Harem Stealing System

Mika hurried down the stairs, her heels clicking against the polished floor with a sense of urgency. But the moment her eyes caught a group of students chatting by the corridor, her pace shifted. She straightened her posture, adjusted the fall of her coat, and adopted a composed demeanor. Her expression cooled into its usual unreadable calm, and with grace, she passed the students without a single flicker of emotion.

Upon entering her office, she closed the door quietly behind her and exhaled. The tension in her shoulders eased just a bit. Dropping her bag onto the chair, she walked over to the wide desk near the window, which was already stacked with half-graded assignments and administrative documents. She sat down with a faint sigh and pulled the first folder towards herself, deciding to use the brief window of solitude to catch up on paperwork. As her pen began to glide across the page, her mind shifted back to the events of the morning but she pushed the thoughts away. She had things to do.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop, Eiden and his friends had just finished eating and chatting beneath the clear midday sky. Laughter and idle banter still lingered in the air as they stood up one by one, brushing off crumbs and emptying juice cartons. After parting ways with casual waves and muttered "See you later," they each made their way back to their respective classes.

Eiden stretched his arms lazily as he descended the stairs, stomach full and brain mildly awake. Back in the classroom, time passed without drama. The lecture was long, but tolerable, and soon the class ended without incident.

As he stepped out into the hallway, Eiden noticed a familiar figure standing just ahead Sasha. She was clutching a large stack of papers, awkwardly balancing them against her chest like they were about to tip at any second. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and she looked a little lost.

Curious, Eiden began to walk toward her, but just as he did, another girl beat him to it. Crysty. "Sasha, let's go to karaoke after this!" Crysty said brightly, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

Sasha nodded, but her gaze dropped to the stack of papers in her arms. "Sure, but the thing is… Crysty, where was Miss Mika's office again?" Crysty blinked and then smacked her own forehead. "Seriously? You mean you've been carrying those papers around without knowing where you're supposed to take them?"

Sasha laughed sheepishly. "I just realized I had no idea where her office was." Crysty groaned. "Why didn't you tell her that earlier?"

"I thought I'd remember! But now…" Sasha trailed off, looking helpless. Crysty shrugged. "Well, great. I don't know where it is either."

At that moment, Eiden's voice chimed in casually, "I know where it is." Both girls turned in surprise, not having noticed him approach.

Eiden smiled faintly. "You can leave it to me. I happened to walk by it before, so I know exactly where it is." Sasha's shoulders relaxed. "Really? Thank goodness. Lead the way then."

But instead of walking, Eiden reached forward and gently took the papers from her arms. "No need. I'll bring them there for you." Crysty tilted her head with an amused smile. "Ohh, what a gentleman." Sasha hesitated. "Are you sure?"Eiden nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. Go enjoy your karaoke. I got this."

Sasha beamed. "Thanks, Eiden."

"No problem," he replied with a wave and turned in the opposite direction. As the two girls walked away chatting and giggling, Eiden began navigating the familiar path through the corridors. He took two turns, passed a stairwell, and reached a quiet hallway where fewer students lingered. Soon enough, he stood before the door of Miss Mika's office.

Just as he paused, a female professor happened to be passing by. She was older, wore glasses, and held a coffee mug that said "Don't Talk to Me Before Finals." She looked at Eiden and the papers in his hand. "Papers for Mika's office?" Eiden nodded. He didn't know her name, but he had seen her around campus often enough to recognize her as faculty.

The professor walked up to the door and pulled out a set of keys. "She must've forgotten to lock up again. I have the master key. Let me open that for you." As she unlocked the door, she muttered with a soft chuckle, "How careless. You'd have been stuck out here waiting for who knows how long."

With a soft click, the door opened. She gave him a quick nod before walking away down the hall, sipping from her mug. "Thanks," Eiden said politely before stepping inside.

The moment he entered, he took in the room's appearance. It was clean and well-kept, but lived-in. A few stray pens sat scattered across the desk, and a scarf was draped over the back of the chair. Papers, sticky notes, and books were arranged in a mix of tidy stacks and creative chaos.

"Definitely used recently," Eiden muttered to himself. "Big office too. Damn, this college really goes all out even the teacher's offices look better than half the apartments I've lived in." He walked further in and looked for an appropriate spot to place the papers. In the far corner, he found a small cabinet with a tray labeled "Pending Submissions." He slid the stack into it neatly, then took a step back.

Just as he turned to leave, something on the desk caught his eye. A glow Not literal, but metaphorical the kind of glow that comes from a still-active monitor in an otherwise silent room. The computer screen hadn't gone into sleep mode yet. The screen glowed faintly, casting soft light against the nearby desk lamp. Eiden hesitated.

He knew he shouldn't. This wasn't his business. But still… he leaned slightly to the side, keeping his hands to himself. Curiosity tickled his thoughts. She forgot to turn it off? Clumsy. That's new, he thought with a smirk.

It was rare to learn even small things about Mika, considering how mysterious she was both in class and beyond. Her forgetting to shut her PC down was almost… humanizing.

But then something else caught his eye. A folder. It sat squarely in the middle of the desktop, clearly visible in bold text. His eyes narrowed. "Eiden," he read aloud in a low whisper. His pulse skipped. Wait. What?

He stepped closer, placing one hand on the desk as he leaned in.

Why the hell was his name on a folder?

Against his better judgment and completely giving in to his rising suspicion he moved the mouse slightly. The cursor wiggled awake, and with a soft click, the folder opened.

His eyes widened. "What the hell..."

Inside the folder were dozens of documents. PDFs, presentation slides, video clips, and charts. His photo was in several of them. There were notes on his academic history, social behavior, extracurriculars, even club participation some of which he barely remembered signing up for.

And then at the bottom his eyes locked onto one file in particular. The title: Subject: Eiden - Phase Analysis Report His stomach twisted. What the hell was this? He clicked it. The file opened. Rows of data, observations, psychological profiling, and… a subfolder titled "Project Eden."

Eiden blinked. His mouth went dry. "No way... This is the project?!"