How to Steal the Protagonist's Women

"Y-you little bug… brat!?" 

"?" 

The assistant professor's face turned bright red as he glared at me with murderous intent. 

He had reacted extremely sensitively to my words. 

'Why is he acting like this? Does he have a bug phobia?'

[I think he took your words as a metaphor.] 

'Huh? A metaphor?' 

[He seems to have mistaken your mention of bugs as a reference to himself.] 

'Ah, I see!' 

Five seconds after my moment of enlightenment, I realized the situation. 

'Oh no, I'm screwed….' 

[...] 

Judging by the professor's expression, any explanation would be useless. 

In fact, the more I tried to explain, the worse it would probably get. 

But I couldn't just stay silent either. 

"So, I was talking about fly larvae…" 

"F-f-fly!?" 

Okay, now he's definitely taken it as a personal insult. 

They say silence is golden, but my mouth is the problem here. 

'…CEO, what should I do?' 

[It's a bad habit to only look for your superiors in times like these.] 

'…I hate you.' 

Even Armonia had given up. 

As the professor glared at me, looking like he was about to hit me, the voices of the female students around us started to rise. 

-"Wow, what a mess."-

-"Yeah, he should've known when to stop…"-

-"I heard from a club senior to never get close to that professor."-

-"Why?"-

-"Well, apparently he secretly takes girls away and forces them to…"-

The professor silenced the commotion with a loud shout. 

"Who's making noise during class!?" 

""...."" 

All the students fell silent. 

But they were all looking at the professor with disdainful eyes. 

Instead of respect, they were looking at him like he was a bug. 

"Ugh…" 

The professor seemed to realize the situation and stomped loudly toward the podium. 

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

The classroom shook with each step, matching his large frame. 

Once he reached the podium, he turned to me and spoke. 

"You! What's your name!?" 

"…It's Seong Suho." 

"For causing a disturbance, you lose 10 points!" 

"..." 

After I lost 10 points, the class resumed. 

Fortunately, the rest of the lecture proceeded quietly, without any more antics from the assistant professor. 

*** 

"…Well, let's end today's class here." 

""...."" 

No one responded. 

Everyone just looked at the assistant professor with the same bug-like disdain. 

"Tch…" 

Thud! Thud! Thud! Slam! 

The assistant professor stormed out of the classroom, causing a mini-earthquake with his heavy footsteps and slamming the door behind him. 

The students began to murmur among themselves. 

I stared blankly into the air and lamented to Armonia. 

'That damn bug brat….' 

[Which one are you referring to?] 

'…Both.' 

Both bugs are annoying… 

As my mind was filled with thoughts of bugs, Luna approached me from the side. 

"Hey… I really… thank y—" 

But before Luna could finish, a crowd of students swarmed around me. 

"Wow, that was amazing!" 

"That was so satisfying." 

"Your name's Seong Suho, right?" 

"Ah, yes." 

Everyone was excited about what had just happened and started talking to me. 

Luna cut off mid-sentence, watched me intently. 

"..." 

Taking advantage of the commotion around me, Louis approached Luna and started talking to her. 

"Luna, are you okay?" 

"…Yeah, I'm fine." 

"I was really about to give that professor a piece of my mind…" 

It was like watching someone mutter the bus number after missing it. 

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." 

"..." 

Luna responded like that but kept her gaze on me. 

Louis stared at Luna for a moment, then left the classroom with a complicated expression. 

Luna kept looking at me during the break as if she wanted to say something, but the crowd around me prevented her from approaching. 

When the break ended, Sonya entered the classroom. 

This time, it was Sonya's Basic Attribute class. 

She greeted the students and, before starting the lecture, glanced at me. 

Wink!

She smiled at me and then began the class. 

'Hehe, this feels nice. A secret relationship. How exciting.' 

[You should be careful. Luna Stadtfeld is watching you.] 

'What does she know? She's probably just observing my face.' 

Luna's gaze lingered on me throughout Sonya's Basic Attribute class. 

