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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Chairman in Crisis (2)

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Afterward, the first-year students quietly returned to the academy aboard an airship.

Upon their return, to soothe their weary minds and bodies from the mid-term evaluations, the students gathered with their close friends for a drinking session.

"Ugh—this is alcohol! This is the taste of the mundane world! Ahh. It's so good to be back! After constantly foraging for mugwort. It's so good to see everyone!"

A student with yellow hair braided into pigtails placed a beer glass on both palms and spoke dramatically.

"...Why isn't this bitch human yet, even after eating nothing but mugwort for two weeks?"

"Even a bear takes a hundred days to become human, so two weeks was just too short for her to turn into one…"

"...Look who's talking, you guys were grunting like beasts just a while ago."

These were the ordinary students who were close with Lee Min-young.

"Finally, I can truly taste civilization! Now that mid-terms are over. Is it vacation soon?"

"Yeah, we have a week of maintenance time, then it's vacation."

"Ugh—seriously, that was tough. Mid-terms. Mid-terms. I'd only heard about them, but I never knew they'd be this hard."

Everyone nodded at the words of the student with pigtails.

"...But didn't something feel a little strange about this exam?"

The words came from a female student wearing glasses, who suddenly interjected.

"Huh? What?"

"I mean, this mid-term evaluation. The appearance of the demons… Even if they said they trusted us, we were really in danger, weren't we?"

"Is that—is that so?"

The student with pigtails tilted her head.

"If the Archmage already knew that the demons had infiltrated, shouldn't she have canceled the exam from the start? Or dealt with them herself before leaving?"

"...Hmm, you—you're right? We were actually in quite a dangerous situation."

"But—but nobody died! I mean, didn't everything turn out fine?"

"Min-young, what do you think about this exam?"

The bespectacled student turned her head towards Lee Min-young and asked.

'Just as Shin Se-hee-nim said…'

Lee Min-young had joined the Utopia Party as an intern for this exam, but her official registration was planned to happen as late as possible.

This was because she was to remain a general supporter, taking on the role of managing the Utopia Party's image.

'...She's a terrifying person, far beyond anything I could ever compare to.'

On the last day of the mid-term evaluation.

Jin Yu-ha's speech in the plaza had been impressive enough to shock everyone. However, there were holes in its logic.

Because of this, at the time, people were completely captivated by her appearance and voice,

'Ah, so that's what it was? Chairman… You trusted us…'

and nodded, but after a moment's thought, they would recall the strange points and tilt their heads in confusion!

Anticipating this situation, Shin Se-hee called Lee Min-young aside on the airship returning to the academy and asked her.

"Ms. Lee Min-young, what did you think of Jin Yu-ha's speech?"

"Uh, well… I thought it was plausible."

"Plausible?"

"Yes, first of all, this incident will appear quite impressive to the general public. Because it was a dilemma, having to choose between saving civilians or students."

"Indeed."

"It will look like the Archmage, despite demons appearing during the mid-term evaluation, trusted and entrusted the students, then prioritized the rescue of civilians."

"However, there must be another reason why you said 'plausible.' What might that be?"

Under Shin Se-hee's piercing gaze, Lee Min-young swallowed hard.

"...It couldn't resolve the doubts of the students who actually experienced the exam."

Shin Se-hee slowly nodded, seemingly satisfied with Lee Min-young's answer.

"That's right. Of course, Jin Yu-ha-ssi probably said that to paint a picture for external perception, but we shouldn't only care about the general public. We need to care about the students as well."

"Still, wouldn't it be fine to leave it as is? Even if they have doubts, since there were no casualties, it would naturally fade into a mere incident over time…"

"No. We're going to make Jin Yu-ha-ssi's statements completely true. I'm the type of person who doesn't leave even a tiny spark behind."

Shin Se-hee took Lee Min-young's shoulder and leaned her face close to her ear.

"So, there's something I need you to do now."

.

.

.

"Hey, guys. Have you seen this video?"

Lee Min-young's eyes sparkled as she held out her phone to the students who had come to drink with her.

Taking the phone she offered, everyone gaped with dumbfounded expressions.

On the screen, Jin Yu-ha was seen wielding a sword.

Against a grotesque demon, bald and covered in burn scars.

With dazzling production, as if filmed by a professional director.

Jin Yu-ha's already extraordinary appearance, through the camera, made her fight against the enemy like some movie star.

The students gripped their hands, fully engrossed in the video.

One by one, wounds accumulated on Jin Yu-ha's body.

Yet, instead of tension or worry, gasps of admiration escaped them.

That was because Jin Yu-ha was displaying an overwhelmingly powerful combat against that demon.

Thud.

Soon after, Rebecca collapsed to the ground, and the video ended.

"Uh…?"

"Wha—what was that!?"

"The cinematography… wow."

"Jin Yu-ha? That was Jin Yu-ha, right? Is she seriously insane?"

The students lifted their heads, looking dumbfounded.

"...Hey, isn't that demon Rebecca? Bald and those burn scars. I remember her because she was so striking…"

"Uh… I think you're right? The AA-class demon, Rebecca."

"That demon also came to our mid-term evaluation exam site? We seriously almost all died—."

"But Jin Yu-ha just completely crushed her."

