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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Approaching Shadows (3)

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In truth, it hadn't been like this from the beginning.

Lee Yuri had simply offered other students efficient ways to survive on the deserted island, setting a clear guide for them.

Measures against insects.

How to find drinking water.

How to gather materials from nature.

Methods for building structures.

Cleanliness and hygiene management.

And how to distinguish edible from inedible things.

She had merely shared things she considered basic and obvious, just casually.

But the current situation was, well...

'They're all out of their minds...!'

"Hooray!"

"Shield Village, Hooray!"

"Chief Lee Yuri! Hooray!"

The monster, Rhino, lay fallen and bloody.

On top of the monster's corpse, students, looking wild, raised their primitive weapons and cheered.

Honestly, the beast had done its best.

Yes, it had fought hard.

Its house-sized body, four sharp horns that could cleave through buildings, and its fearless, charging ferocity certainly displayed the might of a giant monster.

However, there's strength in numbers, as they say.

With Lee Yuri stepping forward, drawing aggro with her skills, and the students behind her, gripping their weapons and attacking regardless of their position,

No matter how tough the beast was, it couldn't stand a chance.

As Lee Yuri looked at the fallen Rhino with eyes full of pity,

"We have once again defended our village!"

The orange-haired student, Lee Minyoung, began a speech in front of the other students.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"Woooooah!!!!!!"

At that, the surrounding students stomped their feet and cheered.

"...Crazy bastards."

The students, looking like primitives, were all clamoring.

Lee Yuri watched them blankly, unable to stop the sigh that welled up inside her.

'How did it even come to this...?'

Perhaps it all started when she took in an orange-haired student.

— Captain Lee Yuri, let's form a group.

— Huh? A... group?

— Yes, I believe you, Captain, must get the top score in this midterm evaluation. Do you intend to lead us and take first place?

The orange-haired student spoke to her with serious eyes.

— Uh? Uh-huh. Well, it, it would be good, wouldn't it?

Lee Yuri nodded reluctantly.

...Even though she had saved her from being attacked by a monster, was it really necessary to go this far?

Honestly, at the time, she had accepted it with a light heart.

She thought that even if this one student tried to do something, it wouldn't make much difference. And a small part of her thought that if it went well, she might be able to form a party with Jin Yuha later and offer some small help.

However, she had underestimated the madness of a student named Lee Minyoung.

Lee Minyoung, the Steadfast Devotee.

A stubborn stickler for the righteous path, always pursuing the correct way without a shred of doubt.

Frustrating, yet in some ways, more heroic than anyone else.

She had once been a girl of such conviction.

But in truth, she had repeatedly challenged Jin Yuha in the academy's spar classes and repeatedly lost.

She had been broken long ago.

In other words, she had made countless attempts to somehow defeat Jin Yuha, and her noble spirit had been chipped away, until she had become a follower of a more unconventional path!

Whether this was fortunate or not, she still held to basic principles.

'If you receive kindness, you must repay it!'

This understanding was there.

But her methods leaned heavily towards the unconventional.

From then on, Lee Minyoung began gathering students who couldn't adapt to the midterm evaluation, one by one.

— You're hungry, you can't sleep. It's hard, isn't it? Here, drink some water for now.

And she sought them out, distributing water and food.

— Hey, how about we all work together for this test? Honestly, we can't compete with monsters like Kang Dohui, Shin Sehee, or Jin Yuha, can we?

Having been repeatedly defeated by Jin Yuha, her voice carried a strange, subtle power of persuasion.

— If you throw your weight in with us, I can't promise comfort, but I can promise you'll sleep. You won't be full, but you won't be hungry. And you won't be thirsty, even if it's not abundant.

Lee Minyoung gathered them and whispered with a sweet voice.

But in fact, her proposal was so meager.

Compared to that, if they joined Shin Sehee's camp, they could live safely and like normal humans.

So Lee Minyoung thought.

What if they turned this agonizing test into a temporary game?

'If you let go of everything, it becomes easy. We'll do it our way.'

Having never won a single duel against Jin Yuha, she knew that fact all too well.

