"I’ll pick that one," Ryuk said as his hand reached for a pair of white clothes and trousers, seemingly made from some fluffy wool.
The clothes were sparkling white and new, and Ryuk loved them. Once he tucked them into his arms, he continued his search for more clothes.
"Hey, you didn’t answer my question."
"Do you satisfya a form somewhere before?"
"Do you hate her?"
Quinn asked as Ryuk finally found another cloth that caught his curiosity.
His hand reached for it, inspecting the design.
"Is greeting her some sort of official rule in this place?" Ryuk replied casually, taking Quinn aback as he stared at Ryuk’s back while his hands fiddled with the clothes.
The simple question caused Quinn to feel a little shaken since there truly wasn’t any such rule, but he had his defense.
"Well, it’s always good to be nice to everyone. You don’t know when you’ll walk right into the fated person who will help improve your life."
"Such a person won’t be lost if you were nice to everyone in your path," Quinn said, but Ryuk chuckled.
"That’s a belief of yours, not mine," he replied coolly.
"Huh?"
"You see, you greet people and try to be good to them, to the point of unnecessary flattery, even when they don’t give a damn about you. Like that lady right there. She didn’t give a damn about your existence. I bet she would keep reading her book even if a hole was blown through your head and you were said to be in a fata state."
"Huh?"
"She wouldn’t give a damn still, so why try to please her and flatter her when she won’t care whether you live or die?" He as his eyes found another white shirt and trousers that he found appealing.
He picked them up, but he never knew just how much shock he gave to Quinn, whose lips moved and closed repeatedly, trying to form words.
All his life, Quinn believed in being good and nice to people, never wanting to annoy anyone and always striving to please them.
But then, did these people even care about whether he lived or died?
Would they shed a tear for him if he were reported to be dead?
Most likely not.
So then, why was he trying to flatter them and be good to them? For what reason?
"Well, if you’re respectful to everyone, then you might just meet the lucky person who will help raise your life to the next level," Quinn defended with a chuckle, but Ryuk turned a raised eyebrow to him.
"You’re very naive," he said calmly before turning away and looking for another set of clothes.
"Why did you say that?" Quinn asked.
"Because you believe someone will come to save you. You believe someone will come to your rescue one day and elevate you. But from the place I come from, that is a stupid and fantasy-driven dream.
"You believe your shining knight on a white horse will come to save you?"
"You really think there is someone out there who wakes up in the morning and gives a single damn about trying to make your life better? And you think by being nice to everybody, you will find them?"
"I know very well that only I can save myself, so I don’t really give a damn about others or what they think about me."
"Do you know why you’re ranked 59?" Ryuk suddenly asked, as he watched the boy furrow his eyebrows in confusion.
"You ignore your own self, your own potential for growth, thinking the key to your success is in the hands of others."
"For that and you’ve become nothing but a fucking walking apology and treated like trash by others. Well, not like your character didn’t make you one." Ryuk said Indifferently though it faded when he found another beautiful piece of clothing and reached for it, picking it up with shining eyes.
"What the—? What the hell are you saying? You’re joking, right?" Quinn asked in disbelief.
Right now, his firm pillar of belief was turned in the most brutish way possible, and his eyes widened at the brutal truth of his pathetic existence.
He had never thought of it the way Ryuk had said it, nor had anyone ever voiced such a thing to him.
Yet he found himself unable to counter any of Ryuk’s words, further numbing him.
Somehow, he felt the boy wasn’t wrong, yet somehow, he found something in himself strongly refusing Ryuk’s words, telling him there was no reasoning behind it.
Ryuk had barely known him for a few hours. How could he judge his life and call it trash? He never witnessed his story.
If he had walked the same path with him, then he might be qualified. But right now, he was unable to judge his life.
But if Ryuk was wrong, then why couldn’t he muster a defense against his words?
"Well, everyone has their opinion of you. I guess that’s mine."
"You can take it any way you want to. Doesn’t really mean much, does it?" Ryuk replied as he finally picked up the last piece of clothing.
The reply gave Quinn some breathing space.
’Right, it’s just his opinion. It doesn’t necessarily dictate anything about me. I don’t have to listen to it,’ he thought, heaving a sigh of relief.
But soon, he noticed something strange about Ryuk’s picking.
"Anyway, why are you only picking white shirts and trousers and ignoring the rest?" he asked Ryuk, who shrugged.
"I just love white clothes," he replied as he looked at the clothes in his hands and nodded satisfactorily.
Each cloth was soft on his arm, almost weightless, yet very thick. Ryuk found it almost impossible to tear them no matter how hard he pulled or dragged.
This should be enough for him to wear in a fight. He didn’t want to fight and have his clothes tearing up.
But he also didn’t want something baggy that would slow him down.
Besides, Ryuk’s element right now was the snow. He just felt it would be better and more effective if he used his Frost Veil skills while wearing white, he felt it might allow him to fade easily into the snow, making him harder to detect.
It was a better option compared to clothes of any other color, so he found it more pleasing.
"I’m done with the clothes. You aren’t choosing any clothes yourself?" Ryuk asked as he looked at Quinn and saw he wasn’t really picking up anything.
"No, there is no need. I have enough clothes already," Quinn said, and Ryuk found his explanation reasonable.
"Good. Now, let’s get back," Ryuk said as Quinn nodded before turning back, and both of them headed toward the exit.