Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Haa..."
Seong Sua sat alone in the quiet staff room, letting out a deep sigh.
It was normally time for her to stop by the cafeteria for breakfast, but she had no appetite right now.
Yesterday evening, to keep playing the game, Seong Sua had playfully hugged Seong Suho and lain down on the bed with him.
After turning around herself and fiddling with the screen, she noticed how quiet it was behind her.
Worried that her prank might have upset him, Seong Sua turned to see a soundly sleeping child-version of Seong Suho.
"Haa... He didn't wake up in the middle or anything, right?"
Unable to resist, Seong Sua hugged the sleeping young Seong Suho.
She had lost her family in childhood and grown up in an orphanage.
To her, family was like a lifelong dream come true.
The moment she graduated and got proposed to by Cho Kang-hyeon, the realization that she could finally have a family made her collapse on the spot and sob uncontrollably.
But six years.
Over those six years, those feelings had gradually faded.
Seong Sua, who had always lived with the fantasy of having a child, momentarily lost her senses and hugged Seong Suho without waking him.
She knew she shouldn't, but she stroked his hair, touched his cheeks, and did all sorts of things.
Perhaps because it was virtual, Seong Suho's senses were dulled—he just squirmed occasionally but didn't wake.
After caressing him for a good while like that, Seong Sua ended up falling asleep while hugging him.
And even after waking up, she deliberately didn't wake him.
The sight of the child first thing upon waking looked like an angel in her eyes.
In the end, she devoted all her attention to savoring that warm presence until he stirred awake.
"Should I just come clean? No... How could I even admit to doing something like that..."
In reality, Seong Sua would never have done such a thing, and even if she had, she would have confessed honestly and atoned for it.
But the transgression in that perfectly isolated world dulled her sense of guilt.
"It'll be fine... And..."
Seong Sua hadn't cared about the game at all until yesterday.
She had only wanted to earn Seong Suho's trust as a comrade.
But now things were different.
"I want to do it again..."
Without realizing it, Seong Sua began to feel a desire blooming to fulfill her longing for family through the young Seong Suho.
In the end, she planted the seed of greed in her heart and started straying from the path of atonement.
'Sly, my ass...'
On the way to work, Armonia relentlessly recounted everything Seong Sua had done to me last night.
To sum it up: she hugged me and rubbed up against me...
If it had been She-Hulk, I might not have minded, but coming from Seong Sua? I welcomed it with open arms.
'Fuck, thinking about She-Hulk gives me chills after all this time...'
If that hero bastard threw me into a horde of She-Hulks for revenge, that would be a fate worse than death.
Anyway...
'Things are going smoother than expected?'
'Stop...'
She kept saying the same damn thing.
Armonia wouldn't let up, badmouthing Seong Sua nonstop for some reason.
By the time we reached the staff room, she stopped the gossip and got to the important stuff.
'Oh, that space tree or whatever it was?'
...She doesn't take jokes.
Armonia simply explained how we'd travel between the two worlds.
Spend five weekdays here. Then the remaining two weekend days on the space tree.
But we'd adjust the time dilation: while on the space tree, the embassy time runs at 0.1x speed.
And while here, the space tree side runs at 0.1x.
Twenty days on the space tree equal two days at the embassy, and five days here equal twelve hours on the space tree world.
'Got it! Understood!'
'Yeah, gotcha~'
I cheerfully replied as I entered the staff room.
The room was sparse—everyone was probably still at breakfast.
I headed straight for the desk where my partner was sitting.
Today, it was still fortified with privacy screens like a fortress.
'...Doesn't the principal or vice-principal chew her out for that?'
At the desk, I peeked over the screen to see Cho Seohyeon grinning sleepily.
"Hehe... Hahaha..."
"..."
Seeing her giggling again, it looked like she was having another pleasant dream.
...What the hell does she do every night to sleep like this in the morning?
'If she's this sleepy, why not just sleep in longer at the dorm?'
She must have her reasons, but I had no way of knowing right now.
As I watched Cho Seo-hyeon, Armonia chimed in.
'Oh... That's convincing.'
Cho Seo-hyeon could've gotten one from her brother, even if not rented or bought.
'But asking her directly wouldn't be easy. Might come off weird...'
I wasn't close enough with Cho Seo-hyeon to chat casually yet.
No, bringing up personal stuff would probably get me skinned alive.
'Ah!'
I quietly clapped my hands and messaged back.
'How about dream-diving?'
Perfect—she was asleep with no anti-magic resistance, so dream-diving should be easy.
Her mental strength seemed solid, so controlling her would be impossible, but...
I quickly sat in the chair and cast dream-dive.
..
..
The moment I entered the dream, a total madhouse party was in full swing.
"Die!!"
"Kwaaaak!"
A petite girl in a cape darted around wildly, slicing people left and right.
It screamed video game, but...
Luckily, she didn't seem to notice me.
I nearly got sliced myself.
The caped girl flung back her hood and laughed heartily.
"Kyahahaha! Come at me all at once! This Grandmaster will take you on!"
At her shout, the wimpy-looking teammates around her dropped to their knees in worship.
