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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: First Request (2)

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As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. Once her goal was set, Shin Se-hee immediately headed to the request office to take on a quest.

Located in the heart of Velvet Academy, the request office was a vast hall.

Various quests, categorized by rank and deadline, floated as holographic displays.

"Healer wanted!! Anyone with a C-grade or higher in the first semester's midterm evaluation is welcome!!! 0.1 Sophia bonus!"

"One spot open, any position! Just come join us!!!"

"Join our party and we'll provide one D-grade artifact!"

"A-grade damage dealer, Swordsman. Looking for a party."

"Hey, you, the junior who uses a spear! One of our party members left last time, so are you interested? Joining a senior party would be much better than starting from scratch."

The request office buzzed with countless people: first-year students looking for parties, parties examining the available quests, and even spies observing the movements of other parties.

And amidst them.

Click-clack—

The clear sound of high heels echoed.

Shin Se-hee.

As she stepped into the hall, everyone fell silent as if on cue.

"......"

A heavy silence descended, and numerous gazes fixated on Shin Se-hee, but she paid them no mind as she headed to the reception desk.

"Hello."

"Oh, h-hello!"

The receptionist stammered in response to Shin Se-hee's greeting.

"May I see the quests?"

"Y-yes! Here, they are!"

The quest list unfolded before Shin Se-hee.

And her slender finger went straight for one particular quest.

"!!!"

And in the eyes of everyone watching, shock flared.

It was even more so for the receptionist, who kept looking between the quest and Shin Se-hee as if asking, *Are you serious?*

"The l-lowest rank!? Are you r-really going to take on *this* quest?! Utopia? Th-there's a reason it's rated the lowest..."

"Yes, Utopia Party's first quest will be the lowest-ranked insomnia cure quest."

At that, the staff member began to dissuade her.

"...Are you really sure? It might not be my place to say this, but the first quest is actually very important. So much so that it can determine your party's future reputation."

However, Shin Se-hee shook her head with a rare, resolute demeanor.

"No, please make it that one."

"...Why?"

The staff member nodded and processed the request since she spoke so resolutely, but still muttered to themselves, seemingly unable to understand.

*It's a quest we have to take anyway, and it's a chance to work on our reputation, so it would be a shame to miss it.*

Shin Se-hee beamed—a pure, innocent smile.

"Well, unlike other parties, we're a party that's received special benefits."

"...Benefits?"

"Yes, unlike other first-years who are just forming or joining parties now, we formed our party and explored dungeons even before the semester began, didn't we?"

Her calm voice spread clearly throughout the hall.

"Therefore, our reputation is set much higher than other parties that have just started. And because of this special treatment, we're even over-evaluated compared to the existing senior parties."

"!!!"

"If we, with our current standing, were to monopolize high-value quests right from the start, I believe that would be no different than kicking the ladder out from under other parties who are just beginning."

It was a complaint that had only ever been thought, never dared to be voiced aloud.

But when those very words came from the person in question, everyone's eyes widened like lanterns.

"We, Utopia, do not wish to snatch away opportunities from other parties. As we had an early start, we will show consideration for other parties with this first quest. After this, we will compete fairly based on skill."

"Ah, as expected of Utopia—!!!"

The staff member, who had been wondering why Utopia chose such an insignificant quest for their first, clasped their hands together, seemingly moved.

Then, the staff member clapped their hands once.

"Oh, but are you not selecting any queued requests?"

"Hmm, queued requests? What are those?"

Shin Se-hee tilted her head, looking innocent as if she'd never heard of them.

At that, the staff member chuckled, suddenly realizing anew that Shin Se-hee was still a first-year student.

"A queued request means you put your name down for a quest that's currently available. If that quest remains unresolved until your party, Utopia, successfully completes your current quest, then you can immediately take it on. It's a system that allows you to reserve it."

"Oh, wow, that exists?"

"Yes, you can select multiple queued requests at once. Would you like to look at them?"

