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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Jukai Forest (3)

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"First, Ga-eul sunbae. Take out everything Shin Se-hee separately packed for us."

"Huh? Uh...? Me?! Oh, right! O-okay!"

Im Ga-eul, seemingly surprised that Yu-ri had suddenly singled her out, flusteredly emptied the contents of her subspace tattoo.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

What tumbled out were 'topical pain relief sticks,' 'pepper spray,' 'a self-defense stun gun,' and a 'suspicious-looking ornament.'

Seeing these, the party members couldn't help but frown.

No matter how they looked, they couldn't find any commonality between the items.

"...The only one that makes some sense is this pain relief stick."

Kang Do-hee stroked her chin and picked up the topical pain relief stick.

"Isn't that strange, though? This isn't even a hunter-specific item... And we all generally carry much more effective muscle relaxant sprays, don't we?"

"And this stun gun and pepper spray, I understand, are usually carried by men for self-defense. Could there possibly be monsters inside with sensitive senses of smell or a weakness to electric shocks...?"

"...Hmm, I can at least guess what those are, but I have no idea what this is."

Yu-ri lifted the suspicious-looking ornament, her brows furrowed.

A round hoop with a loosely woven net, decorated with beads and feathers,

It looked like something a goblin shaman might carry.

"Could it be something used for a ritual...?"

"I don't know. I've never seen it before."

"...Me neither."

Just as everyone was looking perplexed at the peculiar ornament.

"Oh? This... Isn't that...?"

The voice belonged to the most unexpected person.

"I have something similar to this in my room?"

It was Im Ga-eul.

"Something like *this*... in your room?"

As everyone looked at her with suspicious eyes, Im Ga-eul flusteredly waved her hands.

"No, no, no! Juniors, this isn't anything weird! Don't look at me like that!!"

"So, what is it?"

"Um, this is called a dreamcatcher."

"A dreamcatcher?"

"Yeah, it's, uh, something you hang in your room that supposedly catches nightmares... to help you have good dreams... I told you not to look at me like that!! I-it's definitely a superstition, but it's, uh, pretty w-well-known!!!"

"Nightmares...?"

In any case, thanks to Im Ga-eul's contribution, they were able to identify the ornament.

And as soon as she heard it, Sophia, who had been examining the other items with a serious gaze,

Suddenly, a spark flickered in her eyes.

Clap!

"Ah-ha! I get it now!"

Then she pointed at the other items and said,

"All of these! They're all related to sleep!!!"

"...Sleep?"

Kang Do-hee tilted her head, unable to understand how these items were related to sleep.

"Yes! This pain relief stick! It was famous even when I was modeling! It's so strong that quite a few people would even apply it under their eyes. And the pepper spray and stun gun! While they're not particularly dangerous to us, having awakened mana, they're effective for warding off sleep!"

It sounded plausible.

Kang Do-hee touched her lips, recalling Jin Yu-ha's words.

"Nu-reong said this dungeon confuses the senses and shatters common sense. If all of that is about confusing dreams and reality... an enemy that uses dreams... Yes, that certainly makes sense."

"Yes, I think you're right. It seems the theme of this Jukai Forest is nightmares."

Yu-ri nodded with a serious expression.

"...Now that we've figured out the theme, we need to make a plan. If there's a device inside that forcibly pulls people into dreams, we need to think about how to react if we get caught in one."

"Th-then, juniors, how about this?"

It was Im Ga-eul again.

As everyone's gaze turned to her again, she seemed a little overwhelmed for a moment.

But she bravely continued.

"So, there was this movie I saw once... The protagonist would spin a top to check if he was in a dream or not."

"...A top?"

"Yeah, so, when you spin the top, if it keeps spinning without stopping, it means you're in a dream. If it stops in the middle, it's reality."

"Oh, that makes sense! So, no matter how elaborately crafted a dream is, it's still ultimately an illusion. The expectation that 'the top will keep spinning' creates inertia, right!?"

"Y-y-yes, exactly! As expected of Sophia junior. You perfectly understood what I was trying to say!"

Im Ga-eul nodded her head vigorously, showing off a bit.

"So, you're saying we should spin tops too?"

Kang Do-hee said, as if her patience was wearing thin.

