‘A girl belonging to the cat kin, a girl carrying the blood of the celestial phoenix order, two sisters with black hair, and finally a vampire boy.’ While in Ryuk’s arms, Esme contemplated the mention of the characteristics of those five individuals.
Even though there was a time difference between each of them, it was evident that upon reading the letter, Ryuk’s body emitted visible anger. Esme, who stood behind him, observed how Ryuk had lifted the soldier by the neck.
‘He even burned it’, she had thought about reading the letter and finding if there was more details mentioned about those five individuals but it seemed that Ryuk had in anger burned that letter while lifting the soldier with his neck.
‘Now he has even killed him,’ Esme noticed as she saw Ryuk let go of the soldier’s lifeless body, which fell to the ground.
“Esme, why are you in my arms again?” Suddenly a voice directed towards her, causing her to open her eyes and noticing transition from one scene to another where her hands were wrapped behind his neck, her eyes looking at him.
“Huh?” Esme blinked, trying to understand what had just happened. She then noticed that there was a hint of orange aura residue on his skin, indicating that he had just used his speed, which was not even visible causing her mouth to twitch but he leaned and whispered,”Did you miss me so much within just a few seconds?”
“Why are you embarrassing me?” Esme pursed her lips, her expression now void of anger as she gazed blankly at him, only seeking an explanation for his excessive teasing.
“They can’t see you”, Ryuk calmly looked at her, suspicion evident in her narrowed eyes as he held her, his words not earning her trust as she turned her attention towards the four men kneeling on the ground, trembling.
“Fine, but why are you carrying me? I can walk,” Esme asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to know the reason for him carrying her instead of letting her walk.
“Hm, so, all four of you, I want a big orange light in the sky. Use fireworks or something similar,” Ryuk said firmly, instructing the men lying on the ground to set up a large orange fire display, while ignoring Esme who squinted her eyes in confusion at his changing topic.
“Please trust us, Senior brother. Even if we have to burn ourselves, you will see the whole sky orange.” Bone Breaker swiftly raised his eyes, showing his eagerness to complete the mission given by his senior brother.
‘?!’
However, his gaze faltered when he saw that same woman in his senior brother’s arms, and his pupils shook when they met Ryuk’s gaze, silently exchanging an unspoken message:- If you say anything, you’re dead.
“We will bid farewell and make preparations for fireshows,” Bonebreaker spoke with his head down, completely drenched in sweat. The metallic smell coming from the newly spilled blood made him nauseous. He stood up and delivered three sidekicks, each one a powerful kick on their butts, signaling to the men that it was time to run from this place.
‘Now, Let’s wait’ Ryuk watched as the four men sprinted as if their lives were at stake. They vanished from the streets, leaving Ryuk staring at his own hand. On it, a woman with golden eyes stared back at him with a vacant expression.
“You were peeking at the letter just now, weren’t you? Now you will face the consequences.” Ryuk directed his words at her with a cold gaze.
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“Give me all of your shop’s crackers now!” Number 2 stood in front of the shop, resting his elbow on the counter with his palm supporting his chin. He tapped his fingers while looking at the muscular man.
“Please make your previous payments first.” The muscular man also leaned forward, looking into his eyes with the same position, blinking with a small smile and closed eyes. He expressed his annoyance towards the guy for always asking for free things.
“…fine,” Number two stepped back before reaching into his pocket, as if he was about to retrieve something. The well-built man lazily opened one eye and watched intently, anticipating a handful of gold coins to appear. To his surprise, instead of treasure, number two unveiled a raised middle finger directed at him. With a smirk, number two sneered, “Take this, you asshole.”
“….” After a moment of staring at the Number 2, shopkeeper sighed, raised his hand, and snapped it before giving his command,”Please place this gentleman’s middle finger in his own ass.”
“As you order boss!” As the loud voice echoed through the streets, two or three men emerged from the shop and immediately charged at the person who needed to be beaten, only to be met with a nonchalant expression from the number 2, who let out a bored yawn.
—-
“Ugh! Here, take all of this!” Trembling in fear, the shopkeeper looked towards a bulky man who was none other than the renowned Bonebreaker.
Bonebreaker had come to the shop and dealt with all of the men trying to attack number 2, leading the shopkeeper to accept his defeat as he was lifted in the air with his collar being gripped in Bonebreaker’s hand.
“Give me ones which will glow in orange colour” After landing a series of powerful punches on the man’s face, Bonebreaker looked towards him, gripping the man’s collar firmly and causing him to tremble. The man’s face was swollen and his nose was bleeding, clearly showing the impact of Bonebreaker’s blows.
“Huh? But we don’t have them yet—kugh!” As the shopkeeper was about to reject the customer’s request for firecrackers, he was interrupted by a punch to the face.
“Ugh, you can use chicken poop!” The shopkeeper, not caring about anything but saving his life, cried out the name of the main ingredient used to create the orange color in firecrackers. Unfortunately, even after revealing the secret of his recipe and other points, it backfired, landing on his face.”kugh!?”
“Hey fucker, it seems you need more hits”, Bonebreaker realized that the man he was holding by the neck was not submissive. The man even tried to mock Bonebreaker by calling him chicken poop. In response, Bonebreaker gave another punch.
“I-I mean, wait, you need calcium carbonate,” the shopkeeper gasped out as he felt the force of the punches on his face and the tight grip on his neck, which felt like it could snap at any moment due to the rapid and forceful punches.
“Hmm, now that you’re answering, please tell me, where can I find calcium carbonate?” Finally, Bonebreaker realized that his actions were impacting the shopkeeper, who then revealed the secret recipe for his firecrackers. Bonebreaker nodded with satisfaction.
“….Chicken poop—no, NO, I’m sure you can only get it in chicken poop or in egg shells!” The shopkeeper raised his hands to shield his face from getting hit, as the bone breaker raised his fist to deliver another punch to his face.
“Huh?” Upon hearing his words, numbers 1, 2, and 3 all looked towards each other, blinking, before realizing that they now needed to catch some chickens to collect their poop.
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“Who was that woman?” Esme’s eyes met the gaze of the masked man who embraced her on the highest tower. His hands wrapped around her waist, providing a supportive hold as she leaned back against his chest with both of them seated.
“Just a random person I found on the way to the auction house,” Ryuk said, gazing up at the night sky that bathed the entire town in a soft glow of moonlight. His mind wandered as his fingers gripped her waist, lost in contemplation of something.
“Hmm, so you found that woman from the streets?” Esme kept her gaze fixed on those deep amber eyes while muttering in a whisper-like tone. She wasn’t paying attention to her words, as this was a moment for her to admire something so beautiful.
The moonlight filtering through his amber eyes made its way towards her face, caressing them and causing her lips to curve into a small smile before she noticed that the same eyes were turning towards her.
“Woman from the street, really? Do you realize how that statement sounded, Esme?” Ryuk raised his eyebrows, hidden behind the mask, feeling amused as he looked at her nonchalant expression. He then noticed her eyes were not focused on his but elsewhere.
“I am jealous.” Esme finally spoke the words that had been lingering in her heart since the moment she saw him with the naked woman while both of them hugged each other. Esme’s eyes were fixed on his smile.
“And, how can I satisfy your jealousy?” Ryuk smiled upon seeing her playful antics, her head tilted as she looked up at him due to their height difference.
“Kiss me.” Her words were whispered but clear to his ears.
“Don’t regret it” He leaned down, their eyes meeting as he observed her parted lips, which seemed to be anticipating something.
In that moment, their lips met and were soon sealed.
