Chapter 45

### Chapter 45: How to Steal a Wizard's Woman (1-29)

Luna covered her mouth with her hand, unable to close it.

Before coming to Schtra, she had met many wizards and seen their magic.

Rough but flashy fire magic, wind magic that captured the flow of nature, gentle yet heavy water magic, and earth magic with powerful destructive force.

Although she couldn't use such magic herself, she could indirectly feel it.

Certainly, it couldn't be considered powerful.

It was like embedding steel balls into a metal plate.

But if that were shot directly at a person, it wouldn't be something to laugh off.

No, she even doubted if it was magic.

There was no visible form of a magic circle.

'No, I definitely saw something just now.'

Luna hadn't seen it clearly, but she caught a glimpse of something yellow glowing.

However, from a distance, the magic circle, which was the size of a coin, was indistinguishable to Luna.

Luna deliberately made a sound as she approached Seong Suho.

"Huh?"

"Um... I forgot to give you the key."

"Oh..."

Seong Suho looked at Luna with a slightly wary expression, as if he didn't want something to be discovered.

Seeing this, Luna started to feel annoyed again.

'He still doesn't trust me.'

While thinking this, she also recalled yesterday's events.

Women who expect understanding without saying anything.

Luna didn't want to be like those women.

"...I didn't mean to see it."

"Seeing it is fine."

"...?"

"Is your ear okay? This thing is too noisy and bad for the ears."

Seong Suho was taking something out of his ear.

Luna thought to herself.

'...It's me who doesn't trust him.'

She felt a mix of guilt and happiness.

"It's fine. I'll leave the key on the desk. Work hard."

"Sure. See you later."

"...Okay."

Luna left the lab with a fluttering heart, even though it wasn't evening yet.

***

"...When did you come?"

I muttered to myself.

When I shot the rubber band, it was too noisy, so I put earplugs in my ears.

I noticed Luna by chance when she entered my field of vision.

It was hard to blame Luna herself.

The real problem was Lewis.

It's true that Lewis likes Luna, but there's no guarantee he won't look at others.

For example, he has a history of flirting with Sonia.

If Luna moves away, there's a possibility he might look at other girls.

Then, I would have to seduce other girls, and if Luna somehow turns into a yandere, it would be a real headache.

If Luna threatens to reveal my abilities, it would greatly hinder my mission.

"Got it, I'll be careful."

I locked the lab door and switched to the rubber band practice.

This time, I experimented with a magic circle of moderate strength.

The result was that it was weaker than before, but I could use it a few more times.

"Armonia, if I use up all my mana and need to recharge, how much Enel do I need?"

[Given the current amount of mana, about 50 Enel would be enough to fully recharge.]

It was good news. Using that much Enel wouldn't be a burden.

However, Armonia's next words dashed my hopes.

The rib injury from Viola's attack (?) was healed instantly.

I thought it would be fine to heal while practicing this time.

But...

I remembered that on the day I experienced mana depletion, I was almost powerless for the entire day.

Ultimately, I could only recharge my mana once a day.

And...

"This... is really a scam..."

-[Aim Skill LV 48]-

I discovered a skill I didn't know I had due to the mental breakdown from mana depletion.

In simple terms, it was an aiming skill.

Before Luna came, I shot steel balls with just the strength of my fingers, and they hit the target every time.

However, due to the limitations of my finger strength (FP), I couldn't hit distant targets.

I proudly said, puffing out my chest.

"Finger Power! It stands for FP! What do you think? Ingenious, right?"

[......]

What? Why? Do you have a complaint?

The rubber band practice I did before Luna came was just a test.

I confirmed the aiming point, closed my eyes, and shot the steel ball, which hit the exact spot I wanted.

It wasn't a skill related to vision but purely related to the hand.

In other words, if I could roughly see, I could shoot the rubber band and hit the target accurately.

A silver bullet was in my hand as Armonia answered.

It was a pointed shape, similar to a bullet I was familiar with, and the size was just right, making it easier to shoot than a steel ball.

I put the Enel bullet in my pocket and started practicing with steel balls again.

