Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 51: Attack

We found a new spot on a ridge overlooking the valley. It was defensible, dry, and surprisingly quiet.

We set up the magical barrier stones Cassandra had given us. A faint hum signaled that the perimeter was secure against low-level beasts.

"I’m taking the first watch," I repeated my earlier order. "Martin, sleep. Alicia, stop complaining and sleep. Emily... you look pale."

Emily was sitting by the fire, but she wasn’t warming up. Her skin was alabaster white, almost translucent. Her lips had a faint blue tint.

"I’m fine," she said, her teeth chattering slightly. "Just... mana rebound."

"Rebound?" I walked over to her.

I placed the back of my hand against her forehead.

It was freezing. Not just cold—ice cold. Like touching a corpse.

"You overused your Ice Magic," I diagnosed instantly. "That last spell—the thermal shock. You drew mana directly from your core without filtering it through your circuits. You have Mana Hypothermia."

"I... I can handle it," she stammered, wrapping her cloak tighter. "I just need to meditate."

"Meditation won’t fix a core freeze," I said sternly. "You need external heat. Massive amounts of it. Or your heart will stop."

"I... I don’t have a heating artifact."

"I know."

I looked at the others. Martin was already passed out, snoring like a chainsaw. Alicia was curled up on the other side of the fire, fast asleep, likely exhausted from the terror.

It was just us.

"Come here," I ordered gently.

"What?" Emily looked up, her vision hazy.

"My sleeping bag. It’s double-layered. And I have high Stamina, which means high body heat."

"You... you want me to..." Her eyes widened. A blush fought against the pallor of her cheeks. "Sleep with you?"

"I want you not to die, Emily," I said, unrolling my sleeping bag near the fire. "This isn’t a seduction attempt. It’s medical treatment."

I patted the space beside me.

"Get in."

Emily hesitated. She looked at her trembling hands. She looked at the fire, which felt miles away. Then she looked at me.

She stood up shakily and walked over.

"If you try anything..." she whispered weakly.

"I know. You’ll freeze my balls off. Get in."

She crawled into the sleeping bag. I zipped it up halfway, then slid in behind her.

It was tight.

Her back pressed against my chest. She was freezing. It felt like spooning an ice sculpture.

"God, you’re cold," I hissed, the chill seeping into my shirt.

"S-sorry..." she chattered.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her flush against me. I flared my Internal Circuit, not to cast a spell, but simply to generate heat. My Stamina: 31 turned me into a human furnace.

"Haa..."

Emily let out a long, shaky breath as the warmth hit her. She instinctively snuggled backward, seeking the source.

"Better?" I whispered, my chin resting on the top of her head. She smelled like winter air and expensive shampoo.

"Mmm..." she hummed, her shivering beginning to subside. "You’re... warm. unnaturally warm."

"Defective circuit," I lied. "Runs hot."

We lay there in silence for a while, the fire crackling nearby.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you save Alicia?" she asked softly. "You hate nobles."

"I don’t hate nobles," I corrected. "I hate arrogance. Alicia was helpless. Leaving her to die would be... wasteful."

"Wasteful," she repeated. "Is that all people are to you? Resources?"

"Maybe."

I tightened my arm around her.

"But some resources are more valuable than others. Like a genius Ice Mage who saved my ass today."

Emily went silent. I could feel her heartbeat slowing down, returning to a normal rhythm.

"My mother..." she started, her voice barely audible. "She treats me like a resource too. A tool to surpass her legacy. ’The perfect ice’. That’s all I am."

"That’s stupid," I said bluntly.

"Stupid?"

"Ice is boring," I said. "It’s just frozen water. But you? You improvised today. You used my thermal shock idea. That wasn’t ’perfect ice’. That was creativity. That was Emily."

I felt her stiffen, then relax completely.

"You’re the first person to call my magic boring," she chuckled, a sleepy, warm sound.

"I’m an honest guy."

She shifted, turning in the tight bag until she was facing me. Her blue eyes were heavy, her nose inches from mine. The color had returned to her cheeks.

"You’re not honest at all, Alex," she whispered, looking at my lips. "You’re a liar. A schemer. And a pimp, apparently."

"The pimp thing is a misunderstanding."

"Is it?"

She moved her hand, placing it on my chest, right over my heart.

"Your heart is beating fast."

"You’re a very attractive woman in my sleeping bag, Emily. I’m a healthy male. Do the math."

She smiled. It was a dangerous, beautiful smile.

"Maybe... I don’t mind the math."

She leaned in. Her lips brushed mine. They were cool, soft, and tasted of peppermint.

