Sitting in the tent awaiting the next person, I reflect upon the interesting aspects of telepathy. The process can get boring, but people's minds are so unique it makes the experience worth it. I didn't know there were so many different ways of thinking- some people don't even think in words! Rather, they think in images and emotion unless directly thinking towards me.
Titania knocks me out of my thoughts as she brings the next person in- bless her soul, she's been so helpful. Well, she admitted that she had been getting bored in the village and wasn't used to having nothing to do. So this was entertaining for her, too.
The person she brings in looks male, and I note that he's dressed... Ornately? He has a lot of jewelry and very fancy robes. I secretly hope this isn't another one of those spoiled noble types. They've been popping up a lot recently. They come wanting a pet to show off. I recommend the nearby beast stores instead. No thank you.
I see him sneer, dashing my hopes as he stares at the chair like it personally offended him. "Couldn't find anything better, huh? Should've expected as much from such a backwater town." He sniffs haughtily, his voice nasally in a way that grates my ears.
I glance at Titania and catch her rolling her eyes behind his back. "You can stand if you want." She offers, her voice devoid of emotion.
"No, no, I've stood quite long enough. Can't even get proper seating outside, hmph." He plops down onto the chair, his nose scrunched up.
"Right. Well, I'll be casting the spell now." She says, lifting her staff.
The man allows her to cast the spell, and once it's done I'm more intimately aware of what type of person he is than I'd like to be. One word: asshole.
Titania stands off to the side, before the man gets annoyed. "Go on, give us some privacy. That's what this ugly tent is for, isn't it?" His thoughts instantly irritate me, as he brushes off Titania as if she's nothing more than an ant at his feet. Unimportant and easily squashed.
I know he feels my irritation, my reason why, and yet he purposefully ignores it. He doesn't even make an effort to justify himself.
Titania looks at me first, and I nod. I speed up my thinking processes - a method I learned that prevents humans from reading my mind due to how fast it goes - and make a plan to get something out of this boring day by tormenting the noble.
The longest sessions I've had weren't because I genuinely considered them for bonding, but rather because toying with people I dislike is fun. Throw in telepathy that hands me buttons to press on a silver platter, and the fun is tripled.
Titania, with her incredible ability to read body language, understands my intentions and her eyes light up. She smiles gleefully before leaving without a word.
The noble turns to me, and speaks aloud despite our minds being connected. "Now, you wouldn't know who I am - which is a travesty, really - but I am very powerful. You come with me, and I'm sure I can arrange your pampering to the fullest. You won't want for anything, I assure you." He confidently spews, but his thoughts give him away.
Let's see, he wants me for status of course. Ah, he's already prepared a chain and collar for me in his yard. How thoughtful. Oh, and a dog house that severely underestimates my size. Of course.
Oh-hohoho. Fuck no. He's got clippers for clipping my wings. What in the hell makes him think I would agree to that? That one detail makes me livid.
I send probing thoughts toward him. I can't dig through his memories with the spell connecting us, but simple keywords will bring up memories easily. Simple words like family, status, money, etcetera.
Aha! He's not as wealthy as he claims. In fact, he's struggling with gambling debt- and hoping to use me to get more money. He wants to use me as practical livestock, selling my scales and feathers and teeth- anything he can get from me without killing me. Or perhaps he will, so he can sell my core.
"I'm not poor!" The man suddenly yells at me, refraining from commenting on the 'using me for money' bit. "My line has been wealthy for hundreds of years, a little bit of gambling doesn't dent the Maxwell fortune!"
'Your unpaid estate bills say otherwise.' I tease eagerly, digging into his weakness.
He says nothing, yet among his anger filled haze I sense a calculating plan. Before he can even move, his thoughts give him away.
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As he pulls out a stone disk from his fancy robe, I strike.
I snatch the disk out of the air as his arm falls to the ground with a thud, screams echoing soon after. With the stickiness of blood in my mouth, I press the rune behind me once and the runes on the walls blare red.
Afterward, I wince and grip my own arm. The pain he feels resonates through the telepathy spell, bypassing my [Painless] skill as it's not my own. Fuck, that's worse than the constant migraines I used to have. What a deterrent to harming the interviewees.