***

I sat in the terrace chair, looking at the sunset as usual.

The sun hadn't lost its strength yet, so it wasn't quite a sunset.

Unlike weekdays, students were chatting with each other around me.

The atmosphere was different from weekdays, probably because it was the weekend.

"Spending time with Luna on weekends would make us too noticeable."

[After all, you can only watch her practice magic circles from the side, right?]

...Am I imagining it, or is she subtly mocking me?

"Spending too much time with Luna will definitely cause rumors. It's better to be low-key until she fully comes over."

I don't care at all. I think Luna feels the same way.

However, rumors spreading from an ambiguous relationship can be a huge advantage or have a negative effect.

Most importantly, my real target isn't Luna.

"From what I see, it's effective to give Lewis a big blow first."

NTL has various methods, but there are two main categories.

One is the method of gradually stabbing with a dagger, and the other is the method of delivering a powerful shot.

From what I see, Lewis is the type who responds to the latter.

The former is more effective when there are no romantic feelings, so it doesn't match Lewis.

From my experience—though not in reality—the more progress I make without being noticed, the better.

Even after completely conquering Luna, the key to breaking Lewis is to avoid being noticed as much as possible.

I was wondering how to proceed with the term "achievement" when I felt the gazes of the girls around me.

They were looking at something on the table, not at me.

I saw a makeup box on the table next to my chair.

The box, surrounded by beautiful patterns, was so luxurious that even I, a man, was dazzled.

The girls around me were whispering to each other, unable to take their eyes off the box.

"This is really a high-quality item."

I opened the box slightly.

Inside were various items whose purposes I couldn't even guess.

I closed it again.

"What's in this box? I'm afraid to open it and mess up the arrangement."

[These items are not all meant to be used at once.]

Her tone was surprisingly detailed.

"Oh... Have you ever done makeup?"

[...I used to.]

"What!?"

My scream-like exclamation made everyone in the terrace look at me.

I looked around, cleared my throat, and pretended to look at the sky.

The people around me glanced at me and then resumed their conversations.

"...I never thought Armonia would do makeup."

[It was in the past.]

"Why don't you do it now?"

[There's no need to.]

"...Okay."

I occasionally try to dig into Armonia's past, but I don't force it if she doesn't want to talk.

...I'll definitely get it all out when we have a physical conversation.

Putting aside thoughts about Armonia, I recalled the practice I did in the lab earlier.

"Big trouble..."

While practicing the rubber band, I discovered several issues.

"I need to study mental attributes a bit more."

[Clearly, there are limits to what can be done with just the knowledge I have.]

The magic circles I can use are those I learned as an extracurricular activity and those written in the lab's activity book.

Both are sufficient for my current abilities, but to improve efficiency, I definitely need to study.

However, I have no idea how to start.

I don't even have the basic knowledge to start with.

"Studying mental attributes won't just happen by raising them."

[It will help when learning, as understanding increases, but the environment for learning must be created.]

"Is there any stored information for knowledge?"

[All history and records are stored in our ship, but they are just records. The ship cannot efficiently conceptualize them.]

It's about creating a creative part, not just calculating exact numbers.

Originally, I thought studying was for the dogs, but now the situation is different.

The rubber band is definitely helpful, and to use it effectively, studying mental attributes is essential.

While pondering this, someone came to mind.

"Professor Sonia!"

[Even if it's not her specialty, she has enough skills to teach you.]

Compared to older professors or those in specialized fields, her skills might be lower, but that's only relative to other professors.

For a student at my level, she should have more than enough skills to teach.

Besides, there's no professor in my specialized field, and...

The most important thing is that she has affection.

Because of her affection, I remembered last night.

"Ha... Clearly, staying up all night is exhausting."

[Didn't you just do it with your hands?]

"Even sleeping together is part of the job."

Clang!

Suddenly, a glass-breaking sound echoed behind me, almost tearing my eardrums.

"Huh?"

When I turned around in surprise, what I saw was...

"Th...Th...Th..."

Luna, looking at me with shock.