How to Steal the Protagonist's Women

What is it that every gamer in this world is obsessed with?

An interesting story? Good gameplay? Charming characters? Low-probability gacha?

...Let's leave the last one out.

I can confidently say one thing.

It's a game with a "one-shot" moment.

A hint that breaks through the crisis the protagonist is facing.

A 1% critical hit that turns the tide in a boss battle.

A character who can wipe out everything with a single blow.

A 0.0001% chance card that will never drop….

...Again, let's leave the last one out.

Games with such "one-shot" moments are a hit, I think.

Gamers are always addicted to that one moment and can't quit the game.

And I was no different.

Even when clearly on the brink of death, I would still hope for that one-shot moment to come through.

But if that were reality, the story would be different.

In games, if you die, you can just start over.

Even in hardcore games, even if your character gets deleted, you can still restart the game.

But life isn't like that.

Yet, I was still a gamer.

Even if I only played NTL genre adult games…

I could once again feel how deeply I was immersed in the possibility of that "one-shot" moment.

***

"..."

When I opened my eyes, what came into view was a scene of two women talking.

Even though they were familiar faces, it took me a while to remember who they were.

It was clearly night, given how dark it was.

I just stared blankly.

My mouth wouldn't open, and no sound reached my ears.

As I kept staring at the two, one of them noticed my gaze and quickly left, while the other rushed toward me.

She buried her face in my arm and kept saying something.

"-_____—."

She was saying something, but nothing reached my ears.

But at some point, the sound slowly started to flow in.

"Sniff... Sob..."

She wasn't speaking.

She was just crying, soaking my arm with her tears.

"..."

I wanted to open my mouth and say something, but I didn't even have the strength to move my lips.

But I focused all my strength on my other arm, lifted it, and placed it on her head.

Then, gathering all my energy, I opened my mouth.

"...Are you okay?"

"Waaah!"

A woman who, when we first met, didn't seem like she would ever shed tears.

Not a cold-blooded person, but someone disconnected from the world.

That woman was crying her heart out in front of me.

"Thank you... Thank you for staying alive... Sob..."

I struggled to speak, but my words didn't make sense.

But I was satisfied.

The answer I wanted was simply her voice.

Someone entered the room.

It was Sonya and an old woman.

The white-haired old woman clearly looked like a professor at this school.

The professor quickly approached me, stared intently at my face, and then said this.

"My, my... I really didn't think you'd wake up."

"Is he okay? His condition..."

"If he's awake, there shouldn't be any problems."

Sonya and the old woman were having a serious conversation.

The old woman approached me again and shoved something into my mouth.

"Gulp!"

"Eat this, you brat!"

"Cough... Cough...!"

I thought I was going to choke to death.

'No, I'm really going to die!'

If she had just put it in my mouth, I would've eaten it on my own.

But she wasn't just feeding me; she was shoving it in.

After the object was shoved down my throat, my body slowly began to relax.

"Haah... Haah..."

"It's a mana purification medicine. It's still experimental, but you should be able to talk soon. Well, I'll be going now."

"Yes, thank you, Professor Magata."

As the white-haired professor left, silence once again enveloped the room.

Luna seemed to have calmed down a bit, holding onto my arm with her head bowed.

It was Sonya who broke the silence.

She approached me, placed her hand on my forehead, and asked.

"Are you okay?"

"...Yes."

I could feel my body slowly recovering, but I was still in no state to answer.

Sonya hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"The Headmaster will be here soon. No matter what, pretend you don't know anything."

"...? About what?"

Sonya explained everything.

The destruction of the mana golem, the unauthorized intrusion into the forest training ground... and...

The death of the assistant professor.

The assistant professor, who had dried up like a mummy, was so decayed that even some of the people who arrived at the scene vomited.

The problem was that even the Headmaster couldn't figure out exactly how such a death had occurred.

Fortunately, there were no records of deaths caused by mana drain, so the exact cause couldn't be determined.

"Whatever happened, just pretend you don't know. Especially about the assistant professor's death... say you don't even remember..."

"But that guy..."

"Please listen to me!"

Sonya urgently raised her voice.

"If Suho is even 1% involved in the assistant professor's death, he won't make it out of here alive!"

"..."

"The Stura School may seem like a glamorous and impressive place on the outside, but the reality is completely different!"

Sonya began to explain to me what kind of person the Headmaster was.

I briefly recalled.

The words the Headmaster had once said to the students...

"If any student dares to raise a blade against a professor in this school, I will personally deal with them. Understood?"

I could never forget those words.

And then, a certain person suddenly came to mind.

'Armonia?'

[...]

'Ah, did the communication break? Damn it.'

[Do you think it's okay for problems to arise when you're the one who knows they shouldn't?]

'Huh?'

Armonia's voice was no different from usual.

But there was a weight to her tone.

'Uh... are you mad?'

[Why didn't you follow my advice? If you had asked for outside help, this situation wouldn't have happened.]

'I couldn't, otherwise Luna would...'

[Luna Stadtfeld's death would've been just an accident.]

'What?'

For the first time, I was so dumbfounded by Armonia's words that I couldn't even respond properly.