"No, we don't have anything like that right now. Instead..."

Yu-ri suddenly came up with a solution and proposed it,

And everyone nodded in agreement in an instant.

After they had formulated a plan.

Everyone quickly finished their preparations.

Yu-ri looked at her party members one last time.

"From now on, we will begin our assault on the Jukai Forest. Our primary objective is to locate and rescue Jin Yu-ha. And as I've stressed multiple times, never assume anything in here. Now, let's go."

And so, the Utopia party, without Jin Yu-ha, set out to conquer the Jukai Forest.

* * *

It was a mysterious sight.

Black shadows flickered, encircling a spot as if guarding it.

And in their center.

There was a person.

Pale skin.

Deeply sunken dark circles.

A girl lay curled on her side, her long, blue hair covering her like a blanket.

Wheeze— Wheeze—

The breaths escaping her lips were so faint they seemed about to stop at any moment.

It was a familiar face.

She was the character who always greeted players in a deceased state in the Jukai Forest quest.

Originally, in the game, if you found her lying in this state and approached her,

[ 'Suspicious Girl' — She doesn't seem to have been dead for long. ]

This text would appear.

Here, the veteran players of Velvet Sura focused on the phrase 'not long ago.'

Because of this, the community had once burned hot with activity, aiming to speedrun as quickly as possible to save the girl.

However, this didn't last even a month, as all attempts ended in failure.

No matter how early they arrived—by fully upgrading gacha to boost the speed of speed-specialized characters, ignoring monsters, and meticulously optimizing their routes—she was always found dead.

Ultimately, it became an established truth that this character was 'unsavable.'

'And she also helps the player in ghost form at a critical moment when fighting this forest's boss.'

Yet, for no other reason than my charm exceeding 100, I skipped all those steps and met the client while she was still alive.

Many more thoughts flashed through my mind, but there was no time to delay any further.

'Hmm, she's still going to die soon, I guess...'

There was a reason she couldn't be saved no matter how much the routes were optimized.

Even though I got in through a lucky Easter egg, she still looked critically ill right now.

First, I had to save this woman.

'It would have been simple if Sophia were here...'

But I came alone, separated from the party members, so what choice did I have?

I took out an emergency medical kit from my subspace tattoo.

And from it, I took out a blood-red potion.

'Potion.'

Potions that restore health do exist in this world of Velvet Sura.

However, perhaps as a device to emphasize the importance of healers, they function slightly differently from those in other games.

Using this doesn't immediately heal wounds or instantly restore health.

It feels as though its sole focus is on prolonging life.

I placed the fallen woman's head on my lap and brought the healing potion to her lips.

...

However, unconscious, she could only sweat profusely, unable to open her mouth.

'If I hastily pour liquid into an unconscious person, it could block their airway. Hmm, no choice then...'

Slide—

I inserted my finger into her mouth and forced it open.

Then, I slowly dripped the healing potion, bit by bit. The potion trickled down my finger and into her mouth.

How much time had passed like that?

"Ugh..."

The woman furrowed her brow, as if in pain.

Slowly, her eyes opened.

Her seemingly empty gray eyes took in my face.

As soon as she saw my face, she

Grin—

Curled up the corners of her mouth.

Munch-munch.

She gnawed on my finger, which was still in her mouth,

Ptui—

And spat it out.

"How dare you lay a hand on me."

She spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.

"Ah, you looked critically ill, so I had no choice but to—"

"Just give up already. No matter what you do, you'll never be able to seduce me."

"...Huh?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. It's about time I got tired of this."

"A-aren't you the client? The one who posted a request to cure insomnia..."

"Ah, I see now. An adventurer who came to find me after taking my quest. Certainly, this concept was a bit fresh. It seems you paid some attention to your appearance too. Better than usual. Succubus."

"No... that's not it. First of all, I'm not a succubus?"

"At the very least, if you wanted to deceive me, you should have done something plausible. Does it make sense for a hunter who took my quest to have a face like this?"

She shook her head dismissively, as if utterly bewildered.

"Hmm, this isn't fun anymore. Just get lost. Or, as usual, take off your clothes and dance. Who knows? If you put on a strip show with that face, I might even be tempted to give my body to you?"

At her words, Jin Yu-ha's face was painted with bewilderment.