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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Counterattack (1)

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'Incredible.'

Sophia held her breath, capturing the battle unfolding before her with her camera.

Sweat beaded on her hands, gripping the camera tightly.

'This… this was Jin Yuha's true skill, the party leader of Utopia.'

Of course, she had believed Jin Yuha would win.

But that had been Sophia's personal, one-sided belief, the realm of a devoted fan.

Even though her training with him had strengthened that belief somewhat, Jin Yuha's actual combat was on a completely different level than anything she had fantasized.

After all, the general public and the Velvet Academy were separate entities, and the public, unable to enter dungeons themselves, could only rely on the words of hunters who had personally cleared them.

There were countless hunters who had manipulated their achievements and skills, only to be exposed for their incompetence and fall into ruin.

Among them, Jin Yuha.

How many slanders and suspicions had there been about him!

The party leader of Utopia, who led Cheonhwa and Tugyeon.

Though Shin Sehee herself had stated that he was stronger than her, and had even won a sparring match against Kang Dohee,

the public hadn't taken her words at face value.

Because logically, it didn't make sense.

Saying that as a man, his limitations were clear.

Or that if he were truly such an outstanding hunter, he should have been a topic of discussion even before entering the academy, like Cheonhwa or Tugyeon.

Or that Utopia's achievements were all thanks to the skills of the other party members.

Claiming Jin Yuha was merely a 'face' to boost Utopia's popularity—

words that disparaged Jin Yuha, even though they hadn't seen him with their own eyes.

And since Jin Yuha had remained silent without a single word, the controversy had only accelerated.

But they were all wrong.

'As expected, Jin Yuha was the real deal!'

Tears welled up in Sophia's eyes as she took in Jin Yuha's back.

A large, gruesome wound on his shoulder bled profusely,

and countless minor injuries across his body gaped open, stark red.

Clearly, he was not in a normal state.

Could anyone say such things about Jin Yuha after seeing this?

No way.

'This needs to be revealed to the world. This is what a true hunter is.'

These were the people who recklessly risked their lives, protecting the public's safety on the front lines.

Yet, after protecting countless lives, far from receiving gratitude,

they would hear, 'Why couldn't you protect my family?', 'Why did you abandon people?', 'Why do you always only clean up after an incident has occurred?', 'What about my property damaged by the battle's aftermath?'

Despite spouting such complaints daily, the public would inevitably seek out hunters when a crisis struck.

In a situation where it wouldn't be strange to feel disillusioned, these individuals constantly proved themselves for the sake of others.

The true battle she witnessed for the first time had no romance, no fantasy of hunters she had always dreamed of.

Only a relentless struggle continued.

But paradoxically, that desperation created a profound ripple in Sophia's heart.

"I want to be like that, too…"

Truth be told, until today, Sophia's desire to become a hunter had been utterly fleeting.

But now, in this very moment, she had come to admire these individuals called hunters.

Sniffle.

Sophia, her eyes moist, looked at him, then suddenly turned her head at a sound from beside her.

Reina, who resembled the director, had stopped eating popcorn and was trying to hold back a sniffle.

Then,

Plop—

A tear rolled from her violet eyes and plopped into the popcorn tub.

"...Reina?"

"Huh? Uhm?"

"Are you crying?"

"Cr-crying? Who? M-me…?"

"Yes."

She brought a hand to her eyes, her face flustered.

Then she looked startled.

"Wh-why is this happening! Why are tears coming out?!"

"...How would I know? Are you a fan of Jin Yuha's too, Reina?"

"Th-that's not it! It's just, somehow this time… I'm glad no one died…?"

Reina mumbled words she hadn't been asked, flustered as if broken, then tilted her head.

"What am I even saying? No, I just, somehow, feel a little relieved!"

Sophia, with an expression that said she'd found a kindred spirit, offered her a tissue.

"You're in the denial phase of becoming a fan. I understand."

"...Denial phase? I-I don't know what that is, but no! Didn't I just say it wasn't like that?!"

"We can discuss that in depth later. And Reina, please take this too."

Sophia handed her the camera.

"Huh?"

"It seems the moment Jin Yuha spoke of is right now."

"Now?"

Reina asked, but Sophia didn't look back, calmly getting to her feet.

Honestly, how many times had she almost reached out before?

But she had endured and waited, trusting only his command to wait until that moment arrived.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of malevolent energy explode outwards, engulfing him where he lay.

Sophia instinctively knew that this was the moment Jin Yuha had spoken of.

And she raised her bow.

* * *

With Shin Sehee's declaration to forfeit the midterm evaluation, the cadets ceased combat.

Indeed, her coins had been reset to '0 coins'.

She was dead last among all the cadets.

Since Shin Sehee, who always ranked among the top, had made such a choice, no one would think she was up to some other trick after seeing this.

"Everyone, please adjust your attire."

Shin Sehee said.

"Hmm? Oh, now that you mention it. Is there no reason for us to dress like this anymore?"

