"You can sense it, can't you?" Ryuk asked with a solemn expression on his face.
Laura was shocked by what she felt while Max quickly recovered from his initial shock as he noticed that something was off.
He turned to look at Ryuk with the latter meeting his gaze. "…Do you sense it?"
Nathan furrowed his brows as he realized that things were not as simple as Ryuk was making it out to be.
Apart from Ella's broke soul, there seemed to be something… hidden. He tried to probe but was left even more curious as his search turned up nothing.
Noting the look in Ryuk's eyes, Max could tell that he was trying to get him to figure out something important.
Max suddenly smiled as he shook his head. "How did her soul turn out like that?"
Ryuk showed a disappointed look for a brief moment before reverting to a solemn gaze. "It's a long story, I wouldn't want to bore you with the stories of a poor old man like me."
Max nodded as Laura asked. "Is there no way to help her recover?"
Ryuk pursed his lips. "There is no way, unfortunately. All I can hope for is that I would be able to find a guardian to protect her after I am gone."
He rubbed Ella's cheek with the latter leaning into his palm but still showed no reaction.
"So why did those nobles want her life?" Max asked once again.
"Due to Ella's broken soul, she can't perceive the world the way we do which causes people to see her as… mad. Unfortunately, she ended up meeting with those nobles.
"It was merely an accident. The noble miss was taking a walk around the marketplace when Ella ran into her and dirtied her attire. It was all an accident but she took it too far and wanted to punish her accordingly." Ryuk sighed.
"Thankfully you helped us else my daughter would have suffered at the hands of those nobles."
Max did not know why but he felt as though the old man was exaggerating. For some reason, Ryuk gave him an impression of a hidden danger waiting to explode.
But this led him to a nagging question at the back of his mind. Why exactly did he allow Cedric and his group to bully him and his daughter?
He just could not understand it.
Just then, Laura's voice broke the silence at the table. "I'm sure that bitch only attacked because she was jealous of how cute Ella is."
Ryuk chuckled slightly as he flashed a proud smile. "I agree, after all, my sweet daughter is the most beautiful lady on the continent."
All this while, the teen that sat beside Ryuk on his right had a resigned expression on his face as he remained silent.
Max turned his attention to him, temporarily placing the questions he had about Ryuk's life, on hold.
He had auburn-colored hair with dark paint around his eyes that looked a lot like makeup. Brown eyes, a small nose, and a circular face.
He was currently dressed in a brown cotton shirt with black trousers with belt and a sandals to match.
He seemed more like the reserved type but judging from his previous actions, Max realized that he must also have secrets of his own.
Naturally, every person had one or two secrets but as far as Max could tell, both Ryuk and the teen were harboring secrets that might just prove to be a source of headache for him.
But even then, he felt strangely attracted. His curiosity got the better of him and thus he spoke up. "What about you?"
The auburn-haired teen looked up in his direction. "Me?"
Max nodded. "Yeah, who are you?"
The auburn teen pursed his lips, almost as though he was considering replying to Max's question. After a minute or so, he decided to go along with things for now.
"My name is Garth."
Max put up a brow. "Just Garth?"
He nodded his head. "There's no need to know where I'm from. I came to the city to take part in the magic tournament… that's it."
Max wanted to probe further but Ryuk stopped him. "Garth is a good kid. I owe him for helping me and my daughter. Without his help, I would have died while holding Ella. There's no need to question him so much."
Max seemed unwilling but ultimately agreed as he returned to his soup. For now, eat, he would bother himself with them later.
If it was truly fate that brought them together then surely it would happen again, eventually.
Soon they were done eating after which Laura promptly paid the bill while asking if there was some sort of discount since they ordered several dishes.
Max felt the urge to pull out her nose hairs one at a time due to her shameless haggling.
"Ma'am we are a restaurant, we don't haggle."
"Oh come on, not even a little bit?"
"…"
Ten minutes of haggling only served to waste their time as Laura paid the full fees while cursing inwardly.
If she had the chance, she'd definitely not eat with so many people again nor would she try to be generous to pay for everything.
As they walked out of the establishment, Max turned to share a few more words with their new acquaintance.
"I hope you take better care of yourself and Ella, it's not every day you'd be lucky like today."
Ryuk nodded. "I understand. Thank you once again for your help. I look forward to seeing you once again."
With that said, the old man picked up Ella and began to walk away, his steps measured as he moved toward an unknown destination.
As Max and Laura watched Ryuk's retreating back, they heard Garth's words. "I will be on my way now."
By the time Max turned to face him, the latter had already turned and was moving in a different direction from Ryuk.
Max called out. "Hey."
The latter paused in his tracks, turning to face him. "Yes?"
Max walked up to him and reached out to grab his shoulder. "I don't know if I should say this but you did something noteworthy today. You saved a defenseless man and his daughter from the onslaught of those idiotic nobles.
"But I think it's best if you think your actions through next time. If not for my companion's timely intervention, you would have died alongside those you were trying to protect.
"In our world, the strong are the ones that get to decide whether to protect or destroy. As long as you haven't reached that level, I hope you do not go courting death so recklessly as you did today. Courage is good, but courage without the strength to back it up would just be taken as the ramblings of a dog.
"Sometimes It's best not to do anything than to do something and lose out even more than you hoped to gain." Max finished his speech as he flashed Garth a smile.
The latter stared at him for a minute or so before putting up his arm and pushing Max's palm away. "I understand what you are trying to say but there are times when even that shameless courage can help one achieve his goal.
"Even though you are thinking of my well-being, in the end, I will do what I want."
Max sighed as he nodded in understanding. "Then that's fine. I hope you can stand strong once the storm comes."
Max could care less that a foolhardy individual would so willingly rush forward to court death. As he had already given a warning and he still chose not to listen, then there was no need to bother anymore.
Instead of pointless words, Max knew. "Experience will always be the best teacher."
With that, Max no longer bothered with him as he turned to leave, Laura following closely behind him, that is, not before glancing at Garth one last time.