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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Hunting (7)

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Nom nom nom.

Rayna sat on a tree branch, popping popcorn into her mouth and chewing.

Born a homunculus (artificial life form) through Lina's magic, she actually knew nothing beyond a few basic spells, general common sense, and the rules of the midterm evaluation.

However, mixed with the will of Lina, her creator, was a sense of duty to protect the cadets, which was why she had come here.

There wasn't really anything she could do by being here.

'…That one is Rebecca, a fiend recorded even in the common knowledge I was instilled with. Can Jin Yu-ha win?'

Rayna diligently chewed her popcorn, looking down.

"Um, Lady Rayna. May I impose on you and sit beside you?"

"...Hm?"

At the sudden voice from beside her, Rayna turned her head.

And then, a golden-haired girl came into view.

It was Sophia.

Rayna narrowed her brows and glared at her.

"That one is fighting, and you are not participating?"

"Hmm, they said my turn would be from Phase 2, I think? They said I'd naturally know when it's time to intervene… And since there will be a time later when I'll need to use all my strength at once, they told me to conserve as much energy as possible."

"...Is that so?"

'But if he dies just to save his strength, wouldn't that be a pointless death?'

The words rose to Rayna's throat, but she swallowed them back.

"Um, by the way, Lady Rayna."

"Hm?"

"That popcorn… Could you perhaps share some with me?"

Rayna looked at Sophia with a dumbfounded expression.

'Is this one not even worried?'

Regardless, Sophia next to her huffed, snorting, clenched her fists, and suddenly burst into excitement.

"To be able to watch our Yu-ha's battle this close!!! This is a miraculous moment that cannot be described merely as a fan's dream come true!"

Rayna shook her head with a weary expression.

'This one isn't normal either…'

"According to the rules, nothing is free. You must pay coins. The price of popcorn is 10 coins."

"Ah! 10 coins, then here you go!"

Coins were paid, and Rayna, with an unamused expression, pulled out new popcorn from a subspace.

Sophia crammed the received popcorn into her mouth, gazing at Jin Yu-ha with fervent eyes.

Munch munch—

"Haaahhh— It's so incredibly humbling, yet also such a shame, that I'm the only one who can witness this unbelievable scene! A scene like this should be preserved for all time! A camera! If only I had a camera!!"

"A camera? Is this what you require?"

"...Huh?! Oh my gosh! Raynaemon!"

Sophia pounced on Rayna.

"G-get off! If you want the camera, pay coins!"

"How much?"

"1000 coins."

"Expensive?!"

Sophia repeatedly glanced at the camera Rayna had pulled out, biting her nails.

She was pondering whether she could really pay such a large sum without consulting Jin Yu-ha first!

"...A-a thousand coins, well, it's a bit expensive, but! I-it's money you can quickly earn by hunting monsters or cadets! I can just earn it and pay it back! Our Yu-ha will understand. He definitely will!"

After muttering to herself for a moment, she lifted her head and put on a serious expression.

"Deal."

"Hmm, here you are."

"...Huh? This, it's not turning on?"

"The battery is separate. That's 1000 coins."

Rayna shamelessly held out her hand again.

"..."

For a moment, Sophia seriously considered whether Rayna's broad forehead might make a good archery practice target.

* * *

'Hah… How absurd.'

As Rebecca's heated mind cooled, she soon realized how ridiculous she looked.

She had been played by the schemes of a first-year cadet, one whose bloodlust hadn't even faded yet, to the point of preparing for death, and had fallen for his provocations.

'There's no need to rush now.'

She subtly cast her gaze up at the tree.

It was even clearer now that she was not a demon lord.

There was nothing more to hinder her.

She was a mid-ranking executive of the Fiend Council.

How many had lost their heads to her blade, and how many had knelt before her?

From the start, if one wasn't at least on the level of a Velvet Academy instructor, they weren't even permitted to raise their head in her presence.

Yet, a mere first-year cadet from the academy dared to point his sword at her, someone like her.

Moreover, the archer who came with him showed no sign of joining the battle.

The black-haired boy stood alone, his sword aimed as if to face her by himself.

'Is he brave because he is ignorant? Or ignorant because he is brave?'

Setting aside how he had even noticed their presence, his spirit in standing alone against her was certainly commendable.

Shhhwww—

Rebecca quietly drew forth her aura.

Her primary armament was a pair of swords.

One was a long katana, and the other was a short wakizashi, about half its length.

She held the shorter sword in her left hand in a reverse grip, while the katana in her right hand pointed toward the boy.

"Boy, your gaze is impudent."

At that, Jin Yu-ha frowned.

"What are you talking about? Your appearance is quite impudent too, you know? It's so scary, it might appear in my dreams."

"...You, what is your name?"

The black-haired boy frowned and replied.

"Jin Yu-ha. But you don't need to tell me your name. You're going to die by my hand anyway, so 'Baldy' is enough."

