Love Battle Royale: When All Speed Dating Participants are Reincarnated Cheaters - The table turned to ash and the business card exchange skill

The night the emblem on the name tag glowed, the atmosphere in the venue changed. All eyes concentrated on Taiga for a moment, then slowly withdrew amid the murmuring. Narumi whispered "just stay quiet by the wall for now" and went to get a drink, never coming back. Taiga stood at the edge of a cocktail table, holding a glass of sparkling water, vaguely observing the state of the venue. (Situation assessment. Current location: exclusive reincarnator speed dating party, aka the Samsara Connection. Exit is blocked. Everyone has some kind of skill. My name tag glowed. That alone got me seen by everyone. Which means I'll be watched every time something happens from now on.) He sighed. At that moment, a voice came through the microphone on the stage. The MC. A tall man in a black suit, with a smile too perfect, surveying the entire hall. "Alright everyone, let's begin the skill self-introduction time!" The hall's atmosphere changed instantly. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! A pillar of flame erupted in the center of the floor. A ring of fire three meters in diameter danced in the air, bathing the venue's lighting in orange from the flames. In another direction, a water column stretched straight to the ceiling. Silent, yet undeniably, water defied gravity and became a pillar. Further back, a woman in a suit floated gently off the ground, hovering about twenty centimeters in the air as she began her introduction. "In my past life, I was an Eastern mystic of the flying type. My skill is levitation bestowal, rank B." "Ooh." "B rank?" "Where were you from in your past life?" The venue erupted. Taiga internally noted that this wasn't a speed dating party—it was a special effects film set. The hall with flames, water columns, and levitation all deployed simultaneously was by no means an ordinary dating venue. And the problem was. (The self-introduction time is a "skill demonstration" session.) Taiga calmly assessed the situation. Everyone was doing self-introductions while demonstrating their skills. When his turn came, Taiga would have to show something too. But Taiga had no awareness of being reincarnated in the first place, and he didn't know what his skill even was. The name tag glowing was something that happened on its own—it wasn't something Taiga intended. Which meant. (I just need to keep moving before my turn comes.) A brilliant plan. The self-introduction format seemed to move to "the next person" in sequence. Which meant if he constantly changed locations and stayed "near the next person," his turn wouldn't come around. Logically sound. Taiga set down his glass and began moving toward the wall. Behind a pillar at the wall. He wouldn't stand out here. "That guy just moved." ...He'd been noticed. Taiga relocated to behind a large potted plant. The glossy leaves blocked the view reasonably well. This is perfect, he thought—thirty seconds later, a man at the neighboring table said "Oh, is this spot free?" and stood next to the potted plant, making eye contact with Taiga. "Isn't that guy kind of restless?" "He's actually standing out, isn't he?" He moved to the edge of the bar counter. A staff member inside the counter glanced at Taiga but said nothing. He tried slipping inside the staff curtain. From beyond the curtain, he clearly heard "That guy moved again." (This is completely backfiring!!) He screamed internally. Every time he moved, he got marked. This was completely hopeless. In five minutes, Taiga had moved to four locations, but instead he'd become known to everyone as "that mysterious restless guy." He looked for Narumi for help. Found him. At a table by the wall, Narumi was cornered by a woman. "What's your skill, Narumi?" "Um... I'm good at cooking, or rather, memories from my past life brought up cooking recipes and..." "Is that a skill? Or just a talent?" "A skill! Definitely a skill! In terms of soul veins—the spiritual energy that fuels reincarnation skills—I'm probably consuming a little bit—" "That's just a talent." "Isn't devoting all your effort to a talent the pride of a reincarnator!?" "Nobody has that kind of pride in general." Taiga and Narumi made eye contact for two seconds. Narumi's eyes pleaded "help me." Taiga's eyes replied "I'm not in a position to help either." (Why am I the only one...) He had no choice but to continue the survival game alone. --- One of the cocktail tables caught his eye. A white cloth hung down long. Taiga thought for a moment. Actually, two moments. Then on the third moment, he acted. He slid smoothly under the table. He lowered the cloth. From outside, only someone's feet would be visible. Under the table was dimly lit, the floor cool, and the outside noise seemed slightly distant. (Perfect. If time just passes like this—) He felt relief. Five seconds later. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!! A deafening roar. A pillar of flame shot up from directly above. The table caught fire. Precisely, it caught fire instantly. Or more precisely, it turned to ash instantly. The tablecloth included—cleanly, without a trace. Taiga was left in seiza position, suddenly visible from all 360 degrees. Smoke spread, thinned, and cleared. Ash drifted down around Taiga. Where the table had been, there was nothing. Taiga alone, sitting seiza on the floor, surrounded by everyone in the venue. Silence. "Wait... that guy was hiding under the table?" "We lost a whole table." "I mean, who even is that guy?" Gazes. Gazes. Gazes. From all 360 degrees. Taiga, still in seiza, tried to process the situation. He couldn't. A silhouette with hands on hips walked through the smoke. Hair the color of burning deep crimson swayed with the lingering heat of the flames. 