Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Ah, you're thinking about the old days?"
Viola couldn't hold back her curiosity and fired off the question right away.
But I glossed over it without answering.
"It's... getting pretty late at night. Won't the militia scold us for wandering around at this hour?"
"Huh? Oh... it's fine. People here walk around even at night."
"Even at night?"
"Yeah. Ah! In other cities, they say it's dangerous at night and you can't go out, right?"
Viola's eyes sparkled as she asked her odd question.
Her words left me puzzled.
'What? This isn't Korea or anything...'
'Yeah, there are a lot of militia members...'
On top of that, their skill level was supposed to be incredibly high.
They were directly drafted from the kingdom.
Just the few She-Hulks I'd seen earlier could turn a bandit hideout into a wasteland in seconds.
"How's the outside world? You crossed the desert, right? What's it like over there? And..."
"Uh..."
Suddenly, a barrage of questions poured in.
I already knew all about it, but traits sure were funny.
On one hand, I could tell how Viola saw me.
'She doesn't see me as a man at all.'
'Nah, this actually makes it easier.'
The more conversation, the better.
What if Viola saw me even a little as a man?
Whether wary or fond, complicated feelings could make conversation impossible from the start.
She wouldn't have come looking for me in the first place.
Besides, I'm an outsider right now.
Her curiosity toward an outsider like me was a green light.
"And, and..."
"Take your time with the questions. I'll answer them all."
"Ah... sorry. I have so many questions, hehe..."
"Ugh..."
Her bright smile shook my reason for a moment, but I held firm.
Viola seemed to think my grimace was from the pain of my earlier injury.
"Oh? Are you really hurt bad? You should see a doctor quick..."
"Haha... I'm fine. It would be rude to visit a doctor at this hour anyway."
"St-still..."
Guilt and curiosity seemed to war inside Viola.
Of course, I wasn't hurting at all, so I smoothly steered the conversation onward.
"Besides, I'm enjoying our chat too."
"Ah! Really? That's a relief! I was worried I'd be a bother..."
"Hmm. Where should I start?"
"How was the desert!? Tell me that first!"
That night, I spent hours telling Viola about the outside world.
...All of it made up, of course.
I flopped onto the bed and groaned.
"Ow... I'm beat..."
I'd recited my fabricated worldview to Viola in exhaustive detail.
No matter how I spun the tales, her eyes shone with wonder.
Luckily, there was zero contact across the desert, so whatever I invented about that side was fine.
But as the stories dragged on, I started to understand novelists' struggles.
"I could never be a novelist..."
"Well, I might not score points as a man, but as a person? Pretty good haul. And we have our little secret now... heh heh heh."
As night deepened, Viola started getting sleepy.
She promised to come again tomorrow, then came close, grabbed both my hands tight, and said,
-Of course. This is our secret.
-Hehe.
I parted ways with the smiling Viola.
"It's that absurd peace. Duh."
"Exactly. She's like a princess who knows nothing of the world."
From our talk, I learned a few things about Viola.
She had no close friends in the village. Not one.
She only exchanged necessary words with the village chief.
Even he had suddenly banned outings, forcing her to sneak out.
From what she said casually, everyone seemed intimidated by her.
They'd chat happily with others but grew cautious and curt around her.
To Viola, the world outside the village seemed full of happiness and laughter.
Everyone but her.
And from that isolation came her [Strong Curiosity].
A young man she'd never met before.
Unlike other girls, Viola saw me as something akin to a unicorn.
"Looking at Viola's traits, changing her won't be hard."
"Yeah? What?"
That [Unwavering Loyalty] was obvious what it meant.
A trait for loving only one person for life.
Traits could change with life events, but not easily.
I felt Armonia's concern.
Failure meant NTL Corporation crumbling.
But I wasn't worried.
"No need to worry."
I paused dramatically before speaking.
"Viola... doesn't think of the Hero more than her brother."
I knew instantly.
"If she'd ever loved her brother romantically, that trait wouldn't exist."
"The Hero probably raised his sister with kid gloves too. Idiot. I'll corrupt her for him. Heh heh."
"Kekeke... If I can have Viola, I'm ready for anything!"
Unlike before, real energy surged through me.
Especially imagining the Hero's despair after I took her and he found out...
Ah~ so exciting~
"For now, we just do our best with what we can."
"Yeah, got a good one."
I smiled, closed my eyes, and said,
"Time to lay some bait..."
Like yesterday, I pretended to tour the village while heading to my destination.
But today unfolded differently.
"Wow, he's so handsome! Where are you from?"
"Idiot? Can't you tell he crossed the desert? Suu~per impressive!"
"...Who doesn't know that? Why don't you back off?"
"...Why don't you?"
"..."
Girls surrounding me, bickering...
Fortunately, the militia no longer harassed me.
The problem was women flocking from everywhere...
'Shut up...'
A hassle, but the stage was set nicely.
I arrived near the Hero's residence.
'Forget fancy—it's just wooden shacks...'
Worlds apart in assessment.
