Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 281
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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BAM!
‘Oh! Now that is what I call a satisfying reaction.’
I gazed contentedly at Louis as he slammed his fist down on the desk in a fit of pique. It was painfully obvious that it wasn't just my silent lip movements that had gotten under his skin, but rather the nearby female student who had dared to blurt out something foolish about his performance compared to mine.
‘And Luna is just standing there, forced to watch him fume like a child.’
Luna had gone over to comfort him out of a sense of obligation and was now getting a front-row seat to his mounting irritation. When she had first told me she was going to console him, a small flicker of jealousy had stirred in my chest, but from a strategic perspective, I knew her choice was the right one. Even to a casual observer like me, Louis was clearly head over heels for Luna, while her feelings for him were strictly sibling-like. This offbeat dynamic—his unrequited love and her sisterly affection—was crucial for my long-term plans. To eventually have Luna awaken those pent-up feelings of jealousy and loss in Louis, they needed to maintain this awkward proximity for a while longer.
‘It's actually a good thing that Luna keeps looking after him; it ensures he doesn't completely lose his mind before I'm finished with him.’
Luna's [Repaying Kindness] trait was a double-edged sword. Even if Louis hadn't done her any direct favors himself, the fact that she was alive and enrolled at Schutra Magic School was entirely thanks to his family's intervention. It meant she wasn't the type to brush him off easily, no matter how much of a pest he became. But I knew that someday, she would inevitably be forced to choose between us. I had already planted the seed of belief that I would be by her side forever, while Louis remained just a friend from her past. However, a seed won't sprout without steady hydration and nutrient-rich soil.
‘And semen… is truly the perfect tool for nurturing that seed of belief and devotion in a woman's heart.’
[….]
Clean hydration and top-tier biological nutrients—what else could provide both so effectively? My thoughts quickly veered from the metaphorical seed of belief straight to a carnal desire to sleep with Luna again. As a sharp shiver rippled through my lower abdomen, the assistants and two professors entered the lecture hall right on cue to interrupt my fantasies. One was clearly a full professor, much like the one from the previous session, while the other appeared to be an adjunct. Unfortunately, Sonya was nowhere to be seen this time. The eldest-looking woman took the podium and began her formal explanation.
"Today, we will be conducting the affinity exams. As you are all aware, affinity subjects vary significantly from student to student, so I will explain the differing formats in detail."
I had assumed they would group students by their respective affinities in separate rooms, but the school maintained a different kind of protocol. Instead of switching classrooms, the professors rearranged everyone into preset seats and handed out individualized test papers. It seemed inefficient at first, but the reasoning was subtle and sharp.
"Clustering students of the same affinity together only serves to breed bad intentions and opportunities for collaboration. This seating arrangement prevents pointless cheating, so please follow the assistants' instructions and move to your assigned seats immediately."
‘Preventing pointless cheating… in other words, don't even bother trying, because the proctors are watching everything.’
The old professor then addressed the inevitable concerns regarding difficulty levels.
"I will not tolerate any complaints that final rankings were affected by uneven difficulties across different subjects. Your exams were personally calibrated for perfect difficulty balance by the Dean himself, Great Mage Ludwig Rippenstein. You should harbor no doubts about the fairness of this process."
It was a scene that radiated the faculty's absolute loyalty to the Dean. Even in his absence, his authority was used as a shield against dissent. As the professor wrapped up her speech, the assistants swiftly chalked a complex seating chart on the large board. I stared at the diagram for a moment and couldn't help but chuckle.
‘Wow… now that is what I call a prime spot.’
..
..
Scribble… scratch scratch….
I moved my pen tip with a slow, deliberate focus, entirely concentrated on copying the provided answers onto my paper. Almost immediately, a matching scratching sound came from the desk right beside mine.
Scratch… scratch scratch… scribble….
The only difference was that his pace was a tad faster than mine, as if he were trying to race me. I grinned and picked up my own pace by a noticeable notch.
Scratch… scratch scratch… scratch scratch.
My neighbor flinched at the sound of my pen and unleashed a series of elegant, frantic strokes on his own sheet, determined to stay ahead.
Scratch scratch!! Scratch scratch scratch scratch!
‘Is this dude actually managing to solve these problems at that speed?’
I snickered inwardly and sneaked a quick sideways glance at him. Louis immediately shot me a glare with a deeply furrowed brow. Peeking during a Schutra exam normally risked a disqualification, but since I was tackling the first-year brain-affinity test while he was focused on persistence, there was zero possibility of cheating between us. Still, I figured it was better to avoid any official misunderstandings.
‘What an absolute clown.’
I offered Louis a mocking smirk before refocusing on my paper. The seating chart had plopped us side by side, and from the moment he sat down, he had oozed displeasure and tossed several snide remarks my way. I had countered every single one of them with just one word, mouthed silently.
-Slowpoke.-
“…”
Grit….
My silent lip movement provoked a loud, teeth-grinding retort from him. The problem was that while my insult was soundless, his reaction echoed like a violin string snapping across the silent room.
