Five years had passed since the Twilight of the Gods. The events of that day had ended as a dream, just as Lunaru had said they would, and no one but Ruby and the other participants remembered any of it. One might think that this in itself might cause an uproar, because everyone had seen the same dream, but dreams only tended to stay in the minds of people who had just woken up. In the end, everybody eventually forgot that they had even seen such a dream, and by the time Ruby had woken up, everybody was back to living their normal daily lives, completely unchanged from before. Even Ruby herself had wondered whether it had really been a dream or not. Lunaru, Weiss, and the others remembered the events of that day, however, and they understood that they had been both a dream and not a dream.
"I'll be off then."
Ruby had turned twenty-three and had successfully found employment as a police officer upon entering society, becoming a deputy officer after passing the state employment exam required for general employment. Originally, she never wanted to try to qualify for some elite course and was fine with being a simple policewoman, carrying out her duties as one of the police while being helped by her seniors. However, she started to desire higher pay because she wanted to make things as easy as possible for her wife and their child
"Yes. See you later, dear."
Ruby's wife was there to see her off, looking just as young as when they'd first met—her wife by the name of Weiss was an angel. In her arms were their child, already making sounds.
"Okay, let's say goodbye to Mama Ruby."
"Dah!"
Cindy. She was named after Ruby's former enemy and friend—Cinder.
The former Ouroboros of Heaven had been an enemy, but she was also the one who got Ruby to realize her love for Weiss. This was the least they felt they could do for the woman who had died while unfulfilled like that, so they entrusted her name to their child.
"Ruby, just so you know, I'm very happy right now."
"Yeah… Me too, Weiss."
Someday they would be forced to part. Even so, they had decided to hold the short time they had together all the more dear. Ruby would walk through life together with Weiss, and Cindy, swearing to love them both until the breath of mortal life left her body. Even if Weiss was forever young, even if Ruby had grown old, even then, they would continue through life together. They were sure they would never regret anything, no matter how things ended. That was what the two of them had decided, after all.
Weiss and Ruby exchanged a kiss before Ruby went off to work.
"Looks like the two of them will be just fine," Lunaru said.
"Seriously. Getting all steamy right from the start of the day…" Yggdra trailed off.
Lunaru and Yggdra were watching this scene out of a slice-of-life romance from the top of the next building. Will Weiss really be able to get used to the other world, on Earth? Will those two be alright? Those worries had driven Lunaru to drop in every once in a while to observe them, but it turned out that her worries were unfounded.
"By the way, Yggdra… you… why are you following me here?"
"W-Who's following you! I was bored so I thought I wanna go see what the Hero is doing, don't misunderstand, alright!"
"Yes yes…. Anyway, their trials are just beginning. The girl… Well, I suppose I should stop with that… Ruby, from now on she'll have to protect her family. That's a far harder task than protecting the world."
"It is, isn't it? But that woman will be able to overcome any obstacle. I'm sure of it."
Lunaru nodded before turning back to watch Ruby. She no longer looked like the unreliable girl she'd first met. Now, she looked like a woman who had overcome many hardships.
She'll be fine. She's no longer that weak girl who needed protecting. I'm sure she'll manage to protect Weiss and their child from now on in the battlefield of daily life.
With that conviction, Lunaru flew away.
A single feather from her black wings fell, eventually reaching the ground after brushing past Ruby's head. Seeing that, Ruby stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky before laughing. The look on her face was powerful and reliable, as if to say, "Leave it to me."