Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"I came because my friend was rude today, and I wanted to offer some kind of compensation."
"Ah, it's fine."
Min Ha-yeon didn't seem satisfied with my response. She extended her arm and spoke, her face filled with apology.
"I just feel bad about it. You only earned a measly 3,000 points because of me, and you went through all that trouble..."
"It's fine, really..."
"Haa... But you keep saying it's okay..."
I cut off Min Ha-yeon's words and replied.
"Having someone as skilled as you, Min Ha-yeon-ssi, by my side means I have to put up with that much."
"... "
Min Ha-yeon bowed her head quietly for a moment before lifting it with a wry smile.
"Thank you."
"So, don't worry about it too much. Oh, and here..."
I handed her the Artemis Potion and Anti-Magic Potion I'd prepared earlier.
"...? What's this...?"
"I had some Mana left before bed, so I whipped up some extras."
"But this Anti-Magic Potion... isn't this 20,000-point?"
Even for Min Ha-yeon, 20,000 points wasn't a small amount. To begin with, gathering that many points required hunting with me.
"I don't know much about it, but I hear it's the most expensive one sold at the potion shops in Zephyrium."
"Yeah, I've seen it."
"Just in case, why don't you hold onto one?"
"...? But there aren't any monsters among those here that use magic..."
Min Ha-yeon kept expressing her doubts and hesitated to take the Anti-Magic Potion.
The Artemis Potion at least helped with hunting, so she accepted it without issue, but she had no clue what the Anti-Magic Potion was even for.
'As expected, she hasn't realized that the Anti-Magic Potion counters the Paralysis Wave.'
To Min Ha-yeon, the Paralysis Wave was just some unknown force. For now, I needed to awaken her intuition that this potion would be useful. I tossed her a simple hint.
"No matter how I think about it, it's weird."
"What's weird?"
"Think about it—there aren't any magic-related monsters in this area at all. Yet this item's blatantly for sale, and the description says it's only usable inside the village."
"Hmm... That's suspicious."
Min Ha-yeon listened intently and fell deep into thought. I opened my mouth to wrap up the conversation.
"I think... there must be a use for it. And at a very specific moment."
"...Ah!"
Min Ha-yeon suddenly clapped her hands, her eyes widening in realization. I tilted my head, pretending to be puzzled.
She had solid instincts. Even the oblivious Han Yeo-reum had figured it out eventually. Naturally, I trusted Min Ha-yeon would realize its purpose too.
Min Ha-yeon couldn't hold back her smile. I feigned ignorance.
"Hm...? Did something happen?"
"...It's nothing. No... thank you so much for this."
Min Ha-yeon stared intently at the Anti-Magic Potion before looking up at me.
"I came to compensate you, but I ended up receiving something huge instead."
"It's fine. I don't plan on only seeing you for a day or two, Min Ha-yeon-ssi. So don't feel burdened."
"...Thank you."
Min Ha-yeon smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "Make one request of me."
"Pardon?"
"Anything within reason. Even if it's not right now."
"Haha... I'll just accept the sentiment."
"No," Min Ha-yeon said, "I'm asking you."
"...Got it. Guess I should stick around for whenever that day comes."
"Hehe... Then I'll be off."
"Yeah, take care."
With that, Min Ha-yeon left, and silence settled over the room. Except for the chat window...
"...? Yeah? What is it?"
The usually quiet Guardian of the Gay Little Dick suddenly typed in the chat. In previous rounds, this guy would've thrown a fit. He'd been unusually silent today.
It was an incomprehensible statement. "What!? I want to do her!"
"Nooo! I want to do her!!"
"What kind of rule is that!!!"
Damn, this guy's wriggling out using the fine print. I asked, "No, look at her—she's top-tier looks! Plus her skills are great. Doesn't she fit the mission perfectly?"
"That doesn't make any sense..." I acted annoyed while admiring him inwardly. 'Chills. This guy's sharper than I thought.'
'Maybe he's so good at picking up on these things because he's never lost his virginity due to his sheer pious devotion?'
'Ah, are you a gay blockhead?'
"I mean, if you keep saying no, this is guaranteed to be a failure."
"Huh? You have a lot of points? 100k is a lot."
"... "
'I'm innocent.'
