Transmigrated as the Cuck.... WTF!!!

Seeing that I didn't react to their words, they eventually stopped, an exhausted sigh slipping past their lips.

"Hah… you aren't fun. Would it kill you to show some kind of reaction? I wasn't joking, by the way… I could eat you."

The next instant, a pair of fangs brushed dangerously close to my neck. The cold prickle of their presence sent an instinctive surge through me.

I twisted away, putting immediate distance between us, my hand flying to the spot where they had nearly bitten.

When I pulled my fingers back into view… there was blood on them.

A low, almost playful laugh followed. "Ahahaha, you have quite the reflexes. Seems like you're a seasoned fighter. Truth be told, your age doesn't give off that vibe at all."

The tail of their voice turned toward Luris. "Luris Glanis, you may return to whatever it is you were doing. Your work here is done… I will deal with this human myself."

I glanced at Luris. His head was lowered, his voice subdued. "As you wish, Miss Wannre."

He said nothing further. He simply turned, his footsteps quiet against the floor, and left the chamber. The door closed with a muted thud, sealing me in with Miss Wannre.

For several long minutes, she didn't speak. She didn't even move. She floated there.

Eventually, she let out a soft sigh and drifted toward the round table beside her bed. Her voice carried across the space with a calm, beckoning authority.

"Arawn, come here. Accompany me with this wine. There are some things I wish to discuss with you."

I moved forward and took a seat opposite her, keeping my gaze deliberately away from her face. There was only one wine glass on the table, and she drank from it leisurely, her movements unhurried.

Accompanying her, it seemed, was more a matter of presence than actual participation. Still, something about it felt strange.

How exactly was she drinking… underwater?. But the thought lingered at the back of my mind, idle and unanswered. I didn't ask.

"Hahhh…" She set the wine glass down, the faint clink of glass on wood punctuating the silence. Resting her chin on the back of her hand, she regarded me with an almost lazy curiosity.

"So, Arawn… quite the life you've had here. In just a week, you've managed to make many friends."

I chuckled faintly. "Friends? If using each other for mutual benefit is what you call friendship… then yes, I suppose I've made quite a few."

Her lips curved, her tone amused. "Aha! And if that isn't friendship, then what is? I'd love to hear your definition."

I tapped the table lightly, thinking—not too deeply, a figure of a certain man flashed before my eyes.

"I can't say for certain what friendship is to me, not entirely. But from what I've heard… a friend is someone you can rely on without condition. Someone who would stand beside you in misery, just as they would celebrate your victories. Someone who knows you for who you truly are… not the mask you've crafted for the world to see."

"So… essentially, someone to whom you can reveal your true colours," she said, her voice carrying no inflection but the faintest trace of curiosity.

"You could put it that way," I replied, watching her carefully.

"You have quite the… romanticised fantasy of a friend. Still, I won't reject it. It would be childish to force one's own ideals on another, wouldn't it?"

The way she phrased it didn't feel casual… it felt measured, as though she were gauging my reaction. Whether she was buying time for something or testing me for her own amusement, I couldn't tell. Either way, being silently judged was never pleasant.

"Respecting someone else's opinion is an admirable trait," I said slowly. "One most people don't have. If I'm being presumptuous… would you tell me what you need my assistance for?"

Her tone lifted slightly. "Assistance?" She repeated the word as though tasting it, her tone lightly puzzled. "Oh my… it seems I've given off the wrong impression. I can assure you, I meant nothing of the sort."

A faint smile curved her lips. "There is only one reason I called you here…"

"What is it?" I asked, my tone careful.

She didn't respond right away. Instead, the silence stretched. Then, out of nowhere, a low chuckle slipped from her lips.

"To ask you a simple question…" she began, voice laced with amusement, "…what are you?"

I froze.

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? The question didn't sound like curiosity. My brows knitted together as I tried to parse her intent.

"I'm… not quite sure what you're trying to insinuate," I replied slowly. "Could you clarify what you mean by that?"

A soft sigh followed. "See, there's this tiny little ability I have…" Her voice dripped with false modesty. "…that lets me read the minds of the people around me. The range? Every single corner of the ocean is within my reach."

Her words sank into me like cold steel.

"Now," she continued, the faintest lilt of intrigue curling her syllables, "tell me why I can't read yours."

"…"

I didn't respond immediately. My mind ran in frantic loops. She had just told me calmly, as though discussing the weather that she could pry into the thoughts of every living being in the entire ocean.

That was… horrifying enough. But what truly set my nerves on edge was that she'd found someone she couldn't read. And that someone was me.

I needed a moment. A long one.

Finally, I took in a slow, steady breath and answered, "I don't know what it is you're hoping to get from me. But I don't have any artifact that blocks mind reading. I don't have any special ability that should interfere with it either. I'm sorry, but I honestly can't give you the answer you're looking for."

Her reaction was sharp and immediate.

Tsk.

The sound was laced with irritation. Her voice lost its earlier playfulness, replaced by something clipped and cold. "So annoying. And how—" she emphasized the word "—in the red sea are you telling the truth? Are you seriously claiming you don't know a single thing about yourself?"

The thing was… she wasn't wrong.

Her mind-reading inability wasn't the first strange thing about me. It wasn't even close to the top of the list. The fact that I could breathe underwater without any water affinity was already impossible enough. The way neither gravity nor buoyant force seemed to touch me here was equally baffling.

Compared to those, her failing to read my mind almost felt like a… minor anomaly.