When Ryoko woke up, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar marble ceiling. The room looks a tad bit too luxurious too, filled with furniture that looks passable as antique.
"Hinami!" She immediately remembered about her daughter and ripped the blanket away.
"No need to worry, our daughter is fine."
Ryoko frantically looked around and couldn't find any other person in the room until she saw a black cat sitting near the tall and small stand near the balcony door, staring at her.
"A talking cat?" She was confused for a moment but then recalled her daughter. "My daughter. Where is she?" Ryoko ignored the strangeness of the situation and asked about Hinami.
"She is fine as I had said. She was still sleeping because she was exhausted. But if you want to see her that much, follow me then."
The cat then jumped down to the floor and walked towards the door which opened on its own when the cat approached. Ryoko followed with uncertainty in her steps, thinking she was hallucinating or having a fever dream.
Just as she suspected, she is in a luxurious mansion. Ryoko heard of a group of Ghoul that is made up of rich and powerful people hiding in human society. She feared she was captured by such a group.
But after passing through a few doors in the long hallway, the cat stopped and the door soon opened but by a maid.
"Master, I am just about to look for you." The maid said and stepped aside to reveal the inside where Hinami had woken up and sobbing while calling her name.
Ryoko immediately rushed inside and hugged her daughter and comforted her.
"Well, let's leave them alone and also prepare them food. I think they might need it soon." The cat said as the maid bowed and they left the room to give her and Hinami privacy.
———
A while later, Ray was in the dining hall with Kuroka, Grayfia and Sakuya. The latter two were standing on the side while Ray and Kuroka were dining. Although, more like Kuroka pampering him and spoon feeding him food while he sat next to her plate.
"Are you sure we should give them normal food? I thought Ghoul couldn't eat anything but human flesh." Kuroka asked while cutting another strip of fried chicken breast with a knife and picking it with a fork before placing it in front of his mouth.
At the side, Grayfia frowned slightly at how casually they speak about cannibalism although her expression remains professional.
Adam took a bite of the offered food and chewed it eagerly before swallowing. "Not that difficult to fix. It's just a matter of tweaking their RC cells. Making it take energy from another source aside from cannibalizing other RC cells would fix the problem." He shrugged before pointing his paw at the sautéed mushroom which Kuroka cut next and offered to him.
"RC cells?" Kuroka looks curious about the term and looks at Ray.
"It's something unique to their world. That's why even if we feed them human flesh, it wouldn't do if it's not one from their world." He explained briefly. "Although, RC cells are interesting indeed. I wonder how the modification I did to Ryoko and Hinami would turn out since their RC cells growth is no longer limited by their consumption of other RC cells."
Kuroka looked at Ray accusingly and asked, "Did you just admit experimenting on them?"
"What? Not like I did anything harmful to them. I'm just curious. Besides, if anything bad did happen. I could fix it easily although I doubt anything bad would result from my modification." Ray said with a hurtful look from her accusations.
Then, suddenly the door to the dining hall was opened by Mittelt and followed by Ryoko and Hinami which entered the dining hall with hesitant steps but couldn't back away after Mittelt suddenly closed the door behind them.
"Come take a seat. There's no need to be wary since this will be your home now too." Ray said as the two chairs in front of Kuroka drag itself back and beckon the two to sit.
Fearing to earn their savior's ire, Ryoko brought Hinami to take a seat and as soon as they did, the chairs dragged themselves back and food appeared magically in front of the two.
At first, Ryoko wanted to talk about the trouble with their cannibalistic diet. But she shut herself once she smelled the food which smelled wonderful instead of terrible like she would expect. She look confused and hesitant but she held the cutlery and took a bite of the food and immediately moaned uncontrollably.
"Ray, did you feed them food from that place?" Kuroka looks sternly at Ray after seeing Ryoko having foodgasm while Hinami looks panicked, thinking her mother was poisoned or something.
"Oops… my hand slipped. Hehe…" Ray sheepishly laughed but Kuroka was having none of his pranks especially on Ryoko and Hinami that had just been through traumatic events.
"W-Wait! Not my ears! Wifey! Ahhh!" Ray got his ears picked and pulled by Kuroka.
"I just wanted to give them the most delicious food since it's the first time they could eat anything but human meat." Ray said sullenly while hiding both his ears with his paws, cowering on the table.
However, Kuroka was having none of his nonsense and ordered Sakuya to bring normal food for the duo.
Ryoko snapped out from her trance immediately after and stopped Kuroka.
"No, it is quite alright. The food was incredibly delicious." She said to Kuroka and to Hinami, unaware of her slight wardrobe malfunctions that Kuroka prevented.
"No, change it. I would rather not have my newest daughter experience the trauma of her clothes tearing themselves after taking a bite of that food."
"Eh?" Ryoko then noticed her clothes when Kuroka pointed at it.
In a split second, Sakuya swapped the food and their meal resumed. Hinami ate under her mother's encouragement and then Ryoko started to address the elephant in the room. That is why Ray and Kuroka called Hinami their daughter and what happened after they were attacked by the CCG Investigators.
"Well, I couldn't fault you for not remembering it. But you forged a pact with me." Ray reminded her and Ryoko immediately recalled what happened at her moment of dying. The prayer she made and the voice she heard.
"There's no need to doubt it. I am indeed a God. In exchange for your soul, I save your daughter and you are now mine."
Ryoko felt shocked by an invisible pressure emanating from Ray which didn't feel harmful but made her feel an indescribable fear and awe.
"As for your daughter. I just felt like adopting her. So, that makes you my wife too. Although, that was the decision of my first wife, Kuroka." Ray took the opportunity to introduce Kuroka.
"Eh? Wife?" Ryoko can't keep up with the conversation and so does Hinami who stopped devouring the delicious food and looked at Ray, her new father confusedly.
From dying in the hands of the CCG Investigators to forging a pact with a God and now she is suddenly the God's wife? Ryoko felt like slapping herself another time to try waking up from this fever dream but everything felt so real yet surreal right now she cannot tell if this is a dream or not.
"What? Do you have objections?" Ray asked but his question in this situation sounded more like coercion than actual question.
"I mean, isn't this the best possible outcome? Since you sold your soul to me, you are bound to be separated from your daughter. So, I adopted her and you two can still be together."
"Y-Yes! I mean, no. I have no objections. Thank you, Lor—"
"Nuh uh. Just Ray is fine." Ray stopped her from using those frivolous titles to address him. "Anyway, just eat up and rest. Later Grayfia will bring the two of you to the town and buy you two clothes and whatever else you might need." Ray said before looking at Grayfia who immediately bowed, accepting her order.
Ryoko nodded dumbly and then ate in silence with Hinami while trying to process what she had heard. As for Hinami, she stayed silent throughout the conversation. Probably as equally confused as her mother or just didn't understand since she is still quite young.
—————
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