Mei Mei stepped fully into the room and slid the door shut behind her. Her expression remained calm, but her eyes had sharpened the moment she noticed the discarded bandages on the bed and the fact that I was flexing two perfectly functional hands that, according to every doctor in the building, were supposed to remain useless for at least another week.
She looked at my arms again, then at me.
"Don't tell me," she said slowly, "you achieved the Reverse Cursed Technique."
I leaned back against the pillows and gave her my best mysterious smile.
I said nothing.
For perhaps the first time since meeting her, Mei Mei's composed businesswoman mask cracked slightly. It wasn't shock in the loud sense. It was the quieter kind—the kind smart people felt when reality moved faster than their predictions.
She folded her arms. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen," I replied. "Why ask?"
Her gaze lingered on me as though reevaluating the entire investment portfolio of my existence.
"Because," she said, "you may be the youngest person to achieve the Reverse Cursed Technique."
I smiled again, slower this time.
Being praised by Mei Mei felt oddly satisfying. She wasn't someone who gave compliments freely. Every word from her had weight because she understood value.
"Is that so?"
"It is not a small thing, Naoya-san."
I shrugged. "Perspective makes something special. Beyond that, everything is ordinary."
She stared at me for a second, then sighed as though dealing with a troublesome executive who thought himself philosophical after one successful quarter. "That kind of line sounds deeper in your head than it does aloud."
"Untrue. It sounded excellent."
She ignored that and moved closer to the bed, glancing once more at my healed hands. "Whether you appreciate it or not, this changes things. For the current head of the Zenin clan, this is a major matter. If Naobito Zenin learns you achieved the Reverse Cursed Technique at fourteen, there will likely be celebration, announcements, political movement, and every elder suddenly pretending they always believed in you."
Only then did the true horror hit me. I sat upright.
"…That's going to be a problem."
She blinked once. "Problem?"
"Damn it," I muttered, looking at my hands. "I completely healed them. They'll know even if I say nothing."
Mei Mei tilted her head slightly. "Most people would consider miraculous healing a positive development."
"You don't understand."
"Then enlighten me."
I pointed accusingly at the ceiling, as if the Zenin estate itself lurked above us. "Attention is expensive. The moment everyone starts talking about me, expectations rise. Responsibilities rise. Surveillance rises. Every old man with too much free time starts advising me. Every rival starts scheming. Every marriage-minded family starts sending daughters. Every internal faction starts trying to tie themselves to me."
Mei Mei listened with visible amusement growing in her eyes.
I continued, gaining momentum. "Right now, I'm talented but still manageable. A promising heir. Useful. If I become the prodigy who mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique at fourteen, then I stop being a person and become an asset."
She gave a soft laugh. "You say that as though it hasn't already happened."
"It has degrees."
She regarded me with a curiosity that lacked her usual transactional distance. "Why are you so against recognition? You're the heir to one of the great clans. More prestige secures your position. More influence means more freedom. With this achievement, your claim strengthens again. Most people in your place would chase attention, not avoid it."
I met her gaze for a moment before answering. "Because I know what happens when people value you for what you can provide."
I continued more quietly. "They don't love you. They don't respect you. They invest in you. And when returns fall, they leave."
Memories of another life flickered behind my eyes; I was a fool who trusted, which caused me to become a cold-hearted killer.
"I'd rather be underestimated," I said. "At least then, what people choose to keep near me might be real."
Mei Mei was silent for several seconds, then she gave a small shrug. "That sounds emotionally exhausting."
"It is."
She nodded once, accepting the answer without mocking it. Then her business smile returned.
"Unfortunately for you," she said, "your family is already coming this way. They are about to discover you regenerated overnight."
I looked at the door and then back at her.
"Well, time to rupture my arms one more. Can you bandage me after that? My arm will become useless; I will reduce the bleeding." I said, Since I already know the principle, recreating the explosion to a controlled degree is something I can do.
"Nothing is free, Naoya-san."
Hearing that, I smiled. I like Mei Mei just for that; she looks at me like a walking money bag, nothing more, nothing less. She is a person I can trust to be greedy and money-focused all the time. Everything she does is for money; because of that, she will also betray me for money. For her, there is nothing personal, only business. And I was happy for that personality of her.
"Oh, by the way, bribe the doctor to lie about my stitches; we can't recreate that. Of course, the money will come from my pocket."
~~~
I like the idea of people who reading my novel leaving their mark on my book so Give me lot of comments and Power stones. Give me inspection. Give me reviews.
POWER STONE, GIVE IT ME.
100 POWER STONE FOR BONUS CHAPTER
Posted some extra 35+ chapter in patron and daily update, if you are interested check it out, link is:
patreon.com/BlackBolt517