I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 238

“So, it is you after all.” Tiffany relaxed her shoulders slightly. “You’re the man I encountered outside the city riding that wolf. Exactly who are you, again?”

I gave an awkward smile. I had actually removed my mask, planning to reveal myself to her, but I had forgotten I restructured my face. As a result, she saw the face I had been using as a disguise when I pulled off my mask. Of course, I could drop the disguise now, but that also meant explaining how I could change my face. If people knew I could change my face at will, it would make it harder to hide in the future.

I decided it was better to lean into this new identity. I could see in her eyes that she had already expected to see this face. A mysterious man shows up outside of town riding a wolf, and suddenly, a masked man of unknown abilities appears from time to time doing nefarious acts; it would only make sense to her.

I had based it on a pickpocket I had known. He said he was very good at his job, not because of his hands, but because of his face. Even if someone caught him, he could escape into the crowd, and no one would be able to pick him out in a lineup. It turned out his face was generic. Something with no features that could be pointed to.  I had picked it for that reason. He appeared to be about twenty-five with brown hair and brown eyes. He was less attractive than my true face. Plain and forgettable in every sense of the word.

So, I didn’t quite understand why Tiffany was looking at me so intently.

“What is it?” I frowned.

She blinked, looking away. “I’ve tried to discover your identity among the local paragon families, but have failed to find it.”

I gave a half smile. “Why do you assume I’m from a paragon family?”

She rolled her eyes. “Do you expect me to believe you’re an isomer? How silly. You belong to a family. However, perhaps you’ve changed your face.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You think I’ve changed my face?”

“There are many skills and inherited mutations that can allow people do all kinds of abnormal things,” Tiffany responded. “Or, you could have paid someone to change your face for you. I’ve heard of power paragons called skinwalkers who might be able to do something like that.”

“Now we’re discussing cryptids?” I asked in disbelief, a somewhat mocking smile on my face.

“Of course, if you were from the Lyn family, you would do whatever it takes.” My expression froze for just a moment, but she was watching me very carefully.

She must have noticed the hesitation in my expression, as she immediately put on a satisfied expression.

“I’m not from the Lyn family,” I told her coldly.

“I would never assume you were,” she responded, her expression flickering contentedly. “You did mention both the Capala and the Lyn family the time we met in my room. It seems like you do have some connection with them after all.”

I had to give it to Tiffany. She was very adept at that. Even knowing she was trying to get information out of me, she still managed to learn something. Of course, she was nowhere near the truth, but having tied me to the Lyn family was already worrisome. If she kept pushing, would Mara’s identity be exposed? Perhaps it was better to lean into the lie.

“My name is Tom,” I spoke up. “I have no last name. I was raised in a small sect by monks. According to them, my father and mother had been running from powerful people. My father died trying to save my mother, and my mother died shortly after in childbirth. I do not know their names.”

I had made up this story on the spot. This was my way of protecting Mara. There was enough of the story that anyone who looked into it might believe it to be the truth. However, they’d believe I was Tanner and Carolina’s child, not Mara. As for whether she believed me or not, that depended on Tiffany. She stared at me for a long bit and then glanced away.

Her knowing smile had slipped slightly, and then she broke into coughing. When she held up her hand, it was covered in blood. She grimaced.

“I’m sorry, Tom.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll be alive much longer. Without my circuits, I can’t repair the internal damage I received. I’ll likely be dead by tomorrow, no matter what happens. On the upside, you don’t need to worry, your secret will be safe with me.”

I bit my lip and then let out a growl. “The technique that you acquired…”

Her eyes widened. “Ah… that’s right. A powerful A-class technique.”

She went for her robes, but I shook my head and stopped her by pulling the scroll out. “I’ve already taken it.”

She looked at my hands, blinked, and then made a soft laugh. “I suppose I should have seen that coming. Perhaps it is for the best. I had no means of protecting it. If I had kept it on me, it would have been destroyed on the journey here.”

“That’s not the point I want to speak to you about,” I told her solemnly. “This technique… offers a means of saving you.”

She blinked, giving me a guarded expression. “What do you mean by that?”

“The technique is a type of healing technique,” I explained. “It allows someone to inject their energy into someone else, and then by circulating it, repair damage that has been done. If I used it on you, I could not only repair your internal damage, but I could restore your circuit, and you would be restored as a paragon.”

Her eyes widened, but then she grew suspicious. “What do you want to use the technique for?”

“Nothing,” I responded.

“You…” She tried to sit up but found that she couldn’t.

“It’s not a matter of wanting to or not,” I quickly replied. “It’s just that the technique has certain… side-effects.”

“Side-effects?” She frowned.

“The act of… inserting my energy into you will induce a sudden flood of hormones. Specifically, dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin, and adrenaline.”

Her frown deepened. “Be clearer, what are you trying to say?”

“Ahem, I’ll just repeat what the technique says.” I didn’t need to unroll it to read it, but I did anyway, so it didn’t look like I had it memorized. “The act of healing induces intense pleasure and arousal. It will create an uncontrollable feeling of desire and bonding toward the person performing the technique.”

There was a long silence between us. When I had first read the technique, I had thought it was a joke. As expected of a dark sect. However, as I thought about it more, this was exactly what the Blanche family head was probably looking for. If he gave this over to Huntington, he would then use it on Erika to wake her up from her coma.

However, she’d wake up confused, aroused, and feeling odd thoughts about Huntington, and then they would seal the deal. Once she gave herself to him, she’d no longer be able to prevent a wedding. Who would have conceived of such a technique? I only just had enough mana to be able to perform it. Luckily, it depended more on lifeforce rather than mana. Yet, if I did such a technique to her, I wasn’t confident what would happen.

I had already seen one woman under the influence of aphrodisiacs. While this wasn’t the same thing, I still didn’t want to take advantage of another person. However, since she told me a bit about her life and I revealed as much as I was willing to reveal, I felt I should at least be open about this. As I went to put the technique away, I felt her hand grab my arm.

“Do it.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I want you to heal me,” she stated confidently, staring right at me.

“A-are you sure?” I couldn’t help but hesitate. “We don’t know what will happen. If you throw yourself at me…”

“If I throw myself at you… Then don’t reject me,” she declared, but then blushed and looked away. “My heart can’t handle rejection.”

“A-are you serious?”

“My life is over unless we do this,” she responded. “So, we might as well do it.”

“What about your family? Your future?”

“Those are things for me to worry about.” She bit her lip. “Look, I’m not asking you to marry me. Just heal my body and let nature take its course. At least, down here, in this underground world, I can decide for myself. I can take my fate into my own hands. Can you give me that?”

I opened my mouth, and then I closed it again. I wasn’t sure what else to say. I had never expected her to volunteer, especially given how much her family meant to her. However, I was also just a man. How could I let her die when I had the tools to repair her? As she said, we’d just have to let nature take its course.