Harem Stealing System-Chapter 63: Suspicious and awkward

Eiden walked back home, the cool breeze brushing against his face, but it wasn’t enough to lower the heat burning through him. His body temperature wasn’t rising from fever or the weather it was the sheer intensity of the cringed-ass line he had just delivered to Lyra. The words still echoed in his mind like a bad echo chamber with no escape. Why the hell did I say that?! His hands clenched into fists as his steps quickened, trying to outrun the secondhand embarrassment assaulting him from within.

As he reached his house, the warm light spilling from the windows gave him a bit of comfort. He stepped inside and was immediately greeted by a familiar voice. "Welcome back. You’re just in time for dinner. Wash up," his mom, Dally Mores, said with her usual radiant smile. "Yeah, I’m back," Eiden mumbled, still half-lost in thought.

He walked to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face in an attempt to flush the awkwardness out of his system. But no amount of water could wash away the memory of Lyra’s kiss... or his melodramatic line that followed. After finishing up, he dried his face and sat down at the dinner table.

His dad, Algir Mores, joined them a few moments later, his expression as neutral as ever. Not gloomy, not overly bright just... there. The three of them ate dinner together like they always did. His mom remained bright and talkative, carrying most of the dinner conversation, while his dad listened with the occasional hum or nod.

Eiden barely spoke, chewing slowly, still stuck in the mental loop of today’s events more specifically, that kiss. And then the walk home. And then that dumb line. Every time he recalled it, his internal cringe intensified.

Dinner ended, and Eiden excused himself before his parents noticed his spaced-out state. He headed straight to his room, changed into his sleep attire, and flopped face-first onto his bed. As he buried his face into the pillow, his mind unwillingly played the day’s memory reel on loop from his initial meeting with Lyra, to spending the day together, to the unexpected kiss that melted his brain circuitry.

The moment reappeared crystal clear in his memory, and once again "Ughhhhghghghhh!"

He let out a muffled groan into the pillow, kicking his legs lightly against the mattress in sheer disbelief at himself. Eventually, sleep pulled him under.

The next morning, the harsh beep of the alarm clock yanked Eiden out of dreamland. He instinctively slapped it off and sat up with a half-dead expression. After a minute of stillness, he got up and washed up like usual, brushing his teeth as the fog in his head lifted slightly. As he wiped the steam off the mirror, he blinked a few times and brought up the status screen.

STATUS

Name: Eiden

Gender: Male

Level: 3

EXP: 30

Strength: 15

Speed: 17

Height: 6 ft

Charm: 7

Intelligence: 25

Skills:

Soothing Voice

Face Master

Skill Points: 3

Harem Count: 1

Eiden scanned through it quickly, noting that nothing major had changed. His eyes moved next to the quest list.

QUEST

Lyra Elwin: 100% Complete

Mika Holes: 57%

Arin Valcrest: 58%

Airie Balerr: 2%

Maya Fernandez: 13%

"Hmm. There’s been some change in the progress, but... it’s not much," Eiden muttered to himself, drying his face with a towel. After changing into his college attire, he headed downstairs, the smell of warm food hitting his nose before he even reached the dining table. His mom had already prepared breakfast eggs, toast, and some fried veggies. A homey meal.

"Eat up!" Dally called brightly. "Yeah, thanks," Eiden replied and sat down, absent-mindedly munching through his breakfast as his mind slowly began prepping for the awkward tension he might face today.

The walk to college wasn’t long. As he crossed a familiar corner, he spotted Sasha in the distance. Coincidentally, she spotted him too. Their eyes met. "Morning," Eiden greeted casually, his tone light and nonchalant.

"Morning," Sasha replied, trying her best to match his casual energy.

They both pretended everything was normal, but the awkwardness hanging between them was almost physically palpable. It wasn’t hostile just... slightly off. Like two people trying a bit too hard to act like everything was fine. Still, they fell into their usual banter, talking about school stuff and what classes they had coming up.

After a few blocks, Crysty joined them, her bright smile adding more energy to the group. She greeted both of them enthusiastically and naturally fell into the rhythm of conversation.

Today, however, Eiden didn’t break off from the group like he usually did whenever Sasha met up with her other friends. This time, he decided to stick with them. It wasn’t totally out of character he had done it befor —but it was rare enough to be noticeable.

As they walked, a short distance away, Deuel spotted them. His eyes locked onto Eiden, and he seemed ready to call out. But then, in the same line of sight, he noticed two familiar figures approaching the group Lyra and Linda.

Deuel stopped in his tracks. His breath hitched. He quickly turned his face away, hiding himself under his hoodie as he walked in the opposite direction. He didn’t call out to Eiden. He didn’t want to get involved in whatever awkward collision might be unfolding.

From his perspective, it was a potential landmine. Back with the group, Crysty noticed the two approaching girls and called out with a cheery voice, "Lyra! Linda!" Lyra and Linda joined the group after exchanging polite hellos. Crysty greeted both with a bright smile and immediately engaged them in small talk. Everyone walked in a loose formation, chatting here and there.

But amidst the casual conversation, something was... off. Eiden and Lyra had an unmistakably awkward air around them. They tried to act normal, exchanging occasional glances but those glances were brief, skittish, and always a beat too late. Their avoidance of each other’s gaze was painfully obvious to the trained eye.

Linda noticed it first. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes narrowed slightly. She already knew Lyra had a crush on Eiden but this level of shyness? This avoidance? It didn’t add up unless something happened between them.

And she wasn’t the only one catching on. Crysty noticed it even more clearly. She had seen them together yesterday, so she knew something was up. The difference in body language between yesterday and today was stark almost like guilt or embarrassment was involved.

As for Sasha, her intuition tingled. She didn’t know what exactly had changed, but she could sense something odd. It was a subtle feeling less intense than what Crysty or Linda were picking up but she still noticed that something between Eiden and Lyra was... different.

The group kept walking, everyone talking in pockets of conversation, but the tension between Eiden and Lyra remained as dense as ever unspoken, but noticed by more than one pair of eyes. And the day had just begun.