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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Finale (3)

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*Thud—!*

A massive tremor shook the ground as the giant body fell, sending a cloud of dust billowing up.

*Gasp.*

*Gasp.*

Kang Do-hee was drenched in sweat, as if she'd just taken a shower, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"...Damn it, you bastard…"

At her feet lay the black, limbless body of a monster.

*Spit.*

Kang Do-hee spat at the demon, now an indistinct mass.

It truly hadn't been an easy opponent.

She had broken its neck using the grappling techniques she learned from Jin Yu-ha, thinking that was the end of it. But then, the creature's body suddenly writhed, transforming into some grotesque monster!

With no healer, no tank, and no allies to assist her, Kang Do-hee had no choice but to engage it in a fight to the death, one-on-one.

It was a formidable foe she had only managed to defeat by pushing her mana and berserk mode to their absolute limits.

"Hmph—"

A haughty laugh escaped Kang Do-hee's lips. No matter what, she was the one still standing in the end.

She had worried that her senses, dulled by operating solo within Jin Yu-ha's party, and her newfound familiarity with fighting alongside others, might have weakened her.

But after fighting such a powerful enemy alone, she could be certain. She gazed at her trembling fists.

'I'm incomparably stronger than before.'

*Clench.*

The hellish training that Jin Yu-ha had put his party members through seemed to have truly paid off. And that grappling training, or whatever it was called, had also helped, much as she hated to admit it.

Even if the monstrous form was massive, its root was still humanoid. The understanding of human weak points and joints, gained through grappling training, had been a tremendous help in fighting the creature.

"Tch, so that training method really was useful…"

Kang Do-hee clicked her tongue and scratched her head.

Having to take humiliating poses in front of other students every day… She had endured it, intending to eventually master those techniques and challenge him to a duel.

But if it meant becoming stronger, a little humiliation was acceptable.

And well, honestly?

It wasn't bad…

"Ahem!"

Kang Do-hee cleared her throat, shaking off the fleeting thoughts that had drifted into her mind.

*Crunch!*

*Crunch!*

Then, just in case the creature might rise again, she stomped on the remnants of its body, ensuring it was truly finished.

"Hmm… Should I be a little nicer to that Goldie bastard, after all…?"

Kang Do-hee chuckled to herself and turned her steps toward where the students were gathered.

And what she saw there was…

***

*Whoosh—*

Sophia shot an arrow into the sky, and then a golden rain sprinkled down from above.

A day had passed, and Sophia's cooldown had reset, allowing her to use her wide-area heal, "Healing Rain".

The golden shower fell upon the exhausted students. Their condition wasn't good, as Lee Yu-ri had inflicted just enough injuries to keep them from dying.

"Huh…?"

"Wh-what is this!?"

"M-my body's recovering…?"

"Recovering…? Is it a heal? Is there a healer among the students who can use a heal like this…?"

The students, who had received Sophia's wide-area heal, gaped in astonishment, frantically touching themselves.

Then, they turned their eyes toward the one who had shot the golden arrow: Sophia.

Though it wasn't her usual dramatic entrance, appearing in a moment of crisis, their gratitude for her healing was by no means diminished.

In fact, with all the fighting over and the tension released, Sophia's heal possessed the devastating power of a sip of water in a desert, arriving just as the delayed awareness of pain set in. Admiration and gratitude filled the students' eyes as they looked at Sophia.

"Wow… It doesn't hurt anymore."

"But was there a healer like that among the students?"

"Th-thank you…!"

As the students gazed at Sophia with curious eyes, Sophia quickly hid behind Jin Yu-ha.

*Peeking.*

Sophia concealed herself behind Jin Yu-ha's back.

However, her long limbs and shimmering golden hair, remnants of her past as a model, did not lose their exquisite beauty even next to Jin Yu-ha.

A mysterious woman, never before seen at the academy, had suddenly appeared and brought down a holy golden rain. And as the rain fell, severe injuries were healed in an instant.

This overlapped with the golden light that had poured from Lee Yu-ri just moments before, making it appear as a sacred scene to the students.

"…Saintess."

Someone who had healed and stood up uttered the word in a low voice.

"…S-saintess?"

"Saintess…"

"It's the Saintess!"

Perhaps overwhelmed by their reactions, Sophia's face flushed red from behind my back.

"Ughhh…"

'So, she ended up being revered as a Saintess after all.'

I turned my head toward Sophia, who was hiding behind me, and chuckled.

"Hey, Saintess, why don't you go out there and make the sign of the cross and say hello?"

"D-don't tease me! This was all… all Jin Yu-ha's idea!"

Sophia pouted, puffing out her cheeks from behind my back, and glared at me.