Min Ha-yeon left Seong Su-ho's room and wandered aimlessly before sitting on a bench. Tears began plopping onto the potion. "Haa... Su-ho... Why do you keep helping me like this...?"
She felt deeply guilty.
In her loops, she would focused solely on enjoying her time with him. However Seong Su-ho, who couldn't retain memories, kept saving her in moments of crisis without any strings attached...
"Hic... I... I'll save you somehow. And... we'll go all the way..."
"I'm a good person!! I want to have sex with Min Ha-yeon!!"
..
..
Today, Han Yeo-reum's behavior was similar to yesterday.
The only difference was that his condition had improved somewhat.
"Min Ha-yeon, you didn't really go somewhere else yesterday, did you?"
"Sigh... give it a rest. I told you. I just stopped by the potion shop and the store for a bit."
"...From today on, make sure to tell me whenever you go somewhere."
"This is driving me crazy..."
For the record, "improved condition" only referred to his physical appearance.
The dark circles were gone, and the haggard look had vanished. In a single day, he had returned to being a perfect handsome man.
But was it my imagination that his mental state seemed to be deteriorating further?
The hunting proceeded without incident, as usual.
Hunting proceeded smoothly as usual.
'It won't be this leisurely starting from the Floor 1, right?'
[I do not have information regarding the upper floors, but according to the Zodiac side currently breaking through the lower floors, the biggest issue is that daily life becomes inconvenient.]
It meant that the leisurely life I was leading in Zephyrum village was effectively over.
[They have instead sent information warning us to be wary of Summoners.]
'The fact that Red Summoners exist means that such groups exist as well.'
In other words, the most dangerous things weren't the monsters, but other humans.
[Other than that, they say the difficulty is scaled accordingly, so enemies that are absurdly strong do not appear.]
'Hehe... but considering the boss is like that...'
Even if it wasn't a guy intended to be caught, seeing such a creature made me worry about the 1st floor too.
And along with that worry, another curiosity arose.
'I wonder if Han Yeo-reum will actually go to fight the boss?'
[I cannot be certain, but given Han Yeo-reum's personality, there is a high possibility he will simply pass the time for seven days and skip it.]
My real goal was Han Yeo-reum's downfall, so the boss fight took a backseat.
..
..
As evening fell, Min Ha-yeon visited my room as she always did.
However, the difference today was...
"Would it be possible to talk for a moment?"
"Ah, yes."
For the first time, she came to me and suggested we take a walk.
Min Ha-yeon and I wandered through the dark village without any conversation.
And the place we arrived at was...
"Coming here at this hour makes it feel quite eerie."
"I was so shocked when I first came here on the first day..."
The place she and I had reached was the Colosseum.
An ochre-colored dirt floor and walls surrounded by dark brown bricks.
People had been summoned there at random, and one of them had their head explode.
Even if I wanted to forget, that was one thing I could never erase.
I wondered why she had brought me here, but I didn't ask.
I decided to wait for her to speak first.
Before I knew it, Min Ha-yeon and I had reached the center of the Colosseum.
In the center, there was a plaster pillar with a crystal ball placed on top.
It was the crystal ball that transported one to the boss fight.
Min Ha-yeon stared intently at the crystal ball before turning around to face me.
"Do you know about the boss fight?"
"The boss fight?"
I naturally played along as if I didn't know and listened to Min Ha-yeon's explanation.
The explanation was simple.
She said no one knew what was inside, and if you cleared it, you would automatically move to the next floor.
After finishing that simple explanation, Min Ha-yeon looked at me with serious eyes and spoke.
"Please, absolutely do not go in."
"...? Wouldn't there be some kind of reward?"
"No. No... I don't know for sure. But I'm begging you. Please do not enter."
Min Ha-yeon looked at me, waiting for an answer.
On the final day, more than 90 percent of the summoners in Zephyrum would certainly enter that place.
Because they mistakenly believed that a "boss fight" was just slightly stronger than the monsters near the village.
And Armonia had explained that the 5th-turn version of me, not knowing any better, had entered with confidence at first.
Actually...
"...I'm begging you. I can't let you go until I hear your answer."
"Um..."
If Min Ha-yeon wasn't going in, I naturally had no reason to enter either.
"So..."
Just as I was about to answer her...
"You fucking piece of shit, why the hell are you with Ha-yeon!!"
The intruder, Han Yeo-reum, had appeared.