Chapter 8 How to Steal a Protagonist’s Woman

-[Hand Technique LV 555]-

“Armonia.”

[Yes.]

“What does level 555 mean in terms of scale?”

[I’ve never seen it, so I can’t guess, but it’s a rule of agents that no matter how talented the main characters are, the Level shouldn’t be over 300. Although there may be exceptions….]

“Why specifically 300?”

[If a skill level exceeds 300, it could potentially grow to a level beyond the agents’ control]

According to Armonia, if the level exceeds 300, it could become a threat to the agents themselves, as such abilities could create objects capable of dimensional leaps, sword skills that could rip space apart, or magical powers that could destroy planets.

The real problem, however, is that if a protagonist grows uncontrollably and needs to be eliminated, it would result in a huge loss.

To raise someone to level 300, the amount of Enel required is unimaginable.

To reach that level, even the Enel collected from a planet would be insufficient.

In the end, you’ll end up spending more than you earn, so agents avoid nurturing to that extent.

“Then I….”

[I’m sorry. I also don’t know exactly what’s happening. But.]

“Hm?”

[ Now I think I know why you were summoned with the Enel I spent.]

“Ah, it was the offering to the god that summoned me, right?”

[Yes, and it wasn’t just any summoning.]

“How so?”

[…You were summoned through a card draw.]

“…”

Damn, was it a gacha?

Roughly speaking, Armonia said she offered Enel to the gods and they told her to draw a card from a deck of ten.

#Sung Suho’s dramatized scene
“O great god! I beseech you to grant me the talent I desire!”

(Here are 10 cards~ Choose one~)

“Ca, cards?”

(One EX-grade, four A-grades, four C-grades, and one F-grade~)

“I’ll just take an A-grade…”

(Then don’t choose at all~ I shall leave~)

“No, no! I’ll choose! This one~!”
..
..
(Congratulations~ It’s an EX-grade~)

“Ahaha! This is why I do gachas!!!”

Back to the present –

[…I do not speak in that manner. And the god does not have conversations with us. It’s always a revelation that can be sensed intuitively.]

“What! You read my mind, didn’t you?!”

[I can’t help but hear it, because you’re doing it on purpose].

Well, anyway…

“Awesome. I’m EX-grade… But isn’t this a big problem?”

[Which part are you referring to?]

“If my hand technique is level 555, it means I can make any woman fall for me like Viola did. That would make it impossible for me to level up…”

With hand techniques like these, I might win a woman’s heart, but I hate using cheat codes…

[You misunderstand. High skill level implies strength, but it also includes proficiency. It’s not about indiscriminately providing pleasure; it’s about being able to bring someone to the desired state.”

“Ooh, that’s really good, I’ll try to do it in moderation tomorrow. I was too excited today and went all out.”

At least a high level means something good.

Damn, but it’s too harsh that the rest are level 1…

“But why are the rest at 1, and only me who is like this?”

[I don’t know how anyone can get to that number, and that too on their own….]

“Hmm… Let’s set aside what we don’t know for now. It’s not too late to find out after this is over”.

[That’s a wise decision.]

I gazed at Viola, lying down.

She’d been thrilled by my hand technique, but now that her excitement had subsided, she was breathing deeply in her sleep.

I lay down next to Viola and made a pillow with my arm.

I kissed the sleeping Viola.

“Hmm… chu… ha…”

Even though she was asleep, she immediately responded to my kiss.

As kissing was part of her sexual trait, as soon as I started, she began to move her face closer to mine, even in her sleep.

“Chu, haah, more… chu.”

As I continued to kiss her, her face turned red, and she began to get more excited.

When I stopped kissing her, she calmed down again.

“Hmm…”

“Armonia, I’m going to sleep. If Viola wakes up, wake me up too.”

[Yes, I understand.]

[Suho.]

“Huh?”

I woke up to Armonia’s voice.

And through my blurry vision, I saw a woman’s face.

It was Viola, looking at me with her rabbit-like eyes.

[She woke up a little while ago.]

‘Ah.’

Viola opened her mouth while looking into my eyes.

“Where am I?”

“Ah, you fainted suddenly yesterday, so I brought you to my bed.”

“Ah… I’m sorry!”

I wondered why she was apologizing, then realized she was apologizing for the trouble of bringing her here after she had fainted.

“I’m sorry… because of me….”

Truly an angel.

Now I’m going to make her a fallen angel, kekeke.

“What are you talking about? It’s natural for a couple to do that.”

“Is, is it?”

“Yes, and when that happens, you don’t say sorry. You do this.”

“Huh!”

I gave Viola an intense kiss and then sent her home.

After Viola went home, I visited the old lady early in the morning.

“Are you there?”

“Go away, I’m not here.”

“…”

Damn it…

It’s not that I’m angry, just annoyed.

The old lady sent me away without even showing her face.

I needed to start a conversation somehow.

I decided to bring up a topic from the village meeting I’d overheard.

“I came to ask about the hero.”

“…”

“And also about your son.”

“…What?”

There was definitely a reaction.

The old lady came out of the hut, her face lined with countless wrinkles.

