Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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Sonya sat in the chair with her arms crossed, glaring at me fiercely as she shouted.
"Lift them higher!"
"...Yes."
I stood by the bed with my hands raised, getting scolded.
It was a punishment I hadn't even endured back in elementary school.
'I'm not a kid anymore...'
[For now, it might be best to play along.]
'Sigh...'
After our intense night together, Sonya and I had slept deeply and woke to the morning sun.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Sonya's bright, innocent smile.
She stroked my cheek, gazing at me with a continuous smile.
There wasn't a trace of anger or disgust on Sonya's face.
Just a smile of pure happiness.
We spent thirty minutes silently exchanging affectionate glances.
Suddenly, she pinched my cheek and dragged me out of bed.
"Do you know how much pain I was in last night?"
"...I'm sorry."
The pattern was repeating: her scolding me about last night, and me apologizing.
After lecturing me for dozens of minutes, Sonya seemed to calm down. She sat me beside her and spoke.
"That... you absolutely cannot do to Luna. Got it?"
"...But it felt good, didn't it? Ow ow ow!"
Sonya pinched my cheek mercilessly again.
"Hoo... Yeah, it was good. An experience I never even dreamed of in my life."
"Then..."
"But it wasn't good as a woman—it felt like thrashing around like an animal."
Sonya said that when she woke up in the morning and saw me, she felt so happy.
But that was because her reason hadn't fully returned yet.
Dozens of minutes later, a sudden wave of self-loathing crept into her mind, gnawing at her sanity.
"Hoo... I brought you here to provoke Luna's jealousy last night, and in the end, it looks like she stole you from me."
"...I'm sorry."
"Promise me."
"Huh?"
"You can do it to me. But never to Luna. Even if you do, not until your relationship has progressed a lot."
"Is it that bad?"
"I'm not joking. Doing something like that to Luna right away? The self-loathing might make her leave you instead."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
'Looks like she wasn't kidding.'
[You didn't do it to Viola either, right?]
'No, yesterday I was kinda serious with her. With Viola, it was just to make her feel good.'
Yesterday, my destructive urges had surged unexpectedly, and I'd unleashed them on Sonya.
Thanks to Sonya, I gained some valuable info.
I need to use my Hand Skill in moderation.
I thought it could win hearts, but that was a mistake.
It might temporarily double affection from someone who already likes you, but the backlash is no joke.
After listening to Sonya's advice for a while, I cautiously turned toward the guest room.
After finishing breakfast at Sonya's house, I returned to the dorm.
Sonya and Carl wanted us to stay longer, but I figured lingering too long at someone else's home wasn't polite given our positions.
During breakfast, I sensed that Carl had caught on to what happened.
"After all that commotion, it'd be weirder if he hadn't noticed."
[If it's the room right next door, he'd hear it whether he wanted to or not.]
"I wonder if Luna will like this."
On the way back to the dorm, Sonya handed me a wooden box adorned with ornate patterns.
It wasn't for me.
(Give this to Luna as a gift.)
It was a makeup kit.
[She seems interested in makeup lately, so it should make a great gift.]
"Well, if she likes it, great. I'll give it to her tomorrow or something."
I neatly organized the clothes I'd received as a gift yesterday and changed into my uniform.
[Suho, planning to head out again?]
"Yeah, I thought about it, and there's something I need to practice."
[What kind of practice?]
As I left the room, I said,
"Flick bean."
Though there's this cool term 'railgun,' I've been calling it a flick bean.
Honestly, it's nowhere near railgun level yet...
At best, if I pour everything into power like last time, it kinda lives up to the name, but today I wanted to practice for better usability.
"With my store ranking, I should still have access to the training rooms, right?"
[The top 10 in the store definitely get special privileges, so yes.]
Schutra Magic School has a store system based on relative evaluations with benefits accordingly.
Top 50 get free weekend outings. Top 30 get free overnight stays on weekends.
And the top 10 get access to special facilities like labs and training rooms.
Since it's early in the semester, not many students have earned store points yet.
Cases like mine, getting 10 points in one go, are unheard of.
At the faculty office, the dark circles assistant was diligently writing something.
When I asked...
"It's possible!"
"Ah, then can I use the lab from the lightning attribute class?"
"Normally it's professor-only, but right now, it's fine."
The assistant answered straightforwardly, then suddenly looked puzzled.
"But it's weird. Did you make a promise or something?"
"Huh? What promise?"
"Another student already headed to that lab."
"What? To there?"
"Yes. Can't give names, but you'll probably run into them anyway."
It was such a warehouse-like place; no one had reason to use it.
I headed straight to the lightning lab.
Sounds were coming from inside.
(Cough, cough, cough...)
