Harem Stealing System
Chapter 53 : A familiar stranger

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 : A familiar stranger

Eiden stood at the his standing place which was little further away from the house at a turn , pausing for a moment as he watched his mom walk in before him. The air was still, quiet too quiet for his racing thoughts. After a few seconds of deliberate hesitation, he finally walked near the house and stepped inside.

As he entered, his eyes landed on his mother, Dally, who had already made herself comfortable on the couch. She lay back, looking mildly exhausted but composed. When she noticed him, she turned her head with a small smile.

"Welcome back," she said, her voice soft and familiar. Eiden returned the smile faintly. "Did you come back just now too?" he asked, keeping his tone casual. She nodded. "Yeah. I think just two to four minutes earlier than you."

Eiden slowly walked farther into the room, feigning ignorance as he asked, "Groceries?"

His mom chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "Nope. I went to visit some friends."

He nodded thoughtfully, keeping his expression neutral. "Ah. By the way... is Dad okay?" Dally looked at him curiously for a second, then smiled again. "Yes, he’s fine. Why?" Eiden looked away briefly. "I don’t know... It’s just that he seemed sick yesterday morning. And even then, he had to go to the company that evening."

She gave a short sigh, as if amused. "No, he wasn’t really that sick," she replied. "He kind of recovered that afternoon, so he went to the party just fine. But since he’d just gotten better, he had a bit more hangover than usual this morning. Otherwise, he’s fine. Besides," she added with a faint smile, "he told me that he and his friends went out to get some fresh air... to the beach, apparently."

Eiden’s eye twitched involuntarily. The beach? Seriously? He clenched his jaw inwardly. He knew damn well that his father hadn’t gone anywhere near a beach. He’d seen him yesterday at the arcade center with a woman he didn’t recognize. It was burned into his memory. The way they laughed, the way they leaned in too close, the subtle but unmistakable intimacy.

A sliver of suspicion crept up his spine, mixing with a feeling he didn’t want to name. Did Mom know? Was she playing along? Spying again, like before... like with Miss Mika?

But he didn’t let it show.

Activating his internal "Face Master" skill, Eiden offered a nonchalant smile. "Alright. Rest a little, Mom," he said casually and turned away, climbing the stairs without another word.

The moment he stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, he let out a long sigh. His body dropped onto the bed, arms stretched out, mind buzzing with thoughts. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before speaking. "System-chan ding! Show me the map." A faint chime echoed in his mind, and the familiar holographic projection floated before his eyes, marked with glowing dots and labels. He scanned through it, eyes narrowing slightly.

Lyra... She was at her house. Predictable.

He zoomed out slightly, shifting his gaze to other known targets. Airie? She seemed to be at a park, for some reason. That caught him off guard. "What’s she doing at a park this late?" he muttered. "Meditating under a tree? Feeding ducks? Sketching flowers?" He shook his head. "Or maybe she’s just a night owl with a weird aesthetic."

He swiped across the map again, this time landing on another familiar dot. Arin. She seemed to be stationary. "Huh... is this her house?" Eiden leaned in slightly, analyzing the location pin. "It’s pretty big. I thought it was some kind of convenience store or public building... but judging by the surrounding area, it’s definitely residential."

The layout was wide, spaced out comparable in size to Sasha’s house. That surprised him.

"I heard her dad’s a high-ranking cop. Must be loaded," he muttered. With another flick of his fingers, the map scrolled again, and now he focused on someone far more elusive.

Maya. A complete mystery. "She’s the most enigmatic out of all my targets," Eiden whispered. "Haven’t exchanged a single word with her yet." He paused. "Well... Airie would have been in the same boat, but at least today she did say ’excuse me’ when I blocked her at the classroom door. That counts for something."

He chuckled. "Still better than Maya’s case."

He stared at her icon a moment longer. "She seems to be home too. Apartment, maybe? Wait..." He squinted at the map. "Yeah, I remember. I once tailed her to this building. Must be that same place. Can’t be too sure though wasn’t really familiar with that area."

As his thoughts wandered deeper, his eyes finally drifted to another blinking dot one that made him pause. Miss Mika. "Huh?" Eiden frowned. "She’s still at college?"

He quickly glanced at the time on his phone. 8:30 PM. He looked back at the dot and blinked. "Talk about a hard worker."

A beat passed in silence. He folded his arms behind his head and opened the quest tab. No changes. Everything was still in progress. He sighed again and browsed the map aimlessly for a few more minutes, before slowly dozing off.

Forty minutes passed. Ding-dong. The sharp ring of the doorbell jolted Eiden awake. His eyes fluttered open as he heard his mother’s voice faintly from downstairs.

"Coming~!" she called out. A few seconds passed before another voice cut through the air his mom’s again, but this time urgent, shaken. "Oh my! Honey!! Are you okay?!" Eiden shot up. His legs moved before his brain could catch up, and within moments, he was downstairs.

The sight that greeted him at the door made his blood run cold not from fear, but from something far more complicated.

His father, Alger, stood in the entranceway or rather, leaned heavily on the shoulder of a woman who was supporting him.

His face was flushed deep red, lips mumbling incoherently, clearly drunk beyond sense. The smell of alcohol hit Eiden from a distance. His mother hovered beside them, fussing over him in panic.

But Eiden’s eyes weren’t on his father. They were on her the woman who had brought him back.

The same woman he’d seen at the arcade yesterday. The one he’d watched laugh and touch his father’s arm like it belonged to her.

The one he couldn’t forget. She stood there calmly, not looking guilty in the slightest, almost as if this were just a normal favor. Her eyes flickered to Eiden for a second.

And in that moment, something inside him twisted. So she’s not just some random acquaintance. She knows where we live. She brought him back... here. To Mom.

Who the hell is she ?