Harem Stealing System
Chapter 38 : Traces of trouble

Chapter 38: Chapter 38 : Traces of trouble

After the morning incident, Sasha and Crysty got a ride to college offered by Eva. Eiden was offered a seat too, but he politely declined. There was something else on his mind. A gut feeling nagged at him something he’d remembered, something he’d misplaced.

He made his way back to a location he vaguely recalled from earlier frantically searching, pacing, and checking every possible spot. His bag, his pockets, even behind nearby bushes. His fingers grew restless, rifling through places they shouldn’t have to.

He knew this wasn’t the safest decision. In fact, at one point, he was almost kidnapped or so he felt from the creepy vibes a shady guy gave off. Still, he believed that failing to find the item was almost as bad as getting kidnapped. Maybe not as bad, but close enough for his panic to justify the risk.

After several fruitless minutes, he stopped.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. His shoulders dropped, and with a dejected sigh, he picked himself up. He checked the time. Damn. He was going to be late.

With no time to waste, Eiden broke into a light jog toward college. As he neared the gates, he noticed some familiar faces jogging alongside him, apparently in the same time-crunched misery as him. Deuel, Petter, and John.

They spotted each other, and without needing to say anything, naturally formed a jogging group one that was united by the shared pain of poor time management.

Petter, however, seemed to be seriously out of breath. His lungs wheezed audibly, and his steps were wobbly. He looked one failed breath away from collapsing. Eiden glanced at Deuel, then back at Petter, and asked between breaths, "Why are you guys late?"

"Woke up late," Deuel replied, his words spaced out with exhalations. "Probably because of that group chat marathon last night."

"Yeah, me too," John added. "Didn’t realize we kept going till 3 a.m." Eiden nodded in agreement, wiping some sweat from his brow. He turned to Petter to hear his excuse. But before Petter could open his mouth, John cut in with a grin that screamed mischief.

"He was probably masturbating to that video last night. I bet. Hahahaha!" Deuel burst into laughter. "Oh, seriously, man? You actually did?" He made a face like he’d just swallowed a rotten tomato. Petter didn’t say a word in return. His silence was damning. Eiden tried not to laugh but couldn’t help the smirk tugging at his lips. John, still chuckling, glanced at Eiden and said, "Hey, man, these days you’re becoming distant."

"Hmm? How so?" Eiden asked, genuinely confused. "You don’t hang out as much. You barely say anything in the group chat. Hell, I don’t even remember the last time you replied." Eiden just pointed forward with his eyes. "We’re here. See ya."

Without waiting for a response, he broke from the group and rushed into his building, arriving just before the lecture started. He slipped into his seat and noticed that today’s lecturer was none other than Miss Mika.

Just seeing her face stirred something uncomfortable inside him. The image of her exiting the apartment with his father flashed across his mind. Coincidence? Coincidence his ass.

Eiden stared at her blankly, mind caught in a strange loop. He wasn’t aware how intense his gaze had gotten. Thankfully, it wasn’t awkward since she was lecturing and he was technically just being attentive or so it seemed on the surface.

But to Eiden, it felt like he was mentally spiraling. Every word she spoke became background noise to his jumbled thoughts.

Why her? And why my dad? What the hell is even going on anymore? Time passed, and before he knew it, the lecture ended.

Rather than heading to the cafeteria like usual, Eiden made a beeline toward Sasha’s class. He was hoping to meet her along the hallway, maybe catch her before she got swarmed by her classmates. But no such luck.

When he reached her classroom, she was already there surrounded by people, conversing with ease. Crysty was by her side, nodding and laughing at something Sasha said. Eiden stood a few feet away, squinting at the group. Hmm... are they talking about this morning’s incident?

His eyes darted through the crowd. Then he noticed a small arrow icon above one of the students courtesy of the system. "Huh?" he muttered. "Wait, isn’t she... ohh yeah! The short lesbian target!"

He leaned a little, trying to see her better.b"I think her name was... Airie Balerr." He quickly checked the system. Confirmed. Airie Balerr. Target confirmed. "Wow, she’s short," he mumbled under his breath. "I can barely see her even though she’s closer to me than Sasha."

Indeed, Airie was petite dwarfed even further by the people around her. But despite her size, she was visibly engaged in the conversation, her eyes glowing with admiration toward Sasha. Too many people. Too much chatter. Eiden decided it wasn’t the right time to approach her.

He was just about to leave when a light tap landed on his shoulder. He turned instantly.

It was Airin. His heart skipped a beat, though he wasn’t sure why. "Is there something you need?" he asked, eyes scanning her face. Airin didn’t answer directly. She subtly gestured toward a quiet corner with a slight tilt of her head. They walked together, side by side, until they were away from prying eyes.

Eiden was about to speak when she cut in sharply. "Ruel’s using his connections. He’s questioning people. Hiring professionals. Trying to trace who uploaded the video. He’s even claiming it’s fake now."

Her voice was low, her tone serious. "He’s not just bluffing. It might not be long before he finds you," she added, her gaze sharp. "Should you even be coming to college?"

Eiden blinked. "No, not really," he replied casually.

Airin tilted her head in confusion, eyebrows furrowing. He continued, "I mean, don’t worry. The video wasn’t uploaded through any normal means. Even if it was traced back, there’s no way they’ll find out who did it. That I can say for sure."

His tone was confident. Too confident.

Truthfully, this assurance wasn’t from any strategy of his own. It was all System-chan’s doing. Airin stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," he replied without hesitation.

Eiden then raised a brow. "By the way... were you confronted by Ruel’s men? I mean, since you broke up with him before the video got out, you’d be a top suspect."

Airin’s expression went deadpan. "That jerk and his goons can’t touch me," she said flatly. "Unless they want to deal with my dad."

Eiden blinked. "Oh yeah... I almost forgot. There are hotshot sons and daughters in this college, huh." Seeing his puzzled look, Airin added, "My dad’s a higher-up in the police department."

She didn’t elaborate further. Eiden nodded solemnly. "Still... be careful. Humans can do crazy things." Airin nodded back in understanding.

After a brief silence, they both agreed to exit the corner one at a time to avoid drawing suspicion. It would look bad if they were seen talking so seriously especially with tensions rising.

Eiden stepped out first, heading toward the hallway crowd with an unreadable expression.

Moments later, Airin followed, her eyes scanning left and right before slipping into the corridor flow.

Neither of them noticed that they had been watched. From the very same corner they had just vacated, a figure emerged quietly, carefully.

A pair of narrowed eyes peeked around the corner. The silhouette leaned closer and whispered to themselves, their voice low and filled with disbelief.

"Eiden was the one to spread that video?