She kept looking at me whenever she had the chance. 

After the class ended, Sonya made an announcement from the podium. 

"Last week, I asked you all to decide on your primary and secondary attributes, right? I trust you've all made your choices by now. Once you've decided, starting tomorrow, you'll be attending classes based on your chosen attributes." 

Sonya explained that students should report their chosen primary and secondary attributes to the teaching assistant after class. 

"You've all worked hard today." 

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! 

The class ended with the students' applause. 

As the class ended, Luna approached me again. 

"Hey… earlier… thank y—" 

"Ah! Suho." 

"Yes." 

Luna's words were cut off again. 

"Sigh…" 

I heard Luna's sigh in my ear. 

But Sonya, unaware of the sigh, called me to the podium with a bright smile. 

"Can you come here for a moment?" 

"Yes, of course." 

"..." 

Leaving Luna behind, I headed to the podium. 

The other students were reporting their primary and secondary attributes to the teaching assistant and leaving the classroom. 

Glancing back, I saw Luna packing up her things, preparing to leave. 

By the time I reached the podium, Sonya was looking at me with a slightly disappointed expression. 

Then, in a quiet voice, so the other students couldn't hear, she spoke. 

"…Did you enjoy leaving me alone?" 

"Of course not. Do you know how much I suffered that day?" 

"..." 

"..." 

Giggle!

We both laughed after exchanging playful banter. 

"Just kidding. I really enjoyed that day."

"Me too." 

"The reason I called you here is about your primary and secondary attributes. Have you decided?" 

"Yes, I've decided." 

After a day of deliberation, I had made up my mind. 

"My primary attribute is Wind, and my secondary is…" 

"?" 

"Lightning." 

"..." 

Sonia simply stared at me in silence. 

After a few seconds, she gave a bitter smile. 

"It's a good thing I called you." 

"Huh? What do you mean?" 

"…How about something other than Lightning?" 

"…? Uh… I haven't really thought about it." 

"..." 

My reason for choosing Lightning was simple. 

Lightning Attribute was notoriously difficult to draw magic circles for, but with my high Magic Circle Mastery skill, I could avoid most mistakes. 

At the very least, I wouldn't have issues while drawing the magic circles. 

That alone made Lightning Attribute quite valuable to me. 

The rest of the drawbacks were things I could overcome gradually. 

Besides, unlocking an attribute costs 10,000 Enels, so I didn't want to waste them on other attributes. 

"I know you're attached to Lightning Attribute, Suho." 

"..." 

I'm not attached to it at all… 

I've never been attached to it, but I decided to stay quiet for now. 

"But starting this year… Lightning Attribute magic classes have been cancelled." 

"…What? Is it because it's unpopular?" 

I didn't understand. 

No matter how unpopular it was, how could a major attribute class be cancelled at a magic school? 

It wasn't until Sonya mentioned a name that I finally understood. 

"Maximilian Winter…" 

"…You don't mean…" 

"…He was the professor in charge of the subject." 

"Ah…" 

Things had taken a turn for the worse. 

'Ugh, nothing ever goes my way….' 

[You might have to unlock another attribute.] 

'It's such a waste of Enels….' 

Honestly, I thought I could just get by with Lightning Attribute by attending classes. 

Using Enels to unlock another attribute felt like a waste. 

Sonya continued her explanation. 

"After the professor passed away, even the students who were originally taking the class switched to other subjects." 

"…So there's no way to attend the class at all?" 

"Yes… The subject itself still exists, so you can register for it, but all you'll be doing is studying alone in the classroom with a book." 

"..." 

Ironically, hearing Sonya's explanation made me want to register for Lightning Attribute even more. 

'So I'd be the only one in the classroom during class? That sounds amazing.' 

[If that time is guaranteed to be free, it might actually work in our favour.] 

'Exactly, classes are meaningless to me anyway.' 

The magic I use isn't something I improve through effort—it's all done with Enels. 