Actually, next to it stood haphazard two-story wooden houses.
Viola had excitedly pointed out her house yesterday.
I'd lured the women near Viola's home.
Close enough for her to peek through the window and sense something happening outside.
Any closer, and we couldn't approach anyway.
"Um... sorry, but you can't go any further."
It was the militia member from yesterday.
I donned my smile mask and greeted her.
"Ah! Hello."
"Uh, y-yeah! Haha... Wh-what brings you here?"
Go, Seong Suho! Unleash the lies!
"I owed you from yesterday, so I thought I'd at least say good morning."
"Huh? T-to me?! Ah, haha. G-good morning!"
Who knew a morning greeting would thrill her so much...
Damn, her favorability keeps rising uninvited.
I hadn't expected to run into her.
The militia fidgeted at my greeting, her grip tightening on her spear visibly.
Creak... snap. (Spear: Ah, no! This grip! I'm... done!)
It really broke. The spear...
"Ah, damn it... It bent just from squeezing a bit."
Squeezed?
A metal spear bent by bare hands?
'Crazy... If a superhuman like her is just militia in the boonies, how strong is the Hero?'
'The Demon King fought monsters like that? If he finds out I touched Viola...'
'...Thanks for the useful info.'
I took it as: seduce quick or experience 1,000 deaths at once.
Meanwhile, the women around us whispered overhearing my chat with the militia.
"...Do you two know each other?"
"They look close..."
"When did that happen...?"
"He doesn't smile like that for us... So mean."
"Flirting with guys on duty..."
Savage...
Even I, a guy, felt bad for the militia as the women trashed her openly.
Annoyed at my talking to her, the girls suddenly clung closer to me.
"I know a really tasty place here~ Ronel's tavern, I can take you~"
"Ah! I know it too! I'll guide you!"
"Damn it, back off? I was gonna show him first!"
"What? I'm a regular there! Have you even eaten properly?!"
"What, you bitch? I'm Ronel!"
What a spectacle...
"...This is fucking infuriating."
All day, I'd hung out in the clearing near Viola's house with the women.
To maximize their arousal, I'd devised one trick.
Palm reading.
"I don't believe it, but women go nuts for that stuff."
And this world was no different.
Palm reading didn't exist here.
At first, the women were skeptical, but after I nailed a few personalities, they went wild.
I didn't even look at their palms.
Just their traits floating above their heads.
I'd spent Enel scanning village women's traits.
It cost more than expected, but only 2-3 per person. Matching vaguely worked wonders, and some became zealots spreading the word.
For [Sloth], sleep less; [Gluttony], eat moderately; [Masturbation Addiction]... whisper in ear, do it in moderation.
In this era, even simple fits became rumors of divine communion.
They started treating me like the pope.
"Plus, I got some really good info..."
All I'd learned about the Hero here was he was a siscon.
I'd grilled max-favor She-Hulk, and it was a sight.
Rumors said he'd kill first, ask later if guys lurked near his sister.
Not half-measures—actually killed...
But take with salt; old wives' tale.
Visit the granny tomorrow for details.
As I planned tomorrow, Armonia questioned.
'Oh~ There's physiognomy too. Predicting personality and future from faces.'
'You'll see why it worked.'
Truth was, I had zero desire to touch their palms.
Real women's hands...
This was all~~~
Knock knock knock.
A woman peeking through the window into the room.
"A-are you there?"
Because of Viola.
Viola and I sat in the bushes by the village chief's house, chatting like yesterday.
Another parade of nonsense today.
And I felt it again today.
Other women saw me as a man, good or bad, but Viola only as an exotic curiosity.
'Peeling that off is key. Like undressing a virgin—gotta be careful.'
'He didn't fail to peel it.'
'He never tried.'
At this point, I was certain.
The Hero bastard raised her pure, planning to claim her later.
I glanced slyly at Viola.
Mid-conversation, she fidgeted, gauged my reaction, and spoke up.
"Um... You said beyond the desert, they do palm reading?"
"Ah, yeah. Your fate's in your palm... something like that. Haha. How'd you hear? It's only known across the desert."
"Hehe, the women passing by mentioned it."
Housebound Viola had eavesdropped on the women and militia nearby.
She poked her head forward, acting cute.
"Can you read mine? Please? Pretty please?"
"Of course."
"Yay! Great. I heard it reveals the future but takes a huge toll."
"Hahaha..."
"They say you get a divine revelation, need huge compensation... Are you okay?"
From her words, rumors had warped through a hundred ears.
Divine visions for futures, life force as cost—wild tales.
Viola mistook palm reading for ancient god magic from passersby chatter.
Perfect.
"Don't worry. But a price is real."
"Ahh... It really does... Then it's fine. I don't want you straining for me..."
Viola bowed her head, disappointed.
Her personality mirrored Philia's exactly.
"Ah, it won't strain me."
"Huh?! Really?"
"Yes, but the price..."
I cupped her left hand in both of mine.
"Hm?"
"A promise to keep it secret."
Now to use her [Ignorance of Sex].