Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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What is it that all gamers in this world obsess over?
An engaging story? Solid gameplay? Appealing characters? Those low-probability gacha pulls?
…Let's skip the last one.
I can say this with absolute certainty.
It's games with that one big moment.
The hint that turns the tide in the protagonist's moment of crisis.
The 1% critical hit that explodes in the nick of time during the boss fight.
A character who crushes everyone with a single, devastating blow—the one-shot man.
That 0.0001% probability event that never actually happens…
…Again, skip the last one.
Games like that are the ones that blow up. That's what I think.
Gamers get hooked on those one-shot moments and can't escape the game.
And I was no different.
Even when backed into a corner where death was certain, you'd still hope for that uncertain one-shot to save you.
But if that were reality, things change.
In games, if you die, you just respawn.
Even in hardcore games, you can start over, even if your character gets deleted.
But life? No second chances.
Yet I was still a gamer at heart.
Even if I only played NTR eroge…
I could feel it once more: I was utterly obsessed with the possibility of that one-shot.
"…"
When I opened my eyes, the first thing in my vision was two women talking.
Even though they were familiar faces, it took me a moment to remember who they were.
It was pitch dark—clearly nighttime.
I just stared blankly.
My mouth wouldn't open, and nothing reached my ears.
As I kept staring at them, one suddenly noticed my gaze and bolted out, while the other rushed toward me.
She buried her face in my arm and kept mumbling something.
"-_____—_."
She was saying something, but it didn't register in my ears at all.
Then, gradually, sound started filtering in.
"Hic… sob…"
It wasn't words.
She was just sobbing, soaking my arm with her tears.
"…"
I wanted to say something, but I didn't even have the strength to move my lips.
Still, I mustered all my power into my other arm, lifted it, and placed it on her head.
Then, gathering everything I had, I forced my mouth open.
"…You okay?"
"Waaah!"
The woman who, when we first met, didn't seem like the type to shed a single tear.
Not cold-blooded, but utterly detached from the world.
Yet here she was, bawling her eyes out in front of me.
"Thank you… Thank you for surviving… sob…"
She spoke with difficulty, but her response didn't match my question.
But that was fine.
The answer I wanted was just the sound of her voice, after all.
Someone entered the room.
It was Sonya and an old woman.
The white-haired old lady looked every bit the professor at this school.
The professor hurried over to me, stared right into my face, and said,
"The world sure is full of surprises… Never thought you'd actually wake up."
"Is he going to be okay? His condition…"
"If he's awake, he'll be fine."
Sonya and the old woman exchanged serious words.
The old woman approached me again and shoved something into my mouth.
"Guh!"
"Swallow it, you fool!"
"Cough… cough…"
My throat felt blocked—I thought I was going to die.
'Damn it, I'm seriously gonna croak!'
I could've swallowed it on my own if she'd just put it in.
But she was literally ramming it down.
Once the object slid into my stomach, my body started to loosen up bit by bit.
"Haa… haa…"
"It's a mana purification potion I made. Still experimental, but you should be able to talk soon enough. I'll take my leave now."
"Thank you, Professor Magta."
With the white-haired professor gone, silence enveloped the room once more.
Luna had calmed down a bit and was holding my arm with her head bowed.
Sonya broke the silence.
She came over, placed her hand on my forehead, and asked,
"Are you okay?"
"…Yeah."
I could feel my body recovering gradually, but speaking was still tough.
Sonya hesitated, then continued.
"The dean will be here soon. Deny everything, play dumb no matter what."
"…? Deny what?"
Sonya explained the whole situation.
The mana golem's destruction, the unauthorized entry into the forest arena… And…
The assistant professor's death.
The assistant prof, shriveled up like a mummy, had been so rotten and festering that even those who arrived at the scene had vomited.
The problem was, not even the dean could pinpoint exactly how that death occurred.
Luckily, there were no prior cases of death by mana drain, so they couldn't identify the cause.
"Whatever happened, just deny it. Especially the assistant prof's death—say you don't remember."
"But that guy…"
"Listen to me!"
Sonya shouted desperately.
"If they even suspect you had a 1% hand in the assistant prof's death, you won't leave this place alive!"
"…"
"Schutra might look all shiny and prestigious on the outside, but it's completely different inside!"
Sonya began telling me about the kind of person the dean was.
I recalled for a moment.
What the dean had said to the students…
(If any student in this school points a blade at a professor, I will deal with them myself first. Understood?)
I could never forget those words.
And suddenly, a certain person came to mind.
'Armonia?'
[…]
'Ah, comms glitch? Shit.'
[…You know full well problems like this shouldn't happen, yet you acted anyway?]
'Huh?'
Armonia's voice was the same as always.
But there was a weight to it.
'Uh… mad?'
