Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 53: Tsundere

"I... I came to say..." She forced the words out like they were choking her. "Thank you."

"For what?" I played dumb. "The Golem? Or the hot spring?"

"Don’t mention the spring!" she hissed, looking around frantically. "I swear, if you tell anyone—"

"I won’t," I chuckled. "Relax."

Alicia looked at my chest, where the bandages peeked out from under my shirt.

"You blocked that curse for me," she whispered. "You hate me. I humiliated you in the plaza. I tried to blow you up in the mock battle. But you still... jumped in front of it."

"Alicia," I said, my tone turning serious. "I don’t hate you. You’re arrogant, loud, and you throw fireballs when you’re naked—"

"Alex!"

"—but you’re not a bad person," I finished. "You held the line against the Bear. You didn’t run away. That takes guts."

Alicia stared at me, her red eyes shimmering slightly.

"You’re an idiot," she mumbled, crossing her arms and looking away to hide her face. "You’re a reckless, perverse, stupid idiot."

"I accept your gratitude."

She reached into the basket, picked up an apple, and practically shoved it into my mouth.

"Eat! And heal faster! I refuse to owe a life debt to a guy who uses a bucket as a shield!"

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, her twin tails whipping behind her.

[System Notification: Alicia Raven - Interest Level: 55/100 (Tsundere Affection).]

I took a bite of the apple. It was incredibly sweet.

"Tsunderes," I mumbled, chewing happily. "The easiest targets."

****

By Friday, I was discharged.

The Academy rumor mill had gone into overdrive. The official story was that Alex Edelhart, the former "trash," had single-handedly orchestrated the defeat of a mutated Boss monster, saving Group 11.

Walking down the halls, the whispers were no longer mocking. They were filled with a mix of awe and fear.

"I heard he blew up a mountain." "I heard he seduced Emily Frost in the woods." "I heard he eats goblin meat raw."

I ignored them and headed straight for my sanctuary. The Grand Library.

I needed to research the Eclipse Cult, specifically the "Demon’s Nail" and what their endgame was for the first semester.

I navigated the towering bookshelves, heading for the restricted historical section.

As I turned a corner, I bumped into someone.

Thud.

A pile of heavy tomes spilled onto the floor.

"Ah! I’m so sorry!" a soft, panicked voice squeaked.

I looked down. Sitting on the floor, frantically adjusting her oversized, round glasses, was Elara Vance. The Library Girl. The future Archmage.

"It’s my fault, Elara," I said, crouching down to help her pick up the books.

She paused, looking up at me through her thick lenses. Her green eyes widened.

"A-Alex? You’re out of the hospital?"

"You heard about that?"

"Everyone heard," she whispered, taking a heavy book on ’Leyline Topography’ from my hands. "You’re... you’re famous now. I was worried. When you didn’t come to the library all week..."

She blushed, hiding her face behind a book.

"I missed our study sessions," I smiled warmly, stacking the books for her. "I have a lot of new theories to test. And my Mana stat finally hit 18."

"Eighteen?!" Elara gasped, dropping a book again. "But... but last week it was barely ten! How did you achieve such rapid compression? The mathematical models for that kind of growth are—"

"Are a secret," I tapped her nose playfully. "For now. Maybe I’ll show you my equation later."

Elara’s face turned as red as a tomato. "I... I would like that."

I helped her stand up. "Actually, Elara, I need your help. Do you know where I can find texts on pre-Empire heretical cults? Specifically, rituals involving corrupted biology?"

Elara’s expression turned serious, her academic brain taking over.

"Heretical cults? That’s Section 4, Restricted Level B. You need a Professor’s signature to access those." She looked left and right, then lowered her voice. "But... I have the master key. Since I organize the archives. I can sneak you in."

"You’re the best, Elara."

We walked toward the back of the library.

But our path was blocked.

Standing in the aisle, looking at a shelf of basic combat manuals, was Ren Montclair. And shadowing him, as always, was Lena Brook. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Ren turned as he heard our footsteps. His generic brown eyes locked onto me.

His face tightened.

"Alex."

"Ren," I nodded politely. "Reading up on how to swing a sword?"

Ren ignored the jab. He stepped into the center of the aisle, blocking my way. Lena narrowed her eyes, her hand resting on her rapier.

