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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: First Request (1)

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"Se-hee Shin, I need to discuss something with you."

There were no classes on the first day of the new semester, so after organizing the upcoming requests, I immediately sought out Se-hee Shin.

The place where Se-hee worked was a hideout near the academy.

It was the very building she had previously gifted to me.

"Oh? Yes, please come in."

She had been examining documents spread across a wide desk, but she put down her pen as I entered.

And behind her, Min-young Lee, the 'Righteous Bug', stood stiffly, as if she had become Se-hee's complete subordinate.

'Right, she joined as Se-hee Shin's direct intern, didn't she?'

I had completely forgotten about Min-young Lee during the break, as I was busy with my party members, but seeing her glued to Se-hee Shin's side right after the semester started suggested they had been in close contact even during the vacation.

'…It's really fascinating the more I look at it. They're complete opposites; how did they even get together?'

As I stared at Min-young Lee for a moment, fascinated, her face gradually began to turn bright red.

"Ahem! Mr. Jin Yu-ha, weren't you here to see me?"

Se-hee Shin cleared her throat, drawing my attention.

"Ah, sorry. Right. I had something to discuss with you briefly."

"Oh? Hmm, then could you step out for a moment?"

"Yes, understood."

Min-young Lee responded in a crisp posture as Se-hee Shin briefly turned her head, then closed the door and left.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Well, with the second semester starting, we can finally take on requests, right?"

Se-hee Shin nodded, as if she understood what I was about to say.

"Ah, yes. The Utopia party was formed first, but we haven't been able to accept any requests until now. So, we've only been clearing open dungeons."

Se-hee Shin said, pulling out a thick file from a stack of papers beside her.

"Actually, I've already listed and organized all the requests we can take."

I couldn't help but be surprised as I quickly flipped through the papers she handed me.

'No way… It hasn't been that long since the semester started, and she's already organized all of this?'

The document presented a clear, tabulated overview of all requests currently available to the Utopia party, complete with a simple star rating system and summarized evaluations.

It was even more organized and easier to read than the mission interface in the game.

'She's so capable…!'

Se-hee Shin saw my surprised expression and smiled with satisfaction.

"First off, personally, I recommend the monster subjugation request from the US as Utopia's first mission."

"The US?"

Velvet Hunter Academy, living up to its name as the world's top academy, receives requests not only from within the country but also from various parts of the world.

Monsters and beasts appear in other countries too, and those rat-like demonkins hide regardless of nationality.

Of course, other countries aren't exactly thrilled about owing favors to foreign nations, so they try to resolve things with their own hunters if possible. But when has the world ever worked out so conveniently?

The number of hunters was always insufficient compared to the surge of incidents, and uncontrollable gates would pop up unexpectedly.

I nodded, listening to Se-hee Shin.

"Hmm, right… The US monster subjugation request does have good efficiency."

"Yes, it's a government agency request, and both the remuneration and the monster level are perfectly suitable for us."

"Hmm, then could we make that our second request? Or no, someone would snatch it before we take our first, right? It's a pretty good one."

"…What? Second? Do you have something else in mind for the first request?"

"Yes, there's a request that can only be taken right now."

I flipped through the documents for a long time before I found the request I had in mind.

☐ Insomnia Cure Request.

─ Strange sounds echo in my head every night. I can't fall asleep. Please cure my insomnia.

Location: Japan, Aokigahara Forest.

Type: Private Request.

Remuneration: 100,000 yen.

Success Condition: Satisfactory sleep.

Notes: Client's identity unconfirmed.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ [Lowest]

Overall: Lowest-tier request. Insufficient situational description. Inaccurate client identity. No recourse if the client later complains. A typical nuisance request, with almost no reward for the effort.

(What does "satisfactory sleep" even mean as a success condition? Should I just knock them out? ༼ ᕤ◕◡◕ ༽=ᕤ *Whack!*)

I let out a small laugh at Se-hee Shin's handwritten note.

Upon seeing which request I had chosen, Se-hee Shin's face turned bright red.

"Y-you, are you really going to take that request?"

She quickly added, as if to divert attention from her own note.

"Yes, let's take this as our first request."

I looked down at the request form, a satisfied smile on my face.

'This is a Misleading Request.'

In Velvet Sra, the mission window, where players can select requests, opens at the start of the second semester.

Among these, there are occasionally what are called 'Misleading Requests.'

What more is there to say?

After thousands of rerolls, new players would pull amazing characters and be filled with confidence, eager to complete every request in the mission window. These requests were a trap designed to humble those overconfident newbies.

In other words, they were lowest-tier in rating but absurdly difficult in reality!