But her next words changed my mind.

[If Suho had died, what would've happened to Viola here?]

'That...'

No answer came to mind.

[And...]

'...?'
[What would've happened to this ship without Suho?]

'...'

Armonia had told me early on.

That summoning me had cost an enormous amount, and they had to dispose of everything to do it...

Armonia had purely made me realize the value of my existence.

'I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time.'

[That's not enough.]

'...I'll act more cautiously from now on.'

[That's still not enough.]

Armonia was firm.

There's no such thing as a perfect situation in this world. Dangerous situations require equally risky gambles.

'No, how was I supposed to know how things would turn out...'

[Do Suho, Viola, this ship... and even I... mean so little to you?]

'...'

Armonia's words made me sink deep into thought.

Thinking about it, Armonia was alone when I first met her.

But she couldn't have been alone from the beginning.

I don't know who was with her before, but now, there's me.

I don't know exactly how she perceives me.

I might just be a well-drawn hidden card to her, or maybe she sees me as a colleague she works with.

But in her outburst earlier, there was clearly more than just those ordinary feelings.

I'm not sure exactly what those feelings were, but that's what I sensed.

'I'm sorry. From now on, I'll prioritize my life in dangerous situations.'

[That's a sufficient answer.]

Only then did Armonia ease the tension.

After barely calming Armonia down, I turned my attention back to Sonya and Luna.

Sonya had been repeating the same thing to me in different ways since earlier.

The gist of it was simple.

Do whatever it takes to avoid being implicated in the assistant professor's death.

She was saying this not just to me, but to Luna as well.

"Got it? Luna, just say you were knocked out by the mana golem."

"Yes..."

Luna, holding onto my arm, said something similar to Sonya.

"No matter what happened, just say we were both knocked out."

"...Okay, got it."

Click!

The moment I answered, someone carefully opened the door and entered.

It was the Headmaster.

On either side of him were two elderly professors.

One was the professor who had shoved medicine into my mouth earlier, and the other was a male professor I hadn't seen before.

The Headmaster looked at me and spoke.

"How's your condition?"

"Yes... I'm sorry. I can't get up right now..."

"Hohoho, it's fine. Stay seated."

The Headmaster walked over to the bed, smiling casually as usual.

He got straight to the point.

"I'd like to ask about what happened today."

"...Yes."

"Why did you intrude into the forest training ground?"

He started the conversation by bringing up the violation of school rules.

I calmly explained.

I said that while leaving the dining hall, I heard about Luna and immediately rushed to the forest training ground.

And that I had asked the female students who told me about it to inform Professor Sonya of the situation.

"Why Professor Sonya?"

"...She's the professor I trust the most."

"Hmm..."

The Headmaster glanced at Sonya and then looked back at me, urging me to continue.

I then explained that after hearing a loud noise from the forest, I had no choice but to enter without permission.

And that after entering, I was knocked out by the golem and couldn't remember anything.

The Headmaster looked at me with a doubtful expression.

The pressure he exuded was no joke.

"Why didn't you ask for outside help?"

"...Because of Luna. That's all."

"Hmm..."

At my words, Luna fidgeted awkwardly.

But the Headmaster still didn't seem convinced.

He asked the two professors beside him.

"Have you found out anything about today's incident?"

"Sigh... I'm sorry. No matter how much we looked, all we found were traces of mana drain. The strange thing is, the assistant professor shouldn't have been at a level where he could be absorbed by a golem, but we couldn't figure that out."

"There were also traces of lightning-attribute mana, but they were traces used on the golem."

"Hmm..."

After hearing their reports, the Headmaster closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.

Fortunately, the superconductor bullets were designed to disappear after one use.

But there must have been iron pellets scattered around, yet there was no mention of them.

'Were they too small to notice?'

[I moved them outside while you were unconscious. Fortunately, they were just simple iron pellets, so it wasn't a big deal.]

'Oh! As expected of our CEO.'

While I was marvelling at that, the Headmaster stared at me intently and then spoke.

"So you did use magic on the golem, right?"

"Yes..."

...Something felt off.

'It feels like I've been caught...'

[Still, he definitely won't do anything harmful. However, he's not purely a Zodiac figure, so you should still be cautious. There are definitely those who would refuse even if a divine proxy ordered them.]

He said he cherished those on his side.

There's no rule saying you can't leave just because you're upset.

In this world, the protagonist is himself.

The Headmaster closed his eyes and thought for a long time.

Sonya and Luna, who usually maintained their composure well, were also tense and sweating slightly.

After 10 minutes of silence, the Headmaster's voice, filled with a smile, echoed in the room.

"We'll investigate today's incident further, but we'll let it go for now."

Sonya and Luna avoided the Headmaster's gaze and let out a sigh of relief.

But then...

"However, you did ultimately trespass on school property and damaged the golem, which is school property..."

As the Headmaster's words continued, tension filled Sonya's face, and Luna looked at the Headmaster with a 'no way' expression.

Finally, the Headmaster looked at me and concluded his words.

"You'll have to vacate the dormitory by tomorrow."

***

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