After the dinner, Ryuk spent a couple more hours at home before eventually deciding to move out and get some things done.
Meeting up with Odette.
When he stepped outside, he didn't need to walk for too long before he found an Amun driver and quickly boarded.
Ten minutes later, Ryuk got down, mixing with the crowds for some time before he branched into a dark alleyway, devoid of any living soul.
Stretching out his hands, his void grimoire appeared, and a vortex soon spiraled in front of him.
Stepping in, he completely disappeared from the alleyway, and when he reappeared, he was standing atop a mansion, by whose side was the mansion Odette had forcefully taken control of.
He had not teleported directly into it, as he didn't know what state the mansion was in, or if it had been forcefully taken back.
The latter was more expected, but surprisingly, everything looked calm.
There were no danger tags written everywhere, no Archguards walking around the mansion, nor cracks that showed signs of battle.
People continued their walk like things were normal and nothing had changed.
With one more step, Ryuk disappeared and reappeared inside the mansion's gate, taking steps forward and approaching the large golden door.
He raised his hand to knock, but paused when he turned to the side and found a white letter left on the stairs.
"Oh?" he mused silently under his breath, bending to pick up the letter.
On it were the words:
From the Mundus Family.
"The Mundus?" Ryuk muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing at the familiarity.
He recognized it a second later.
The Mundus. That was the surname of the old man who owned the mansion.
But why would they even send a letter to Odette? he wondered silently, when—
The sound of the golden door opening on its own echoed loudly as Ryuk turned to look in.
This ought to be the living room of the house, but it was like a golden throne room for a king.
Everything was gold: the sofa, the five chandeliers in the ceiling, the floors beneath him that rippled out a golden light with every step.
Everything reeked of luxury, but even in this lavish building, one person seemed to command all the attention for herself.
A purple-skinned lady in a black crown sat on the largest of the sofas, staring straight at Ryuk.
It was Odette, and she had changed her clothing from her dark, eye-catching armor to something more… humane.
It was a pristine white evening gown that clung to her curves and pooled like liquid silk around her feet.
At the side of it was a daring thigh-high slit that showed a glimpse of her leg, which was currently crossed over the other, making them seem even more defined.
Her mere sight right now would make most men swallow hard, blood rushing faster through their heads.
All he had on his face was a bit of relief, probably from the fact that she was still here, or that she had finally gotten rid of that eye-catching armor of hers.
"You're late," she said as he fully stepped in, the door behind him shutting close.
"I was a bit tired from everything, so I slept off," he responded.
"Slept for five days?" she asked with a smirk, watching his expression.
There wasn't much change in it.
"Yes, I was," he replied simply, and she could tell it was the truth.
"Anyway, I found this letter by the entrance," he said, bringing out the envelope.
She wasn't that surprised to see it, almost like she had expected it.
"Yes. Some Angel left it there two days ago," she said, and Ryuk paused.
"And you didn't feel curious enough to check it out?" he asked.
"I was waiting for you to bring it to me," she responded with a grin that made Ryuk's eyebrow twitch.
For some reason, he felt like ripping the envelope apart, but curiosity got the better of him.
"Whatever," he muttered under his breath, unfurling the envelope. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveIꜰire.net
He opened the folded paper inside, and Odette watched his eyes shift from side to side, his expression changing from calm to disbelief.
Her eyes shone with a faint dark light, and once again, his thoughts became accessible to her, letting her read the letter as his mind interpreted it.
When the true reality of you having seized for yourself my mansion settled upon me, the obvious move to take would have been to summon the Ammamoran Guardians.
But I have come to realize that the obvious move isn't always the right one.
After three days of thought, I've decided you're not an enemy I want to waste resources on. Instead, you are a force I'd rather work with.
You beat my best guards with relative ease, and I came to realize that taking the mansion back by force would only give me a building.
Something irrelevant and purposeless.
Keeping you as an ally, instead, would give me far more.
That's why I'm letting you keep the mansion.
Not as a surrender, but as my first gesture to you.
No weapons, nor guards. Just a conversation.
I have work that needs strength, skill, and the will to win.
You, Madam, have proven to me you have those.
Three days from this letter, in the popular Dorothia Garden, exactly 100 kilometers away, by the first sight of sunset.
I'll be there, by the side of the Dorothia waterfall, waiting for you.
The mansion is yours, with no conditions except that you speak with me.
The letter brought clear changes.
For one, Odette's grin widened, a faint chuckle leaving her lips, as she looked at him.
The face of someone who just had his understanding of the world completely flipped upside down.
He stood there rooted in shock, the letter silently slipping from his grasp.