— Drink up while you listen. Hey, this midterm evaluation, do we really have to go through it so hard? Can't we just think of it as a brief vacation?

— A vacation? B-but...! This test is really important...!

— We can do well on the test. Just follow our Captain, Lee Yuri.

— Lee Yuri is the Captain? But Lee Yuri is a Utopia too.

— Heh heh. Don't worry. The Captain won't abandon us. The Captain said she'd take first place. With us.

— Oh? Is that really true?

— Yes, and when else would we get to live on a deserted island, throwing civilization to the dogs? Just let go of everything. Then, it's surprisingly fun, isn't it?

Abandon civilization and return to the primitive!

Lee Minyoung's proposal was, at first glance, a crazy one.

But what one person does and is called crazy for, many people doing creates a culture.

— That's a truly idiotic idea... Let's do it right now!

Hunger, starvation, and the fear of monster attacks.

The joy of overcoming these—a distinctly conceptual endeavor—spread like wildfire across the plains, rapidly expanding its size.

That was the founding myth of Shield Village, with Chief Lee Yuri as its origin.

However, the problem was that Lee Yuri understood none of this.

'There isn't a single sane one among them...!'

Lee Yuri's eyes swam, overwhelmed by the situation that had grown too large for her to control.

Their territory had expanded sufficiently, and they had even incorporated a shop within their managed area.

So now, they could purchase various items and live a sufficiently civilized life, if not quite like they did at the academy.

However, these students only used the shop for hunting monsters and acquiring coins.

They were self-sufficient in everything else.

And they were using the methods she had taught them as their bible!

Therefore, while Shin Sehee currently held the most coins individually,

As a group, Lee Yuri's Shield Village was overwhelmingly dominant.

"Waaaaah! Long live Shield Village!!!!"

Leaving the students' cheers behind, Lee Minyoung, her face set hard, approached Lee Yuri.

"Chief."

She knelt on one knee.

"The time you promised has come."

"...Promise?"

"Yes, in two days. An unavoidable war will break out. You must prepare for it starting now."

"..."

Lee Yuri swallowed a rising sigh and squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

Gulp.

She should have refused when she thought something was wrong.

Sophia inwardly nursed a regret that was now far too late.

It had already been several days since she started training, following Jin Yuha.

For her, there was no reason to refuse watching him by his side.

After all, how common was it for a devoted fan to be able to share every moment of their idol's life?

Originally, fervent fans who deeply adored someone harbored a desire to abandon their own lives at any time and follow every schedule of their idol.

But they suppressed this desire because it violated laws and made their idol uncomfortable.

Therefore, the hardships and trials she experienced when first stranded on the deserted island had all become trials she had to endure after meeting Jin Yuha.

But even so, wasn't this too much?!

Her current situation was like a fan participating in their idol's schedule, receiving vocal training with them, and attending commercials and movie premieres together.

Honestly, no matter how much you loved someone, where was there a fan who stood on stage *with* them?!

Moreover, Jin Yuha wasn't just some celebrity; he was a Hunter. A Hunter who risked his life to defeat monsters!

She had only intended to quietly support him, self-appointed as his humble servant, never planning to step forward and tackle the test alongside him herself.

Sophia's face fell.

'I said I'd do anything! I definitely said it with my own mouth, but!'

— Keururururu...

Sophia's pupils trembled as countless goblins stood before her.

She clutched the bow, which Jin Yuha had given her without any arrows, as if it were her lifeline, but her trembling body couldn't be helped.

'Aaaahhhh... I'm going to d-die! I'm really going to die...!!!'

Sophia looked up at Jin Yuha, who was looking down at her from above, with resentful eyes.

But Jin Yuha merely shouted with a calm expression.

"You can do it! Sophia! You, who completed all my training with me, can definitely handle them!"

At his words of encouragement, her face flushed bright red.

From the hellish training to now.

She had heard those words so many times it was sickening.

'...Huh? I-is that so? If our Yuha says so, then it must be true, right?'

Sophia was still too weak when it came to Jin Yuha.