The interrogation room was cold, sterile, and smelled faintly of cheap coffee and desperation.
My wrists were shackled to the metal table with "Mana-Dampening Cuffs."
(Joke's on you. You can't dampen zero mana. These are just heavy bracelets.)
Across from me sat Detective Sae Kirishima. She had removed her jacket, revealing a white blouse that strained slightly against her chest as she leaned forward. Her eyes were glowing a piercing, electric blue.
[Truth Sight] was active.
"Let's try this again," she said, her voice tight with controlled anger. "Name?"
"Renji Amagiri," I replied smoothly.
"Occupation?"
"Freelance Consultant for the spiritually gifted."
(Unemployed scammer.)
Sae narrowed her eyes. "My skill says... 'Partial Truth'. Consultant? You barely have a registered address."
She slammed a file onto the table. It was the printout of my stream stats.
"You killed a Hobgoblin Boss with a gesture," she hissed. "But my sensors picked up no mana usage. No incantations. Physics says that monster should have crushed you. Explain."
I leaned back in the uncomfortable metal chair, affecting a pose of bored nonchalance.
"Physics," I murmured, staring directly into her glowing eyes, "is a suggestion for beings like me. It is not a law."
(Please don't ask me to do it again. I will cry.)
Sae blinked. Her eyes flickered.
"Subject... Unverified," she muttered, rubbing her temple. "Why? Why can't I see your status?"
It was working. My lies weren't registering as lies because the System was actively rewriting reality to fit my narrative. Or rather, it was flooding her brain with so much contradictory data that her skill was crashing.
"Perhaps your eyes are too narrow," I taunted softly. "You look for mana. You should be looking for intent."
Sae stood up, kicking her chair back. She walked around the table, stopping right next to me.
"Don't play games with me, Amagiri. I know you're a fraud. I just can't prove it yet."
She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at her. Her fingers were cool, but her palm was hot.
"I can see your pulse," she whispered. "It's elevated. You're nervous."
(I am terrified. You are terrifying.)
"My pulse is elevated," I admitted, letting a slow, lazy smile spread across my face. "But not because of the law."
I shifted my gaze down to her lips, then back to her eyes.
"You are a beautiful woman, Detective. And you are standing very... close."
Sae stiffened. A faint pink flush dusted her cheeks.
"I am an officer of the law," she stammered, her grip on my chin loosening. "Do not attempt to seduce me. It won't work."
[System Alert: Passive Skill 'Pheromone Defense' Active.] [Target's Logic Circuits are being bypassed by Dopamine.]
I chuckled. It was a low, rumbling sound that I practiced in the shower.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
I leaned forward. The cuffs clattered against the table, but I ignored them. I invaded her personal space, bringing my face inches from hers.
"Your pupils are dilated," I whispered, using my own observational skills. "Your breathing has shallowed. And your scent..."
I inhaled theatrically near her neck.
(Mint shampoo. Nice.)
"...it has changed. You smell like ozone. Like a storm waiting to break."
Sae stumbled back as if I had pushed her physically. She hit the wall of the interrogation room with a thud.
"W-What did you do?" she gasped, clutching her chest. "My [Truth Sight]... it's static. All I see is static!"
"You're trying to read a god with a calculator," I lied, enjoying the panic in her eyes a little too much. "It's only natural you'd overheat."
(Or maybe you just need to get laid. But I won't say that.)
Sae stared at me. Her chest heaved. She looked from me to the one-way mirror, then back to me.
She was losing control of the interrogation. She knew it.
She marched back to the table, unlocked my cuffs with a swipe of her keycard, and pointed at the door.
"Get out," she said, her voice shaking.
"Free to go?" I rubbed my wrists, feigning surprise. "But we were just getting to the fun part."
"I have no evidence to hold you," she said, turning her back to me. "Your 'skills' are undocumented. Your disciple's testimony corroborates your story. Go. Before I change my mind and arrest you for obstruction."
I stood up. My knees were wobbly, but I kept my stride steady.
"A wise choice, Detective."
I walked to the heavy steel door. I grabbed the handle.
(Yes! Freedom! I'm going to run home and hide under my blankets!)
SLAM.
A hand slapped the door next to my head, preventing it from opening.
I froze.
I turned my head slowly.
Sae Kirishima had pinned me. A reverse Kabedon.
She wasn't looking at the floor anymore. She was looking at me with eyes that were no longer glowing blue, but burning with a dark, obsessive intensity.
Her face was inches from mine. I could feel her hot breath on my skin.
"Don't think you've won," she whispered, her voice dropping to a sultry, dangerous growl.
"Detective?" I squeaked, my cool persona slipping for a microsecond.
"I'm going to watch you," she vowed. "Every move. Every breath. Every lie."
She leaned in, her lips brushing my ear.
"And when you finally slip up... I'm going to be the one on top."
(Is that a threat or a promise? Because I am very confused and slightly aroused.)
She pulled back, her professional mask slamming back into place, though her cheeks were still crimson.
"Get out of my station."
I opened the door and fled into the hallway.
As I walked rapidly toward the exit, trying to look dignified while hyperventilating, the System chimed one last time.
[Target: Sae Kirishima.] [Status: Obsessed.] [New Quest Generated: Taming the Truth.]
I stepped out into the night air of Neo-Tokyo.
I was free.
But I had a feeling I had just traded a prison cell for a stalker.
(Why do the scary ones always like me?)