Became a Swordsman Genius in a Pretty Girl Game

329. Official Harem (4)

“Puhahahaha─! Puhahat! Did you all gather just to catch me? Really?”

A luxurious house that didn’t fit the slums.

A boy with short green hair sitting on the roof, two small horns protruding from his forehead.

He was the mine of affection.

He was laughing so hard that he was nearly out of breath, playfully slapping the roof with his hand.

“Ah, really… I never expected such a gift.”

When he first heard the bad news from the other mines, he thought it was a mistake to get involved.

Those who had left to shake up Utopia began to disappear one by one.

Therefore, he prepared as much as possible.

Deploying all the slaves he had gathered discreetly was all he could do.

In truth, even with this preparation, he couldn’t hide his anxiety.

He was weak enough that if just one of the Utopians sneaked in, he could be killed instantly.

Like the other mines, he didn’t possess exceptional combat abilities either.

He wasn’t particularly talented at hiding, though.

But.

These foolish ones made one significant mistake.

They came not alone to deal with him, but in numbers!

Even more so, it was that rare Utopia pool party.

His powers grew stronger the more people there were.

‘Huh? Look at these guys?’

Then, he pulled the corners of his mouth up to his ears.

The people of the world believed that Utopia was a place of nobility, heroism, and a sense of justice, sailing smoothly without any noise within the party.

However, having received the ‘demon’s eye’ from the jealous demon, he could see.

These guys.

Their hearts were all directed towards the same person.

The object of their affection was the only male in the Utopia party.

Jin Yuha.

Of course, it wasn’t hard to understand.

His appearance was so outstanding that one might wonder if he was truly human.

Even though he was born male, he possessed abilities as well.

It was only natural to be drawn to such an exceptional individual.

However, what surprised the demon of affection was something else.

‘This isn’t just a simple crush, is it?’

The intensity of the feelings the party members held for Jin Yuha was unusual.

A depth of emotion that could not be replaced by the soft word ‘infatuation.’

In fact, none of those gathered here were lacking in that regard.

The new member with silver hair who had joined not long ago was somewhat less intense, but even that was more than enough for his powers to take effect.

‘Hahaha! These guys were hiding such feelings and pretending as if nothing was wrong until now?’

Having faced such situations several times before, he knew all too well what was happening.

‘If even one person reveals their heart, the entire party would collapse. So everyone was forcing themselves to hide it, huh?’

Ah.

The more he thought about it, the more regretful it became.

If Jin Yu-ha had appeared here.

Of course, it would be amusing for them to betray their affection for Jin Yu-ha and end up liking each other.

But what he preferred was catastrophe.

A fierce competition where they aimed their swords at each other to claim one person!

What could be more entertaining than watching this party, whom everyone praises as heroes and relies on, fall apart due to jealousy and internal strife?

If only that could happen, they would have witnessed a true catastrophe…

But Jin Yu-ha did not appear.

Only the women rushed in.

‘In this case, I have no choice but to make these fools like each other.’

Just as he was about to use his ability.

Bang─!

Huff huff─

Behind the women, a man with striking black hair and handsome features was rushing in, breathing heavily, and he caught his eye.

The Affection Mage opened her eyes wide and broke into a big smile.

“Ha ha ha! Checkmate!!!”

* * *

“You’re finished! It’s over now!”

The boyish-looking Mage shouted with a maniacal laugh.

“As the Affection Mage, I have finally succeeded in pushing Utopia into the abyss of affection!!!”

Glance.

Shin Se-hee confirmed that Jin Yu-ha was running in from behind.

‘Alright. Jin Yu-ha has arrived. Now it’s a battle of timing. I need to draw words from that Mage. I’ll take the lead in the conversation here.’

Pretending not to see Jin Yu-ha rushing from behind, Shin Se-hee opened her mouth towards the Mage.

“What do you mean by that? You’re going to die soon.”

“Ha ha! You want to kill me? You shouldn’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Aah, you look like you don’t understand? Alright, let me explain kindly. My ability is affection. It’s a very~~ romantic power that forces others to feel affection.”

“Stop with the nonsense and get to the point.”

Whoosh─!

As Shin Se-hee lit a fire in her hand with an annoyed expression.

