Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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‘Goddamn, this is fucking brutal!!’
I was charging up the mountain like a madman, kicking up clouds of dirt.
This spot was a hill behind the Hero Agency, on land owned by the agency itself.
And this mountain was a favorite training ground for the cadets.
Fortunately, the path was well-trodden, so there was no risk of tripping or getting hurt.
The problem was my stamina...
‘Ugh, found it...’
‘...Let me rest.’
Right now, this mountain was being used as the training ground for Hero Department Class 5.
The reason I’d come sprinting all the way here was for the evaluations...
Normally, each cadet’s smartwatch would record and transmit all the data for batch evaluations later.
But thanks to that monster intruder incident before, the servers were down, forcing instructors to tag along and do manual assessments.
I caught my breath and checked all the monsters sprawled on the ground.
Well, not me—Armonia did it for me.
‘...Thanks.’
I gave it a quick once-over and jotted down the evaluations by hand on the file I’d brought.
As I panted and scribbled away, one cadet approached me.
It was Song Ara.
“Teacher... are you okay?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
Embarrassing situation, but I kept my cool.
No way my lower body strength could keep up with these monsters anyway.
‘Damn it, when I get to Schutra, I’m definitely learning some movement magic...’
My cheat-level Hand Skill was utterly useless in this scenario.
The other cadets eyed me weirdly, but Song Ara looked at me with genuine concern.
“Teacher, you’re sweating buckets.”
She wiped the sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of her uniform as she said it.
Startled, I pulled my head back and replied.
“Ah, I’m good. Go rest. We’ve got ten minutes before heading to the next spot, so take it easy till then.”
“Aww, I’m not tired at all.”
Watching her beam and hop around cheerfully, I couldn’t help but think.
Lucky her... I feel like I’m dying.
The mountain practical wrapped up, and then I got royally chewed out by Cho Seo-hyun.
“How do you fail to keep up with even that?”
“Sorry.”
I apologized without losing too much spirit.
Wrong is wrong, after all.
‘Fuck, I’m definitely learning some lightness skill or whatever next time...’
Cho Seo-hyun laid into me like that, then let out a deep sigh and muttered under her breath.
“This is why Mandoki are...”
“...”
I’d heard that “Mandoki” line nonstop all day.
At first I had no idea what it meant, but Armonia dug up the info.
Heroes naturally had rankings, of course.
And the bottom cutoff was set at 10,000.
Anything below that didn’t really count for much.
My profile didn’t show a rank either, since I was below 10,000.
Those types couldn’t even use the Hero title proudly, and they themselves shied away from it.
What’s there to brag about being beyond the rankings...?
I wrapped up the morning Hero Department classes like that, enduring the Mandoki jabs to the bitter end.
As I headed to the cafeteria, I racked my brain for solutions.
And the answer I came up with!
‘Ah! You mentioned lightness skills earlier! Let’s buy that with Enel!’
‘Huh?! Why not?’
She explained that all my current skills had been learned that way—direct encounters.
Luna and Sonya at Schutra. Beatrice at the Demon King’s castle.
In other words, to learn something, I had to at least meet someone who had that ability once.
‘Nah, then I’ll just pick up some movement magic at Schutra later...’
Luna... I miss her...
The cadets here didn’t use lightness skills or anything like that.
They were just backed by absurdly cheat-level stamina.
‘Guess I’ll have to run my ass off till I figure something out. Right?’
I arrived at the cafeteria without a solution, and that’s when one person caught my eye.
Seong Sua.
She was just settling alone at a table.
‘Fuck, tough call. Sit with her or keep my distance...?’
‘Too late now...’
But that dilemma didn’t last. People started flocking to her table right away.
No gender divide, but overwhelmingly guys.
‘Whoa, is Seong Sua that popular?’
It was a nickname earned because she could wield all four elemental magics.
Talented, great personality, super popular.
Seong Sua was a target, and the more time spent around her, the better.
But she’d clearly been surrounded by crowds her whole life.
Sticking too close after one act of kindness yesterday could backfire.
We could build rapport during classes; meals could wait.
‘Wow, was she swamped yesterday too? Today it’s insanely crowded.’
‘Eh, what can you do. Think of it as downtime.’
I grabbed my tray solo, scanned the room.
No worries about eating alone in a place like this.
Looking for a quiet spot, one person stood out.
Song Ara.
After salmon roe yesterday, she was demolishing a whole salmon today.
Those two scattered elements inside her would soon merge for the final stage of the salmon restoration plan.
Gazing at Song Ara, I was impressed.
‘Damn, she’d absolutely crush a mukbang video.’
With that face, guys would click thumbnails blind.
Girls too—hooked before they knew it.
Oddly, though, no one was around her.
‘What’s up? She eating alone too?’
Doesn’t seem her type.
