"...Y-young miss? Please heal my child." The woman ignored the man and focused on the white-dressed woman beside him, unwilling to trust the man who sought to sell his medicine by exploiting their vulnerability.
"...." Ryuk could only blankly observe everything.
[Told you, Host, you should have asked for more coins; now they doubt the quality of the medicine.]
The system explained that according to typical human psychology, people tend to judge the true worth of things based on their outward appearance.
This was meant to make his host, who had simply added a copper coin to seem genuine and not like a conman pretending to be charitable, more aware of the situation.
Unaware that it was unneeded.
"So, Esme, I was saying 1 copper for the vial and 1 gold coin for the medicine inside, but knowing you well, I can give them a discount of 1 copper. So now it will be 1 gold coin," Ryuk informed with a smile.
He wasn't going to make these people believe in him, and of course, he was not going to withhold the medicine from those who couldn't afford it, but until then.
"....Shouldn't you decrease the price?" Esme looked at him, already understanding the reason for him to increase the cost, prompting her to play along.
"No, the discount is only a copper coin," Ryuk stated firmly, not giving away a single opening for them to see through.
"Not even if I compensate with my—" Esme saw an opportunity and jumped at it, but it seemed that her bad luck and his good luck were perfectly aligned.
"...I-i want to purchase it!" A man called out from behind, holding his son who was curled up in pain, his breathing becoming heavy.
Despite everything, he would have purchased it the first time if not for that random woman's interference.
"Very well, you can take it," Ryuk said, tossing the vial without concern for it breaking. The glass was infused with mana, making it resilient enough to withstand collisions with the ground or even a ton of weight.
This was all thanks to mana's versatility, which allowed it to be easily converted into any form.
This enabled the replacement of weak nuclear forces with strong nuclear forces, covering the glass's molecular structure with tetrahedral bonding, much like a diamond.
TING-TING
The vial had fallen to the ground, prompting the man's trembling hand to reach for it.
He feared the potential side-effects that could harm his child.
With only his modest strength at ADEPT rank, he felt powerless against the retaliation posed by the Flagbearer if he afterwards blamed him.
But, as the saying goes, even a small drop of sweat becomes more precious than a gem in the desert.
"A-are you really going to risk your child's life?" a woman asked, clutching her son tightly and watching in alarm as the man, unaware of the vial's effects, brought it toward his own son's mouth.
"Just look at the color of that thing."
"Please, think again."
"SHUT UP!" the man shouted, consumed by desperation. Among them all, his son's condition was the most dire.
Creeikk~
"Are you sleeping?" Esme entered the house after an hour, her eyes first falling on the man in the black suit lying on the sofa. She approached him, adding, "Don't you need to clean up or remove it if it gets too hot?"
"...Nah, it's more comfortable wearing this," Ryuk lazily replied, still covering his eyes with his hand as he heard her approaching footsteps.
'....' He peeked from the corner of his hand when he felt her lie down directly on him, not minding at all as she rested her head on his firm chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Both of them lay on top of each other on the sofa; due to its size, their front bodies were in contact, separated only by a thin layer of white and black fabric.
"...I didn't earn anything," she whispered softly, not moving even though the position was slightly uncomfortable but somewhat warming. Closing her eyes gently, she added, "I will pay you back with interest one day, will that be fine?"
'.....' Hearing her soft voice, Ryuk removed his hand from his eyes and slowly moved it through her hair, caressing down towards her spine, delicately tracing a path before halting on a curve, his other hand wrapping around her waist.
"I can't wait for your first interest," he murmured in the dimly lit room, their heartbeats racing, yet another soft voice broke through the silence, "Can I ask you something?"
"....yes?" Ryuk's fingers continued to trace the curvy path as his eyes remained closed with finally feeling her hair strands, cascading down her shoulder.
His mind was fixed on her silver hair, prompting him to recall a memory of someone special.
A smile formed on his face, yet vanished instantly as he remembered that he had indeed forgotten to feed his hand-cooked dishes to that foodie.
"What is your name?" Esme inquired breaking his thoughts, lifting her head slightly to meet his eyes, which also opened upon hearing her question.
"You don't know my name yet?" Ryuk asked, slightly amused that he had never shared his name, wrapping his arms tighter around her and whispering, "It's Ryuk. Just Ryuk."
"...hmm, it's a good name," Esme replied, burying her head again on his chest, her eyes not meeting his, prompting him to ask, "Say it."
"I will not," Esme directly rejected.
"Huh, where did that come from?" Ryuk asked, perplexed by Esme's refusal to say his name.
"I just don't want to call you by name." Not caring a bit about his gaze, she kept her decision firm, though feeling happy to finally know his name.
"Don't tell me you want to call me 'Husband' or 'Hubby'?" Ryuk didn't retreat either, straightforwardly asking since this was not unique in his previous world.
He belonged to a traditional society back then where women didn't call their husbands by name out of respect— Which was slightly confusing even for him, but traditions are meant to be followed.
"...." Esme lifted her gaze again, glaring at him a bit before standing up.
SWISH
"Bye, you can sleep on the sofa. I'm going to my room," Esme announced abruptly, standing and moving towards the stairs. Ryuk watched her blankly, still not understanding what had just happened.
Once again proving a fact,
A woman is difficult to understand, especially when she is in love!
When she truly loves you, you can't understand her logically, NEVER.