Harem Stealing System
Chapter 45 : Italian growth

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 : Italian growth

Back home, Eiden was greeted by his mom like usual.

"Hm? Sasha’s not coming over today?" asked Dally, his mom, raising a brow as she glanced at the empty doorway. Eiden shrugged as he kicked off his shoes. "I don’t know how she operates."

Just then, a familiar voice rang out."I’m back!"

Eiden turned around slowly. Talk about the devil... he muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, his muttering wasn’t as silent as he thought. Sasha, already standing behind him with a grocery bag in hand, pouted while glaring at him.

"What devil?" she asked, her tone sharp. "Nothing," Eiden replied quickly, waving it off as if she had imagined it. Sasha huffed and turned to Dally. "I brought some groceries. Let’s cook something Italian today."

"Ooh, fancy~" Dally cooed, smiling brightly and placing a hand near her lips in excitement. "But take a bath before we cook." Eiden didn’t join the kitchen party. He yawned and trudged toward his room instead, changing out of his clothes as his mind wandered back to his quest progress.

How should I proceed with the Airie situation? he thought, pulling on a clean T-shirt. He paused, eyes narrowing. Wait. I don’t even know Airie’s affection level toward Eva yet...

"System-chan, show me the quest status for Airie... No, actually show me all of them."

Ding!

Quest Progress:

Lyra Elwin – 100% (Completed)

Mika Holes – 58%

Arin Valcrest – 62%

Airie Balerr – 1%

Maya Fernandez – 11%

Eiden blinked, scanning the screen. Wait a minute... since when did Miss Mika’s progress increase? I don’t remember making any real contact with her... and I don’t think we’ve talked recently either. He tilted his head, genuinely confused.

And Arin’s progress ticked up again. Am I really that charming?

His eyes trailed down to the bottom two.

Maya the high school girl is at 11%. Not bad, I guess. There’s bound to be cracks in a harem relationship. But Airie... 1%?

Eiden rubbed his chin. How is it that low? She’s head-over-heels for Eva, isn’t she? And Eva’s a girl too, with a harem no less... How can she still be at only 1%?

Talk about true love... Now I kinda feel bad trying to break that bond. He let out a dramatic sigh.

"But hey, let’s say I’m doing her a favor. It’s for her best she should fall for a guy instead of a girl, right? Especially since Eva’s got a harem going too."

He chuckled to himself. Between Eva’s harem and mine, it’s objectively better to join the one with the opposite gender. Makes perfect sense. Heheh... yeah, great excuse, me.

Still smirking, he sat back on the bed. But I don’t know how Eva feels about Airie either. Hmm... I could ask Sasha they’re in the same class.

With that thought in mind, he made his way downstairs to take a bath, assuming Sasha had already finished. As he entered the bathroom, something on the laundry basket caught his eye. "Huh?"

A small, pastel-colored item stood out among the towels. "Sasha," he called out casually. "You left your panties here."

Seconds later BOOM! The door swung open with force. Sasha stood there, cheeks flushed a deep red, apron still tied around her waist. Without saying a word, she stomped in, snatched the offending underwear, glared daggers at Eiden, and stormed out.

"...Geez. Not my fault," Eiden muttered, stepping into the shower as if nothing happened.

After cleaning up, he returned to his room to see a missed call notification on his phone.

Deuel? he thought, blinking. What does this guy want? He hit redial. After a few rings, Deuel answered. "Hey."

"Yo," Eiden replied. "Why the sudden call?"

"I wanted to ask something about the upcoming semester exams," Deuel said. Oh, right... exams are getting close. "Yeah? What about it?"

"Uh... would it be okay if I studied over at your place?" Eiden squinted at the ceiling, smirking.

Ah. So that’s your game. He’s not coming to study he just wants to bump into Sasha. Smart play... but your intentions are completely see-through, my guy. "Sure," Eiden replied, suppressing a laugh. "Sasha will be here."

He ended the call. On the other end, Deuel’s face turned red. Damn. He knows!

Later that evening, Eiden was called down for dinner. As he took his seat, he glanced around the table. "Where’s Dad?" he asked. Dally replied, "He’ll be back late. He said he’s attending a company dinner party to celebrate the recent project completion."

"Oh," Eiden said, nodding as he examined the dishes in front of him. The table was filled with elegant Italian dishes everything from creamy pasta to roasted vegetables and fresh garlic bread. "Looks good," Eiden muttered, impressed. "All Sasha’s idea," Dally chimed proudly. "I just followed along."

"Oh please," Sasha interjected, laughing. "I couldn’t have done it without you. You picked up everything I missed!" The two women giggled and complimented each other, but Eiden was far too busy stuffing his face to care.

After dinner, he felt like getting some air and invited Sasha for a walk. "I’ll come after I help Mrs. Mores with the dishes," Sasha said.

Dally patted her shoulder. "No, it’s okay, dear. You helped plenty with dinner."

Sasha smiled and nodded, then followed Eiden outside. As they strolled through the quiet neighborhood, their conversation meandered through random topics.

"Oh yeah," Eiden said casually, "I saw this short girl in your class. At first, I thought she was a middle schooler."

"Ohh, you mean Airie?" Sasha replied, giggling. "Yeah, she’s tiny even for a girl. When we first met her, we teased her thinking she was a kid, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. She’s actually pretty easy to get along with."

"Hm. Being short doesn’t affect love life much for girls, huh?" Eiden said, faking nonchalance. "Some guys actually find it cute, y’know the whole protective instinct thing." NovelFire

"Are you asking if she has a boyfriend?" Sasha said, raising an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing. Eiden pretended to scratch his cheek innocently. "Eh? No, just wondering..."

Sasha tilted her head, muttering under her breath, "Weird... just now it felt like you were pretending to act ignorant, but you already knew..." She shook her head and dismissed the thought.

"I don’t think she has one. Not that I know of, anyway. We’re not super close, though we do hang out sometimes. If she had someone, she might just be keeping it private."

"Ah, makes sense," Eiden replied, quickly steering the conversation away. "Say... what about Eva? Were you close with her?"

"Eva?" Sasha echoed, thinking. "Well, she saved me, so I guess you’d assume we’re close... but we’re not, really. I’ve talked to her before, sure, but we’re more like acquaintances than friends." Eiden gave a neutral "Ohh," then smoothly switched topics to avoid further probing.

They chatted about other trivial things as they walked, letting the cool breeze guide their steps. By the time they returned home, it was getting late. They both went straight to bed.

The next morning, Eiden groaned as Sasha’s voice once again acted as his personal alarm clock. "Eiden! Wake up already!"

He frowned, still half-asleep. "We went to bed at the same time... yet you’re up like a rooster..." Sasha smirked and raised her chin. "That’s because I follow a strict routine. That’s why my skin is flawless."

Eiden snorted as he dragged himself out of bed. As he shuffled toward the bathroom, Sasha suddenly froze.

"Huh?! Eiden?!" He turned around, rubbing his eyes. "What?"

Sasha stared at him for a few seconds, blinking rapidly. "Since when were you this tall?! I just saw you last night!" Eiden’s brain struggled to process her words. Still half-asleep, he opened his status window, eyes squinting at the display.

Height: 5.8 ft > 6 ft

Ohh ya i forgot about that ..