I Reincarnated Into A Single-Celled Organism! - I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 105

“You don’t have to do this! Cousin is just being a bully!” After signing up for the mission, Shui and his group went to prepare while Destiny desperately tried to convince me to stand down. “He’s just trying to rile you up. Don’t fall for his tricks.”

Shui had acted like he was being altruistic. “I have the authority to increase your rank. If you complete this rank, we can see about having you increased to D-rank. Then, no one will question you if you wish to take on higher missions.”

Of course, he wore a sneer as he explained this. His intentions were pretty clear that he wished to see me dead on this request, but on the surface, he was giving a newbie a chance while they were under his protection.

“It’s alright,” I told her. “I’m not so easy to kill.”

Destiny didn’t accept my answer and had much more to say, but my attention was on the cousin. I had already planted a warden on him and was paying attention to his conversation within the changing rooms which were provided by this request board place. It was a place where people could get changed into their armor as they prepared to take on a request. Since I didn’t have any armor or weapons, I had nothing to prepare, something that had gotten even more sneers, and even a disbelieving look from the secretary woman.

“So, we have to take on this mission? Can’t we just pay a pickpocket to stab him in an alley or something? He’s so weak, any pickpocket could take this guy.”

“Hmph, father says that you should always take care of your trash and not depend on others.” Shui replied. “Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to get closer to my precious Destiny.”

“What do you mean? She seems to be all over this random guy.” There was a thud, and the guy who had spoken cried out. “Ouch! What did I say?”

“She’s just giving him attention to play hard to get.” Shui’s voice came out agitated, but he took a breath and returned to his normal tone. “Besides, all women are the same. They like power. Once she sees how pathetic he is, she’ll move to save him. She’ll feel responsible.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

“You’re not taking in the big picture! Destiny won’t be able to handle those feral wolves on her own, and this guy won’t be able to help her either. These wolves will make her feel danger for the first time.”

“I don’t know, man. We were just supposed to find her for her parents. You want to put the young miss in danger?”

Slap!

“Fool! It’s manufactured danger. You idiots will control the situation. We’ll allow her to feel just a bit of danger. When she realizes she is unable to protect him and is on the verge of losing, then I will step in and save her. At that point, I will become the hero in her eyes, and that loser will only repulse her.”

“Wow, boss, you did think of everything. She won’t even look at that guy once you save her.”

“Exactly, and when he succumbs to his injuries, I’ll be the shoulder she cries on.”

“Are we certain he’ll be injured enough?” one of them asked.

“Idiot, you make sure he’s injured enough. Kill him yourself if you have to, just make sure it looks like it was the wolves!”

My expression darkened as I listened to them. I wasn’t particularly surprised that he was planning to kill me. I expected that much. These nobles didn’t seem to think much of mortals at all. They seemed to feel that becoming evolved put them apart from all other humans. Well, not all of them were necessarily bad. Erika was pretty decent, and Destiny also seemed to not mind a ‘mortal’ like me.

Shui was starting to piss me off though. It wasn’t just because he was snobby. Tyler had been a bit snobby toward mortals too, but he was still a somewhat decent person. He had spent a great deal of money to save me alongside his sister and had taken care of Mara when he could have just dumped her in the forest. Shui seemed to think he could just do whatever he wanted, although if it was anything specifically that pushed me over the edge, it was his pathetic attempts at being a playboy.

As a man who had seduced countless women, I had never needed to put other men down to build myself up. Furthermore, his entire plan, while it made sense on the surface, was idiotic. This guy didn’t understand women at all. He thought that Destiny would be relieved when he saved her, but he was the one forcing us into the situation in the first place. Maybe if it was a guy, he could be distracted, but women never forgot, and she wouldn’t forget who caused her desperation.

In his warped mind, he thought that her coming to save me would cause her to blame me when she failed to succeed, but that wasn’t how women’s hearts worked. If anything, being in danger together would only cause her to grow more attached to me.

“What is it?” Destiny had still been explaining why I shouldn’t go, but she noticed me suddenly scowling.

I softened my expression and smiled at her. “You should probably stay here. This request might be dangerous, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

She frowned. “Are you saying I can’t handle myself?”

“Not at all. It’s just that this is a situation I got myself into, and I don’t want to further inconvenience you.” I spoke uncertainly.

Her frown dropped, and she let out a sigh. “How can I call you my vassal if I sent you to face danger that I couldn’t handle myself?”

“Does that mean you’re willing to complete the request with me?” I raised an eyebrow.

She bit her lip, an uncertain expression on her face. “Although Cousin Shui is a bit rude sometimes, he did earn his place as a guard. With him and his team protecting us, we should be able to complete this mission properly.”

She looked like she was trying to convince herself as much as me.

“I’m sorry.” I scrunched up my face. “I’m a bit confused. He said you were his fiancé. Are you cousins?”

Her expression darkened. “We’re not engaged! Technically, we’re cousins… third or fourth, at least we share the same great-grandfather. He’s from a branch family, but his parents want him to marry into the main family, and I’m the only girl within his age bracket. There is nothing between us. It’s just politics.”

She seemed pretty insistent on me believing that, even glaring at me until I finally gave a nod of acceptance. She was up on her tippy toes with her face not too far from mine, her cheeks puffed out with anger. At that point, Shui’s party was exiting the changing area. He immediately noticed the proximity Destiny had to me and a dangerous look flashed across his face. He quickly smoothed it out before Destiny turned to look at him.

“Are you ready to go, my sweet?”

“Who’s your sweet?” she huffed. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with quickly.”

The group left the request board, and about fifteen minutes later, we were heading outside of town. The infernal wolves lived in a valley just two hours’ walk from the town, which was why there was an ongoing request to cull their numbers. They didn’t usually attack the main roads, but if their numbers did get too high, it was a possibility.

My thoughts were in a different place. I had accepted this trip to get a feel for the aristocracy and their relationship with mortals. I still had a lot to learn, and I was one of those people who believed you learned more by doing than by seeing. That said, my goals had started to change a bit. After hearing Shui so confidently claim Destiny and include my death in his plans to woe a girl, I decided that a proper retaliation was in order.

It had been a while, but I still had my old playboy ways. I would never seduce Mara, and I didn’t have a particularly strong interest in Erika, but Shui had unknowingly triggered me. It was as good of a time as any to show him who was a better playboy. Rather, I was going to seduce Destiny and make her desire me instead of Shui. Since he wanted to start this competition and even felt my life was expendable, it was the least I could do. Of course, I could easily kill him, but where was the fun in that? It’d be much more enjoyable making Destiny fall in love with me and then flaunting it in front of his idiotic nose. I couldn’t wait to see him collapse as he realized his woman was in love with a so-called mortal.

It was time to let the games begin.