"Why don't you check out the mall? My mom loves going to that place, and they have a bunch of cool stuff inside. Surely you can find something that may catch your interest," Naomi suggested, taking another bite out of her apple.
"That's a good idea!"
Rhia knew the mall would have a variety of stuff Alex could browse before making his final decision. Alex knew Noami's suggestion was great but wasn't too keen on congratulating her, so he settled for nodding.
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The group walked inside the mall, escorted by Rhia's big brother, who her mother assigned to watch over them when Rhia told her about her plans.
The mall was a huge building with glitzy decor and many floors Rhia was not in the mood to count. The interior was very modern and filled with people walking with shopping bags attached to their arms.
"So this is what a mall looks like?" Lucia flapped her wings, eyes in awe.
"Lilith's children are very creative," said the spirit Tan
"Glad to see you two are enjoying the sightseeing."
Rhia shot a look at the two spirits and was surprised by how easily everyone who saw Tan accepted the lie Alex told about discovering him during their camping trip.
"Must be a new breed of devil beast?" were the words her mother had said when she saw Tan.
The group passed numerous stores when Tan flew into a brightly lit toy store. The group followed after him and was led down one of the aisles.
"I think this would be the perfect gift for the madam!"
Tan's large fire-colored eyes sparkled with joy as they pointed towards the plastic miniature dragon toy. Everyone except Lucia stared blankly at the toy.
"Yeah, I think it's going to be a hard pass on this one. Does anyone else agree?" asked Rhia, receiving a hand raise from the others before they continued their search with Lucia comforting a moping Tan.
The next store sold expensive scarfs and purse bags.
"What about this one?" Rhia was running her hand over a black silk scarf that had blooming red roses and green vines etched onto the fabric.
"Mother would love something like this!" Alex thought of his mother and the image of her wearing it brought a smile to his face.
"Thank you, Rhia!" Alex was grateful for the other's assistance which Rhia had no problem lending.
Leaning against the wall with the two fluff balls, Adrian kept his attention glued onto his little sister and Alex as something about the redhead set him on edge. Like a calm before a big brewing storm.
"Hey! Check this out!"
Rhia and Alex heard Naomi's voice and made their way over to her. Yet what greeted them was Naomi standing in front of a full-body mirror, modeling some diamond-frame sunglasses while holding a big gaudy pink purse.
"How do I look? Gorgeous, right? Two-Face, you should definitely get this gift for your mom!"
Safe to say, Naomi's suggestion was a quick 'No' from everybody. But Alex did buy the scarf.
While Rhia was away trying to talk Naomi out of buying the too-big purse and sunglasses, Adrian watched Alex walk up to the register, and when the nice lady scanned the item, he almost choked on his spit at the price he saw.
'1,000 Grims for a piece of fabric?! Was it made by the goddesses?!'
Adrian was old enough to know that a 1,000 Grims was no simple amount of money. The amount to feed and clothe a family of four for three months.
The older boy wondered about how Alex was going to respond but was flabbergasted when the redhead calmly read the price before whipping out a pristine silver credit card that he handed to the lady.
'Is that a Platinum Credit Card?! I've only seen those in the hands of wealthy adults! How did he get his hands on one of those? Just who is this kid?'
Adrian narrowed his blue orbs on the boy whose mysterious background only got bigger.
The last place the group decided to visit was a neat store covered with a variety of antiques, such as jewelry, furniture items, and dolls.
The group spread out with Tan being drawn to some weird demonic-looking masks that when he turned to Lucia, ready to offer his suggestion, she shook her head no.
Rhia walked beside Alex, eyes running over jewelry that spoke of an old history but was still finely polished.
"Welcome to my shop! How can I help you?"
Rhia and Alex were suddenly greeted by a man with soft wavy brown hair. A pair of round glasses were pushed up on his nose, added with a gentle smile.
"Excuse us. We're just here to pick out a present for my friend's mom." The handsome man began leading the children further down the aisle, reaching for something that he showed to them.
"Maybe something like this would be a perfect gift."
Held in the man's hands was a pure white jewelry box with weaving golden frames on each corner. On top was a golden image of a rose with a matching gold lock surrounded by tiny ruby gems. All of which sparkled under the light.
"It's beautiful!" Rhia fell instantly in love with it and knew Alex's mother would feel the same.
"What makes this even better and since your first-time customers, this jewelry box comes with a musical box that, if you buy the former, you will get the other free of charge."
This time the man presented a porcelain music box that had an artistic floral shape. Covered in vivid soft colors, displaying artworks of flowers and realistic butterflies, sitting quietly on the lid was an amethyst jewel butterfly.
When the man pressed the head of the butterfly, the lid opened and soft music began to play as the flower box projected thousands of stars on the ceiling. A girl in flowing robes danced across the starry skies.
"So pretty~!"
Alex turned to Rhia and smiled at her awed face. It made him happy and wanted to do something special for her.
"I'll take both," he whispered to the man, already aware of who he was giving the second present.