...

A demon wanted at AA-class is a monster that even professional hunters tremble in fear of.

Jin Yu-ha won against that demon. And overwhelmingly so.

It was a situation where all they could feel was absurdity, no matter what they tried to say.

Even the students who had seen Jin Yu-ha slaughtering demons right before their eyes experienced cognitive dissonance.

After giving them enough time to process the situation.

Lee Min-young opened her mouth.

"Right? That's why the Chairman judged that 'even with demons, it wouldn't be dangerous.'"

"...What?"

"No, think about it. With one student showing such overwhelming power against an AA-class demon, would she have been worried that other demons would harm the students?"

"Ah…"

The student with pigtails let out a sigh.

"And yet, the Chairman bowed her head and apologized to us."

"...So she was saying, 'I didn't know you were this weak. I'm sorry…'?"

The bespectacled student asked with a disbelieving look.

Lee Min-young nodded deeply, as if she, too, felt indignant.

"Yes, since Jin Yu-ha, a fellow student, could fight an AA-class demon like that, she must have judged that we, too, could at least hold out, even if not to the same extent."

"Now that you mention it, the Fighting Dog actually caught a demon…"

"Yes, but we were just too weak compared to them, to Utopia."

At Lee Min-young's words, the students bit their lips tightly.

They, too, had become hunters to protect people.

Proud individuals who had built a reputation as hunters in their own right, then passed hellish exams to enter Velvet Academy.

Even if Utopia showed exceptional prowess.

It wasn't as if they had given up and thrown in the towel.

Students who had undergone grueling training, hoping that one day, like them, they would be called heroes in front of the public.

The student with pigtails tightly closed her eyes.

"...So, we failed to meet the Chairman's expectations."

"Yes, but the Chairman thought it was her own misjudgment that put us in danger, and she bowed her head for it."

Lee Min-young's voice, as she spoke to the students, gradually gained more persuasive power.

"When the Chairman said, 'Hold out until the instructors arrive,' she wasn't talking about Jin Yu-ha, but us."

Although she mixed a lie into her current words, her inner thoughts were sincere.

"We are hunters. Hunters who risk their lives to face demons and protect civilians from monsters! So, to blame Chairman Lina, saying that the demon appeared without warning and was stronger than expected… Do you really think that's the right thing to do?"

Lee Min-young looked around at the students.

Then, the student with pigtails brought the beer in her hand to her mouth and chugged it down in one go.

Gulp, gulp—

"Ah—! Phew! Sorry, but I'm calling it a night for drinks."

"...Huh? Why?"

Thud.

The student with pigtails set her beer glass down with a clatter and said,

"I need to go train."

Then, one by one, those who had been exchanging glances also chugged down the beer in front of them and rose from their seats.

"Me, me too! Le—let's go together!"

"Me too!"

And so, the students broke up their gathering.

Haa—

Lee Min-young exhaled a sigh of relief as she watched the students leaving.

'...This much should be enough for my first mission. Was it somewhat successful? Now, for the next influential students…'

* * *

A few days later.

Currently, Velvet Hunter Academy was noisy, both inside and out.

Because stories about Velvet Hunter Academy, which had always been kept confidential, had now leaked to the public.

And since it was about the mid-term evaluations, imagine how much public interest it garnered.

『 [OFFICIAL] Velvet Hunter Academy, Chairman Lina's Exam. 』

『 Today's Hot Issue! Utopia's Jin Yu-ha, [AA-Class Demon Rebecca] Elimination Video. 』

『 [EXCLUSIVE!] Humanity's NO.1 Guardian! The Archmage's Cuteness? Direct Footage from an S-Class Gate Explosion Site! 』

『 Flower on a Cliff, Jin Yu-ha. Her Skill Wasn't Just Hype!? 』

— Wow, what's going on? Isn't this the first time academy internal data has been publicly released like this?

┗ It's '웬' not '왠', you idiot.

┗ Yeah, your dad's the more the merrier.

— Kyaaah!!! Ah, the Archmage is so cute. Is this Korea's NO.1 cuteness lol. Anyone see that direct footage?

┗ LOLOLOL it's hilarious how the Archmage talked to that natural monument who didn't know her.

┗ Thanks for saving me, kiddo.

┗ I'm not a kiddo.

┗ Thank you, are you an academy student?

┗ I'm not a student.

┗ You're amazing despite your age.

┗ ...

— ...Anyone here seen the Jin Yu-ha video? Hey, where are all those bastards who said Jin Yu-ha's skill was all bluff? Did they go into hiding?

┗ LOL for real. Just the GOAT. Just light.

┗ She really proved it with her skill, so damn refreshing. Thought I was watching a movie.

┗ All those bastards who gritted their teeth and denied Jin Yu-ha's skill was just hype, they all shut up when her skill was revealed LOLOLOLOLOL

┗ Sign immediately!

┗ ...Ugh, J-Jin Yu-ha isn't just Utopia's figurehead…

┗ ...Ugh, J-Jin Yu-ha is stronger than Kang Do-hee—. You little puppy! Who told you to be so attractive!!! T_T_T_T_T It's cheating to fight so well with that face!!!!!

┗ Yep, Fighting Dog scum apprehended.

...

It was summer.