Chapter 6 How to Steal a Protagonist’s Woman

“Ah, thinking about the past?”

Viola was too curious and immediately asked a question.

However, I didn’t answer the question and brushed it off.

“Um… it’s late at night. Aren’t you worried the patrol might scold you for being out this time?”

“Eh? Oh… it’s okay. People often walk around here at night.”

“At night?”

“Yes. Oh! In other cities, they say it’s dangerous to walk around at night, right?”

Viola asked with a twinkle in her eye.

‘What’s she talking about? This isn’t South Korea…’

[Maybe she means that this town has good public safety?]

‘Well, there are a lot of Patrols….’

And the level of patrols is very high.

Directly recruited from the kingdom. Just a few of the She-Hulks I saw earlier could probably turn a bandit hideout into a wasteland in no time.

“What’s it like outside? You crossed the desert, right? What about the villages there and…”

“Uh…”

She bombarded me with questions.

Her temperament was amusingly evident.

-[Strong Curiosity], [Ignorance about Sex]-

I started to get a sense of how Viola saw me.

‘She doesn’t seem to view me as a man.’

[That’s a challenging start.]

‘No, it’s actually easier this way.’

[Really?]

The more we talked, the better. If Viola had seen me as a man, even for a moment, she might have developed complex feelings, making it difficult to even start a conversation.

She probably wouldn’t have approached me if that were the case.

Moreover, I’m an outsider.

Her curiosity about an outsider like me could be seen as a green light.

“And, and…”

“Take your time with the questions, I’ll answer them.”

“Ah… sorry. I’m just so curious, haha…”

“Uh…”

Her bright smile momentarily shook my composure, but I managed to hold myself together.

But Viola seemed to think my reaction was due to the pain from the fall.

“Are you sure you’re not seriously hurt? We should go to a doctor quickly…”

“Haha… I’m fine. It’d be rude to disturb a doctor at this hour.”

“But still…”

Viola’s heart seemed to waver between guilt and curiosity. Of course, I was not hurt at all, so I continued the conversation smoothly.

“And I enjoy having this chat with you too.”

“Really? That’s a relief! I was worried I might be bothering you…”

“Where shall I start telling you about?”

“The desert! Please start with that!”

That night, I spent hours telling Viola about the outside world.

…Of course, it was all fabricated.
Lying in bed, I groaned.

“Ah… I’m exhausted…”

[You did well.]

I had spent the evening spinning a fabricated world to Viola.

No matter what I said, Viola’s eyes lit up.

Fortunately, there had been no interaction with the desert beyond, so I could make up whatever I wanted.

However, as the story progressed, I began to empathize with the hardships of novelists.

“I can’t be a novelist…”

[Not true. You did better than expected.]

“Well, I don’t know about the score as a man, but it seems I’ve scored quite a bit as a human. And our little secret too… hehehe.”

As the night wore on, Viola began to doze off.

Saying she would definitely visit again tomorrow, Viola came close, took my hands, and said:

-Please don’t tell your brother about meeting me. I’ll get scolded…

I’ll die if I get caught…

-Of course. This will be our little secret.

-Hehe.

I parted ways with a smiling Viola.

[It’s surprising. Despite being an outsider, she approached you so actively.]

“It’s the absurd peace here, I guess.”

[True, even the villagers are cautious around her.]

“Right, she’s like a princess, oblivious to the real world.”

As we talked, I learned a few things about Viola.

She had no friends among the villagers.

She only had necessary conversations with the chief.

And the chief suddenly imposed a curfew, leading her to sneak out of the house.

According to Viola, it seemed that everyone was wary around her.

Even when others were having pleasant conversations, they became cautious and only spoke
briefly in her presence.

To Viola, the world outside the village seemed a place brimming with happiness and laughter, everyone but her.

A young man, the first of his kind she had ever seen.

Unlike other women, Viola seemed to view me as something akin to a unicorn.

“Given Viola’s temperament, it shouldn’t be too difficult to change her view.”

[But there’s one concern.]

“What’s that?”

[Her ‘Faithfulness.’ It implies she’s devoted only to the hero, which means…]

That [Faithfulness] trait was self-explanatory.

A nature to love only one person throughout life.

Yes, temperament can change with life’s twists and turns, but it’s not something that easily shifts.

I could sense Armonia’s worry. If this mission failed, NTL Corporation would crumble.

