Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Sophia (2)

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I had a decent selection of cooking ingredients prepared.

'Fish, bear meat, seasonings, and bread. Hmm. What should I make with these?'

I had sourced most of the ingredients locally, but even so, preparing a proper meal on a deserted island was difficult with the limited ingredients and equipment.

So, early that morning, I secretly went to the shop nearby and bought various ingredients and cooking tools. Healers and supporters were camped outside the shop, trying to recruit dealers, but I used my stealth steps to sneak in and out while everyone was asleep, thankfully avoiding detection.

'At least the soup is ready.'

Bubbling, bubbling—

I glanced sideways at the pot boiling next to me.

It was the soup that had been simmering since yesterday. Its color was a rather peculiar purple, but it was quite something.

It was a traditional dish with a long and proud history, dating back to the Middle Ages.

'I threw in all sorts of good stuff: herbs, potions, bear meat, fish, and so on. So it has to be good for the body.'

Mm. Mm.

Sophia hadn't eaten for two days and was exhausted from walking around. This would undoubtedly be the perfect restorative meal for her.

However, just serving this alone felt a little insufficient.

As I scanned the ingredients, my gaze stopped at the fish in the basket.

'The fish I caught in the river earlier. Still fresh.'

Even though some time had passed since it was caught, the fish was still gasping, showing off its tenacious vitality.

What if I cooked it alive, without grilling or steaming it?

And Sophia was a foreigner…

If I arranged it to suit her, I thought I could serve her a rather interesting dish.

With the recipe organized in my head, I began to clean the fish with my sword.

* * *

Sophia was peeking at Jin Yu-ha, covering her face with both hands.

'…Is this a dream? No, is it real? Jin Yu-ha, Yu-ha is really here, in front of my eyes…?'

She had suddenly been dragged to the Velvet Academy test site, and the person she met at the edge of a desperate cliff was none other than Jin Yu-ha!

Sophia couldn't quite tell if the current situation was reality or a dream.

Thump, thump, thump—

Her heart pounded as if it would burst.

It was a stark contrast to how she had just spoken, as if seeing Jin Yu-ha for the first time.

Of course.

Jin Yu-ha.

He was the person who had set the world ablaze a few months ago.

Kang Do-hee, the aloof War Dog, who never formed relationships with others.

And Shin Se-hee, the 'Thousand Flowers,' who looked so awkward under anyone's command.

A man who had appeared like a comet, commanding these two.

That alone was enough to make him a hot topic. But what made him even more famous was his appearance, as if a god had meticulously crafted him!

In fact, Jin Yu-ha had virtually no public activities outside of dungeon raids, but the Jin Yu-ha fan club, [Flower on the Cliff], formed on the very first day the articles came out, boasted a fervent popularity, already surpassing 360,000 members.

And Sophia.

What more needed to be said?

She was, in fact, an enthusiastic member of Jin Yu-ha's fan club, [Flower on the Cliff], using the nickname "Ascending Yu-ha's Lofty Nose."

'Ugh… I need to quit the internet! Seriously!!!!'

She tore at her hair, recalling their conversation from a moment ago.

It was the real Jin Yu-ha, whose actual face was hard to even see in news photos. What's more, she had inadvertently(?) caught a glimpse of him nude.

Her mind went blank at the suggestive scene, and she had blurted out a term used to refer to Jin Yu-ha in "the shadows"—unconsciously!

'…I'm crazy. I'm crazy. Sophia! You're really crazy, aren't you? How could you say something like that to someone's face! You should have thought before you spoke!!!!'

Even thinking about it now made her dizzy.

'Still, at least I managed to pass it off naturally using the foreigner shield….'

The "I don't speak Korean well" foreigner shield, which she sometimes used when things got awkward during her modeling jobs, proved to be incredibly helpful now.

She almost wanted to praise her own quick thinking!

After that, honestly, it was just a continuous string of her saying whatever came to mind in response to Jin Yu-ha's words. Sophia, who knew more about him than anyone, had already adopted the pretense of not knowing him from the start, so she had no choice but to stick with it.

'Calm down, Sophia. The first button was sewn on wrong, but… I can do well from now on. It's, it's okay. I can do this!'

Sophia gulped repeatedly, stealing quick glances at Jin Yu-ha.

Jin Yu-ha was cooking.

'Right now, Yu-ha is making me a meal…?'

Her stomach was already glued to her back after two days of starvation.

And now, Jin Yu-ha was preparing a meal just for her.

She was so happy that tears welled up.

Even though she was used to starving from her modeling work, starving while tense and expending physical energy was still a hardship for her.

