Harem Stealing System

Eiden came out of the washroom and headed straight to the cafeteria, which was still filled with people but had thinned out a bit. He had taken his sweet time stalking and recording Ruel's scandalous activities, and even more time debating how exactly he should show the video to Lyra.

As he reached the cafeteria, he scanned the space. No sign of Deuel. Eiden looked around a little more, half-expecting his friend to pop up behind him again, but instead, his eyes landed on Sasha. She was sitting with her group of friends, chatting, laughing lightly clearly enjoying herself. She saw him too. For a brief second, they just stared at each other from a distance, exchanging unspoken words through their eyes. A familiar language only close friends shared. Eiden raised an eyebrow and gestured subtly toward her friends, his eyes saying: So, gonna introduce me or what?

Sasha, catching his meaning, smirked and stuck her tongue out at him childishly before continuing her conversation like he didn't exist. "That girl," Eiden thought with an annoyed sigh. A little pissed, he grabbed his tray of food and began scanning the cafeteria once more for Deuel. But he still couldn't find him. Resigned, he simply took a seat in the corner and began eating silently, watching people as they came and went.

His mind, however, wasn't idle. He was still thinking about how to approach Lyra, how to strike the next blow in his 'steal-the-harem' quest. But she seemed to be hanging around Linda the entire day. That made things awkward, if not downright impossible.

With a sigh, he gave up on the idea for now.

After finishing his food, he headed toward his class but then had a second thought. Maybe, just maybe, if he wandered around, something interesting would come up. A new chance encounter. A new quest. Something that could move the needle. With that in mind, he took a detour and started walking down unfamiliar paths of the campus.

He didn't get any new quest notifications. Nothing special popped up. But he kept walking anyway. The college was huge a prestigious institution with towering buildings, elegant pathways, and enough corners to get lost in if you weren't paying attention. Which is exjactly what happened. Eiden realized after a while that he was lost. But oddly enough, he didn't panic. His class wouldn't start for some time, and he could just ask around if needed. So he kept exploring, letting his feet lead him.

As he turned a corridor, he caught sight of Deuel again this time with a group of boys. He thought about approaching them. But then, his eyes fell on Eva. She was walking gracefully with her group of friends.

All of them were undeniably pretty, but Eva stood out. She shone. Even surrounded by gorgeous girls, Eva's presence was almost luminous. There was a sort of effortless elegance to the way she moved, a natural air that made her impossible to overlook.

Eiden found himself admiring her beauty.

Without missing a beat, he asked System-chan, "Is she a target too?" Ding! No, System-chan replied. She doesn't have any love interest currently. "What a shame," Eiden thought.

But even if he did get a quest for her, it would probably be too much. Her background, her status, and her aura she wasn't someone you approached casually. Not unless you were prepared to step into a higher tier of social warfare. "I guess I'll just focus on the more possible ones," he mumbled to himself.

With that, he resumed walking, deciding to catch up with the boys later. Right now, he was in the mood for a little adventuring. He wandered aimlessly through more unfamiliar corridors, each turn leading to a new corner of the vast campus. Eventually, he came across a hallway that ended in a turn.

Without thinking much of it, he followed it and stumbled across a room. It looked like a teacher's lounge or office. Curious, Eiden casually peeked through the window as if just walking by. And there she was.

Teacher Mika, sitting alone inside, staring down at something. He was about to walk away when he noticed something that stopped him cold. Tears. A few drops rolled down her cheeks. She immediately wiped them off with a delicate handkerchief. Eiden froze. "Did she just shed a tear?" he wondered, stunned. "Is she still mourning over the relationship?"

He hadn't expected to see that kind of vulnerability in her not the cool, confident Mika. It wasn't gentlemen like to spy on a crying women but he wasn't one as he was just plain old Eiden who didn't care if he was gentlemen or not , so he planned to keep observing, but he heard footsteps closing in from behind. Not wanting to get caught looking like a stalker, he quickly walked away without looking back to see who it was. He followed the hallway until it led to a turn he recognized.

So this is where that leads to, huh? he thought. He headed back toward his classroom, but his mind was elsewhere. Is she still hurt or something…? The thought lingered.

Some time passed. Nothing eventful occurred in class, just another normal session. After it ended, he thought " That plus 3 increase in intelligence isn't doing much or should i say I can't really tell if it increased at all " , after some thoughts on the matter ,he went straight home, unable to approach Lyra due to Linda sticking to her all day like glue. "Since when were they that close?" Eiden wondered aloud. "Actually, come to think of it… I don't really know who Lyra's friends are. Maybe they are close friends, and I've only been able to talk to Lyra on the days when Linda wasn't around."

He paused. "They probably won't hang out together all the time… I guess I'll just wait for that opportunity and catch her alone then. I can finish that 50%."

Ding! System-chan chimed suddenly.

Lyra's quest progress has already reached 50%.

Eiden stood frozen. "…Wait, what?" he asked aloud, dumbfounded. "I mean I thought she'd eventually reach 50% on her own, sure. But this fast already?"

He blinked. "How big of a jerk is Ruel anyways?!" He stared blankly for a moment, processing the news.

"…But that means " he muttered, realizing, " the video I took… it's basically useless now."

The scandalous recording he risked sneaking around for the one that could've destroyed Ruel's entire image in front of Lyra was now irrelevant.

"What a waste…" he grumbled, sighing.

"Anyway, I didn't even know how to show it to her without looking like a creep. I guess this is for the better." He reached home, his mind still turning over everything new plans, new opportunities, new paths to claim Lyra for himself.

He stepped into the house. And there, in the living room, he saw Deuel and Sasha talking. The scene paused his thoughts. Eiden raised an eyebrow.

Hmm… interesting.