168 centimeters, a toned silhouette. Golden eyes looked down at Taiga sharply. Under the venue's lighting, those eyes gleamed like jewels. A single bead of sweat glistened on her forehead, and heat shimmered up from her body. Since it was right after skill activation, her body temperature must have risen—Taiga's observant eye immediately processed the information. "You've been sneaking around this whole time." Her voice was bright and powerful. Rather than accusatory, she sounded like she was enjoying herself. Taiga stood up from the floor while internally delivering a full-force retort. (Burning a table to smoke someone out isn't normal human behavior!! Erasing furniture with a pillar of flames isn't proper speed dating etiquette at all!!) But his face remained extremely calm. "...I was just cooling off." "Under a table?" "Under a table." "It's not summer." "I get hot easily." Rusty raised an eyebrow. Not surprised—more like she'd found an interesting creature. Her golden eyes studied Taiga intently. Then she snapped her fingers, producing a small flame. "Show me your skill. I'm not talking to anyone below rank A." She said it flatly. A declaration with zero room for negotiation. The flame at her fingertip spun lazily. The surrounding participants gradually increased their distance. He'd become a complete spectacle. Taiga could see Narumi in the distance, but he was still trapped by the cooking skill woman and couldn't move. Taiga quietly confirmed that he had zero escape routes. (Think. Think. Think.) The exit was blocked. There was nowhere to run. If he didn't show a skill, she'd cut off the conversation. But Taiga had no skill to show. At the same time, Taiga's observant eye was picking up every detail of Rusty's condition. Her face was slightly flushed. Not just from the skill activation heat—her base body temperature was high. She kept fanning her chest with her hand. Sweat appeared on her forehead and neck. Rank A skill activation had a continuous use limit of twelve minutes and required thirty minutes to cool down—he thought he'd heard another participant mention something like that earlier. Which meant Rusty right now, immediately after using her skill, had a very high body temperature. Something clicked into place in Taiga's mind. "...My skill is..." He chose his words. Chose them, chose them, chose them. "...extremely fast business card exchange." He paused, then added: "Recipients of my business cards within five seconds show a 43 percent increase in successful deal rates. That's data from my department. It's all true." The last part—"it's all true"—was completely false. The numbers, the effect, the classification as a skill, everything was a lie. Rusty's eyes blinked. "Huh... business card exchange type!?" She leaned forward. "Not combat-focused!? I've never seen such a niche skill! Business card success rates show up as numerical values in reincarnation skills!? That's amazing, so unique!!" (She bit!? Actually!?!?) Alarm bells rang in Taiga's head. Completely unexpected. He'd thought she'd either be suspicious or dismiss it outright. Why was she biting? Why was she leaning in? He couldn't understand. But right now, the fan. Taiga reached into his suit's inner pocket and searched his bag. Ten business cards from Mihal Corporation. A ballpoint pen. And—a small promotional fan with the company logo, distributed last month as merchandise. The kind of thing left over from a summer exhibition that the general affairs department had handed out. Too much trouble to throw away, so it had stayed in his bag. Taiga silently offered the fan to Rusty. Rusty took it. She reflexively started fanning herself. "...Ah, that's cool!" Two seconds of silence. "You know what you're doing." Rusty's expression completely changed. From the sharp, appraising gaze of before to a bright, unguarded smile. Like the sun coming out—a genuinely hot smile. She then stood right beside Taiga. Zero distance. "Kiryuu Rusty, nineteen years old. Scarlet Ordinance—a skill that generates flames from my palms, rank A—user. Nice to meet you." Taiga felt something, definitely. A strong pulse in his chest. (This is... wait, hold on, calm down. This isn't love or anything—) The body temperature of Rusty standing next to him was abnormally high. He remembered hearing that bodies after skill activation reached close to 42 degrees Celsius. Which meant what was standing next to Taiga right now was essentially a 42-degree object. (I'll get a heat burn!! Too close!! The body temperature!!!!!) "TAIGA—!! HOW'D YOU PULL THAT WITH JUST ONE FAN!! YOU'RE RAISING FLAGS—!!" Narumi's shout flew from the distance. Taiga glanced over. Narumi was still being cornered by the cooking skill woman. He was shouting while being cornered. The fact that he had the composure to shout in that situation made no sense. "What happened to you?" "DON'T ASK!! PLEASE DON'T ASK!!" Rusty pulled Taiga's arm while fanning herself. Hot. "Hey, can you actually demonstrate your business card exchange skill? I want to see it." "...I'm out of business cards at the moment." "You had them in your inner pocket just now." She'd been watching. "I need to restock." "Didn't you have more than before?" Her observation was sharp. A flame user with good eyes. Very troublesome. While Taiga searched for a response, Rusty pulled his arm again. Hot. His face. The heat was reaching his face. This was definitely because a 42-degree object was pressed against his arm, causing his skin to react. It wasn't love. It was all physics. "...Could you step back a little?" "Huh? Why?" "Your body temperature is a bit high." "Oh, right. Body temperature goes up after using a skill. Sorry." She stepped back half a step without resistance. That straightforwardness caught Taiga off guard. Rusty continued fanning herself as she spoke. "You've been observing me this whole time, haven't you? You noticed my body temperature." It was a statement, not a question. Taiga didn't answer. Instead of answering, he looked away slightly into the distance. That became his answer anyway, and there was nothing he could do about it. Rusty laughed. "You're a we

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Episode 2

Name: Love Battle Royale: When All Speed Dating Participants are Reincarnated Cheaters
Author: Novelia

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