Besides, I only learned magic because of school life anyway. 

I made up my mind and told Sonya. 

Sonya tried to persuade me, but she couldn't change my mind. 

There was no reason to switch when I could have that freedom. 

"…Alright. If it ever gets too hard, let me know. I'll find a way to change it for you." 

"Haha, I'll work hard so that doesn't happen." 

I reported my primary and secondary attributes to the teaching assistant and headed to the clubroom with Sonya. 

*** 

When Sonya and I arrived at the clubroom, Louis was the only one there. 

Sonya looked around and asked Louis. 

"Oh? Did Luna step out for a moment?" 

"Well…" 

Louis explained what had happened earlier. 

He said that as soon as Luna left the classroom, she ran straight back to her dorm. 

After hearing Louis' explanation, Sonya frowned and apologized to me and Louis. 

"I'm sorry. As a fellow professor, this is embarrassing." 

"No, Professor Sonya, it's not your fault…" 

"Exactly. It's the bug's fault, the bug." 

"Haha..." 

Sonya covered her mouth and laughed at my bug comment. 

But she quickly composed herself and gave a bitter smile. 

"Sigh… That assistant professor… has always had that kind of issue…" 

"Well, it was obvious from the first class." 

"Suho…" 

"Yes?" 

Sonya suddenly took my right hand in both of hers and looked at me with moist eyes. 

"If anything happens, make sure to tell me, okay?" 

"Haha… If I couldn't handle something like that, I wouldn't have come to Stura." 

"Don't say that. That assistant professor… is truly a vile person." 

Even Sonya hesitated to add the honorific "-nim" to his title. 

Meanwhile, Louis was looking at me with clear displeasure. 

'What's his problem now…?' 

[I don't have enough information to figure it out.] 

Sonya continued holding my hand and spoke. 

"Sigh… The atmosphere is like this today, so let's take a break from club activities." 

"…Okay." 

Louis spoke up, looking at Sonya. 

"Um… Professor." 

"Yes?" 

"Can I talk to you privately?" 

I took that as his way of telling me to get lost. 

Louis was smiling at Sonya. 

I was completely out of his mind. 

'I can't figure this guy out….' 

[It doesn't seem like they're close enough to have a conversation that requires excluding you.] 

I'd never seen Louis talk to Sonya privately before. 

They only ever exchanged necessary words during class or club activities. 

Sonya looked puzzled and asked again. 

"Is it something important?" 

"Yes, it's important." 

"…Will it take long?" 

"Yes, probably." 

Sonya, still holding my hand, looked at me anxiously. @@novelbin@@

But there was nothing I could do. 

If I intervened, it would only cause unnecessary misunderstandings. 

Even so, I could see the annoyance on Louis' face. 

'Is that guy up to something weird?' 

[Even if the other party is an adjunct professor, she's still a professor. I don't think he'd dare do anything reckless.] 

'Sigh… I was so excited to be with Sonya….' 

Sonya reluctantly let go of my hand and forced a smile as she agreed. 

"Alright. Suho, you can go ahead and rest." "…Okay." 

We exchanged passionate looks as if we were sharing a kiss through our eyes. 

After the eye contact, I left the clubroom. 

*** 

With the club activities awkwardly concluded, I sat on a chair on the terrace, waiting for Luna. 

"…Is she not coming today?" 

[That seems unlikely.] 

The sun had already set, and night had fallen. 

Normally, she would've arrived an hour after club activities ended. 

"Did she get hurt because of that bug professor?" 

[Luna Stadtfeld doesn't seem like the type, but it's possible her traits have changed.] 

"Sigh…" 

The thought of not being able to be with Sonya or meet Luna was starting to annoy me. 

"Should I just catch that bug professor and kill him…?" 

"…Please don't." 

"Huh?" 

Luna's voice came from behind me. 

I turned around to see Luna smiling at me. 

She was smiling brightly, a look I hadn't seen from her before. 

"Please don't do something like that because of me…"

***

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