Titania rushes in before pausing to assess the situation. She soon notices my pain and rushes over, quick to stop the spell causing my pain. She pats my arm, looking me over for a moment to check my health, before glaring at the man- quick to decide that he's at fault.
"What did he do?" She asks, in no rush to get him help. I hand her the disk.
She looks over it, her face morphing into anger. "This..! These runes are meant to forcefully bind a creature to a human!" She throws it to the ground in disgust before looking at me, "Please melt this with your fire when we leave, it's the best way to destroy such a thing. The tent is fire proof, so don't worry."
I nod, already aware of what it did from his thoughts. Satisfied, she stalks over and grabs the guy by his bleeding stump, making him scream louder. She goes to drag him away before pausing, "By the way, the medical team could reattach his arm. Unless you were to get rid of it somehow." She winks at me before exiting the tent.
Amused, I deal with the disk first. With a torch of intense flame, the stone melts to the floor. I wonder if Titania will leave it there. Afterward, I just decide to eat the arm. Let the asshole live disabled for the rest of his life.
The next guy comes in sweating with nerves. When Titania puts the spell on us, I learn that she had threatened the whole crowd- which was unnecessary considering the shocked silence after the man, who really was a well-known noble, was dragged out screaming and bleeding out. A couple of people had left after that, and the remainder were much quieter and generally afraid.
Nothing else of note happened for the rest of the day. When night comes, I ponder on whether the runes would have worked on me, as they target the magic core rather than the soul. It probably would have.
But, it's not like I would have been binded to the guy. Him possessing part of my core doesn't stop me from killing him - though the resulting mental link that supposedly shares pain would be difficult to work around. I wouldn't even miss much, since I rarely use magic anyway and I'm just as dangerous without it, so the magic drain of losing part of my core wouldn't be too bad. Still, it's something I'd like to avoid risking.
After speaking with Titania, she comes up with a solution.
She lines the doorway of the tent with runes which, according to her, will light up red if someone walking through has runic objects on them. She begins inspecting and confiscating any runic objects before anyone is allowed through. She gives them back when they leave, though. This way no runic item can be used against me.
It helps keep my mind at ease, at least.
After that, everything returns to normal. The amount of visitors continues to fluctuate - thankfully with fewer antagonistic visitors as rumors of the event get around - and I begin to get antsy after about a month. I could say fuck the bond and go exploring on my own, but I know from experience that it's not as fun doing it alone. I recall my old friend who drifted away, how any time I would hang out with them I'd feel better. I'd feel freer, as if the weight on my shoulders would temporarily disappear.
I want that again.
Even though I no longer feel as burdened as before, I still want that attention. The affection.
Maybe I'm touch starved or something. I don't fucking know. I was going to work through the trauma I knew I had once I got away from the source. I could do that now, but... I highly doubt there are any therapists willing to talk to a snake-bird-thing about her fucked up past life. Not like I could tell the whole truth anyway.
Hmm, on a similar note...
Kurotto, you said I can't talk about you. But what if I leave that out and only mention that I reincarnated?
They don't speak for a moment.
《You may mention your reincarnation. But do not mention anything that may implement me or any system-related abilities such as the Skills store.》
Alright, no problem! It just makes it easier to lie when you tell some of the truth, you know? I won't be able to hide my knowledge forever- and if I'm truthful about my reincarnation, they won't think to look for anything else. It's, like, lying 101.
《Understood.》
With that decided, I think I'll inform whoever I bond with that I've been reincarnated. That way we can understand each other better.
Anyway, despite my impatience with the situation I power through and wait. I do take some break days, however. I spend these days flying through the forest and chasing some animals and beasts - and practicing
I reflect on the close matches. Some get really close, but then one little thing makes me think 'yeah... no.'
Like this one almost perfect woman- who had a child. She wanted to take the child with us on adventures. I, personally, don't resonate with children. At all. Didn't want any myself in my last life, and I don't want to deal with them now. Not my cup of tea.
Another guy was... Well, he had a few screws loose. Honestly, he would've been entertaining if I wasn't reasonably sure he'd get himself killed picking fights with people. I'm not going to babysit a grown man because he doesn't know how to let things go.
So, yeah, while there were a few people close to what I wanted, I couldn't find anyone who checked off all the boxes.
However, during one of my days off, I find something interesting.