"Hmm, then, are there any particularly dangerous quests among the ones currently listed?"

"Dangerous quests...! Just a moment, I'll show you the list then."

The staff member specifically pulled up and showed her a selection of dangerous quests that had decent rewards and were worthwhile.

With the staff member taking the initiative so enthusiastically, things proceeded smoothly.

Shin Se-hee surveyed the lists, gazing intently, before selecting the 'American Monster Extermination Request' at the very top.

"Alright, please put your name down here."

"Yes, and for any other quests you'd like to queue for..."

"No, I won't be queuing for any other quests."

Shin Se-hee didn't even glance at the other lists, only putting her name down for the American Monster Extermination Request.

"As I said, I don't want to use our reputation to pressure other parties."

"Ah! Understood! The insomnia cure quest has been registered, and the American Monster Extermination Request has been placed on the queue list for you. If no other party takes on this quest before you complete your current one, you'll be able to receive it immediately."

"Yes, thank you very much."

And Shin Se-hee's unconventional decision was witnessed by countless students in the request office,

and it spread throughout the entire academy in an instant.

─ Breaking news! Breaking news!! Utopia took on the lowest-ranked quest for their first! And their queued quest is only the American Monster Extermination Request!

─ What? Are you sure? Pfft! The lowest rank!? Are they on drugs or something? No one takes those lowest-ranked quests even if forced, why would they make such a stupid choice?

─ What did you just say? Did you just dare to insult Utopia? They made that decision because they don't want to steal opportunities from other parties using their fame!!!

First-year students, who had just launched their new parties, felt a deep sense of gratitude for this unexpected consideration.

─ Wow, Utopia really is on another level, their caliber is just different.

─ Yeah, honestly, if it were me, I would've just snatched up all the easy, high-reward quests and queued for everything else.

─ B-but...! They queued for the American Monster Extermination Request, didn't they...? Wasn't that the quest we all had our eyes on?! They basically still staked their claim on it!

As the atmosphere suddenly turned strange, the student who had just accused Utopia of being on drugs swallowed their excuses.

─ Hey, didn't you hear what Lady Cheonhwa said earlier!? She asked what the most dangerous quest was! She didn't even know what a queued request was!

─ Wow, is that guy's personality for real...? Tsk, looks like we should add 'personality' to party member evaluations...

─ Lady Cheonhwa showed us consideration, thinking of us, and he's ungratefully badmouthing her like this...

─ And she only queued for *one* quest out of hundreds, is that really so offensive?

─ N-no, no, no!! I-I didn't know! I wasn't even at the request office, how was I supposed to know what Cheonhwa said there!!

With things escalating like this, the student who had just raised an objection was instantly branded as trash.

─ Hey, is Lady Cheonhwa your friend!? Don't you dare drop the honorific!

Only after spouting a string of praises for Utopia and Shin Se-hee was he barely able to escape the students' criticism.

And no party dared to put their name down for the American Monster Extermination Request, which Utopia had queued for.

* * *

As soon as Utopia Party registered the quest, they immediately finished their preparations and got ready to depart.

There were no classes today, and as mentioned, this was a quest that couldn't be taken if there was even a slight delay, so time was of the essence.

After frantically completing their preparations,

"Is everyone ready?"

I glanced back and asked.

The party members nodded, their faces tense.

Their expressions were far too serious for people going on the lowest-ranked quest.

"Then, let's go."

Although it was a matter of traveling to another country, there was no need to take a plane.

Between Velvet Hunter Academy and the countries that issued quests, spatial warp gates had been installed through Director Rina's magic, so all that was required was a somewhat cumbersome identity verification process.

"Yes, Utopia Party. Jin Yu-ha and four others. Identity verified."

"Please be careful, Jin Yu-ha."

Shin Se-hee, who couldn't accompany them because she still had much to do at the academy, waved her hand.

"Alright, I'll be back."

And so, we stepped into the spatial warp gate bound for Japan.