Harem Stealing System
Chapter 42 : The submitted project

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 : The submitted project

Eiden stared at the glowing text floating in front of him.

[Quest: Befriend Airie ]

Reward: Skill Equal exchange

He read the description again, mumbling under his breath, "Equal exchange, huh? This is gonna be... interesting." His eyes flicked to the target’s name: Airie.

. The name barely meant anything as the only time he saw her was brief sighings . She wasn’t someone he’d ever interacted with before nor did he knew who she was . In fact even right now , the only notable detail he recalled was that she was a lesbian and unmistakably interested in Eva.

"And that makes her part of Eva’s harem, doesn’t it?" he muttered, one eyebrow rising. "Wait... If Airie’s in it, that means... that harem isn’t just full of guys?"

He blinked, mind racing with the implications. "It’s Eva. Of course there’d be girls too. That woman’s got enough charm to rewrite sexual orientations." Ding! System-chan chimed in with her usual synthetic enthusiasm.

"Affirmative! Airie is a confirmed harem member. Total female members in Eva’s harem: 3."

"Damn," Eiden muttered, shaking his head. "She’s popular with girls too? Her charm’s cross-dimensional." His thoughts kept spiraling. How the hell am I supposed to wedge myself between Eva and Airie when I don’t even have a single connection point? No prior contact, no common interests, no angle to approach...

The buzz of idle chatter around him faded into a dull blur. Even as the classroom began to settle and the professor arrived, Eiden remained stuck in his thoughts. But as the professor placed his bag on the desk and began preparing for the lecture, something in Eiden’s mind clicked.

The pendrive. His eyes widened. The damn project! He leapt from his seat and made his way to the front of the class, pulling the small USB drive from his pocket. It was his backup copy the one he was supposed to submit days ago but had lost under mysterious, brain-foggy circumstances.

"Professor," he said, catching the man’s attention. The older man adjusted his glasses and looked at him with a raised brow. "Yes?"

"I have the project file," Eiden said, holding out the pendrive. "Group 9." The professor took it, glanced at the drive, then checked the list in his hand. "Group 9..." he murmured. Then, without warning, he paused.

His gaze shifted from the paper to the drive, and then back to Eiden. "Your project’s already been submitted." Eiden blinked. "...Huh?"

The professor held up the pendrive he’d already received. "Is this not yours?" Eiden stared. The casing, the dull scratches, the faint ink smudge near the cap it was definitely his.

"That... looks like mine," he muttered. He felt a mental flick as if something was short-circuiting in his brain.

Did I... already submit it? But I don’t remember that at all. "I must’ve..." he fumbled, trying to force a laugh. "I guess I forgot. I had a lot going on that day, haha..."

The professor offered him a skeptical glance but didn’t press further. "Do you want to replace the file with the one you just gave me?" Eiden hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No, it’s fine. Just... use the old one."

He pocketed the pendrive and walked back to his seat, scratching his head as thoughts churned inside him. No way I submitted it. I was looking for this pendrive two days ago. I never handed it in...

He thought back, hard, trying to remember what had happened. The day of the rejection. Linda. The cat. The System... Did I submit it before all that? But that would’ve been too early. I only finished it the night before the deadline.

He frowned deeper. Someone must’ve found it and submitted it for me. But that doesn’t make sense either. I didn’t label it with the group number only my name. So how would they know which group it belonged to? And why would they bother submitting it?

His concentration broke as the professor spoke again, this time addressing the class.

"Your results will be announced in eight days. Make sure to check the board."

And with that, he left. Eiden didn’t even register the rest of the class. The mystery gnawed at him. He stood up, determined, and walked straight to his groupmates.

One by one, he questioned them. "Nope, I didn’t submit it," said one. "I thought you were doing it," said another.

"Weird," said the last. "I assumed you handed it in since the professor confirmed it." Eiden nodded vaguely. None of them looked suspicious. He didn’t even bother asking Harry or Linda he had already spoken to them the day before. Neither of them knew anything about the missing pendrive.

Still puzzled, he left the class and headed toward the cafeteria but halfway there, he stopped. His quest target..Airie. A detour wouldn’t hurt.

Instead of joining his friends, Eiden turned on his heel and made his way toward the hallway where Sasha’s class was. He remembered seeing Airie there before quiet, aloof, usually hovering somewhere near Eva when she was around.

As luck would have it, Sasha and Crysty were heading out of the classroom with a small group of girls, laughing about something. They spotted Eiden at the same time he spotted them. "Eiden?" Sasha called. "Where are you going?"

He pointed vaguely at the classroom. "Ah just something," he replied, brushing past her quickly.

Sasha tilted her head. "Something? In my class?" But he was already gone. Just as he reached the hallway, the door opened and Airie stepped out. Her short hair gleamed faintly under the lights, and her height was as always short that made her seemed like a middle schooler who came to visit ,

She didn’t even glance in his direction as she walked past him. Eiden watched her go, wondering whether he should tail her. I could... just casually follow and strike up conversation. Maybe ask if she dropped something. Or pretend I’m lost?

But before he could decide, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned. "Linda...?"

The girl standing before him met his gaze with a look far more serious than he expected.

"Is there something you need?" he asked automatically.

His eyes flicked to either side was she alone? No Lyra. No friends. Just Linda. She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked him dead in the eyes and asked:

"Are you and Lyra dating?"