It was clearly a woman's coughing echoing.
When I opened the lab door...
"...What the hell is this."
The lab was filled with flying dust; visibility was zero.
Luna woke up in the morning, washed up, tidied herself, and changed into her uniform.
Even on a holiday, she prepared for school as usual and left her dorm room.
The school grounds were lively, unlike weekdays.
Though they couldn't go outside, students chatted on benches or played sports together.
Some drank beverages from the school cafeteria, enjoying conversations.
Luna realized how much she'd changed since coming here.
'They look tasty. Maybe ask to have one together later.'
Luna watched them from afar before turning back to her path.
She was heading to the faculty office.
Upon arrival, she asked the shadowy-eyed assistant about her store privileges.
"Luna... Staat... feldt... Ah! Yes, it's possible."
"Phew..."
"Which facility?"
"Um... I don't know the exact place... Could I use the one from the lightning attribute class?"
"Ah!"
The assistant opened a large cabinet in the center of the faculty office, found a key, and handed it to Luna.
"Use it and make sure to return the key."
"Yes, thank you."
Luna took the key and headed to the lab as directed.
Click, slide.
Entering the lab, Luna scanned the interior with wide eyes.
"...No wonder practicing here makes you feel unwell."
The lab floor was carpeted in dust, and sunlight filtering through the windows clearly revealed particles floating in the air.
It was a place you wouldn't want to step foot in.
Covering her mouth with her hand, Luna entered and carefully opened all the windows.
Fortunately, the weather was nice, and cool breezes began to envelop the lab.
But the incoming wind only stirred up the accumulated dust.
"What do I do? I've never cleaned before..."
Luna had never done chores in her life.
Though from a fallen noble family, Louis's household supported her, allowing a noble lifestyle.
Her top-ranked dorm was suite-like, with cleaning and laundry handled by the school.
So, she had no idea what to do here.
But Luna didn't want to leave like this.
"Something... Ah!"
A brilliant idea struck her.
She picked up a stick from the corner and began drawing a magic circle on the lab floor.
Wrinkling her nose at the dust clinging to the stick's end, Luna persisted.
A blue-glowing magic circle formed on the floor.
She activated it.
Whooosh!
"Kyaa?! Cough, cough, cough..."
The magic circle unleashed fierce winds, instantly spreading dust throughout the lab.
She'd planned to blow the dust outside, but a miscalculation made the wind circulate indoors only.
Luna closed her eyes, groping for the exit, but ended up inhaling more dust.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and covered her face with something.
Startled, Luna flailed in place.
"Wh-who is it?!"
"It's me. Let's get out first."
"Huh?"
She recognized the voice instantly.
Finally outside, Luna could see again.
Seong Suho, covered head to toe in dust.
"Whew, this is no joke."
"How did you...?"
"That's what I want to ask you."
Seong Suho shook off the cloak he'd draped over her and asked.
Luna hesitated to answer.
'If I say I came to clean, he'll think I'm weird...'
She didn't look down on servants, but she didn't want Seong Suho seeing her that way.
"I came to practice magic circles."
"Huh? Here?"
"Y-yeah."
She didn't want to lie, but didn't want the truth exposed either.
"W-well, I'll be going now."
"You free tonight?"
"...Huh? Yeah, I am."
"Then meet at the terrace, same time as always."
"...Okay."
Luna smiled at his words and slipped away.
Brushing dust from her hair and uniform as she went, she headed to the faculty office.
Thrilled at the evening meetup, she returned the key, but the assistant looked puzzled.
"Huh? Didn't another student go to the lab?"
"Yes, they did."
"Ah, then they don't have the key now..."
"Oh... I'll bring it back."
"Sorry, I can't leave my post right now, haha..."
Luna headed back to the lab.
It was an annoying extra errand, but her heart bubbled with joy instead.
She now had an excuse to see him again.
Arriving lightly, the lab door was slightly ajar.
'The dust is all gone.'
Peeking in quietly, Seong Suho was muttering while making strange movements.
'...I notice it every time, but that's just his personality, right?'
More curious than thinking it odd, he seemed to talk to himself as if addressing someone, staring into empty space like he saw a different world.
He extended one hand long, placing something on his fingertip.
A steel ball.
'...? Did he come here to practice flicking that at targets?'
Luna had many questions but thought peeking was a bad habit. She planned to hand over the key quickly and leave.
"Um..."
That moment.
Bang!!
"...!"
Luna nearly screamed in shock.
The steel ball from his hand had embedded into a steel plate with a deafening roar.
Seong Suho, looking exhausted, slumped forward with a sigh that rang clearly in Luna's ears.
"Haa... As expected, this is the limit of power with my mana."