“Who are you?”

“I’m from across the desert.”

“Stop joking. How do you know about my son?”

“…”

I embellished the truth.

I told her that I had been secretly sent to expose the hero’s misdeeds.

Honestly, there was no other way to get the secret out of the old woman.

I had to use her trait [Vengefulness].

“You expect me to believe that…”

“And…”

“?”

“I’ve also come to avenge my family.”

“!”

The old lady looked at me in shock.

Armonia communicated with me.

[You’re getting better at lying.]

“Hmph, every lie is as good as the truth if you don’t get caught.

[Yes, you’re right.]

After contemplating for a few minutes with her eyes closed, the old lady finally spoke, as if she had made up her mind.

“That bastard killed my son…”

“But the villagers say that your son did something wrong…”

“No! My son wasn’t that kind of person!”

She wasn’t shouting because she was angry with me.

It was a protest.

The old lady told me about an incident that happened 20 years ago.

She explained that the village was in the desert then, in a different place from now.

She said there were fewer monsters in the desert, but not non-existent.

The villagers somehow maintained their livelihood while dealing with the occasional monsters.

“But then, suddenly, the number of monsters began to plummet.”

“And the reason for that, as it turned out, was because of a little kid…”

“That kid…”

“The one now prancing around as a hero.”

“Ah, he wasn’t originally from here?”

“People who have known him for a long time may not see much difference between us.

An 8-year-old slaughtering monsters like bugs.

That human turned out to be a land-clearing peasant.

And then, he got to know the villagers, starting to exchange food for eliminating monsters.

“Then, by chance, I found out he had a family. I heard he was living with his sister.” the old woman kept going.

“…”

“My son, feeling pity for the two of them, started to bring them food…”

After that, my son was found dead, and the hero came to the village and said something outrageous. He threatened to kill anyone who dared to come near his sister again.

“…My son wasn’t trying to do anything weird! He actually felt sorry for them, but that damn guy…”

She explained that due to the villagers’ dissuasion, she couldn’t do anything and time just passed.

The hero continued to grow in power and eventually became famous enough to be summoned to the royal palace.

And this village was founded because the hero couldn’t always take his sister with him.

“In that process, several died or left… And that lord, he advanced his career thanks to the hero, so he made sure to keep everyone quiet….”

“Uh, not that I doubt you, but you’re certain your son didn’t have those intentions, right?”

“Are you speaking sense? My son would bring food for those kids and then commit such a heinous act? Besides, to a girl barely 3-4 years old?”

“Ah, that clears it up. Any evidence about the men who died afterwards?”

“I don’t know about that. But…”

“?”

“The village chief might know something about it.”

Good information.

‘Do I have to coax the information out of him too?’

[I personally wouldn’t recommend that.]

‘Why?’

[Snooping around the village raises suspicion. You might end up not being able to meet Viola.]

‘Right…’

But at least I got the gist.

The hero is a crazy psycho.

***

Today, like before, I flirted with girls near Viola’s house

And something changed in me too.

“What does my future hold!?”

“Soon, you’ll meet a good match outside the village.”

“Hoho, how about inside the village?”

“Haha, if there were any handsome men here besides me, maybe. But I doubt it.”

“What are you saying? Suho, you’re so handsome… Maybe later you and I could…”

“Can you move along now? Others are waiting.”

“Ah, sheesh…”

A line of real women waiting.

Until yesterday, I had no interest in them.

But after my physical relationship with Viola, though just starting, a lot has changed.

The way I see women has changed significantly.

‘Wow, now that I look, they’re not bad…’

[I’m glad to see your negativity going away before the next mission].

‘I still don’t want to go through all this trouble for women like them…’

I, who had always preferred games and 2D, now enjoyed the company of real women.

But…

“Hmph, finally my turn. By the way… Suho, when are you going to get me a drink?”

“Hahaha… I’ll buy it for you soon…”

Sheesh, she’s a hulk.

‘Her palm is as big as my face… If she grabs my face and squeezes, it’ll crush me like soft tofu.’

[I don’t think it’s that bad. Maybe more like a squashed orange.]

‘…’

Just thinking about it is terrifying…

However, after talking to the old lady, she seemed to be alright to talk to occasionally

And her last words still lingered in my mind.

-You two would make a great couple.

-….

[I’m worried about one thing, though.]

‘About what?’

[Last time you read Viola’s palm under the pretext of sparking interest, but now that you’re supposedly dating, won’t she be disappointed?]

No way… She should be jealous, not just disappointed. I’m not doing all this just to upset her a little.

[Wouldn’t that backfire then?]

‘We’ll see tonight. Hehe.’

****

In the evening, as expected, Viola came to see me.

I sat quietly with Viola in the bushes, holding her hand and looking at the moon.

But Viola’s expression was different from yesterday.

She didn’t look at me properly and spoke.

“…You read palms again today”

“Yeah. Ah! Should I read yours again?”

“No, no! ….”

Viola’s expression was visibly sullen.

And on my visible status screen, a new trait had appeared for Viola.

-[Anxiety]-