But I wasn’t particularly worried.

“No need to worry.”

[Why is that?]

I held off a moment before responding.

“Viola… she doesn’t see her brother, the hero, as more than just that – a brother.”

[You can tell that immediately?]

I knew instantly, especially considering her trait of [Ignorance about Sex].

“If she truly loved her brother, there would be no reason for her to have such a trait.”

[That does seem likely.]

“Probably the hero doted on her too much. Foolish guy, I’ll corrupt her for him. Hehe.”

[You really do sound like a true villain. But it’s good to see you regain your determination.]

“Heh… as long as it’s to be with Viola, I’m ready to do anything!”

A real sense of energy started flowing through me, unlike earlier.

Thinking about Viola and then imagining the hero’s despair when he finds out…

Ah, the excitement!

“We just have to do our best with what we can.”

[What’s your plan?]

“Yeah, I have a decent plan.”

I smiled, closed my eyes, and murmured.

“Time to lay some groundwork…”

Like yesterday, I pretended to stroll around the village but was actually heading towards a specific destination.

But today, things were markedly different.

“Wow, he’s handsome! Where are you from?”

“Can’t you tell? Clearly, he’s crossed the desert. Amazing!”

“…Would you mind backing off a bit?”

“…Why don’t you?”

Women surrounded me, engaging in a verbal tug-of-war…

Fortunately, the patrol team didn’t bother me anymore.

The problem was that women from all over the village were flocking to me.

[Congratulations. You’ve become a celebrity overnight.]

‘Annoying…’

As bothersome as it was, the stage was well set.

And I arrived near where the hero lived.

[For the hero’s residence, it’s surprisingly unimpressive.]

‘Not just unimpressive, it’s basically a shack…’

Opposite extremes in opinions.

In fact, it was a two-story wooden house like many others around it.

Yesterday, Viola had excitedly told me where her house was.

I led the group of women to the vicinity of Viola’s house.

From the street, one could sense what was happening inside the house by looking through the windows, just about.

Honestly, I couldn’t get any closer even if I wanted to.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you in any further.”

It was the same patrol member from yesterday.

I greeted her with a smile.

“Ah! Hello.”

“Oh! Uh, haha… What brings you here?”

Alright, Seong Su-ho! Time to spin a lie!

“I came to thank you for yesterday and thought I’d say good morning.”

“Oh? To me?! Ah, haha. Good morning!”

She was so delighted just because I came to say good morning…

Damn, I feel like I’m unintentionally gaining affection points.

I hadn’t expected to meet her.

The patrol member was visibly nervous at my greeting, gripping her spear so tightly that it was visible.

Creak… Bang.

And there it went… the spear was gone.

“Ah, jeez… Just because I gripped it a bit, it breaks.”

What?

A metal spear bent by the grip of a bare hand?

‘Crazy… If a person with such monstrous strength is just a patrol member in the frontier, how strong must this ‘hero’ be?’

[According to the information, he can kill 1,000 people with just one swing. He has a skill called
[Blood Storm Strike], which can wipe out an army of demons single-handedly].

‘Fighting a monster like that demon? If he finds out I’ve been messing with Viola…’

[By the way, the [Blood Storm Strike] skill can be used on a single person too. It’s said to deliver 1000 slashes in one go before death.]

‘…Thank you for the useful information.’

I took this as a sign that I should hurry up with Viola and return if I don’t want to experience a thousand deaths in one go.

But then the women around me started chattering as they listened to the Patrol member’s conversation with me.

“…Do you two know each other?”

“They seem really close…”

“When did they get close…”

“He never smiled like that in front of us… That’s unfair.”

“‘She’s flirting with a guy while she’s working…”

It’s tense…

Even I, as a man, felt intimidated by the openly critical patrol members.

Seemingly unhappy with my conversation with the patrol member, the women suddenly became more clingy towards me.

But then the women around me started chattering as they listened to the Patrol
member’s conversation with me.

“…Do you two know each other?”

“They seem really close…”

“When did they get close…”

“He never smiled like that in front of us… That’s unfair.”

“‘She’s flirting with a guy while she’s working…”

It’s tense…

Even I, as a man, felt intimidated by the openly critical patrol members.

Seemingly unhappy with my conversation with the patrol member, the women suddenly
became more clingy towards me.

“I know a really good place here~ It’s called Ronel’s Restaurant, I’ll show you~”

“Oh! I know it too! I’ll guide you!”