‘Holy shit, there are that many kids who eat faster than her?’
Song Ara, mukbang disqualified.
Sadly, at that pace, no chance.
I shelved thoughts of her, sat at a corner table, ate alone, and headed to Magic Department Class 7.
I was at the magic training grounds, watching the cadets unleash flashy spells.
Each casting different attributes, while Seong Sua explained her know-how to them nearby.
Though her tips were a bit too abstract...
Sitting in the corner of the training field, I chilled and chatted mentally.
‘Ahh... this is too easy... I just wanna handle Magic Department forever.’
As Armonia said, Magic Department duty was comfy, but you had to stay alert.
If something went wrong, slow response could turn it into a major incident.
When I arrived, I’d listed wind-attribute as my specialty.
Seong Sua had said she’d take responsibility for any cadet issues, so she asked me to prioritize their safety.
Handling Magic Department was no big deal.
The cadets were skilled enough that at their level, I could use Dismantling if needed—no real worries.
The real headache was something else.
‘Seong Sua... no openings in sight...’
In this vast magic training field, my job was overseeing safety from a distance.
Seong Sua was up close, giving personalized guidance her way.
Pheromones made it hard to even approach already.
And no chance to meet privately after class.
Would she even say yes to grabbing a drink one-on-one?
She’d probably okay food, but booze? Doubt it.
Asking might slap a “guy” label on me, dooming the pursuit.
‘She loves him so purely she doesn’t even notice other guys—but once she registers me as male, she might cut me off entirely.’
She’d preempt any wavering feelings.
‘For Seong Sua, build colleague-level friendship first. A lot of it.’
In short, get purely close even if it takes forever.
Black-hearted intentions toward Seong Sua: OFF for now.
But friendship alone wasn’t enough.
‘And...’
‘Need some breaking point, like with Lena. Natural or engineered.’
Lena’s life tanked big-time because of me.
Feel guilty?
Not a bit.
She’s happy in my arms now—what’s the issue?
But the key here was the trigger.
I’d build the nuke and make it launch-ready, but not hit the button.
I wouldn’t even know what the button was; had to trick the protagonist into pressing it by accident.
Like how the Hero ditched the battlefield.
One-year limit.
Felt like a true long-term mission.
“Good work today, everyone.”
As the evening sunset cast shadows and borders across Magic Department Class 7, Seong Sua gave her closing remarks, signaling the end of class.
The cadets, lounging freely, grinned and replied.
“See you tomorrow! Kyao! Let’s eat!!”
“I’m starving, starving!”
With only five in the class, they were tight-knit, laughing as they filed out.
Seong Sua confirmed they’d left, then smiled at Seong Suho.
“Thanks for your hard work today.”
“Nah, I barely did anything. You too.”
After exchanging goodbyes with Seong Sua, Seong Suho cautiously exited the classroom.
Confirming he was gone, Seong Sua pulled out her phone and checked her contacts.
-Cho Kang-hyun-
“...Oppa must be busy again today, huh?”
Seong Sua had no family.
She was from an orphanage, having lost her family in a major incident in the past.
The “oppa” she meant was Cho Kang-hyun.
‘One more try... No, don’t rush...’
She recalled words from Cho Kang-hyun she could barely date anymore.
(Sorry, I’m swamped. Unless it’s urgent, I’ll call first.)
(...Okay. Sorry.)
(No, I’m the sorry one. We’ll see each other every day once we’re married anyway. Hang in there till then.)
(...Okay.)
After that, Seong Sua never called him first.
She always waited for his call.
Occasional weekend dinners were all they got.
Even those felt perfunctory.
But even brief meetings lifted her spirits.
‘...It must be because of me.’
She reminisced.
When Seong Sua entered the Hero Agency, Cho Kang-hyun was a third-year in Hero Department.
He held the top spot with overwhelming skill—her idol.
Toward the end of the school year, she had the chance to build a rapport with him, and at some point, they became close enough to be fiancés.
Back then, he was always kind.
But at some point, she could feel his cold emotions against her own skin.
Seong Sua couldn’t figure out why.
She didn't see any problem with Cho Gang-hyeon; instead, she decided the problem lay with herself.
Her verdict: one.
‘...No reason to like a woman my age anymore.’
She was just 26, youth blooming.
Yet she deluded herself into thinking she was the problem.
From that point on, she began to obsess over her appearance.
She focused everything on pleasing Cho Gang-hyeon.
Seong Soo-ah, who had never been interested in luxury goods, began to dress up for him.
But his gaze never landed on her.
Seong Sua smiled bitterly, berating herself.
“...Let's not think strange thoughts. He's probably just busy.”
Forcing a smile, she grabbed her bag to leave—when someone entered.
“Huh? Instructor Seong Sua, you’re still here?”
It was Seong Suho.