“…Why?” Ryuk narrowed his gaze, feeling amused by Esme’s words. She seemed embarrassed, with a subtle hint of a blush on her ears and her hands trying to push his body back in protest to his actions of nullifying her abilities, making everyone able to see her clinging to his body like a Koala.
“You…just..” As Esme raised her gaze to lock with his, she felt the urge to blame him for her embarrassment in front of the crowd, but her words caught in her throat as he gently placed his hand on hers, his own expression turning sheepish as he met her eyes with a soft gaze.
“But didn’t you love me?” Leaning close to her ear, he whispered softly, his cold eyes staring at the other five men present, causing them to quickly look away in fear, giving him some privacy.
“Leave my hands,” Esme quietly whispered as she attempted to retract her hand, fully aware that he would not allow her to escape. She knew that using her teleportation ability would result in him being transported alongside her.
Naturally, she had the ability to choose which items should be teleported with her, but the dilemma was that it was a decision made by both her unconscious and conscious mind.
Despite her conscious mind’s hesitance, her unconscious mind, like her heart, will definitely choose to take this man with her.
After all, in the end, it was clear that she was not just temporarily embarrassed, but permanently in love.
“Fine,” Ryuk had the urge to continue teasing her, but he stopped himself. It wasn’t the right time as he had important people to meet and decisions to make about his future path.
“….I hate you,” Esme’s body slowly disappeared as she activated her Illusion to hide herself in thin air before expressing her dissatisfaction with today’s events. She wanted nothing but some compensation from him, which he also understood from her gaze. He only responded with a small smile on his face.
“Now, let’s see.” At long last, Ryuk directed his gaze towards a man who was standing while the other four knelt on the ground.
The man, who was standing alone, realized that the time limit for avoiding eye contact had passed. Consequently, he approached Ryuk and handed him a letter.
“Young Master, please read this. Chief sent it. He was so happy to have a wealthy customer like you that he cried tears of joy.” The soldier handed the letter to him with one hand, all the while rubbing his nose with a finger and chuckling at the sight of his boss shedding tears of joy for the first time.
[He didn’t just cry, he even died just now due to happiness of getting a customer like Host >.<] "Did anyone came after you left that place?", Ryuk inquired, noticing that the person he had expected to be here was not present. Specifically, he was looking for the man who had come from the upper town to buy slaves for his master. Indeed, Ryuk nullified Esme's ability and even slowed down his own speed not just to embarrass Esme, but rather to conceal his eye color—something which was traumatic for the gardener—by making Esme the focal point in the town's streets while he searched for the gardener who was hiding in terror or possibly already taken by the Monsters. Even though the monsters were released to go on a rampage in this place, Ryuk's intent was to deal with Liu Wei and the man roaming around the area. However, it seemed that the man was not present in this part of town, not even inside the Auction House. "Young Master, I don't think there was...Oh, there was someone—?!" The soldier wanted to report that he saw a man holding a red pouch and running toward the back of the Auction House. However, he suddenly noticed several individuals lying on the ground, with blood all over the streets. The distance between the front gate and the back gate of Auction House was not large, but the street was narrow, which prevented many monsters or small beasts from running in that direction. The soldier, who was immersed in thoughts about delivering the letter, ignored everything else - the silence of the streets and the blood - and arrived at the location with enthusiasm. However, now that his mind cleared, he noticed several people lying all over the place. "Wh-what happened here!" He cried out, his eyes shifting towards the black-robed man, blinking in confusion at what had happened in this place to cause so much destruction. His excitement had clouded his mind, preventing him from noticing the cold glint held in those amber eyes. 'He's denser than a rock soaked in mud.' 'This idiot's so dumb, he makes a rock look like a sage.' 'Can't expect more from these Auction House guards—I've seen dogs outwit them.' 'I bet he'll be the first to die, and we'll still be arguing over how dumb he was.' All four of them, including numbers 1 to 3 and Bone Breaker himself, couldn't help but admire the incredible density of this soldier's brain. Who seemed unable to understand the situation he was in and the surroundings, which were indicating to him that the man he was asking was the one behind it all. 'Hm, This?' Ryuk was not paying attention to the soldier's bewildered expression. Instead, he was focused on the letter in his hand which contained information about the individual behind the auction house, as well as details about some of the slaves who were secretly sent to the Heindal continet 16 years ago. In the list, there were mentions of five individuals. Ryuk was aware of four names mentioned in the letter, which instantly turned into smoke due to the intense energy not leaking through Ryuk's body but condensed under his skin, turning the weak paper into ashes. "Huh? Young master? Why burn—kughh?!" The soldier was curious as to why the Young Master destroyed the letter he had delivered with such effort instead of rewarding him with gold coins. But before completing his sentence, a sudden force hit his neck. At that moment, his neck felt as though it was being squeezed by powerful iron hands. The pressure was strong enough to disregard his cultivation levels and potentially break a bone or two, causing blood to trickle from his mouth before he coughed, "Gwak! Argh! Y-young master!" 'Looks like the poor guy just found out how a walnut feels.' 'Is it just me, or is he turning a shade of blue that matches the sky?' 'At least he's not asking for gold coins anymore. Not with that grip.' 'I bet he regrets ever delivering that letter now.' [ Well, that's one way to save on paying him. well done, my poor Host ^_^] '.....' Upon hearing the system's voice, Ryuk wanted to address it immediately. However, he was angered by the two names mentioned in the letter that he had just burned. This was something he had not expected at all, and he was furious because one of the names mentioned was even more surprising to him than Bella or Jenny. "Tell me, while in way here, did you saw someone or not?" Ryuk made no effort to clarify the gardener's clothing to him, nor did he anticipate the man feeling lost after encountering numerous individuals on his journey here. All he understood was that whether the soldier confessed now, his fate would be decided - to live or to die. It wasn't that he had become cruel after killing a few people, but it was always that Ryuk was like this. He just held himself back due to the situation not being in his favor, from things being influenced by the butterfly effect to his sudden drawback of bloodline. Everything was a mess until now. "Urrgghh?! I-it was a-a regular cust—Kugh!" The soldier was unable to complete his sentence about seeing a regular customer on his way here before succumbing to eternal sleep. His eyes were wide open, mouth filled with blood, and his legs flailing in the air as he lost his life in a matter of moments due to a delay in remembering a name. The four men listened attentively as they pressed their heads against the ground, unconcerned with the dust. They even pushed harder, displaying their loyalty despite their fear and disbelief, as Ryuk effortlessly snapped the soldier's neck. "Did he just use him like a toothpick?" Number 1 whispered, eyes wide. "Great, now I'm questioning my life choices," muttered Number 2, trying to inch away. "Well, there goes any hope of negotiating," said the Number 3, swallowing hard. "Please tell me we're not next on the menu," Bone breaker whimpered, clutching his chest. '?!' Their eyes widened in the moment their ears caught the sound of the soldier's body being lifted into the air by the neck before falling to the ground, causing their faces to be drenched in sweat, even becoming like a waterfall dripping everywhere. Number 1 seemed to be drenched in sweat out of fear, even sweating profusely in his groin region. [ Wait, did that man actually pissed himself? That's not fear, Host! Eliminate him, he clearly intends to ruin your shoes! ] "....Esme, why are you in my arms again?" Ryuk ignored the words of the system and focused on his arm, which showed a woman with golden eyes and a white dress being carried like a princess. Her hands were wrapped around his neck and her mouth was twitching. He whispered,"Did you miss me so much within just a few seconds?"
