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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Jukai Forest (4)

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"Ah, so that's your concept?"

My eyelids fluttered in bewilderment.

And for good reason.

'This woman isn't listening to a word I'm saying...?'

No matter what I said, she'd parrot back, "Are you trying to trick me like that this time?"

Her expressionless face and dry voice were as unyielding as a towering iron wall with no cracks.

At that, I simply shut my mouth and observed her.

'Hmm, she doesn't seem to have been affected by the Dream Erosion...'

Dream Erosion.

The theme of Jukai Forest is 'dreams'.

In other words, it's a dungeon that inflicts mental trials on everyone who enters, confusing dreams with reality.

In the original game, if a character was consumed by a dream,

their combat ability would plummet,

or they would refuse the player's commands and charge ahead alone,

or they would suffer status effects like fear, panic, and confusion, even mistaking allies for enemies and attacking them. It was a tricky dungeon.

And if one couldn't escape the Dream Erosion and fully succumbed to it, you would witness quite an impressive scene.

For example, in Gukbap's case:

—Wow, is this all money!? Is this really my money!!? Mom, Dad!! We don't have to worry about money anymore!!! Let's forget about debt and live happily in a nice house!!!

And in Kang Do-hee's case:

—Hmm, is there no longer an enemy who can defeat me? Ha, how dull. Yes, I shall stand in the heavens.

They would mutter their respective wishes and laugh. And then, they would be incapacitated on the spot and collapse, bringing it to an end.

'Hmm, of course... before that happens, you just need to use items at the right time, or dodge the triggers with movement. In that sense, there's no better hunting ground than this...'

Anyway, the woman lying with her head on my lap was different.

Usually, the horror of Jukai Forest lies in those affected by Dream Erosion accepting the delusions of their dreams and self-destructing.

But this woman neither mumbled wishes nor wore a happy smile.

On the contrary, she was rejecting and pushing away everything.

'Judging by her attire and appearance, she seems to have been here for quite a long time... Is her mental strength incredibly strong?'

However, that's when something unusual happened.

Sliiiide—

'Huh...?'

The woman, who had been lying on my lap, staring blankly at me without a twitch, moved her hand.

Her hand reached my face.

Rub.

Rub.

"..."

Her hand slowly moved down from my face and touched my chest.

"Uh, excuse me... but what exactly are you doing...?"

At that, the woman let out a hollow laugh, her face still expressionless.

"Ha, why? You like this, don't you? You said it's good to see how honest my body is, even while I despise it."

"...Pardon?"

"You piece of trash. After you made me like this, why are you pretending not to know? After you made me ache with lust."

Knead.

Knead.

"Uh, you're the one touching me as you please...?"

"Ah, so that's your concept? You corrupt my body like this, and then you try to act like an innocent man? Now you're even trying to shame me. Just as I thought, you filthy incubus."

"..."

"But no matter what you do. You won't be able to break my spirit. Because I truly hate this."

Her tone was cold, full of utter contempt.

Yet her actions remained the complete opposite.

"Ugh. But it's even more disgusting today—did you go work out or something?"

Her hand clung to my chest greedily, sticky, and ravaged it without mercy.

Slide—

And for the first time, the woman's expression changed dramatically.

"Ah, no... I never went below the chest until now... You piece of trash. In the end, you've charmed me with your looks..."

Her touch became rougher, and her hand began to travel down from my chest, across my stomach, downwards.

Soon, her hand settled on my thigh, then was about to head to a deeper place.

At that, I had no choice but to spring to my feet.

'Even if I'm from a place where gender norms are reversed, and I don't particularly object to being touched...'

Even so, below the belt is a different story, isn't it?

Thump!

Because I suddenly stood up, she hit the back of her head on the ground.

At that, she glared at me with an oddly resentful look.

"To pull away at the crucial moment—your vileness truly makes my teeth chatter. Let me repeat, this is not my will. I absolutely, not one bit, don't regret your body."

Her voice was filled with a resolute anger.

Her two hands, raised upwards, continued to knead the air as if filled with lingering regret.

"However, pulling your body away just now was a fatal mistake. You seem to have forgotten, this is my domain."

She swept her arm in a wide arc.

Sliiiiither—

At that, black shadows writhed and rose around her, rippling their bodies and turning their heads towards me.

—"Uh, wait, but he's not a succubus..."

—"You're wrong. She can't hear us right now, it seems."

—"We just brought him because Ichika wanted to see a handsome living man, not a succubus!!"

—"Oh, uh, we're sorry... in advance? W-we can't refuse Ichika's orders—!"

The shadows' flustered voices reached my ears again.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Utopia party, without Jin Yuha, was slowly moving through the forest.

The atmosphere was dim and eerie.

A thick fog hung heavy, blurring even the back of the person walking ahead.

It was an environment where a monster could suddenly jump out at any moment, so everyone moved forward with heightened tension.