It wasn’t a devour-your-soul kiss like with Maya. It was tentative. Exploring. A question.

I answered it. I kissed her back, gently at first, then deeper. I felt her sigh against my mouth, her fingers curling into my shirt.

[System Notification: Emily Frost - Interest Level: 60/100 (Attraction).] [Reward: +50 Lust Points.]

She broke the kiss after a moment, burying her face in my chest.

"Just... just for tonight," she mumbled. "Because of the hypothermia."

"Right," I agreed, stroking her hair. "Strictly medical."

"Shut up."

She closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was asleep, her breathing soft and even against my neck.

I lay awake, staring at the canopy.

Alicia was snoring lightly across the fire. Martin was mumbling about spiders. And I had the Ice Princess in my arms.

’Not a bad haul for a Freshman Expedition,’ I thought.

*****

I woke up before the sun.

Emily was still asleep, her leg thrown over mine, her arm draped across my chest. She looked peaceful, unlike the icy statue she usually pretended to be.

I carefully extricated myself from the sleeping bag, tucking her back in.

"Mmm... warm..." she mumbled, grabbing my pillow instead.

I walked to the edge of the ridge to relieve myself and check the perimeter.

The forest was shrouded in thick, grey mist.

Snap.

A twig broke.

Not an animal. A boot.

I zipped up my pants and crouched, drawing my obsidian sword.

Three signatures. Moving fast. Not monsters. Humans.

"Martin! Alicia! Emily! Wake up!" I roared, kicking the log near the fire.

"Wuh? What?" Martin jolted awake.

"Enemy attack! Formation!"

THWIP.

An arrow flew out of the mist, striking the log right where my head had been a second ago.

"They’re shooting!" Alicia screamed, rolling out of her blanket.

Three figures emerged from the mist.

They wore black cloaks with red trim. Their faces were covered by white porcelain masks.

[Enemy Identified: Eclipse Cultist (Acolyte).]

"Hand over the Core," the lead Cultist hissed, his voice distorted by the mask. "And the Nail. And we might let you die quickly."

"Cultists?" Emily stood up, her eyes wide. She was still disheveled from sleep, but her staff was already in her hand. "Here? Inside the Academy grounds?"

"Give it to us!"

The Cultist raised a hand. Dark mana gathered.

"Martin! Shield!" I ordered.

"Y-Yes! [Wind Barrier]!"

A wall of wind deflected a bolt of shadow magic.

"Alicia! Wake up and burn them!"

"Don’t tell me what to do!" Alicia yelled, but she threw a fireball.

The Cultists dodged with unnatural speed. They weren’t mages; they were spell-swords. They drew jagged daggers and charged.

"They want close quarters!" I shouted. "Emily, slow them down! Alicia, suppressive fire! Martin... try not to die!"

"Got it!" Martin whimpered, hiding behind a rock.

One Cultist lunged at me.

CLANG.

My obsidian sword met his dagger. Sparks flew.

"You’re strong for a student," the Cultist grunted.

"And you talk too much for a corpse," I retorted.

I didn’t just block. I kicked him in the knee.

CRACK.

"Gah!"

He stumbled. I slashed his throat.

SHING.

One down.

"He killed one!" the second Cultist shouted. "Use the Catalyst!"

The third Cultist pulled out a red crystal and crushed it.

ROAAAR!

The ground shook. From the trees behind us, a massive Bear emerged. But its eyes were glowing red, and black spikes protruded from its spine. A corrupted beast.

"They summoned a monster!" Alicia shrieked.

"Emily! Handle the Bear! Alicia and I will take the Cultists!"

"On it!" Emily ran toward the bear, ice forming under her feet.

I turned to the remaining Cultist.

"Just you and me, ugly."

He charged.

We traded blows. He was fast, trained in assassination arts. But I had the System. And I had Stamina.

I parried, side-stepped, and thrust.

Stab.

My blade pierced his heart.

He fell.

"Two down!"

I looked over. Emily was kiting the Bear, freezing its legs, but it was breaking through the ice with brute strength.

"Alicia! Help her!"

"I’m trying!" Alicia fired a stream of fire, but the Bear’s corrupted hide absorbed it.

"Alex!" Martin screamed.

I turned. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The dead Cultist... wasn’t dead.

The first one I killed. His body was convulsing. Black sludge poured from his throat wound.

"For... the Eclipse..."

His body exploded.

BOOM.

Not fire. Shadow.

A wave of necrotic energy washed over us.

"Shield!" I dove in front of Alicia.

The wave hit me.

[System Warning: Necrotic Damage.] [HP: -150.] [Status: Cursed (Minor).]