"I heard the rumors," Ren said, his voice dripping with barely concealed righteous anger. "They say you defeated a Boss monster. That you protected the group."

"I did what I had to do."

"Did you?" Ren stepped closer. "Or did you just use them as bait? I know your type, Alex. You scheme. You play dirty. I don’t believe for a second that you fought fairly."

I sighed. The Hero Complex was acting up again.

Ren couldn’t handle the fact that the "scumbag" who kissed Ariana in front of the whole school was now being hailed as a legitimate hero. In Ren’s mind, only he was supposed to be the savior. Only his brand of justice was pure.

"Believe what you want, Ren," I said, stepping forward to pass him. "Excuse me. I have studying to do."

Ren threw an arm out, blocking my chest.

"I talked to Martin," Ren lowered his voice, glaring at me. "He was terrified. He said you were a monster in the forest. That you fought like a killer. And I heard you spent the night alone with Emily Frost."

I stopped. I looked at Ren’s arm, then up at his face.

"Are you the moral police now, Ren?" I asked coldly. "Or are you just jealous that the girls are looking at me instead of you?"

"I don’t care about the girls!" Ren snapped, though his flush betrayed him. "I care about the Academy! You’re dangerous, Alex. I can feel the dark mana on you from here. Whatever you did in that forest... you’re walking a dark path."

He could sense the lingering scent of the necrotic energy I had absorbed. The Protagonist’s intuition was sharp.

"Listen to me carefully, Ren," I leaned in, slapping his arm down with a sharp, fast movement that made Lena flinch.

"You play at being a hero. You use your sword to protect the weak, right? That’s beautiful. But out there in the real world, the monsters don’t care about your ideals. They care about flesh and blood."

I stepped into his personal space, my height giving me a slight edge.

"I survive. I win. And the people under my command come back alive. If you have a problem with my methods, beat me in the rankings. Until then, stay out of my way, Scholarship Student."

I walked past him, lightly bumping his shoulder. Elara scurried past him like a frightened mouse, following close behind me.

Ren didn’t say a word, but the air around him crackled with dense, heavy mana. He was furious.

"You’re making a powerful enemy, Alex," Elara whispered as we reached the restricted section, her hands trembling. "Ren is... he’s really strong."

"I know," I smirked, pulling the iron gate open.

*****

[Restricted Section - Level B] [Authorized Personnel Only]

"Hurry," Elara whispered, looking over her shoulder to make sure Ren wasn’t following us. She pulled a heavy iron key from her robe pocket and locked the gate behind us. "The magical sentries patrol every thirty minutes. We have about twenty minutes before the Eye of Truth sweeps this aisle."

"Twenty minutes is plenty of time," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the vast, dusty space.

Unlike the main library, which was bright and airy, this section was suffocating. The air smelled of old parchment, dried ink, and lingering dark mana. The shelves were tall, looming over us like jagged teeth, filled with books bound in monster leather and black iron.

My new [Shadow Affinity (Minor)]—a gift from the necrotic energy I metabolized—hummed. The shadows here felt... comfortable. I could see perfectly in the dim light, picking out the titles on the spines.

’Curses of the Third Era.’ ’Anatomy of a Ghoul.’ ’The 100 Forbidden Poisons.’

"Here," Elara said, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and academic excitement. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching for a thick, black tome on a high shelf. "’The Ecclesiarchy of the Eclipse’. It’s the only surviving text from the purge ten years ago."

She couldn’t reach it. She hopped a little, her oversized glasses slipping down her nose.

I stepped up behind her. I reached over her head, my chest pressing against her back.

"Allow me."

I plucked the book from the shelf effortlessly.

Elara froze. She was trapped between my body and the bookshelf. I didn’t move away. I leaned in, my breath tickling her ear.

"You smell like old books and lavender, Elara," I whispered. "It’s a good smell."

"A-Alex..." she squeaked, clutching her robe. "The... the research. We have to be fast."

"Right. Research."

I stepped back, giving her space to breathe. She let out a shaky exhale, her face flushed, and led me to a small reading table in the corner.

We opened the book.

Dust motes danced in the light of the glow-stone lamp. The pages were made of human skin—synthetic, hopefully—and the ink shimmered with a faint crimson light.

"Here," I pointed to a diagram. "The Demon’s Nail."

It was a sketch of the exact spike I had found in the Golem.