Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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Armonia picked up on my mental scream and immediately pulled up her traits.
[Recovery], [Martial Prowess], [Sincere Faith], [Family Love], [Misandry], [Truthfulness], [Recklessness], [Flexible Body]...
A new ability I'd never seen before popped up.
'Recovery? Is she some kind of healer?'
[Displaying details.]
-[Recovery LV 4], [Status Ailment Removal LV 2]-
The listed skills screamed "I'm a healer!" loud and clear.
Her name gave it away right away—she was Han Yeo-reum's little sister, the one Min Hayeon had mentioned before.
"Bom! What are you doing here?"
"I got dragged here a month ago. You just arrived too, unnie..."
"A whole month? Oh my god..."
Min Ha-yeon and the girl called Han Bom threw their arms around each other and started sobbing.
I stared at Han Bom, silently praising the laws of genetics.
Think about it—Han Yeo-reum was ridiculously handsome, so of course his little sister would be drop-dead gorgeous too.
'Holy shit... Wow... This is no joke?'
Up till now, I'd met stunners like Armonia, Viola, Luna, Lena de Peron, Seong Sua, Cho Seo-hyun, Min Hayeon, and more. Living among all those beauties had made me think I didn't even need to rate looks anymore.
Then Han Bom shattered that illusion to pieces.
Her mid-length hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and her features were formed from the best possible combination of Western and Eastern aesthetics.
Her eyes were somewhat sharp and her bridge was high, but that only added to her immense charm.
The women I had met previously were relatively thin, but Han Bom possessed a perfectly slender physique.
Her height was in the upper 160s, slightly shorter than Min Ha-yeon, but thanks to her small face and thin, toned legs, she actually felt taller when viewed from a distance.
My eyes went straight to Han Bom's chest.
'Mmm... boobs... Being generous, B-cup? Without a bra, maybe A.'
[...Definitely smaller than the women you've met so far.]
'But it suits her perfectly!'
Truth be told, bust size never really mattered to me.
If I cared about anything, it was maybe the hips?
But whether hips, chest, or overall build, one thing trumped them all.
'Face... Face comes first. And Han Bom? Her small chest is actually a plus.'
A bigger chest might've thrown off her proportions.
As I admired Han Bom, the two finished their tearful reunion and looked around.
Min Ha-yeon spotted me, but Han Bom...
"What the hell? Why are you here?"
"I mean, how many times have I told you not to speak to me like that...."
Han Bom glared at Han Yeo-reum like he was summer trash and snapped.
"What bullshit. Just answer the question."
"You little shit... to your oppa..."
"Bullshit, 'oppa' my ass...."
Han Bom ignored Han Yeo-reum and turned to me and the three women.
It seemed the three women caught her eye first.
Under Han Bom's gaze, which was laced with an incredible amount of bloodlust, even the normally strong-willed Park Seon-hee instantly shrank into a ball.
'Oh... I guess there's something that only women understand?'
[They probably don't want to look bad in front of Han Yeo-reum's sister.]
'Yeah... though they already look like criminals just by existing...'
I chuckled, remembering a drunken chat with Min Ha-yeon back in the day.
Han Yeo-reum's playboy ways weren't news to Min Ha-yeon or his sisters.
Apparently, the eldest, Han Bom, always led the charge in beating sense into him.
Even with all the sisters ganging up, he never reformed.
A scumbag like that hanging with three beauties? No way she'd see it in a good light.
And...
'Whoa! She's totally ignoring me~?'
[...]
I was chopped liver to her.
She eyed me like some random NPC eavesdropping.
After staring down the three women for a bit, Han Bom sighed deeply, gave Min Ha-yeon a wistful smile, and spoke.
"Unnie... it must've been tough."
"No, I'm okay. Bom, is there anywhere to stay here? I've walked around the whole village trying to find a room, but they said there are no vacancies...."
"Follow me. I have a place where I stay."
"What a relief."
Min Ha-yeon patted Han Bom's shoulder affectionately.
Han Bom frowned at us and said,
"...Just follow for now."
"Okay..."
As the three women, Han Yeo-reum, and I started trailing, Han Bom shot me a side-eye.
"...Is the Ajusshi a party member too?"
"Bo, Bom-ah...."
"...."
One thing was certain.
That Ajusshi was definitely not the kind of Ajusshi like Won Bin.
Min Ha-yeon walked slowly behind Han Bom's group, consoling me.
"Haha... B-Bom can be pretty blunt."
"...Do I really look that old?"
"Come on! You're not!"
Min Ha-yeon nudged me playfully with her elbow to lighten the mood.
And Han Bom looked back and forth between us and Han Yeo-reum with an expression of utter incomprehension.
After watching our display of affection for a while, Han Bom began to try and strike up a conversation with Han Yeo-reum.
I couldn't tell what they were talking about, but the expressions on their faces signaled the gravity of the situation.
Following Han Bom, we eventually arrived at a dilapidated-looking inn.
It wasn't great compared to others in town, but this one made those look pristine.
"...Just come inside for now."
Han Bom seemed to understand how the other party members felt.
Even if it wasn't quite a haunted house, it didn't look like a normal inn.
However, since we had no other options, we had no choice but to enter.
Still, the interior wasn't bad.
One characteristic of the Yggdrasil world: never judge by appearances.
Vowing this to myself, I looked around the interior.
It was similar to the inn I had stayed in at Zephyrum.
The first floor consisted of a dining area, and the rest of the guest rooms were clustered on the upper floors.
Just like the other inns, this place was crowded with people.