"Ughhhhhh... This stings too much."

Lim Ga-eul mumbled in a tearful voice as she took a step.

Indeed, her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Senior, bear with the stinging. If you rub your eyes because they sting, you won't be able to open them for a while. The fog is already thick and limits visibility, so if you don't want to completely give up your sight, try to endure it."

Sophia chided her from beside her, but her own eyes were similarly red and inflamed.

This was because all party members had applied pain relief patches under their eyes before entering the forest.

Thanks to this, there was no room for drowsiness to creep in.

"Ugh, ah, I know. But I can't see anything because of the tears... And the fog is too thick—. Huh? Wait a minute, something here... I feel like I saw a similar place just a moment ago, is this just my imagination?"

"..."

When no answer came, Lim Ga-eul turned her head.

"Sophia—. Huh?"

But Sophia, who had clearly been walking right beside her just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.

A flustered Lim Ga-eul quickly looked around.

"Um, Junior Yu-ri? Junior Do-hee?"

Lee Yu-ri and Kang Do-hee, who had been walking ahead, were also gone.

"Hey, guys...?"

Whishhhh—!!!

In a panic, she gripped her magic stone and shot threads around her, but they caught nothing but the surrounding trees.

"J-Juniors—!? W-where are you—!!!?"

The fear and terror of suddenly being left alone in this dangerous forest overwhelmed her.

However, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

So, trembling, she continued to move forward, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

That's when a blurry figure appeared in her sight.

She slowly dragged her feet closer.

What she saw was.

Jin Yuha, collapsed against a tree, bleeding from his shoulder.

"J-Yuha Junior—!!!!!"

Lim Ga-eul was startled and rushed towards Jin Yuha with hurried steps.

At the sound of his name, Jin Yuha slowly raised his head and looked at Lim Ga-eul.

His eyes widened. Soon, a deep sense of relief flickered in his gaze.

"Ah, it's Senior Ga-eul... That's a real relief."

"How did this happen! Junior! Are you okay? Can you, can you move your body!?"

"Ugh! I was dragged away and attacked earlier. But, what about the others...?"

"I-I don't know. Everyone scattered at some point..."

"Th-then, those kids don't have Senior Ga-eul with them...?"

Jin Yuha couldn't hide his surprise, as if this was an unexpected situation.

"Uh, well, y-yes?"

"Then, that's a real problem. For the other party members not to have Senior with them... The key to clearing this dungeon is Senior Ga-eul..."

"...What? M-me?"

Lim Ga-eul asked back, startled.

She had never imagined that she would be the key to clearing this dungeon.

"Yes, I couldn't tell you earlier because I was suddenly dragged away... but Senior Ga-eul was the key to this clear."

"Oh, I see... No, but that's not important right now. You're hurt! Quickly, quickly, your wound! Let me see your wound first!"

"Ah, yes, please..."

Lim Ga-eul opened her emergency medical kit from her spatial tattoo and took out medicine and bandages.

Then, she meticulously tended to Jin Yuha's wound.

"Haa—haa—It's truly fortunate. That Senior found me. Meeting Senior here is a stroke of luck..."

Jin Yuha looked at Lim Ga-eul with eyes brimming with gratitude.

"...As much as I'd like to go look for the other party members right now, my body is like this, so I can't move, Senior."

"R-right. If you move now, your wound will get worse. Recovery comes first, Junior."

"M-my head feels dizzy, so... would it be okay if I leaned on you for a moment?"

"Uh, y-yes, of course! Lean, lean, lean comfortably!"

Thump—

Jin Yuha leaned his face against Lim Ga-eul's chest, breathing heavily.

In response, Lim Ga-eul adjusted her body position to allow Jin Yuha to lean as comfortably as possible.

And at the same time, she reached out a hand and stroked Jin Yuha's head.

Gulp—

Lim Ga-eul's Adam's apple bobbed noticeably.

This was a situation she had always dreamed of: becoming someone's anchor.

And that someone was Jin Yuha.

The boy who was so perfect that there was nothing she could do for him.

To see Jin Yuha appear in such a weakened state and lean on her like this.

The feeling of being told she was needed, of someone entrusting their body to her, after always showing only her shortcomings...

It was truly—

a fulfilling sensation that made her chest ache.

'Now that I think about it, Junior Yu-ri said something... What was it she said...?'

Suddenly, the words Lee Yu-ri had spoken before they entered this place vaguely came to mind.

But they soon vanished from her mind.

'Well, it probably wasn't important.'

It was then.

Suddenly, Jin Yuha, who had been leaning on her, raised his head and met her eyes.

"Senior Gyeoul."

"...Huh? Why are you calling me—no, my name is Ga, Ga-eul?"

"Senior, why are you so incompetent?"

At Jin Yuha's sudden change in attitude, Lim Ga-eul's eyes trembled violently in shock.