Originally, I had planned to hold these guys accountable for abandoning Lee Yu-ri after the demon problem was dealt with. But strangely, all my anger had dissipated while I was swinging my sword with Baek Seol-hee, so I decided to let it slide.

'And well… they bowed their heads first, so I found myself at a loss for words.'

Lee Min-young, a girl whose pride was practically her lifeblood, bowed her head at a perfect right angle on behalf of the students. She apologized for Lee Yu-ri's solo sacrifice and offered her sincere gratitude for saving them.

The students' praise was a bonus.

It was all so overwhelming that I summoned Sophia and had her unleash a wide-area heal.

'Hmm, anyway, I completed one of the "Impossible-to-achieve-in-game objectives" in this episode.'

There were certainly errors and clumsy parts in the process, but I just needed to remember them and be careful to incorporate those lessons into my next destination.

It was just as I was steeling my resolve.

"Goldie."

It was Kang Do-hee.

Her red hair was completely disheveled, and her clothes were tattered and messy.

She dragged her feet wearily as she approached. I stared at her, then tilted my head.

"…Is that, Puppy?"

"Who the hell is Puppy?!"

"Are you done playing caveman now?"

"…"

Kang Do-hee's fists clenched, trembling.

Did she get too engrossed in playing caveman and forget to fix her attire?

Well, I still had to say what I had to say.

I hardened my expression and spoke to her in a stern tone.

"If you had just been here, none of this would have happened. Where were you playing around, only to show up now?"

"P-playing around? M-me…?"

"Yeah, all you did was follow one executive, right? He had a mutation too, but you could have just beaten him when he was transforming into his second stage, couldn't you?"

That guy wasn't like Rebecca, the final boss, who spewed tentacles during her transformation. He was someone you could just take down immediately by attacking him during his transformation.

I looked at Kang Do-hee, and a sudden thought occurred to me, so I asked her,

"…Surely, you didn't wait until his transformation was complete, did you? Like, 'Oh, a one-on-one fight against a powerful foe. A rare chance to test my skills.' Striking a pose like some idiot?"

"S-striking a pose?! No, wait!!"

Kang Do-hee bit her lip and yelled, her neck veins bulging as if she were truly wronged.

"Right? Hmm, I guess you wouldn't make such a foolish choice."

I nodded, dismissing my suspicion.

"…F-foolish…"

"Aha, Kang Puppy, you *were* playing around."

"…"

Kang Do-hee glared intensely at me.

How dare you stare at me like that, after playing around?

***

*Twitch—*

Lee Yu-ri's body, which had been in a deep slumber, twitched.

'Where am I?'

Cozy and warm…?

No, it felt a little rough.

'This texture?'

What was wrapped around her body felt like animal skin.

'Ah.'

Only then did Lee Yu-ri realize where she was.

Her isolated island hideout that she had created.

Isolated island… Midterm evaluation… Demon attack…

*Gasp!?*

Suddenly, the dangerous moments flashed through her mind.

'…Wait. Is everyone okay!?'

She tried to bolt upright, but her body wouldn't move.

'Ugh? My arm, my arm won't move… Wh-what is this? A c-caterpillar? …A monster!?'

A green caterpillar, human-sized, was wriggling on her arm. Lee Yu-ri was about to shake it off, but…

"Mmmmmm…"

She lowered her hand at the strange sound the caterpillar made.

*Roll—*

The caterpillar rolled over toward Lee Yu-ri as if in its sleep. And right in front of her face, the caterpillar's face was revealed.

Jet-black hair and long, sweeping eyelashes.

Fair, blemish-free skin.

A high nose bridge.

Moist, red lips.

A man with such stunning looks, even while sleeping, as if he were the only beautiful person in the world. At least among the men she knew, there was only one with such an appearance.

'…J-J-J-Jin Yu-ha!!!??'

The caterpillar was, in fact, Jin Yu-ha.

He was peeking out of a sleeping bag, using her arm as a pillow while he slept.

*Zzzzz—*

She almost screamed, but she endured it with superhuman patience. Lee Yu-ri's mind went blank.

'Huh? Wh-what is this? What is this…? What is this? Seriously, what is this?'

She opened her eyes and found a man sleeping right next to her.

And it was Jin Yu-ha.

Lee Yu-ri's eyes darted around as she swallowed hard.

'Why the hell is he sleeping with me?!'

She couldn't understand the situation at all.

Just then.

*Blink—*

Long eyelashes parted.

Right in front of Lee Yu-ri, Jin Yu-ha opened his eyes.

And his red lips slowly curved upwards.

"Gukbap, did you sleep well?"

Jin Yu-ha greeted her with a natural smile.

And Lee Yu-ri…

"Hic—!?"

Her hiccups, which she hadn't had in a long time, returned.