The difference, however, was that the atmosphere was completely different.
"Oh... Ah! Han Bom-ssi, you're here?"
"Th-those people next to her..."
Everyone stared at her in fear.
Unlike other inns packed with guys, this was mostly women.
Han Bom glanced at us, then addressed the crowd.
"Don't worry. This is someone I was very close with back where I used to live. Today was the day new summoners entered, and I was lucky enough to run into her."
"Ah..."
They sighed in relief.
'What the hell's going on...'
We were the confused ones amid the weird atmosphere.
Not just Min Hayeon—we all shot expectant looks.
Han Bom calmed everyone, then turned to us.
"I'll explain."
Han Bom arrived about a month ago.
Like us, she got hit on nonstop while hunting rooms, ended up here by chance.
"I thought it was just like this because I experienced it from the start, but after talking to others, I concluded that it's not normally this way."
"How did you find out?"
"I was able to gather some information through the chat."
By chance, there were beings in her comrades' channels who roughly understood the situation.
By sharing the stories told by those channel entities, she was able to understand to some extent why this was happening.
"The lack of rooms is because of the people coming from the upper floors."
"Upper floors?"
In response to our puzzled question, Han Bom explained everything she knew.
She said this place is called Primum Village.
In the past, while the facilities were poor compared to Zephyrum, it was felt that basic necessities were somewhat guaranteed.
However, about a year ago, wars broke out between nations within Midgard, and summoners who were pushed out or fled from those wars began arriving here one by one.
"Its all just speculation..."
"..."
It made sense..
How much could people who had just arrived on the first floor possibly know?
It was the limit of the information they could synthesize based on what the channel entities had told them.
Furthermore, it was their rule not to provide information directly related to the walkthrough.
It was merely information at a level where one could speculate.
"That's how the rooms kept decreasing, and now this place has become like the last bastion."
Even if someone wanted to rent a room, those who had stayed once extended their stay indefinitely, causing vacancies to disappear entirely.
The problem was that the people occupying those rooms seemed to be organized.
"They seize all the rooms this way, and then provide a room only to those who obey them."
"...."
No one would want to be homeless in a world like this.
Especially if they were a woman....
Those who couldn't find this inn eventually lived as wanderers until they were forced to join those groups.
And once they joined, they were exploited using points, food, and shelter as leverage.
Moreover, summoners who had just arrived had no information, and out of the anxiety that surged within them, they had no choice but to follow orders to survive.
She explained that everyone in this inn was working together to make sure they didn't lose their place.
"And if you want to use this inn... there's one thing you need to know."
"...?"
"Single rooms are impossible. Even now, four or five people are sharing one room."
"My god...."
Min Ha-yeon murmured softly.
The reason she murmured wasn't out of complaint.
"Bom... you've been living in a place like this for a month?"
"...Yeah."
For the first time in a while, a look of rage began to settle on Min Ha-yeon's face.
For reference, this was the exact same expression she wore when she saw Han Yeo-reum humming happily while heading toward another woman's room.
Min Ha-yeon hugged Han Bom once more to comfort her, and Han Bom looked miserable in Min Ha-yeon's arms.
After hugging for a few minutes, Han Bom calmed down and spoke to us.
"The men and women are separated for now. However, since the space for the original residents is shrinking, you must show basic courtesy and ask for permission."
"Yes...."
The three women agreed, despite their dissatisfied expressions.
The sun was about to set.
If we weren't careful, we'd end up homeless—or worse, get caught by the upper-floor gang and suffer a miserable fate.
Fortunately, the people already staying there gave their permission easily, perhaps because of Han Bom's request.
Once the agreement was reached, a middle-aged woman who seemed to be the innkeeper laughed hollowly and said,
"More people again, huh."
"I'm sorry...."
"It's fine. It's the regulation anyway. Just make sure you manage the rooms well."
"Yes, thank you."
After thanking the innkeeper, Han Bom approached Han Yeo-reum.
Unlike the expression she had just shown the innkeeper, she was now scowling.
Han Bom began whispering something to Han Yeo-reum unilaterally.
Hearing the whisper, Han Yeo-reum frowned and nodded.
Han Bom immediately linked arms with Min Ha-yeon and began to smile brightly.
"Unnie! It's been so hard for you, right? Let's have some drinks since it's been a while! Please? We can catch up too."
"Sure."
Min Ha-yeon smiled, looking happily at Han Bom, who was clinging to her without hesitation.
'Wow, it's not easy to get that close to someone.'
Han Bom truly cherished Min Ha-yeon more than family.
Because real sisters would never laugh and giggle like that.
Still, I thought that if she was that close to Min Ha-yeon, she might open her heart to me quickly as well.
[However, I am concerned.]
'Why?'
[The Misandry in her Trait is the problem.]
'...Fuck.'
Too dazzled by her healing skills, I missed it—Misandry right up top.
And one more...
-[Big Brother Aversion]-
'Han Yeo-reum's one hell of a guy...'
Trait made for one person, plain as day.
But while I worried about the Misandry trait, I cheered inwardly.
'Misandry... then she's probably a virgin? Jackpot!'
It was while I was staring intently at her, analyzing her Traits.
[Su-ho.]
'Yeah?'
[...I believe it best to look away. Min Ha-yeon's expression is...]
I immediately closed the status window and looked at Min Ha-yeon.
I was clearly looking at her with a smile, but...
'Oh shit...'
Min Ha-yeon was looking at me with eyes filled with a bloodlust so cold it felt like it had reached absolute zero.