Harem Stealing System-Chapter 27: Guilt trip

The morning sunlight poured gently through the glass window of Eiden’s room. As the warmth touched his face, he slowly sat up, remaining still for a few seconds before standing up. His routine began brushing his teeth, washing his face and hair, carefully tending to his features which had, as of late, developed some attractive qualities.

Once ready, Eiden headed downstairs where a hearty breakfast waited for him. His mom had prepared another generous spread, much like the one from yesterday though that had been an exception. He ate nonchalantly, already dressed for college, seemingly unaffected by the events of the previous day. On the surface, he looked calm. But internally, his mind swirled with the questions still left unanswered.

As he walked toward college, Eiden called out mentally, System-chan, show me the quest progress. Ding!

Lyra: 85%

Mika: 50%

Arin: 51%

Eiden raised an eyebrow, staring at the numbers as he lampooned, Hmm... Arin’s quest has increased, but Lyra’s decreased. Is it because I didn’t interact with her much after the hangout? If this continues, her progress might fall too low. I should try to push it to 100 quickly... but how? Should I just confess and make her heart skip a beat to speed up the process? He pondered deeply when another chime rang in his mind.

Ding!

I advise against confessing to the target. Instead, show affection and interest in a way that implies one-sided love. This way, you won’t be bound by a formal relationship and can avoid suspicion when dealing with multiple lovers. Eiden blinked, then gave a meaningful nod. That... actually makes sense. I hadn’t even considered that. He promptly discarded the idea of confessing altogether.

Just then, a tap on his back pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to see Sasha, smiling as she greeted him, "Good morning."

"Morning," Eiden replied casually. Sasha adjusted her pace to match his as they walked. "Soo... what do you think about the things we talked about yesterday?"

Eiden fell silent for a few seconds before answering, "I don’t really know or understand." Sasha tilted her head. "You don’t like her?"

"It’s not that I don’t like her or that she’s not my type," Eiden sighed. "It’s just... I don’t know her well enough to consider liking her. We haven’t even talked for five minutes straight." Sasha nodded slowly. "Yeah... I feel the same. It’s just so unlike her. She doesn’t strike me as someone who falls for every guy she meets."

Eiden agreed with a quiet nod. As they neared their destination, they spotted their respective friend groups waving at them, and without saying anything further, they naturally parted ways. Eiden walked over to Harry, who immediately asked, "Are you two dating?"

Eiden blinked. "With who?" Harry gave him a deadpan look. "You know, the girl from before."

"Who?" Eiden asked again. Harry repeated himself. "Who?" Eiden continued, feigning ignorance. This repeated a few more times before Harry finally frowned. "Hey! Stop messing with me." Eiden chuckled. "Relax, we’re not dating."

"You sure?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Positive," Eiden said nonchalantly. Around Harry, he felt no pressure. The guy was slow, often clueless perfectly gullible. Eiden could say just about anything and Harry might just believe it. Then a thought hit him. "Wait. I don’t remember giving Crysty my number. Did you give it to her?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why?" Eiden asked, puzzled. "She asked for it," Harry replied simply. So the culprit was you Eiden added inwardly and didn’t pursue the topic further as he knew Harry was a person without hidden intention so it was useless to go ask any further.

They continued chatting about random things until Eiden reached his classroom and parted ways. As he stepped inside, he felt a nudge on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Arin standing behind him. Seriously, people keep sneaking up on me lately and I don’t even sense them coming, he thought dryly.

"What is it?" he asked. Arin didn’t respond immediately but instead gestured toward a corner of the classroom. Eiden gave a small nod and followed her. Once they reached the corner, she spoke quietly, "Thank you... once again."

She paused, then continued, "I believe there must be a reason you’re hiding it, and I respect that. I won’t pry. But... I wanted to ask did it bother you that Crysty gave me your number? Or that I contacted you?"

Eiden thought, Actually, it’s better that she contacted me first. Saves me the awkward step of asking for her number. He shook his head with a smile. "Don’t worry. I don’t mind."

Arin studied his face for a moment before nodding. Without saying more, she turned and walked away. Eiden watched her leave. What a strange girl. After class, he made his way toward the cafeteria. But before he could reach it, he spotted Lyra and this time, she was alone. Linda wasn’t by her side.

Perfect chance.

Eiden casually moved toward her, not making it obvious. At just the right moment, he "accidentally" bumped into her.

"Oh! Sorry!" he said.

"No, I’m sorry too," Lyra replied as they both looked at each other.

"Hi," Eiden smiled.

"Hi," she replied, brushing her hair to the side of her ear. "Alone?" Eiden asked.

"Yeah."she replied softly

"Wanna eat together?"

She hesitated just for a moment three seconds, precisely before answering, "Yes."

Eiden pointed to a nearby seat, and they made their way to it, sitting across from each other. He started the conversation, talking lightly about their recent hangout. Lyra responded politely, and they discussed the parts they enjoyed. Eiden made sure to steer clear of the cinema moment no need to stir up awkwardness.

After a while, he leaned back a little and said with a smile, "You know, I had a feeling it wasn’t you who sent that message asking me to hang out."

At once, Lyra’s face went pale. Her head lowered slightly, eyes avoiding his. "Was it you?" he asked again. "Or... someone else?"

Her voice came out small. "It... it was Crysty. I’m sorry." Hmm so my guess was right it really was Crysty,what is she doing all this for ? Anyways it works for me so all is good . Then Eiden activated Soothing Voice as he replied gently, "Don’t worry. I already suspected it. Honestly, I’m not bothered."

He gave a slightly bitter smile. "Besides, I enjoyed our time. It was my first time hanging out with a girl other than Sasha." Lyra’s guilty expression softened just a bit. She looked at him and murmured, "I... I want to hang out again. This time, it’s my choice."

Eiden smirked internally. Hehe... it’s working. Guilt-trip her so she feels the need to make it up to me. Classic anime move glad it worked.

With a soft smile, he replied, "Sure. When?"

"Would... coming Saturday be okay?" she asked. "No problem," he nodded.

Just then, Eiden noticed a figure approaching from the corner of his eye tall, confident, and headed straight toward them. Ruel? Eiden tensed slightly. Why is he coming towards here ? What now...?

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