Chapter 6

### Chapter 6: How to Steal the Hero's Woman (5)

"Ah, reminiscing about the past?"

Unable to hold back her curiosity, Viola immediately asked.

But I dodged her question without answering.

"Well... It's late at night now. Won't the vigilantes scold you if you wander around at this hour?"

"Huh? Oh... It's fine. People here often walk around at night."

"Often walk around at night?"

"Yes. Ah! I heard that in other cities, it's dangerous to walk around at night, right?"

Viola's eyes sparkled as she asked a strange question.

I was puzzled by Viola's question.

'What is she talking about? This isn't South Korea or anything...'

[Maybe it means this village is that safe?]

'Well, there are a lot of vigilantes...'

And the vigilantes are said to be of very high caliber.

They are people directly dispatched from the kingdom.

Just a few of the Shihulk I saw earlier could turn a bandit hideout into a wasteland in no time.

"What about the outside world? You did cross the desert, right? What's it like over there? And..."

"Uh..."

Suddenly, a barrage of questions was thrown at me.

Even though I already knew, it was amusing how her curiosity worked.

-[Vivid Curiosity], [Ignorance of Sexuality]-

On the other hand, I felt I could understand how Viola viewed me.

'She doesn't seem to see me as a man.'

[This is going to be difficult from the start.]

'No, actually, this is more convenient.'

[What?]

The more we talk, the better.

If Viola saw me as a man, even a little bit—whether she found me annoying or had feelings for me—our conversation might not even start.

She wouldn't have come to find me like this in the first place.

Besides, I'm an outsider.

For an outsider to arouse such curiosity is a good sign.

"And, and..."

"I'll answer all your questions if you take it slow."

"Oh... I'm sorry. I have a lot of questions... hehe..."

"..."

Her bright smile momentarily shook my composure, but I held my ground.

However, Viola seemed to think my expression was due to the pain from my earlier injury.

"Oh? Did you really get badly hurt? Let's go to the doctor quickly..."

"Haha... I'm fine. It would be rude to visit the doctor at this hour."

"But, still..."

Viola's mind seemed to be a mix of guilt and curiosity.

Of course, I wasn't in any pain, so I naturally continued the conversation.

"And I'm enjoying this conversation too."

"Ah! Really? That's great! I was worried you might find it annoying..."

"Hmm. Then, where should I start?"

"What was the desert like!? Start with that!"

That night, I told Viola about the outside world for a few hours.

...Of course, it was all made up.

***

I lay on the bed, groaning.

"Ow... It's exhausting..."

[You've worked hard.]

I narrated a fabricated world to Viola.

No matter how I told the story, Viola's eyes shone brightly.

Fortunately, there was no communication with the other side of the desert, so I could just make things up.

But as the story progressed, I could understand the struggles of novelists.

"I can't be a novelist..."

[No, you did better than expected.]

"Well, at least I seem to have scored some points as a human. And we have a secret... hehe."

As the night wore on, Viola started to yawn.

Viola, who promised to come again tomorrow, approached me, held my hands tightly, and said,

-Please don't tell my brother we met. I'll get in trouble...

If I get caught, I'll be dead...

-Of course. This is our secret.

-Hehe.

I parted ways with Viola, who was smiling.

Through our conversation, I learned a few things about Viola.

She doesn't have a single close friend in the village.

She only has necessary conversations with the village chief.

The chief suddenly imposed a curfew, so she sneaked out of her house.

From what Viola said, everyone seemed to be intimidated by her.

Even when they were having a good conversation with others, they would only exchange brief words with her, looking for cues.

To Viola, the world outside the village seemed full of happiness and laughter.

Everyone but her.

And from this isolation, [Vivid Curiosity] was born.

The first young man she had ever seen.

Viola saw me as something akin to a unicorn, different from other women.

"From what I can see of Viola's personality, it shouldn't be too hard to change her."

[But there's one thing I'm worried about.]

"What is it?"

[[Single-minded Love]. This means she only looks at the hero, so...]

I could tell what [Single-minded Love] meant just by looking at it.

It's a trait where one loves only one person in their entire life.

While traits can change with life events, they don't change easily.

I could feel Armonia's concern.

If this mission fails, NTL Corporation will be in ruins.

But I wasn't too worried.

"Don't worry."

[What? Why?]

I paused slightly before speaking.

"Viola... doesn't see the hero as more than a brother."

[Can you really tell that at a glance?]

I could tell at a glance.

"If she loved her brother, there would be no reason for this trait to appear."

[It does seem that way.]

"Probably, the hero raised his sister with great care. Stupid guy, I'll corrupt her. Hehe."

[...You really seem like a villain. But it's good to see your determination return.]

"Hehe... If I can have Viola, I'm ready to do anything!"

Unlike before, I felt a surge of energy.

Most of all, thinking about eating Viola and the hero's despair when he finds out...

Ah, it's exciting.

"For now, we can only do our best."

[Do you have a plan?]

"Yes, I have a good plan."

I smiled and closed my eyes.

"I need to lay some groundwork..."

***

I pretended to walk around the village as I did yesterday, heading to my destination.

But the situation was different from yesterday.

"Wow, you're handsome! Where are you from?"

"Are you stupid? It's obvious you came from across the desert. That's really impressive!"

"...Who doesn't know? Move aside, will you?"

"...You move?"

"..."

The women around me were having a verbal battle...

Fortunately, the vigilantes no longer bothered me.

The problem was that women from all over the village were gathering...

It was annoying, but the stage was set well.

And my destination was near the hero's residence.

Extreme evaluations.

Actually, it was a two-story wooden house standing next to others.

Yesterday, Viola excitedly told me the location of her house.

I led the women to the area near where Viola lived.

The distance was such that someone inside the house could sense something was happening if they looked out the window.

