Somehow Jaune managed to convince Salem that going to the park would be fun. He waited outside his place, anxiously glancing at the time on his scroll while waiting for Salem.
"She wears the same thing everyday and her face is already covered in permanent makeup," Jaune groaned to himself. "What could she possibly be doing in there?"
As if she had heard those words, Salem appeared behind him with her head raised high.
"Are you by any chance talking about me?" she asked.
Jaune was about to say that he was before noticing just how brightly red her eyes had become.
"No," he muttered. "I was talking about my mother."
"So you were talking about me."
"What?"
Salem held her head high and said, "You do realize that I am the mother of all things in Remnant. Do you not?"
Jaune shrugged. He'd never felt a bigger urge to leave a situation than this one.
"Yeah," Jaune muttered, "I guess I do."
Salem clasped her hands together and nodded slowly.
"As you should," said Salem. "You see, mankind has grown quite fond of recounting…"
Jaune fought back the growing urge to groan out loud. Salem had gone into another one of her monologues, and everybody knew she wouldn't stop until she finished. Jaune discreetly peeked at the scroll in his hand as Salem continued talking, noticing that they weren't that far from the park. Quietly, Jaune began to walk towards the park.
"But take heed," he heard Salem say behind her. "There will be no victory in strength."
It seemed like Salem was following him while continuing to talk. Jaune smirked to himself as he walked to the park with Salem following behind.
The park was one of the few decent places in Vale. This was the place pairs went after being contracted to hang out and possibly get involved in a romance or love triangle, depending on what the contract wanted. Jaune had been there so many times that he knew all the right places to go during various times of the day. The sun was still shining brightly, which meant that the corner would be great for him to talk and waste time with Salem.
Jaune raised his hand to point out where he wanted to go, but was stopped by Salem.
"Did you not listen to a word I said that entire time?" Salem calmly asked.
Never before had twelve words sounded so terrifying. Jaune's smirk collapsed almost immediately. How on Remnant did Salem expect him to listen to her as she droned on?
"I find your lack of interest annoying," said Salem darkly. She had a way of saying the simplest things in such an evil tone. It made Jaune shake every time she did it.
"Look," Jaune said, restraining his irritation. "I just want to get this pairing over as badly as you do. So let's sit down on that nice patch of grass over there and do...something."
"Only if you agree to cease your idiotic behavior."
"Fine."
The two of them walked over to a part of the park where the glass appeared to be a brighter shade of green than anywhere else. Jaune sat himself on the grass and smiled as the sunlight struck his face. Salem just stood by his side, staring at the side with a smile that grew wider with every second.
"Uh...are you okay?" asked Jaune.
"Oh yes," Salem said, continuing to stare right into the sun. "I'm admiring the sheer power that the sun has. A simple flare from its gaseous body is enough to burn this entire area to nothing but cinder."
"You know...looking directly into the sun like that is going to make you blind."
"My eyes became blind to this world the moment humanity formed."
Jaune frowned. "You really don't like this world much. Huh?"
"What led you to make such a ridiculous assumption?"
"All you ever talk about is watching the world burn or how much humanity has done wrong. Sounds like something someone would say if they hated the world."
Salem looked down at Jaune blankly.
"Do you wish to gain power? Knowledge? You must learn the truth of this world if you wish to acquire both."
Jaune couldn't even make an appropriate reaction. Talking to Salem was like talking to an answering machine. Everything you said would almost always lead to the same phrases or musings. It's like she only knew how to talk in monologues or vague sentences. Jaune couldn't take it anymore and decided that something had to be done.
There was something in Jaune's pocket that he had brought with him for this very occasion. It was soft and squishy, but tasty at the same time. It was a Pumpkin Pete sandwich. Jaune ate them all the time.
"What...is that?" asked Salem, her eyes squinting at the sandwich.
"It's a sandwich," said Jaune with a smile. "You eat...right?"
"Only the tears of my fallen opponents as hope exits their hearts."
"I'll take that as a no," said Jaune. He handed Salem the extra sandwich he made. She looked like Jaune had just handed her his own poop.
"Explain to me the substance that exists between the two slices of bread," she said, fixated on the sandwich.
"It's Pumpkin Pete cereal," said Jaune with his mouth full. "It's the best in all of Remnant. Eat it. You'll love it."
Salem slowly lifted the sandwich, continuing to stare it at. She lifted it to her face and opened her mouth. Jaune watched in mild amusement as she took the smallest bite and swallowed her piece without even chewing it.
There was a long and awkward silent. Jaune waited for any sign of emotion from Salem. She looked back down at the sandwich for a moment, and then took another bite. She took another after that, and then another, and then another.
"This….this is quite good," said Salem. "I demand more."
"What?" said Jaune. "You actually liked that?"
"I will not repeat myself," said Salem. "Now bring me another sandwich immediately."
"I...uh...I only made that one."
Salem's lips curved into a very disturbing grimace. "You and I will find the source of this food and take it through any means necessary." Her veins bulged as she said this. "Come with me. My allies and I have much to discuss with you."
Jaune hadn't even finished processing what he'd just heard when Salem started to leave. He expected for the two of them to talk about how much they hated being paired, and now he was somehow involved with a potential terrorist attack.
"Why couldn't I be paired with Pyrrha?" Jaune moaned out loud. He went to follow Salem as she floated away to her castle of evil. Day one hadn't even finished. Jaune wasn't sure if he'd even make to the end of the week.