KNOCK
KNOCK
The sound of knocking rang on the door.
STEP
STEP
STEP
He could hear the sound of footsteps, and in just a moment, the knob was twisted open.
Right before him stood a charming, golden-haired, and golden-eyed woman.
Her eyes blinked twice, matching the pace at which Ryuk’s eyes also unconsciously blinked back.
"Hello, Mrs..." He had yet to complete the sentence when he felt the deep embrace that silenced him.
She didn’t say much, but he could feel the silent sobbing.
It took him by surprise, as he knew Mrs. Lynia is to be an exceptionally strong woman.
This wasn’t like her, but somehow, it melted him as he embraced her gently.
"You..." she eventually forced out, after parting from him, a gleaming smile forming on her face that soon morphed into anger as she shouted,
"You’re grounded for a month!"
"Waaaaaaah!" he called out as he felt his hand grabbed and dragged into the house, the door shutting with a loud
BAAAANG!
______
"A week-long quest on a desolate planet, huh. Must be easy work for a kiddo from Grade E," Old Jack’s words echoed across the living room, boisterous as ever, and Ryuk grinned.
But then—
"Hmph!"
The loud "hmph" echoed out as Mrs. Lynia walked past, causing Old Jack’s mood to shift from pride to sad.
"But you know, she was really worried for you. You weren’t replying to the messages, although I doubt you could even find service on such a desolate, faraway place."
"Still, it was worrying," he said, this time, truly seriously.
And that truly was the truth, although only half of it. Not only had his wife been worried, but he had also been, after a week of sending various messages with no reply.
Even after they received the message where Ryuk mentioned he might not come home that night, it only eased their fears for the first night.
By the third day, things took a sharp turn.
Even in the last two days, Old Jack had found it hard to close his eyes at night.
The thoughts, mostly negative, were what came to him the most when he lay in bed, keeping him awake.
But now that Ryuk was here, he could finally exhale in peace.
"I also never knew it would take so long. I’m sorry," Ryuk said quietly, but his shoulder was grabbed by Old Jack, who wiggled the sadness off of him.
"You’re back, and you’re okay. That matters more," he said reassuringly, before getting off the sofa and waving him off.
"Go get some rest."
"You’ve been at it for a week now, and I’m guessing you couldn’t sleep the whole way because, of course, you were worried sick about me," he added with a grin that made Ryuk roll his eyes.
"You wish."
Old Jack only laughed at him before disappearing up the stairs.
Ryuk remained on the sofa for a while, resting against it.
The softness gave him the illusion he was slowly sinking in, his eyes closing... but then he sighed, a sound a nearby individual didn’t fail to notice.
"Hey, you okay?" Mrs. Lynia asked as Ryuk’s eyes opened.
"I am," he said with a reassuring smile, but it didn’t stop Mrs. Lynia from coming to sit beside him.
Even though those otherworldly shimmering eyes tried to hide it away, she could see it very clearly.
The worries in the depths of them.
"Tell me what you’re worried about, Ryuk," she said, brushing his white hair with a reassuring smile.
His irises moved to the side, but she brought them back with two gentle taps on his head.
"I... I..." he tried to say, but failed twice.
Still, Mrs. Lynia’s expression revealed her focused attention.
"I’ve... just been thinking about her," he finally admitted, and Mrs. Lynia’s eyes gleamed.
"Awwwwwn. Someone’s missing their little girlfriend?" She said playfully, watching the pink hue that immediately colored his cheeks.
"I do," he whispered faintly, and Mrs. Lynia giggled.
"I just don’t know what she’s really up to, and... that’s a bit worrying," he added, and her giggling stopped, her eyebrows creasing faintly.
"I think I should have told you why we allowed her to stay back at the Main Family ground," Mrs. Lynia said slowly.
"But... I figured there was no one but her who could explain it to you. Even her reason for staying was also a bit...," She paused, searching for the word, before she finally said,
"Confusing, to us both, too."
The answer made Ryuk’s heart thump faster by a beat.
Of course, he had been okay with Morgaine not being around, because he trusted that if she was somewhere else, it must be with Mrs. Lynia and Old Jack’s approval.
Mrs. Lynia, in particular, and Ryuk trusted her.
But now that she mentioned her explanation for leaving had been confusing even to her, it made him wonder just what was really happening.
"Tomorrow is the 15th, right?" Mrs. Lynia called out, and Ryuk nodded.
"She should be home tomorrow," she reassured, with a smile.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lynia. I’ll be going to sleep now," he said, and she nodded.
"Goodnight, Ryuk," she waved as he disappeared into his room.
She switched off the light in the living room before going upstairs to her room.
_________
"Finally back home," Ryuk whispered to himself as he collapsed onto the bed, feeling the familiar warmth.
Only when he was back home did he realize how much he missed being on his cozy bed.
[There’s something suspicious about Morgaine’s actions in the Dominare Main Family Grounds.]
The system notification blinked in front of Ryuk, pulling his attention back, and he stayed silent for a moment before nodding his head.
’Yes. I can feel it too.’
[You can go check on her now, you know. I don’t think it will take an hour. You only need not be seen, after all, the system added.
And truly, it was a tempting idea, but Ryuk shook his head.
’The last time I got into that place, I caused quite the turmoil,’ he said, thinking back to his fight with one of the Elder Nogarasuke.
’I have a feeling that going there a second time will cause trouble. If I sneak in and get discovered, I don’t know how that may also affect Morgaine.’
’She got her tutoring Elder imprisoned after the last episode, after all, although I think that went down well.’
’Still...’
[I get. That’s reasonable,]
’If she gets back home tomorrow, I’ll ask,’ he said, burying himself under the mattress.
’I guess... I’ll check up on the others then,’ he thought, holding the abyssal chains in his hands.
He had gotten them back from Odette before leaving.
’I wonder if we’ve already reached the Upper Realm...’