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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Festival Must Go On (2)

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The blazing sun beat down.

It was the peak of summer, so the days were long.

Lap—lap—

The waves came and went as usual.

The coastline, once packed with people, had completely emptied out, save for the Utopia Party, as everyone had evacuated to the performance stage after hearing the emergency alarm.

Above the heads of the people, the sea lay still and quiet.

"...What, what is it? Are monsters really coming?"

The moment a woman, watching the scene with a tense expression, uttered those words,

Bubble—bubble—

A stream of bubbles rose from the sea.

And as if on cue, bubbles one by one began to surface, bursting into foam.

Bubble-bubble-bubble-bubble-bubble-bubble—

With the continuous rise of bubbles, the entire coastline seemed to boil.

Splash—!

The surface of the water swelled into a circle, and then a massive body revealed itself.

A sturdy shell that seemed like subtly glowing blue metal,

and four eyes protruding from it.

On each side, there were two large pincer-like hands, capable of easily tearing a person in half, for a total of four.

And supporting its body were three long legs on each side.

A demonic beast resembling a king crab.

They were Blue Crabs.

As the monsters emerged one after another, their crimson eyes glinting, the people's faces turned pale.

An immense number of Blue Crabs swarmed along the entire coastline.

"...Th-they're here."

"It-it was true!!!"

"Oh my God...! E-even for a Utopia Party, this d-doesn't seem like it's going to—"

Just then.

Thump—thump—thump—

[Ahhh—]

Against a heavy beat, a voice echoed in the background.

People's gazes once again turned to the stage.

A large table had been set up there.

And in front of the table sat two people, holding microphones.

One was Shin Sehee, dressed in a swimsuit.

And the other was Seo Ayun, who had planned this festival.

The schedule had been suddenly changed.

The Hunter Management Bureau and even the Velvet Hunter Academy couldn't provide support in this desperate situation, so she had clung to Shin Sehee's proposal like a drowning person clutching a straw.

But Seo Ayun honestly wondered what she was even doing right now.

In any case, she was on stage, so she had to do her job.

[...Th-that, S-Shin Sehee-nim, the m-monsters shown on screen look like quite a lot. Is it really going to be okay?]

As she bit her lip and spoke,

Shin Sehee smiled brightly, as if fully understanding her anxiety.

[Hehe! It's fine! From now on, we'll show you the true essence of our Utopia Party! Put your worries aside! Just look forward to it!]

*Swoosh—*

The scene shifted to Jin Yuha sweeping his hair back and stepping forward.

With a confident expression, he looked around at his party members and opened his mouth.

"Everyone, are you ready?"

In response, the Utopia Party members, dressed in their swimsuits, nodded with firm expressions.

"Just do as we discussed. Then we'll be able to drive them away easily enough."

Jin Yuha, appearing as vivid as if he were right before their eyes.

A brief silence fell.

"Kyaaaah!"

"Crazy! So cool!"

"Jin Yuha's visuals are insane!!!!!"

"Utopia! Utopia!!"

At Jin Yuha's appearance, people screamed as if to tear their throats.

[Ah, that must be Jin Yuha-nim, the party leader of Utopia. H-his reliable demeanor is truly impressive. Um, Shin Sehee-nim? Could you please tell us about Party Leader Jin Yuha?]

Seo Ayun spoke, trying to keep the situation moving.

[...]

[Sh-Shin Sehee-nim?]

However, Shin Sehee was staring blankly, mouth agape, at Jin Yuha's hologram.

[Shin Sehee-nim!]

Seo Ayun tapped Shin Sehee's hand.

*Gulp—*

Shin Sehee flinched, swallowed, and blinked her eyes.

[Huh? What did you just say?]

[I asked you to explain about Party Leader Jin Yuha.]

[Ah, yes. Explain... Right. W-well, let's just watch the battle for now.]

[Huh? Is that right?]

[Be quiet. I need to focus. Don't distract me.]

[Huh?]

Seo Ayun wore a bewildered expression at the situation, which was already off to a rocky start.

* * *

Rumble—

An enormous number of blue crabs emerged from the sea.

"Y-Yuha, junior..."

Im Gaeul, gazing at the crabs swarming across the vast sea with a distant look, called out my name in a tense voice.

"D-do we really have to do that?"

"It's fine if you don't want to."

"...Huh?"

"But if you don't, I'll be disappointed, but the audience will be even more so, won't they? Everyone's watching right now. You've finally established a character. Are you really not going to do it? If you want to go back to being the unnoticed Im Gyeoul, I won't stop you."

"I-Im Gyeoul...! Th-that's not happening!"

At those words, Im Gaeul's eyes widened.

Then she lowered her head and replied in a crumpled voice.

"F-fine, I-I get it! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

Im Gaeul bit her lip and glanced at the drone projector floating in the air.

Then, *thunk*.

She covered half of her face with one hand and opened her eyes with a glint.

"Hmph, no matter how many trivial creatures there are, this one feels no thrill whatsoever. Is there no stronger foe?"

Then, various voices poured out from the amplifier installed on the drone.

—Kyaaaaaaah!!!

—Slit-Eyed Mastermind! Slit-Eyed Mastermind! Slit-Eyed Mastermind!

—You are already dead!!!

—Junior, help me!!!!

—Slit-Eyed Idiot!!!

The voices that reached her deeply pierced Im Gaeul's heart.

Her eyes twitched.

*Flinch—*

The approaching Blue Crabs stopped.

