Ryuk’s words somehow resonated still with Morgaine.
While it was true, her mother really acts cold so much and callous so many times with her words, the truth was undoubtable. She loved her so much.
So what if she couldn’t always show that all the time?
What she needed was the affirmation, and that was already enough.
And for people always being so respectful to her, just as Ryuk stated, bad people would treat her badly, and the good people would treat her with the respect she deserved, princess or not.
So if everyone treated her well, wasn’t it a win-win case all year round?
And yet she felt sad.
For what? Bad people not treating her badly? Or good people treating her how they would normally have treated her anyway?
In the end, his words made so much sense, yet looking at him, he looked just like the everyday dumb-looking kid.
"You dickhead! You called me dumb!" Morgaine said as she kicked at Ryuk’s feet, causing him to wince in pain.
Her kicks were somehow so strong.
"Even if you see me as a classmate, I am still a girl at least, not a guy, you dickhead!" she said with a hump as Ryuk rolled his eyes.
"A girl or boy? What is the difference?" he asked, and Morgaine rolled her eyes.
"Stop messing with me. A woman, lady, or girl must be treated with respect and care! That’s basic information."
"Basic information, huh? I don’t really know. I have only seen a woman once or twice in Grade E. Only here do they seem to be everywhere."
"And I wonder why girls should be treated with respect anyway. They don’t seem that much different from men, right?" Ryuk asked innocently, and Morgaine hmphed.
"Women are much weaker, you know. For that reason, they need care and affection and respect," she said as Ryuk’s raised an eyebrow.
"Women are much weaker? But I’m pretty sure the half-Fallen one is easily the strongest Falen in this area, and you yourself can most likely defeat all of the geniuses in te Arisen Hall, male or female, in a fair fight..."
"How is a woman weak at all?" Ryuk stated, rolling his eyes at her as if she was dumb, and Morgaine was lost for words.
’Is he pulling my leg? If so, he must be pretty good at keeping a straight face while doing so,’ Morgaine thought, harrumphing before angrily diving into her food.
Unknown to her, Ryuk truly saw no difference between a boy and a girl. Grade B’s structure of perception was vastly different from Grade E.
What was considered societal norms didn’t exist in Grade E, so when Ryuk was exposed to things he was not formerly aware of, he questioned them, making him look like he was joking when he was, in fact, not doing so.
Both dived into their food, and eventually, the dishes were wiped clean of food. Morgaine managed to eat more due to her anger, and Ryuk was already starved for a week, making his stomach’s capacity nearly endless.
It still shocked him how he ate without really having a stomach, but he didn’t care that much about it.
Rising up, he asked, "And where is the kitchen?"
"It’s down below. Why?" Morgaine asked as she watched Ryuk begin packing up the dishes, but then his hand got grabbed by Morgaine, stopping him.
"Don’t tell me you’re planning on washing the dishes yourself?" she said, as Ryuk nodded his head.
"Of course."
"Don’t! That is what the maids are paid for."
"This is how they earn their means of livelihood. Do the washing yourself, and you deprive them of their reason for being here, throwing everything into disorder."
Let them do what they do best!" Morgaine said, this time seriously, and Ryuk thought about it for a while with furrowed eyebrows before he found sense in her words.
If the maids were hired here for that reason, then he doing it might truly upset the chaos. Just like how the instructors were hired to tutor the students.
If Ryuk tried pretending he was an instructor and lecturing the students, it would upset the balance in the academy, and that was wrong.
He nodded with understanding as Morgaine released his hands before she rose to her feet and headed outside.
---
10 minutes later, Ryuk was back in the room he had left from previously.
His eyes subconsciously tried to look outside, and he found it was gradually closing in on nighttime.
"I feel sleepy..." Ryuk mused as he moved to his bed before waving off Morgaine.
"What?"
"This is a castle, right? So there should be more than one room. Go to your room..." Ryuk stated as Morgaine looked at him before harrumphing.
"And why can’t I sleep on the same bed as you?"
"Because you’re a girl, duh," Ryuk stated, as Morgaine harrumphed coldly.
"Oh, you dickhead! You finally know the difference between a girl and a boy now, don’t you?" she asked with faint anger, feeling betrayed, as Ryuk chuckled and dove into his mattress before whispering.
"Goodnight, Morgaine..."
The second he said that, all movement ceased from Ryuk, his breathing coming to an absolute relax.
’And he’s out so fast?’ Morgaine thought to herself before she gave him one last look, ensured the mattress covered him well, and then headed out, switching off the light.
"Goodnight, Ryuk."
The door closed, and silence followed in Ryuk’s room for a while as the sound of marginal footsteps fully faded away.
Ryuk’s eyes flashed open as he sat down properly from his bed.
"Hey Isha?" Ryuk called in his head, and immediately, a long silvery-scaled python appeared in Ryuk’s lap, its forked tongue covering out and dancing over Ryuk’s eyes as he smiled brilliantly.
"You’re finally awake," Ryuk called as Isha gave a loud "SSSS" sound as if in understanding of Ryuk’s words.
"I had thought you would never appear at all during the test. Yet, you managed to save my life at the most important point."
"Thank you, Isha..."