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

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Living Together (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't merely out of goodwill.

Even if it was said with the intention of helping Gukbap and her family in their difficult situation.

There was a reason for it, in its own way.

It was good that his assets had increased.

Of course, among assets, real estate was paramount!

All hail the landlord!

There was no way he'd be in a bad mood when real estate had just fallen into his lap.

Of course, there was also the café building he received from Shin Se-hee, but that felt more like an operations room, a meeting room, or a waiting room, rather than a place for rest, a "home."

Honestly, it was a welcome development to finally have a place to settle down once all his work was done.

However, there was one unexpected problem…

—I believe I've sufficiently explained everything you need to know.

The old woman he initially mistook for the landlady was, in fact, Chairwoman Lina's personal lawyer.

She had once been saved by Lina, and even though she had retired from active practice, she continued to serve as Lina's private attorney.

All sorts of tax bombs, legal issues, and so on.

Most of these burdens were shifted to Chairwoman Lina. Well, she explained the complicated details one by one, but honestly, he couldn't remember any of it.

Perhaps, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have been able to use such an incredible building, making it a white elephant.

—Yes, but… according to what you said, I don't have much to do, do I?

—Haha, that's true. Normally, the maintenance costs for a building like this are considerable, but this house is mostly magic-powered, and its energy is supplied by absorbing surrounding magic. So it's almost a fifth of the usual cost. Oh, but the building maintenance fees must be handled by Jin Yu-ha.

—Oh, really? How much?

—Hmm, if I had to give a rough estimate… it would be about ten million won per month.

I was appalled.

The maintenance class of a house worth 120 million won in monthly rent was beyond imagination.

What kind of house costs ten million won just to maintain?!

And this was only a fifth of the usual cost, meaning other buildings of similar size would cost fifty million won a month!

'Can I even afford this?'

While I spent the money I had saved.

If I continuously improved my skills and raised my dungeon rank, I could somehow manage.

But it still felt like the numbers just didn't add up.

'What if I split this with the Utopia party members?'

The party members would benefit from a good house at a low price, and I would benefit from sharing the maintenance costs.

It truly was killing two birds with one stone!

That was my initial reason for gathering the party members.

Of course, someone named Hyeji suddenly interfered and ruined all the fun, but still.

So, it was even better now.

"H-here is… o-our Yuri's… h-house?!"

Yuri's mother's composed expression shattered, and she gaped uncouthly.

Her father next to her looked completely dazed.

Yuri's younger siblings, meanwhile, began excitedly running around everywhere.

"Hmm, actually, it's a rental."

I chose to say that to avoid making them feel indebted if I revealed that I was the true owner.

At that, her mother nodded, seemingly understanding.

"Ah, y-yes, that would make sense. Even for Velvet Academy, it wouldn't make sense to give a student a building like this just for doing well on one exam…"

'Hmm, it makes me realize again how crazy Lina's league is.'

Even though I had stopped a rather significant incident, being able to simply hand over a building like this was certainly not something just anyone could do.

"You can stay here until Yuri graduates."

"Gr-graduation?! So, still four years?"

"Yes. I received confirmation on that."

'I confirm it. If you want to keep living here even after that, I don't plan on kicking you out.'

At that, her mother eagerly grasped my hand.

'Th-this is a bit much…'

I felt Yuri's mature self glaring at me with a piercing gaze.

"Son-in-law Jin."

"…Yes?"

"Please take good care of our Yuri."

"…Yes?"

S-suddenly?

"Yuri receiving such an amazing opportunity, it's all thanks to you, Son-in-law Jin. And now, even we get to enjoy this luxury. She's a bit lacking, but please take good care of her—"

"Mom!!!"

"From the first time I saw him, I knew our Yuri had the same taste in men as I do—"

"G-get inside! J-Jin Yu-ha, I'll talk to you later!!!"

"I'm in favor—*Muffled!*"

Hmm.

She's an interesting person.

I awkwardly pulled up the corners of my mouth.

* * *

And so, Yuri's family left to look at the floor they would be living on.

'What? Son-in-law Jin? I'm in favor?'

Shin Se-hee bit her nails.

Then she let out a hollow laugh.

'Hah, honestly! This is absurd.'

Shin Se-hee clearly took in every detail of the scene.

Jin Yu-ha.

The leader of Utopia, the hottest rising party.

He had proven his exceptional swordsmanship, unmatched even by other men.

His charisma and leadership captivated everyone.

His quick wit made even professors, known as theoretical geniuses, sweat profusely.

On top of that, his looks made all other men seem like mere potatoes!

Honestly, any woman placed beside him seemed lacking.