In fact, I couldn't get any closer.

"Sorry, but I can't go any further."

It was the same vigilante I saw yesterday.

I put on a smile and greeted him.

"Ah! Hello."

"Oh, you! Ahaha... What are you doing here?"

Come on, Seong Suho! Start spreading lies!

"I came to say good morning and return the favor from yesterday."

"Wh-What? To me?! Ahaha... Good morning!"

He was so happy just because I came to say good morning...

Shit, I feel like his affection is rising even though I don't want it to.

I didn't expect to meet him again.

The vigilante was visibly nervous, gripping his spear tightly.

Creak... Clang. (Spear: No! I can't hold on! I'm gone!)

The spear really broke. ...

"Ah, damn... It's broken just because I gripped it tightly."

What?

A metal spear bent by hand?

'Crazy... If a guy with such strength is just a vigilante, how strong is the hero?'

[According to the information, he can kill 1,000 people with one swing. He has a skill called [Blood Wind Thousand Strikes] that can wipe out a demon army single-handedly.]

'He fought a demon king, a monster like that? If he finds out I touched Viola...'

[By the way, [Blood Wind Thousand Strikes] can be used on one person too. It delivers 1,000 strikes before the person dies.]

'...Thank you for the useful information.'

I interpreted it as a reminder to quickly seduce Viola and return to avoid experiencing 1,000 deaths at once.

Meanwhile, the women around us started whispering as they overheard our conversation.

"Are you two acquainted?"

"You seem pretty close..."

"When did you get close..."

"He never smiled like that in front of us... It's unfair."

"While working, he's just flirting with men..."

It's intense...

Even as a man, I found the vigilante intimidating, yet the women were openly criticizing him in front of him.

They seemed to dislike me talking to the vigilante and suddenly clung to me more.

"I know a really good place to eat~ It's called Ronel's Restaurant~"

"Ah! I know it too! I'll show you!"

"Damn, why aren't you going? I was going to show you first."

"What? I'm a regular there! Have you even eaten there properly?"

"What, bitch? I'm Ronel!"

It's a spectacle...

***

"...This is really frustrating."

[You've worked hard today.]

I spent the whole day chatting with women in the open space near Viola's house.

To maximize the excitement of as many women as possible, I came up with a plan.

It was palm reading.

And it worked the same way in this world.

First, the concept of palm reading didn't exist here.

Thanks to this, the women were initially skeptical, but when I read a few palms and accurately described their personalities, they became obsessed.

In fact, I didn't look at their palms at all.

I just looked at the traits above their heads.

I used Enel to see the traits of the women in the village.

Although I used more Enel than expected, it was only about 2-3 per person, and by roughly matching the traits, some women started spreading the word like enthusiastic missionaries.

For example, if someone had [Laziness], I told them to sleep less; if they had [Gluttony], I told them to eat in moderation; if they had [Masturbation Addiction]... I whispered to them to do it in moderation.

Given the era, this simple matching eventually led to rumors that it was a form of divine communication.

As a result, I was treated like a pope.

"Plus, I got some good information..."

[Yes. I didn't expect the hero to have that side...]

The information I gathered about the hero since coming here was that he was a typical overprotective brother.

I pestered Shihulk, who had maxed out his affection, and the story was quite shocking.

According to the rumors in the village, in the past, if a man lingered near his sister, the hero would kill him.

Not just scare him, but really kill him...

However, this story couldn't be taken at face value.

It was just a story I heard from an old woman...

I need to go and ask the old woman for more details tomorrow.

While I was thinking about my plans for the next day, Armonia raised a question.

Actually, I didn't want to read palms at all.

Real women's hands...

This is all~~

Knock knock knock.

A woman peeking through the window.

"Is, is anyone there?"

It's because of Viola.

***

Viola and I sat in the bushes next to the village chief's house and had a conversation, just like yesterday.

Today, just like yesterday, I started a parade of nonsense.

And today, I felt it again.

While other women saw me as a man, whether they liked it or not, Viola saw me as a curious foreigner.

-[Ignorance of Sexuality]-

'The key is to strip this away. Like undressing a virgin, I need to be careful.'

[...If even the hero couldn't strip it away, it won't be easy.]

'I didn't fail to strip it away.'

[Then...]

'I didn't strip it away.'

At this point, I was certain.

In my opinion, the hero raised her purely and intended to make her his own.

I glanced at Viola.

In the middle of our conversation, Viola fidgeted and looked at me, then spoke.

"Um... You said there's something called palm reading beyond the desert, right?"

"Ah, yes. It's about reading a person's fate from their palm... Haha. How did you know? It's only known beyond the desert."

"Hehe, I heard it from the women walking around earlier."

Viola, who usually stayed inside, learned about it by eavesdropping on the conversations of the women and vigilantes near her house.

Viola leaned forward and pouted.

"Can you read my palm? Please?"

"Sure."

"Wow! That's great. I heard it's really hard to do, but it can tell the future."

"Hahaha..."

"I heard you need divine revelation and a great sacrifice... Are you okay?"

From what Viola said, the rumor had already been distorted after passing through 100 ears.

It was said that to know the future, one needed divine revelation and a great sacrifice of life force, among other things.

Viola, having only heard the idle chatter of passersby, thought palm reading was some kind of ancient magic.

But it worked out well.

"Don't worry. But a sacrifice is needed."

"Oh... Really? Then it's fine. I don't want you to strain yourself for my sake..."

Viola looked disappointed and bowed her head.

Her personality was just like Filia's.

"My body is fine."

"Really?"

"Yes, but the sacrifice is..."

I took her left hand in both of mine.

"Hmm?"

"I need a promise to keep a secret."

Now it was time to use [Ignorance of Sexuality].