“Ah, come on, weren’t you going to go? I wanted to guide him first!”

“What? I’m a regular at that restaurant! Have you ever properly eaten there?!”

“What, you bitch?”

What a spectacle…
***
“…This is really tough.”

[You’ve worked hard today.]

I spent the whole day hanging around the open space near Viola’s house, chatting with the women.

I came up with a plan to draw as much excitement from as many women as possible.

It was palm reading.

[It’s fascinating. Destiny is defined by the lines on the palm.]

“I don’t believe in it, but women strangely go crazy over this stuff.”

And it was the same in this world.

Initially, the concept of palmistry didn’t exist here.

Initially, the women were skeptical, but after I read a few palms and accurately guessed their personalities, they started to go wild.

In truth, I didn’t look at their palms at all.

I just looked at the temperaments above their heads.

I used Enel to see the temperaments of the women in the village.

I used more Enel than expected, but it was only about 2-3 per person, and after roughly guessing based on their temperaments, some women started spreading it around like fervent missionaries.

For example, if they had [Laziness], I’d say sleep less, if [Gluttony], eat moderately, [Masturbation Addiction]… I’d whisper in their ear to do it moderately.

And given the era, this simple fitting became rumored to be a communion with the gods.
Consequently, they started treating me like a pope.

“And I really got some good information…”

[Yes. Who would have thought the hero had such traits…]

The information I got about the hero since coming here was that he was a siscon.

I pestered a maxed-out Shulk for information, and it was quite a sight.

The rumors around the village said that in the past, if any man lingered around his sister, he would kill them on the spot.

Not just beating them up, but actually

killing them…

However, I was told not to take this story at face value.

It’s just a story she heard from an old woman….

I should go and hear more details from the old woman tomorrow.

While I was thinking about my plans for the next day, Armonia raised a question.

[But if you’re just determining temperaments, couldn’t you do it without holding hands, like by just looking at their faces?]

‘Oh~ Actually, there is something called physiognomy. It’s about predicting a person’s character and future by looking at their face.’

[Then why palm reading?]

‘Well, we’ll see if it was effective.’

[?]

Truthfully, I had no desire to read palms.

A real woman’s hand…

All this because of~~~

Knock knock knock.

A woman peeking into the room from outside the window.

“Are, are you there?”

It’s Viola.

Viola and I sat in the bushes next to the chief’s house, chatting just like yesterday.

Today, like yesterday, was just a parade of nonsense.

And today, I felt it again.

While other women saw me as a man, whether they liked it or not, Viola only saw me as an exotic foreigner.

-[Ignorance about sex]-

‘Getting rid of that will be key. Like undressing a virgin, I need to be careful.’

[If even the hero couldn’t do it, it won’t be easy.]

‘It’s not that he couldn’t, he just didn’t.’

[Then…]

‘He chose not to.’

By now, I was certain.

The hero wanted to keep her pure and then make her his own.

I glanced at Viola subtly.

Viola fidgeted and looked at me cautiously as she spoke.

“That… I heard that there’s something called palm reading beyond the desert.”

“Ah, yes. It’s said that a person’s destiny is in their hand… haha. But how did you know? That’s known only beyond the desert.”

“Hehe, I heard some women talking about it earlier.”

Viola, who had stayed indoors, had heard the conversation of the wandering women and patrol members.

She leaned forward with a playful expression.

“Could you read my palm? Please?”

“Of course.”

“Yay! I heard it’s really hard because you’re revealing the future.”

“Hahaha…”

“They say you receive visions from the gods and it requires a great sacrifice… Are you okay?”
As I listened to Viola, I realized that the rumor had already passed through 100 ears.

To predict the future, they said I received divine revelations, and that I learned it at the cost of a tremendous amount of life force, among all sorts of other things.

Viola had misunderstood palm reading as some ancient magic based on the exaggerated rumors she heard.

But that worked in my favor.

“Don’t worry. But it’s true that a price is needed.”

“Oh… really… Then it’s okay. I don’t want to strain you because of me…”

Viola looked disappointed and bowed her head.

She really resembled Filia in character.

“Oh, it’s not a strain on me.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but the price is…”

I gently wrapped her left hand in both of mine.

“Hmm?”

“A promise to keep a secret is needed.”

Now, it was time to use her [Ignorance about sex].