Shin Se-hee had acknowledged this early on, ever since she failed to bring him under her control at the start of the semester.

He was too brilliant a jewel to possess alone.

So, she decided to display him in the "Utopia" exhibition. And to share him only with the select few he allowed into his heart.

This was a surprising concession for anyone who knew her deep possessiveness and clinging nature.

She felt only superiority, being the one with whom he shared the secret of her 'future-seeing ability.'

Any desire to go further—a little? Just a tiny bit? Quite often, sometimes?—had been forcibly suppressed.

Yes, she had been perfectly content with their relationship until now.

But recently, Lee Yu-ri.

That woman was incredibly irritating.

'It started with this mid-term evaluation.'

Using magic exhaustion as an excuse,

she shamelessly received Jin Yu-ha's devoted care for five full days.

Using the excuse of Jin Yu-ha falling asleep from exhaustion after staying up all night,

she brazenly used his arm as a pillow without his consent while he slept.

And even showing off this audacious and shameless act right in front of them!

What else could this be but a declaration of war?

'But now, involving her family… Lee Yu-ri is truly a scary person.'

No matter how she thought about it, the entire family was utterly shameless.

Seriously.

How could fully grown men and women, with no established relationship, sleep under the same roof? The world was truly going crazy!

*Crunch*

The tip of Shin Se-hee's nail snapped off between her teeth.

'This cannot go on.'

Hoo…

Shin Se-hee exhaled slowly and walked towards Jin Yu-ha.

"Jin Yu-ha."

"Hm?"

"Chairwoman Lina made quite a generous decision."

"Uh, well, y-yes."

Jin Yu-ha nodded, looking flustered.

'Hmm?'

Shin Se-hee's eyebrow twitched as she read Jin Yu-ha's expression.

'Aha? So that's how it is?'

Then Shin Se-hee's lips curled into a smile.

"This isn't a rental, is it? A gift? Probably to you personally, Jin Yu-ha?"

"…!"

Jin Yu-ha's eyes widened in surprise.

'As expected, I know Jin Yu-ha better than that stiff woman. How long do you think I've been observing you?'

Shin Se-hee smiled proudly, a sense of superiority creeping up on her.

"But you didn't mention it to be considerate of Lee Yu-ri's family."

"…It's a secret?"

"Hehe, don't worry. But… I'm a little worried."

Shin Se-hee put a hand to her cheek with a perfectly straight face and sighed.

"About what?"

"Well, you said the Utopia party has the right to use it freely, but if only you and Lee Yu-ri use it, won't it eventually raise suspicion?"

"Ah, so—"

Shin Se-hee quickly cut Jin Yu-ha off and continued.

"A-and! A-as you know my family situation, I'm just saying!"

"Hm? The Shin family?"

"Yes, I-I'm still staying in the academy dorms, not going home even though it's vacation?"

*Cough!*

Shin Se-hee cleared her throat, utterly embarrassed by what she was about to say.

"S-so, um, if, if you want! I-I could… l-live in this house too…?"

Shin Se-hee's face turned beet red as she glanced at Jin Yu-ha.

At that, Jin Yu-ha's face brightened considerably.

"Really?!"

And he hugged Shin Se-hee, genuinely happy.

'Eek!?'

"Thank you! Thank you so much! For living with me!"

"…Eh?"

"I thought you might refuse, but are you really okay with it?"

"Y-yes, yes!! O-of course I'm okay with it!!!"

"Thank you, Shin Se-hee!!"

'Oh… um. Well, whatever it is, is he really that h-happy about me living with him?'

Shin Se-hee leaned her head against Jin Yu-ha's chest, a faint smile escaping her lips.

* * *

And so, starting with Shin Se-hee.

One by one, the party members began showing up without me even asking.

"Ahem! H-Honey! How do you plan to handle combined training during vacation? W-we need to do grappling, don't we? Th-this place seems to have very good training facilities…"

Kang Do-hee brought it up using training as an excuse.

"Junior! To check my growth during vacation, shouldn't you, you supervise me closely?! I've already become lazy without you during the mid-term evaluation! If you don't watch over me, I'll really become a good-for-nothing older sister!!!"

Im Ga-eul resorted to a very fresh and peculiar form of blackmail.

"I-I don't know if I can say this. I'm still a-a bit uncomfortable going home because of my modeling work… If you c-could just give me one bathroom stall! I'll just q-quietly take p-pictures there!"

Sophia. You're making quite a dangerous statement.

'But why are they all stuttering?'

In any case.

All the party members ended up living together in one house.

The original ten million won maintenance fee was now divided by six, including me.

1.6 million won.

Wow, what a sweet deal.