"...Huh, it's real!? N-no... Hehe, did you stop because of my aura? Truly, the level of these trivial creatures is utterly pathetic—"

*Pfft.*

I laughed inwardly at Im Gaeul's villainous act.

She had seemed quite hesitant just moments before, but now that the stage was set, she showed the same level of tension as when she had awakened with the Black Magic Stone.

"Now, my children. Go and deal with these pathetic creatures—Haste!"

Im Gaeul maintained her concept to the end and cast Haste on the party members.

"Alright, Utopia Party, sortie!"

I, too, uttered words I wouldn't normally say and pushed off the ground.

*Whoosh—*

*Clang.*

I spun in the air and splendidly drew out Moonlight.

*Slash—*

A sharp cutting sound.

At the same time, two pincers of a Blue Crab flew into the sky.

"—KEEEEEEk!!!"

*Whoosh—!*

The Blue Crab, having lost two large pincers in an instant, angrily swung its remaining pincer on the opposite side towards me.

'Not a chance.'

I watched it with narrowed eyes, then kicked the severed pincer still floating in the air.

*Thud—!*

*Thump!*

As the pincer fell to the ground, my body leaped once more.

It was an application of Shadow Step, which I had used earlier in the swimming race against Kang Dohui.

If I could even momentarily float on water, then a solid foothold like a pincer was nothing.

*Slash—*

*Slash—*

*Slash—*

I continued to use the pincers as footholds, cutting through their bodies as if flying through the air.

"Can't let that Mutt run wild by himself!"

*Splash—*

Kang Dohui, in her crimson bikini, also plunged into the battle.

"Not Mutt, you should call me something else. Kang Poppi!"

I shouted from a distance.

*Clench.*

"..."

Kang Dohui closed her mouth.

And as if to vent her anger on the enemy, Kang Dohui spun into a spinning kick, striking the Blue Crabs.

*CRUNCH—!*

*CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE—!*

The remnants of the Blue Crabs burst apart like grass being mowed.

*Grab.*

In the midst of it, one of them grabbed Kang Dohui's body with its pincer.

And just as it was about to bring her to its mouth,

"Hup!"

Kang Dohui grabbed the pincer holding her body with both arms and forced it open.

*Screech—*

Kang Dohui slipped out through the widened gap.

Then, she crouched low and burrowed underneath the creature.

*Thunk.*

She gripped the underside of the Blue Crab's belly tightly and exerted force.

Then.

*CRACK—!*

*RIP—!*

The crab's carapace was completely separated from its body.

"—KEEEEEE..."

Thus, Jin Yuha and Kang Dohui began to shine as the party's damage dealers.

"Sophia, junior?"

"...*Gasp*. Jin Yuha is so cool—Huh? Did you call me?"

"We agreed to link up, junior..."

"Oh, right. Just a moment!"

*Hum—*

Sophia raised her bow and began to shoot silver arrows.

*Thwip—thwip—thwip—thwip—*

Every arrow she shot hit the Blue Crabs' joints.

However, as a healer, her power was weak; she only left them tattered and failed to tear off their legs.

"Hehehehe—. Yes, now it's my turn to act."

Im Gaeul, with a confident smile on her face, swung her hand while wearing black gloves.

*Whoosh—*

*SLASH—!*

"You are already dead."

With Sophia's embedded arrows combined with Im Gaeul's magic threads, the joints were cleanly severed.

'Everyone's doing well.'

I continued to cut off the crabs' pincers, observing the party members' combat.

In fact, for this battle, I hadn't given the party members any specific tactical instructions.

I had only asked for one thing:

To be as flashy as possible. To put on a battle that would excite the crowd.

This Haeundae swimsuit event was fundamentally a festival.

In other words, it was an episode whose purpose was to play and enjoy!

You could tell that just by looking at the characteristics of the Blue Crab monster.

Typically, monsters contain demonic energy and cannot be used for food, but Blue Crabs were different.

The setting stated that if you only cut off the gills, where demonic energy was concentrated, they could be used as top-grade ingredients that produced an amazing flavor!

Moreover, being a demonic beast, they were a filial monster whose freshness was maintained even after death.

On top of that, the more people cheered for them, the easier it became to defeat them.

What connection did people cheering have with Blue Crabs, you ask?

'Because it can make the monsters retreat faster.'

Besides being edible, Blue Crabs had one more unique characteristic.

'They are sensitive to sound and vibration.'

That's why, even in the game, the more flashy you were in defeating enemies, the higher your cheering score would rise, and the faster the Blue Crabs would retreat.

—Waaaaaaah!! Utopia! Utopia!

—Holy Maiden is amazing!!!!!

—Slit-Eyed Mastermind! Slit-Eyed Mastermind! Slit-Eyed Mastermind!

—Kyaaaah! Pit Bull Unnie!!!

—Yuha! Waaah—You're the best!!!

The cheers were echoing in real-time even now.

Perhaps because the Utopia Party's standing at this point was higher than that of the user's party in the original game, the volume of the cheers was truly immense.

*Flinch—*

Just seeing the Blue Crabs, who had boldly charged forward, gradually beginning to retreat, one could gauge how incredible the cheers were right now.

'But if this keeps up, we might not be able to hunt enough Blue Crabs before they retreat...'

Of course, I had a plan for that too.

"Gukbap!!!"

I called out to Lee Yuri, who was waiting in the distance.

As if she had been waiting,

she slammed her shield with the microphone in her hand.

CLANG—!!!!