[Why didn't you follow my advice? If you'd called for external help, this wouldn't have happened.]
'No way, then Luna would've…'
[Luna Staatfeldt dying would just be an unfortunate accident.]
'What?'
For the first time, her words left me speechless in disbelief.
But her next words flipped my thinking upside down.
[If you died, what were you planning to do about Miss Viola here?]
'That…'
No reply came to mind.
[And…]
'…?'
[What about this ship without you?]
'…'
Armonia had told me early on.
Summoning me cost a fortune, and she'd liquidated everything to do it…
She was purely making me realize my own value.
'Sorry. I'll be careful next time.'
[Words alone won't cut it.]
'…I'll act more cautiously from now on.'
[Even that won't suffice.]
Armonia was firm.
There are no perfect situations in this world. In risky spots, you need to gamble accordingly—that's what I thought.
'No, how was I supposed to know how it'd play out…'
[Does Miss Viola, this ship… and… me… mean that little to you?]
'…'
Her words made me sink into deep thought.
Thinking back, when we first met, Armonia was alone.
But had she always been that way? Probably not.
I don't know who was with her before, but now there was me.
I have no idea exactly how she perceives me.
Maybe as a well-pulled hidden card, or just a reliable colleague.
But her earlier outburst didn't carry those ordinary emotions.
I don't know precisely what it was, but that's how it felt to me.
'Sorry. From now on, in dangerous situations, I'll prioritize my own life.'
[That's a sufficient answer.]
Only then did Armonia ease up.
After barely calming her, I turned back to Sonya and Luna.
Sonya had been repeating the same point in different ways.
The gist was simple: somehow avoid any implication of involvement in the assistant prof's death.
She was saying it to me, but also to Luna.
"Got it? Luna. Just say you passed out from the mana golem—that's all the explanation needed."
"Yes…"
Luna clung to my arm and echoed similar words to Sonya.
"No matter what happened, say we passed out together."
"…Yeah, got it."
Click.
The moment I answered, someone cautiously opened the door.
It was the dean.
Flanked by two elderly professors.
One was the prof who'd shoved the pill in my mouth earlier; the other was a man I'd never seen.
The dean looked at me and spoke.
"How's your condition?"
"Fine… Sorry, I can't get up yet…"
"Haha, no need. Stay seated."
The dean approached the bed with his usual affable smile.
He cut straight to the chase.
"I'm here to ask about today's incident."
"…Yes."
"What business did you have intruding on the forest arena?"
He started right off with my violation of school rules.
I explained calmly.
I'd overheard the story about Luna on my way to the cafeteria and rushed straight to the forest arena. I'd asked the girls who told me to inform Professor Sonya.
"Why Professor Sonya, specifically?"
"…She was the one I trusted most."
"Hmm…"
The dean glanced subtly at Sonya, then back at me, as if urging me to continue.
After that, I'd heard a commotion from the forest and had no choice but to enter without permission, I said.
Once inside, the golem got me, and I don't remember anything after.
The dean eyed me suspiciously.
His pressure was intense.
"Why didn't you call for outside help?"
"…Because Luna was there. That's it."
"Hmm…"
At my words, Luna fidgeted bashfully.
But the dean still looked unconvinced.
He asked the two professors beside him.
"Any insights on today's incident?"
"Sigh… Sorry. All we found were traces of mana drain. Strangely, the assistant prof shouldn't have been absorbable by the golem—we couldn't figure that out."
"There were signs of brain-attribute mana too, but it was used on the golem."
"Hm…"
After their reports, the dean closed his eyes and pondered deeply.
Fortunately, the superconductor rounds disintegrated after one use.
But surely the iron balls I'd used were around—yet no mention of them.
'Too small to notice?'
[I moved them outside while you were out. Luckily, just plain iron balls—no big issue.]
'Nice! As expected of our CEO.'
As I admired her internally, the dean stared at me intently and spoke.
"So you did use magic on the golem, correct?"
"Yes…"
…Something felt off.
'He's latching onto it…'
[He won't do anything truly harmful. But he's not purely Zodiac-aligned, so stay cautious. There are those who defy even the gods' proxies.]
She'd said he cherishes his own fiercely.
No law against kicking me out if he's offended.
After all, in this world, he probably thinks he's the protagonist
The dean agonized with eyes closed for a long while.
Even the usually composed Sonya and Luna were sweating tensely.
After ten minutes of silence, the dean's voice rang out with a smile.
"We'll investigate today's events further, but for now, we'll let it slide."
Sonya and Luna avoided his gaze and sighed in relief.
But…
"However, you did trespass on school grounds, damage school property—the golem…"
Tension flashed across Sonya's face as the dean continued, while Luna stared in dread.
Finally, the dean looked at me and finished.
"You'll need to vacate the dorms by tomorrow."