"Who is making that noise? Affinity exams may be slightly more relaxed in format, but you should avoid drawing needless suspicion to yourselves."
“…”
The old professor nailed the culprit instantly, scowling as she pinned Louis with a heavy, judgmental stare.
‘Damn… I was hoping for an immediate ejection.’
‘Perfect! Then it's time to turn up the heat.’
While I was inwardly disappointed that he wasn't kicked out, a surge of thrill washed over me. I wasn't about to squander this stroke of luck. I began to maximize my writing speed, scrawling the complex formulas from the answer key as fast as my hand could move. Earlier, I had been toying with him for a few laughs, but now I decided to show no mercy. I knew the problems would get significantly tougher toward the end, but my goal was to completely wreck his rhythm. I wanted to see if Louis would snatch the lone marshmallow of speed upfront or if he had enough pride to hold back for accuracy. My furious scribbling drew a startled, wide-eyed glance from him. Ignoring his gaze, I whispered in a voice as soft as a mouse's tail:
"Slow… poooooke…"
“…”
Having been scolded for grinding his teeth earlier, he could only fidget in my peripheral vision, visibly stewing in his own rage. And then…
Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch!!!
He whipped himself into a frantic overdrive, moving even faster than me. I was both relieved and genuinely impressed by his raw ability.
‘Damn… is he actually solving these correctly at that speed?’
While I was performing a straight copy-paste of the answers, he was pausing only briefly to boldly mental-math the calculation-free spots. I tried my best to fake the struggle of solving, but his pen sang with the elite pedigree of his upbringing. His raw talent stung with a hint of envy… yet it thrilled me to no end.
‘Nice… just imagine his face if he makes one fat mistake because he was racing a cheat like me. The prodigy buckling under pressure and crumbling further… it's perfect.’
Plus, the girl he craved was already mine. I could only imagine what his expression would be when he realized he had lost everything.
‘I have to win, no matter what it takes. Desperate times call for desperate measures.’
If I could block him from taking first place, my victory was as good as secured. I wanted to see him descend into a mad-eyed frenzy of solving, perhaps even developing a case of [Neurosis] by the end of the week. The exam finally hit the one-hour mark.
‘Whoa… this finale problem is a true masterpiece of difficulty.’
The last problem on the affinity exam was a massive, page-filling beast. I didn't need to understand it, but I knew Louis would have to put in the work. Hitting the final sheet together, he flexed his fingers twice and dove back in. His drive to win was powerful, but his urge to avoid finishing second to me was overflowing.
‘Louis is actually cracking the problems that stumped Luna.’
In the middle of his intense tackle of the problem, I finished inking the last answer and rose from my seat. I made sure to move my chair silently this time to avoid collateral damage.
“!!”
Louis's desk rattled as he jolted in surprise at my sudden standing; he tried to shove himself up abruptly to match me.
‘…What a killer reflex he has.’
Honestly, it was even better than I had hoped for. My aim was to cause a rush-error, but instead, he reached out and snagged my sleeve the moment he saw me about to submit first.
‘He clearly hates losing more than anything else.’
‘And that is exactly the jackpot I needed.’
The sudden outburst drew every single eye in the room—students, aides, and professors alike. The old full professor especially bristled at the noise.
“What is the meaning of this disturbance?!”
I maintained a courteous tone toward her: “Uh… I am finished with the test and was just on my way to submit it, Professor.”
"Then you should do it quietly. The exam is still ongoing for everyone else."
“I am truly sorry.”
I apologized for a disturbance I hadn't actually caused and yanked my arm to free it from his grasp. Louis, however, remained laser-focused on his paper even as his grip stayed iron-tight on my sleeve. The other students began to peel their eyes away from their own sheets to watch the drama.
“Hey… let… go of my arm…”
“Ngh…”
It was starting to give off a strange vibe having a dude gripping my sleeve like that, so I thrashed my arm to free it. His grip eventually slackened, and he slumped back into his chair. I leaned down and mouthed a sentence meant only for him:
“You can keep chasing my shadow forever, slowpoke.”
“You absolute bastard…”
Louis stayed in his seat, staring at his paper in an internal war of emotions. He eventually chose to pout and try to resume his work, his head dropping as he let out a wronged, sniffly sound.
‘…That was so close to a disqualification.’
I gulped down my regret and continued toward the door. However, the professor's gaze pierced my shoulder before I could reach it.
“Student! What exactly do you think you are doing?”
“…Huh? I am just submitting my paper, ma'am.”
“No, not you.”
“...?”
Her gaze pierced past me to the student behind.
“I am talking to the student sitting behind you.”
“…Yes?”
Louis answered with a quivering, teary voice. The professor only scowled deeper.
“Are you not planning on submitting that paper right now?”
“Ah, I am sorry… I just had a sudden, severe stomachache.”
He tried to explain while reaching for his pen again, but the professor wasn't having it.
“And you think a stomachache gives you the right to act out and disrupt others in the middle of a high-level exam?”
“…Huh?”
The professor barked at his blank, confused face:
“Hand over your paper and get out of this hall immediately. You are officially disqualified from further testing for today.”