"I guess not…? They said we're not fighting each other anymore…"

The cadets in Lee Yuri's faction finally felt embarrassed by their outfits.

Since the true purpose of this test wasn't combat among cadets but rather to eliminate external enemies, there was no longer any need to differentiate cadets by their attire!

The cadets untied the ropes around their waists and helped each other tidy up into neat attire.

"Wait a minute, don't you still get coins if you attack other cadets? What if someone tries to backstab us while we're fighting the real enemies?"

"Oh…? You're right?"

Amidst this, one cadet muttered a remark in a small voice.

But as if she had heard that faint whisper right beside her, Shin Sehee spoke.

"If, from this moment on, any cadet attacks another, Kang Dohee, Lee Yuri, and I will personally put an end to that person first. We're already in a situation where we'll be lectured for missing the true intent of the test, so anyone who causes trouble in the midst of that… will get to fill my lacking coins for me."

Shin Sehee, the original troublemaker, spoke with a chilling smile playing on her lips.

"Gasp!"

"...L-let's just, fight honestly."

"Right! I wanted to combine our strength and fight the real enemies together from the start!"

At that, the cadets who had harbored ulterior motives inwardly nodded with pale faces.

Sigh—

"Somehow, I managed to clean things up."

Shin Sehee let out a small sigh.

"...So the true purpose of the test is to combine our strength and eliminate external enemies. But who are these guys?"

Lee Yuri, who had been blankly watching the situation unfold beside them, asked.

"Ah, I suppose I should tell you two first."

Shin Sehee said, as if she had just remembered.

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

"The truth is, the part about the true purpose of this test being to combine our strength and catch external enemies… is a lie."

Shin Sehee smiled brightly.

"Wh-what?!"

"What did you say?"

At her completely unexpected words, Lee Yuri was so flabbergasted that she blurted out loudly, then quickly covered her mouth, conscious of her surroundings.

Kang Dohee also frowned, as if asking what kind of trick this was.

Shin Sehee, her lips curving up as if amused by their reactions, continued.

"But the 'Demons' are indeed coming?"

"...Demons?"

"Why are *they*…?"

"And if you die to a Demon, you really die."

Really die.

At those words, Lee Yuri's and Kang Dohee's expressions immediately turned serious.

"Ha. That mutt."

"Ha. Jin Yuha."

After a brief silence, they simultaneously sighed, calling out Jin Yuha's name as if he were a headache.

"So, Flower Garden, you're saying Demons have appeared here, and if we die to them, we really die? Is that it?"

"Yes. That's right."

"And the instructors and the director above us can't come because something came up, right?"

"Yes. That's right?"

By this point, they had no choice but to understand the situation.

The fact that this entire setup was Jin Yuha's doing.

"To add one more thing, the mission Jin Yuha gave to me and you two was: 'Ensure no one here dies until he arrives.'"

Ha.

Kang Dohee let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Seriously, that mutt always brings us something unexpected."

"My thoughts exactly…"

In truth, despite the sudden and absurd nature of the revelation, Kang Dohee and Lee Yuri accepted it without a shred of doubt.

"Anyway. We've received orders, so we have to carry them out, right? Hmm, I imagine Jin Yuha would have predicted the timing somewhat…"

Suddenly, Shin Sehee flashed a mischievous smile.

"Lee Yuri-ssi, could you please slowly move over there and use a skill across the entire forest?"

"...Me? B-but I just used a skill at maximum output…?"

"If we want to ensure no one dies, shouldn't we draw them out?"

"Oh, uhm."

"This is also a request from Jin Yuha? Are you perhaps too tired to do it…?"

In truth, Jin Yuha had never given such specific commands,

but Shin Sehee used his name to her advantage.

Shin Sehee was one to never miss an opportunity to gain an advantage over Lee Yuri.

At that, Lee Yuri groaned, pondering, then scratched her head.

"...Alright."

Lee Yuri let out a low sigh and trudged towards the forest.

Then, with her back to the cadets who were watching, wondering what was happening, she raised her shield towards the forest.

Kaaaaaang—!

"..."

A brief silence followed.

Suddenly.

Suddenly.

"Wh-what was that, suddenly?!"

"It's a skill!"

"That b*tch, she's using a weird skill!?"

"Why is my b-body moving on its own?!"

A dozen or so women, dressed in shabby, old clothes, emerged from the bushes.

The cadets behind Lee Yuri stared at them with bewildered faces.

"Are those the external enemies?"

"Ugh, look at their clothes. What are those, cavemen?"

"Their skin is all grimy and dirty."

The cadets each muttered something, seemingly having completely forgotten the state they themselves had been in just moments before.

"...I'll deal with you later."

"B-but they were dressed similarly to us just now, weren't they?!"

As they appeared, Lee Yuri stepped forward with a stern expression.

"So you're the ones? The external enemies we need to eliminate."

Lee Yuri proudly brought her shield forward.

"Everyone."

"ATTACK!!!!!"

At Lee Yuri's cry, attacks rained down on them from all directions.