'But for veterans of Velvet Sra, these Misleading Requests were actually a goldmine.'

As the difficulty increased, so did the reward, to a level far beyond what was normally available at that stage.

Furthermore, Misleading Requests had a specific window for acceptance; if not taken immediately, their rating would soon be readjusted.

Among them, the Insomnia Cure Request was a prime example of a Misleading Request that could only be taken at the very first opportunity.

"…"

Se-hee Shin thoughtfully touched her lips, deep in thought, then met my eyes.

"This, the rating is incorrect, isn't it?"

This was why Se-hee Shin was so convenient.

I didn't need to explain anything; just give her one piece of information, and she'd figure out the entire background.

"I see. Understood. The first request will be for insomnia. The second will be the US monster subjugation request."

"Can we still get the second request?"

"Of course, that's easy enough. But what we need to worry about now is this first request. You said this is a request that can only be taken right now, right?"

"Yes, the rating will likely be readjusted soon."

"Then we'll need to be as quick as possible, from preparation to execution… It seems we'll need a strategy."

"A strategy?"

"Yes, accepting it isn't an issue, but we need a process to convince the party members. If it's a Misleading Request, the danger will be considerable, and if we approach it too casually, a dangerous situation could arise."

"Hmm, I do have a bait for that."

"…Bait?"

I nodded with a smile.

"Yes, an irresistible bait they won't be able to resist."

* * *

At Se-hee Shin's summons, all party members gathered in the meeting room.

Yu-ri Lee, Do-hee Kang, Ga-eul Lim, and Sophia.

In fact, we had all been in the same house until this morning, so it wasn't particularly new or surprising.

However, the atmosphere was chilly.

Because they had seen the request form Se-hee Shin abruptly presented.

The previous note had disappeared, but the rest was the same.

"Our first request? What is this…? 'Please cure my insomnia'? And the remuneration is 100,000 yen… that's 895,672 won? It's a lowest-tier request! And the client's identity is unknown? No matter how I look at it, it just smells suspicious… Maybe we just need to knock them out?"

At Yu-ri Lee's words, I internally chuckled, remembering the identical note Se-hee Shin had written earlier.

"Yes, Utopia's first request is indeed this insomnia cure request."

Se-hee Shin said, maintaining a calm expression, seemingly ignoring my reaction.

"Hmm… Ah, are you perhaps trying to be considerate of the other parties forming right now? But do we really need to?"

Yu-ri Lee scratched her cheek, speaking up on behalf of the party members, but everyone wore similar expressions.

After Chairman Lina's speech this morning, parties were springing up like mushrooms, as if on fire.

And everyone was watching each other, trying to see who would take which request.

It was no exaggeration to say that the Utopia party was at the center of it all.

Right now, Utopia was, without a doubt, the hottest and most influential party within Velvet Hunter Academy.

"Well, that intention isn't entirely absent. Utopia's recognition has significantly increased, even surpassing existing senior parties, after we stopped the Blue Crab Wave during the break."

Se-hee Shin nodded, as if it made perfect sense.

"Building amicable relationships with other parties is also important for our future activities. While it might be fine now, practically monopolizing and taking all the other parties' work isn't ideal."

"Flower Garden, you picked this request for such a flimsy reason?"

Do-hee Kang had been listening to Se-hee Shin with her arms crossed, then suddenly blurted out.

"Just say it. You clearly have another motive."

"It's hard to accept such a harsh assessment of me all the time."

Se-hee Shin feigned being slightly hurt in an exaggerated manner, but no one here would fall for that act anymore.

"Ahem, yes, well. You're not wrong. There's another reason I chose this request. Actually, this request is a Misleading Request."

Se-hee Shin spoke as if she had discovered what Yu-ha Jin had told her just moments ago through her own investigation.

It was, after all, part of an operator's job to select and prepare party requests.

And saying she discovered it through her own investigation was far more convincing than saying Jin Yu-ha told her.

'These people don't know that Mr. Jin Yu-ha can see the future.'

"W-wait a minute! A Misleading Request!? Then shouldn't we report this!?"

Ga-eul Lim, a second-year, raised her voice in alarm.

She had heard and seen what happened when mis-rated requests were taken on by unsuitable parties.

But Se-hee Shin firmly shook her head.

"No. We have to take this one."

"There… there's something there, isn't there?"

Sophia, quick-witted, added, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, I believe there's an artifact hidden there that enhances all party members' stats. It's just a conjecture, though."

Se-hee Shin recited this in a calm voice, but…

"!"

"!"

"!"

"!"

Her words were an explosive revelation that simply couldn't be ignored.