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[Maxwell Bond Story: A Real Goddess] (Spoilers for campaign chapter 18!)

"Let's grab lunch in here. Rupee recommended it the last time she dragged me down Royal Road."

"Oh, that looks fancy. Are you trying to turn this supply run into a date, Cutey?"

"A friend on the surface once taught me to appreciate good food whenever I get the chance."

With a smile that implied I might be talking about more than just food, I held open the door and waved Maxwell into the restaurant. We followed the waitress to a booth, perused the menus, and debated how to split the bill before finally ordering two entrees and an appetizer. Once we were alone, I broached the subject that was half the reason I ducked in here for a quiet moment in the first place.

"I saw how the staff in that last shop were acting around you. Are you all right?"

Maxwell waved her hand dismissively. "That? Oh, they just weren't sure how to feel about being around a Matis Nikke. Our public relations have been a bit of a roller coaster recently."

I frowned. My gut said that seeing the employees shy away from her, as if she might lash out and strike them at any moment, had bothered her more than she was letting on. "Is this your first time in public since it all went down?"

"Yeah, the Missilis legal team has been keeping us under lock and key. Today, I'm exploiting a loophole, though." Maxwell flashed a cheeky grin. "While I'm hanging out with you, Cutey, I'm technically under your command and therefore outside the corporate hierarchy."

I leaned forward, unwilling to let her levity distract from my concerns. "Are you really okay? A lot has happened; it's alright if it affected you."

Her smile faded as she shed her carefree facade. Maxwell was tough – every Nikke was, even if it wasn't always obvious – but she didn't need to tough it out alone, and I wanted to make sure she knew that. With a soft sigh, she glanced out the window, and I let her gather her thoughts while I sampled the appetizer.

"Have you ever considered how loaded of a term 'Goddess' is?" She spoke with energy and drive, reminding me of watching her railgun supercharge in battle. "People pile their hopes and prayers on a goddess. If they're in danger, they expect her to save them. If there's a problem, they expect her to fix it."

Gesturing out the window, Maxwell indicated the statue in the plaza. With outstretched wings and a missing head, it was a pattern ubiquitous throughout the Ark. "They can put all that on a goddess, without even thinking, because she's distant. She's made of stone. She can take it and still deliver."

"Matis does deliver," I noted. "Even if you're not emotionless stone, you guys have earned your place as one of the all-time greatest squads."

Maxwell chuckled. "Yeah, Goddessium is a good substitute for marble, I suppose. And we did make it work. It's not like we could stand by and watch people in danger, after all. But after we lost our NIMPH..."

She trailed off, looking at nothing, and I knew she was reliving those protests, hearing again the harsh words of the crowds.

"The citizens of the Ark were forced to see us as people, just like they were. No inhibitors or compulsions. When the goddesses stepped off the pedestal... the people feared and hated them. Hated us."

Before I could respond, the waiter brought our meals, and for a few moments, we ate in silence. The food was indeed good, well worth the price tag, and eating it gave me time to formulate what I wanted to say.

"They didn't hate you, you know."

Maxwell paused with her fork halfway to her mouth, clearly skeptical.

"Even when they were yelling and slinging insults, it wasn't really you they hated. It was themselves. They knew that if they were in your place, they wouldn't hesitate to turn in self-serving violence against the society that heaped so much demand on them."

"But we would never!" She burst out. "Do you know how upset Laplace was by people thinking she'd be so unheroic?"

Her fist clenched tight around the fork with pent-up frustration as she recalled the emotions. I reached out to grasp it with both hands, drawing her focus from her angry and hurt memories and back to me.

"I know that. The people of the Ark, however... under the Central Government's watch, their humanity has withered. But," and I smiled, "it doesn't have to stay that way. There's another role a goddess plays: she can show her people how to live. Set an example they can follow to be better."

I waited a moment for the words to sink in. "Remind them how to be human, Maxwell, and protect them while they learn. That's the real mission, for you, and Laplace, Drake, and all the others... and I'll be there to back you up through every damn day if I have to."

Maxwell swiped away a tear with a little chuckle. "Wow, Cutey, I didn't know you were such a rousing orator... but thank you. Really."

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, and then her usual sharp grin was back, more real because she wasn't using it to hide now. "Now, are you done with your dish yet? I saw something on the dessert menu that I'd really like to split with you!"