Crack—

Veins bulged on her bald head. The more words they exchanged, the more her patience seemed to erode.

Rebecca's sword tip became enveloped in a jet-black sword aura.

"You will regret provoking me."

Her eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"..."

"..."

The two sword-wielders faced each other, and a taut tension settled between them.

Crumph—

The sound of Sophia chewing popcorn from atop the tree was heard a little too loudly,

Thwack!

It was none other than Rebecca who charged first.

Her sword, imbued with a menacing aura, was swung at terrifying speed.

Whooshhh—!!

A sword strike that tore through the air.

It was a level far surpassing that of a mere cadet.

'This is the end.'

Even before the sword made contact, Rebecca was certain, and her lips curled into a sneer.

However.

Clang—!

A brief, sharp clang of metal.

The incoming sword strike was firmly blocked by Jin Yu-ha's sword.

'...He blocked my sword, with sheer strength?'

Rebecca wore a flustered expression at the completely unexpected turn of events.

Grrrind—

Jin Yu-ha, his sword held heavily against hers, spoke in an indifferent voice.

"If you don't get serious now, you're just going to die right away, Baldy."

Flick.

Jin Yu-ha's wrist twisted momentarily, and his sword deftly grazed past the locked blades.

Swish—

Rebecca, who had been momentarily stunned by this, tilted her head back with a startled expression.

The sword had narrowly grazed her neck.

Then, a thin red line appeared across her neck.

Drip.

A drop of bright red blood welled from the shallow cut.

"If your head gets chopped off now, you won't be able to tell anyone later that you didn't get to show your true skills. So if you're going to do it, do it properly from the start."

Rebecca stared at him with a bewildered expression.

An attack without an ounce of hesitation.

'Just now, if my reaction had been even a little slower… My neck would have been severed.'

A shiver ran down Rebecca's spine as she belatedly realized that fact.

Then, even before she could regain her composure,

This time, Jin Yu-ha charged.

Swish swish swish—

His sword lunged forward, sharp thrusts splitting into dozens of afterimages.

'W-what!?'

The trajectory the sword drew was a chillingly clean straight line.

A sword path utterly devoid of wasted motion, enough to elicit spontaneous admiration.

Deep blue mana coiled around his sword, unleashing sword strikes.

'What in the world is this sword…!'

Rebecca couldn't help but be astonished by the sword he wielded.

How could a man, who hadn't even been at the academy for a year, possess such skill?

Clang—!

Clang—!

Clang—!

Each time she pulled her body back and parried Jin Yu-ha's sword, a heavy reverberation ran through her wrist.

'Is this truly the skill of a first-year academy cadet!?'

Even as she parried the incoming sword, Rebecca's mind was filled with confusion.

"I told you not to think about other things. Do you really just want to die?"

"Haaaaaaaaaaah!"

Rebecca let out a roar, as if pushing away the complex thoughts in her mind.

Whooshhh—!

A single, powerful horizontal swing, as if to cleave her opponent in two.

Jin Yu-ha merely jumped back, his face expressionless, to evade it.

Haa—

Haa—

Rebecca's eyes, fixed on Jin Yu-ha, trembled.

'An incomprehensible monster…'

She had never once seen a human display such talent at such a young age.

A chilling fear ran down her spine.

Am I afraid of this mere whelp?

No, what I fear is this one's future.

The fear stemmed from the utter impossibility of predicting how much stronger he would become, how far he would grow, if he continued like this.

Because she herself was born with exceptional talent for the sword,

This feeling had arisen precisely because she could clearly see Jin Yu-ha's talent.

Rebecca bit her lip hard.

'Yes, he is a monster. But for now, he's still just a cadet. He's not my match yet.'

A year? No, a month?

Even if only a little time passed, this monster would easily surpass her.

But that was not now.

And Rebecca understood.

'…That's it. The Fiend Council ordered me to capture this one! To deal with this monstrous brat before he grows even a little!'

Recalling the order she had received,

her eyes naturally darkened.

'I won't let my guard down now!'

Rebecca drew forth a flood of murderous intent and demonic energy from deep within her.

'I'll show you. What it means to wield a sword and kill an opponent.'

A killing sword (殺劍), whose sole purpose was to kill its opponent.

No matter how talented a monster he was, as long as he was an academy cadet,

he couldn't possibly be accustomed to a true fight meant to kill an opponent.

However, what she didn't know at this moment was…

.

.

.

'…Oh, that stings a bit? Is she finally going to get serious?'

That enduring the thick murderous aura of the Slaughtering Maniac was the very first lesson in Jin Yu-ha's swordsmanship major.

And that, having gone through that as a basic, everyday part of every lesson, he now considered any sword without a trace of murderous intent to be nothing more than child's play.

Therefore, he hadn't even counted her attacks until now as actual attacks.

'Hmm, but even this, compared to Instructor Baek Seol-hee… It's like a mild Jin Ramen?'