Seeing that the curse had been exorcised, my Blinding Vow broke, and the result was instantaneous as I fell to the ground, exhausted. My body, which was in constant work of the Reverse Curse technique, Projectile Sorcery, The Pain from the Attack, and Karmic Override, leaves my body in an extremely fatigued state.
Mei Mei quickly came to my side and supported me to stand up.
"Are you okay?" She asked with a worried tone.
To which I give a toothy grin and say, "I've never been better."
"Your definition of 'better' concerns me."
I let out a weak laugh before slowly lifting my head. My eyes scanned the now destroyed innate domain, moving through the warped terrain until I finally saw it lying among the ashes.
I saw a wrinkled-up finger, which looked like it had been dried to a pickle's concentration. I slowly walked toward it, though "walk" might've been generous considering my legs currently felt like noodles. After reaching it, I crouched down and carefully picked it up with a cloth.
"What's that?"
"It's a cursed artifact," I answered casually.
Mei Mei looked at it for a moment longer but surprisingly didn't press further. Maybe she sensed there was more to it. Maybe she simply didn't care enough as long as it wasn't reducing her paycheck.
Knowing Mei Mei, probably the second.
Instead, she looked directly at me.
"What was that technique you used near the end?" she asked. Unlike her usual relaxed tone, this one carried genuine sharp curiosity. "The one that changed the outcome of attacks."
I stared at the finger for a moment before answering honestly.
"It's something called Karmic Override."
"Karmic Override," she repeated slowly, testing the words in her mouth.
I nodded. "I didn't even know I had it until today. It seems I can… edit outcomes. Mine or my opponent's."
Even saying it out loud sounded ridiculous. Like, it was probably the strongest technique I heard of, and I'm not even being a narcissist right now.
"That is one of the fraudiest techniques I've ever heard. Like, editing the final outcome, doesn't that mean it's nearly all-powerful? That technique must have a weakness to balance it out. Please say there is a weakness or at least tell me it has a cool-off time, like a year."
"Well, it did have a weakness, but I won't tell you that. What if you use it against me someday?"
"Tck."
And that was when I noticed something strange on Mei Mei.
"…Why are you blushing?"
I tilted my head slightly.
Her cheeks had been a faint red till now, but I only noticed it now. Even the tips of her ears were colored slightly pink. It was subtle, but definitely there. Is she a masochist? There wasn't much information I know about her, so I don't know.
For a second, Mei Mei actually looked caught off guard. As I see her, her eyes widen, then she let out a small laugh and covered part of her mouth with her sleeve.
"How perspicacious of you. The blush is because of you, of course."
I blinked. "What?"
She smiled directly at me now. "I suddenly find you very attractive."
I stared at her for two seconds, then burst out laughing.
"You do know I'm not giving you extra money just because you try to seduce me, right?"
Seduction, a technique that is used daily in a business atmosphere. If I weren't an expert in discretion, such a basic form of negotiation technique, I would have fallen for it long time.
I am undefeated in regard, maybe only one time did I lose but what don't that stand for in this life.
"But I'm serious," she replied calmly with the exact same business-like smile.
…Oh. That made me pause.
Not because I was flustered. That's for newcomers; I was in this field for a long time.
She is really good; I can conclude that she is serious, which itself is a great deal, as most enchantresses' seduction lacks soul. Because of that, most will fail to achieve the conclusion of a negotiation, but I can tell that she really put her soul in her 'word'; I legit feel like it was a confession. I always believed I had a sharp sense that could identify lies from truth; you could call it an ability I honed in through the business world, not always accurate but still... and even that sense is telling me she is genuine, so she really is a first-class businesswoman.
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Well… alright then. Since you did help me a great deal, I will give you something other than what we agreed upon."
~~~
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