I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 225

Headmistress Damini and I didn’t need to go far into the grand hall before a familiar face came running up to me. The red-headed young beauty with twin tails was difficult to miss within the crowd, and several people were watching her approach.

“Spirit! It’s so good to see you!” She declared with a smile, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. “What are you doing?”

Her eyes darted between Lady Damini and me. It was clear she was afraid of saying too much with another woman present. The headmistress coughed awkwardly.

“Destiny. You don’t need to worry. I merely brought him here as my guest.” The headmistress explained quickly, trying to alleviate Destiny’s confused expression.

She seemed to come to a different conclusion, which caused Destiny to wear a confused look. “Huh? You brought him?”

“What I’m saying is we’re not together… he’s not my type, no, I mean…” When she noticed Destiny giving her a blank look, she began to realize she had misunderstood Destiny.

She glanced at me, but I only raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I didn’t know you saw things that way.”

“Ahem, I brought you in. Don’t cause any more trouble. I’ll go get a drink.” The headmistress quickly retreated to hide the reddening of her cheeks.

Destiny watched her leave with a somewhat confused expression, but then she shook her head and grabbed my arm, whispering directly in my ear. “Aren’t you supposed to be gone? You left with my sister and brother on an expedition!”

“Something came up and I had to return earlier,” I spoke softly in return, causing her face to turn pink.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked.

“Perhaps, I was just missing you?”

Her face turned a darker red, and she took a step back. “Wh-wh-wh-what are you saying?”

I chuckled softly. “Relax, I’m just teasing you. You can relax. The expedition is already finished and they are on their way home. Both your sister and brother are safe, as is your uncle.”

“That…” She put her hand over her mouth and then threw her arms around me unexpectedly. “Thank you!”

I was a bit surprised by her hug. I suppose she was more worried about her big sister and brother than she wanted to lead on publicly. It wasn’t uncommon for people to die on such a dangerous trip, so learning that everyone was safe must have released a long-running stress for her. I lightly patted her back, but I couldn’t help but think about her sister Fate. I had left her during quite a bad situation. She might be quite angry at me. I couldn’t help but let out another chuckle.

“Ahem… don’t you look quite pleased.” A voice came from behind us.

Destiny’s eyes opened, and she seemed to finally realize the situation where she was hugging a man who wasn’t her father or brother in the middle of a public event. The paragon families tended to be very reserved publicly, so such an act was considered quite bold. She immediately pushed back, her face now a deep red as she quickly fixed herself.

I turned to look at the woman who had just joined us. It was Tiffany Stride, and beside her was her fiancée, whose name I couldn’t remember. She was smiling playfully, but behind her eyes was a calculating gaze.

“I’m sorry, he just gave me some good news. There is nothing more to it.” She spoke defensively.

“You are still young, Destiny Lou; however, Young Master Capala, you should know better. As a young master of the Capala family, what would it look like if you flirted with women from other families?”

“F-flirt … h-he’s not-” Destiny looked very flustered by her accusation.

“You needn’t worry too much,” I responded in an unconcerned voice. “I have been growing quite close with the Lou family. In fact, it wouldn’t go amiss if Destiny wanted to call me big brother.”

“B-big brother?” Destiny gasped.

“That’s right.” I grinned.

Destiny’s face was now as red as her hair as she spoke in an agitated tone. “Wh-who would call you big brother?”

“Are you really going to flirt with her in public like that? Do you steal another man’s meal even though you have your own? Are you a man or a dog?” The man next to Tiffany spoke in an enraged voice.

“Hmm?” I glanced over at him. “And you are?”

Her fiancée had a sharp, angular face that seemed to be perpetually set to a sneer. He had cold, piercing blue eyes that held a calculating intelligence that surprisingly seemed to match Tiffany’s. However, where she contained an ounce of softness, he had an air of pure arrogance. His attire was impeccable, tailored to fit his lean, muscular frame. He appeared as a good fit for Tiffany on the surface, but deeper down, I saw that the two didn’t have personalities that would match each other.

I had a good eye for such things, so I could tell at a glance, but I was also smart enough to never give my opinion on such things. He stared at me as if I had just peed on his shoe, a mixture of stunned silence and disgust.

“I apologize, I never properly introduced him to you when we were last all together.” Tiffany skillfully cut in. “This is my fiancé, Timothy Boran.”

“Boran? Of the Arcford Great Families?”

His perpetual sneer grew. “That’s right. I’m from the main family line. I’m merely here to gain some experience before returning to Arcford with my wife.”

“Then, as someone else from an Arford Great Family, I should properly introduce myself as well.” I smiled, causing his eyebrow to twitch. “My name is Spirit Capala, fiancé to Abigail Capala.”

“So, you recognize that even as you openly try to seduce women who belong to other men?” He spat.

“If they belonged to other men, then they probably wouldn’t be so easy to seduce,” I responded thoughtfully. “For example, if your young Lady had so little interest in you that she began to chase me, isn’t it merely because you’re lacking?”

“You dare?” He stepped forward, but was stopped by Tiffany.

“Relax, my lord, he’s just trying to get a rise out of you,” Tiffany spoke firmly. “I’m thirsty, could you get us both drinks?”

“What?” He blinked and then snorted. “Be lucky this is someone else’s property, and it’d be rude to cause a scene.”

He turned and walked away. Tiffany took a step away, but then glanced back at me, a cold smile on her face.

“Be lucky I’m not chasing you. If I were, I wonder how long you’d last.”

“You never know,” I responded. “I’m quite durable.”

She snorted, turning and then following after her fiancé.

“What is their problem?” Destiny asked.

“Not every family relies on strength to obtain power,” I responded.

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” I shook my head as Destiny looked at me questioningly.

“Spirit Capala…” A new person approached me before she could ask any questions, though.

This man was older, with a balding head and a portly stomach. Compared to many of the paragons I had met, he looked more like a tradesman than a noble. However, I didn’t recognize him at all.

“You are?”

“Oh, you haven’t met me, but I’ve heard a great deal about you. I believe I did you a great favor.” He chuckled as he rubbed his hands.

“Did you?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Spirit!” Destiny hissed, pulling on the back of my shirt. “This is our host.”

I blinked as understanding filled me. “That’s right, you would be Lord Blanche, then?”

I presented my hand to shake.

He nodded as he took my hand. “You know, when my son came running into town begging to save his sister, I had to pull every connection I had to bring someone capable of rescuing her. Of course, you also appeared to be rescued at the same time. I never would have expected that the random man rescued alongside my daughter would end up being the young master and fiancé to the Capala family.”

“It’s funny how things work,” I responded, noting he was squeezing my hand quite tightly.

“That, it is.” He stared into my eyes. “You know, the debt of using Mirage Sagebush’s services was exceptional. I heard that you were also put in great debt.”

As he spoke, his eyes shifted to my arm where the debtor seal sat. In truth, I hadn’t thought much of the debt. I still had a lot of time, and I had already paid off half of it. With the wyvern body, let alone the wyvern eggs, there was no reason I wouldn’t be able to raise the money to pay off the other half.

However, the news of my debt was something only known to the Capalas and Blanche. I didn’t doubt others knew about it, but it appeared like this man was publicly revealing that I owed the debt to a warden. It was hard to see what his motives were. Perhaps, he simply wanted it displayed that I was a financial burden to the Capalas.

“You don’t need to worry.” I smiled, squeezing back. “I pay my debts.”

He nodded, finally letting go. “As do I. It’s time for the banquet. Do stay and enjoy the announcement.”

There was a slight glimmer in his eyes.

“I plan to,” I responded simply.