Clink— clink— clink—

Jin Yu-ha's dagger danced on the wooden cutting board. Each time he wielded the dagger, small fish were neatly cleaned with swift movements.

And next to him, something that looked like soup was bubbling, emitting white steam.

'Oh my, he looks skilled at cooking too. Is there really nothing our Yu-ha can't do?'

Her eyes sparkled with fan-girl admiration as she watched Jin Yu-ha cook.

…But something felt a little off.

The color of the boiling soup was purple.

And he was cleaning the fish raw, then just putting it between bread without any grilling or cooking process.

'Wh-what is that…? What kind of dish is that?'

A slight unease flickered through her for a moment, but Sophia already had the illusion of Jin Yu-ha like a lens over her eyes, so even that was translated into fan-girl admiration.

'Ah, that must be purple sweet potato soup! And the fish between the bread… is it like a shrimp burger?'

Soon after.

Jin Yu-ha, having finished cooking, presented the dish to her with an air of triumph.

Purple soup in a wooden bowl.

And raw fish sandwiched between bread.

It was an odd visual, exactly as she had observed, with nothing much changed.

She lifted her head slightly to look at him.

Jin Yu-ha opened his mouth as if to explain the dish.

First, he pushed forward the purple soup.

Opaque bubbles rose and burst.

"This is the Soup of Eternity."

"…Th-the Soup of Eternity?"

"Yeah, it was a staple in medieval inns. It's a traditional dish where they boil it 24/7, 365 days a year, and replenish it with water and whatever ingredients they get at the time whenever the contents run low. I put everything good for the body in it, so it should be good for recovering from fatigue."

Ah.

How incredibly thoughtful.

Sophia's eyes melted as she looked at Jin Yu-ha.

What did it matter if the visual was a little strange?

It was food personally prepared by her favorite, considering her physical condition.

Sophia reverently looked at the bluish-green broth, then scooped some up with a wooden spoon.

And brought it to her mouth.

'Gah!? Th-this is…!?'

Suddenly, Sophia's golden eyes widened.

'…Mama?'

Why was her British-born mother's cooking coming to mind here?

The dish her mother used to make whenever her father was busy.

It was a taste that brought back memories of complaining about side dishes at the dinner table in days gone by.

"…*Cough*!"

Sophia covered her mouth.

Misinterpreting her reaction as being deeply moved, Jin Yu-ha looked at her with a warm gaze.

"Hehe, it must be delicious. Eat slowly. There's plenty."

'H-how can I say I can't eat it when he's looking at me like that!'

Overwhelming hunger, a meal made by her favorite, and a palate hardened by her mother's cooking. Based on these three factors, Sophia managed to force down the soup bit by bit.

"How's your body feeling? Do you feel better? It should have an immediate effect, actually. I put potions in it too."

'P-potions in the food…?'

Sophia's pupils trembled.

As if his words weren't a lie, despite the horrible taste, she genuinely felt her body slowly improving the more she ate the soup.

But even that was only half her limit.

Her terrible hunger had subsided to some extent, and she felt that if she ate any more, she'd only throw up what she'd already consumed.

"…I, I ate well."

As she put down her spoon.

"Oh? Already finished? Ah, right. It's because you'd be disappointed to fill up just on this dish, right?"

Jin Yu-ha then pushed the other dish towards her—the one with raw fish sandwiched between bread, whose true nature she still didn't understand.

"I caught this myself in the river nearby. It's fresh fish, so you don't have to worry about it being raw."

"…What kind of dish is this?"

Sophia asked with a voice full of caution.

"Hmm, it doesn't have a name yet, but if I had to give it one, maybe Bread-Sushi?"

"…Bread Sushi?"

"Yeah, originally I wanted to make sushi, but you're a foreigner, Sophia, right? So instead of rice, I put the fish on bread."

"…."

Sophia glared at Jin Yu-ha.

Where on earth should she even begin to object?

She had encountered sushi quite often while working in Korea.

And she quite enjoyed it too.

The prejudice that foreigners would prefer bread over rice.

And making sushi with freshwater fish was unheard of to begin with.

'…Our Yu-ha, he's definitely someone who should never cook.'

The belated realization dawned on her, but she couldn't refuse his gaze, so Sophia, with a heavy heart, brought the "Bread-Sushi" to her mouth.

"…."

She bit into the dish, then gently closed her eyes.

And smiled brightly.

"Jin Yu-ha, I'm sorry, but I'll be starving from now on. I'm on a diet these days."

Contrary to her initial plan,

Her favorability towards Jin Yu-ha had been at MAX from the start.

But his cooking had chipped away at her affection level.