"Ooh! So cool!"
"Whoa, my first Grandmaster sighting."
"Insane, I wish I could do that..."
I couldn't watch anymore—I hid in the bushes, crouched down, and blushed furiously.
'Fuck, the embarrassment's all on me...'
Even her dreams are like a kid's...
If it were someone else's dream, it'd be hilarious, but it suited Cho Seohyeon too well, making it mortifying instead.
'So that's why she grins in her sleep every morning...'
The vibe reminded me of that super popular game from my world.
Team up 5v5 or 3v3 and destroy the enemy base.
I wondered if it might not actually be a game setting, so I looked around.
My conclusion?
'Definitely a game. Player IDs floating, and there's even KDA.
Wanting out of this kindergarten brawl ASAP, I scanned for info on Cho Seo-hyeon.
Dreams probably use real-life IDs, right?
'Her ID's... "UltraTinyAssassin"... Overflowing with middle-school syndrome.'
She mashed her name with something character-fitting.
'Looks like an assassin/ambush specialist build...'
While I gathered intel, Cho Seo-hyeon cackled and capered around with her tiny frame.
"I'm the Grandmaster, puhahaha!!"
'Fuck, let's bail...'
I couldn't take any more of her preschooler anti-magic vibes and retreated.
..
..
Exiting Cho Seo-hyeon's dream, a few instructors had started trickling into the staff room.
I explained to Armonia while watching her sleeping form from behind.
'Yeah, it's a game. Got her ID roughly, but not the exact game name.'
'...'
Just my imagination that it sounds mixed up?
Confirming more instructors arriving, I shook Cho Seo-hyeon awake.
"Instructor Cho Seo-hyeon, class time's approaching."
"Hngh... Grand..."
Watching her groggily scan the room, I thought:
'Looks like another grand day ahead...'
..
..
And sure enough, it turned into a grand day, just as I'd thought.
Practical training again—trailing the cadets and grading them.
Unlike before, (thanks to Armonia) I remembered the combat points exactly and could warp there fast.
Still late, though...
"Why don't you look for another job?"
"...Sorry."
"Haa... What if a cadet gets hurt because you're slacking like this?"
Cho Seo-hyeon was grilling me today too with her gut-stirring words and actions.
Truth be told, she was right—I hadn't done shit.
Grading was secondary; my real job was cadet safety.
"With that stamina, can you even handle cadet emergencies? Come to think of it... What's your specialty?"
"..."
Of course she wouldn't know my profile...
'Asking now, huh...'
Armonia said when sharing info with Zodiac, they kept our details vague—"versatile abilities"—to avoid exposure.
But to me...
'I bet she never even looked at my profile...'
Armonia silently agreed.
I stood ramrod straight and answered.
Slouching here would just give her more ammo.
"No special skills."
"...Haa. Well, they don't call you Jack-of-all-trades for nothing."
"..."
"You're an instructor now, so do your job. Hit the training grounds on weekends to build stamina. We're stuck together."
"Yes, understood."
"Now go."
Cho Seo-hyeon grumbled and resumed typing.
Gazing at the crown of her small head, I desperately wanted to do one thing.
'Damn, I really want to give her a flick on the forehead....'
'Right now...'
For some reason, I felt that if Cho Seo-hyeon truly flicked my forehead, she could split my skull open.
I could handle anger, but getting scolded by a high school girl soured my mood...
Once her nagging ended, I finally escaped the staff room.
'Being an assistant instructor must suck. Most aren't embassy folks, right?'
But those embassy assistant spots were dream jobs for non-embassy types.
Sure, risky situations cropped up, but still the top gig.
I didn't care much...
At the cafeteria, the aroma hit me—Chinese cuisine for lunch today.
Another happy lunch awaited.
Though my sore stomach wasn't thrilled...
As I happily loaded my tray with favorites, someone poked my back with a finger.
"Hm?"
"Digging into your favorites again?"
The fresh voice made me turn, and there was neatly dressed Seong Sua looking up at me.
"Haha, yeah, pretty much. Honestly, I like almost everything here."
After a week at the cafeteria, all the food suited my taste perfectly.
Demon King's castle and Schutra grub were tasty, but felt light on seasoning compared to this place's bold flavors.
Modern folks need that MSG kick.
At my words, Seong Sua made a coquettish face and teased playfully.
"Then you gotta eat breakfast properly too."
"Hahaha... I do."
"Hmm? Never seen you there mornings."
She pressed on like she'd caught me red-handed.
"Haha... Eating on the sly."
"Eat breakfast every day. It's good. Got it?"
"Yes, I will."
"I'll check tomorrow."
I could feel Seong Sua treating me differently now.
Just one day of opening up, and her attitude had shifted dramatically.
'She's starting to treat me like a kid for real. Feels nice?'
She closed the distance just enough not to raise eyebrows, then whispered:
(Let's do it again tonight.)
Stepping back, she beamed brightly at me.
As I watched her, Armonia spoke up.
'...'
Armonia repeated the same line about her nonstop throughout lunch with Seong Sua.