He waved his hands in a flurry.

“Whoa, whoa. With my Ma-an’s power, you all will now feel an intense affection for Jin Yu-ha. So, that means you will compete fiercely over Jin Yu-ha from now on!”

“······Compete?”

“Yeah, jealousy! Did you see those hunters on the way here? Now you’ll be consumed by jealousy, and that’s how it’ll be. Ah, just in case, let me tell you—if you kill me here, this curse will never be lifted. But if you spare me here… who knows? I might just lift that curse for you. You all are the hope of humanity, right? Shouldn’t you maintain the utopia?”

Mai sneered with a sardonic smile.

At that moment.

Skrch—

The chilling sound of flesh being sliced.

That was the end.

“!?”

Mai’s head flew off, splattering red blood everywhere.

He stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

“I haven’t been listening to Mai’s stories for long, you see.”

Baek Seol-hee spat as she sheathed her sword.

Good. Instructor Baek Seol-hee had perfectly timed the decapitation of Mai.

Shin Se-hee calmed her eyes.

This was deceiving Jin Yu-ha.

But it was something that had to be done.

The purpose of this operation was twofold.

One was to instill a sense of crisis in people that the utopia might be dismantled, making them perceive the current situation as unavoidable.

And…

The second.

The most important purpose.

That was,

The fixed notion that one person must meet another.

In other words, creating a crack in Jin Yu-ha’s fundamental ethics.

Only by creating that crack could Jin Yu-ha later consider the option of accepting them all at once.

If it weren’t for such a drastic method, Jin Yu-ha would surely choose one of us.

And that was,

Puduk.

That means that he too could be excluded from that place.

“Just recalling that scene fills me with murderous intent. At this rate, it’s ambiguous to say I wasn’t defeated by that Main’s ability.”

Thus, the party members, including himself, accepted the heavy choice of ‘deceiving Jin Yu-ha.’

“I’m sorry, Jin Yu-ha. I will apologize properly later and accept my punishment.”

Shin Se-hee sincerely conveyed her apologies to Jin Yu-ha in her heart.

*

The Main was dead, but the anxiety remained.

As if to prove this, the chat window was rising at a speed that could hardly be described as burning.

– Crazy, what did that guy just say?

– About Jin Yu-ha… What? Utopia is going to fight?

– The Utopia kids… It seems they are already cursed…?

– So does that mean all the party members will become obsessed with Jin Yu-ha…?

– If that happens… Utopia will become like those hunters we saw earlier… They said the curse remains even if they die;;

– What is this…?

People regarded Utopia as the last bastion.

And as heroes.

If Utopia disbanded due to internal strife and turned into enemies, it would be a disaster for ordinary people.

Shin Se-hee collected her thoughts and spoke.

“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this, this… is definitely not easy.”

“Right…?”

“The curse… It really exists.”

“I understand what it means for us to compete over Jin Yu-ha. Right now, I’m feeling hatred towards all of you because I want to possess Jin Yu-ha.”

“Oh, no, that can’t be.”

“Yes, if Utopia disbands due to internal strife, we all know who will be the saddest, right?”

At that, the party members nodded in unison.

“We will never fight over Jin Yu-ha. If anyone shows greed, that person will be immediately expelled from the party.”

Shin Se-hee said firmly in a strong voice.

“Instead, I ask for equal affection for Jin Yu-ha from everyone. And let’s find a way to break this curse together.”

Shin Se-hee’s shocking words flowed through the broadcast as they were.

And the decoys she had set up in advance began to activate in the chat window.

– What? Equal affection?

– So, does that mean we’re all going to date Jin Yu-ha…?

– Uh… Is that even possible?

– Hey, can’t you see? They say we’ll end up fighting over Jin Yu-ha because of the curse. So now we’re all making a move to meet Jin Yu-ha together.

– Uh…?

– Then, what about Jin Yu-ha?

– Crazy! This is a scoop!

– What the hell are you saying right now???

And.

Step.

Step.

Jin Yu-ha, who arrived late, was walking from the other side.

Shin Se-hee swallowed hard with tension.

After all, the guilt of having deceived Jin Yu-ha was pricking at her heart.

“Jin Yu-ha, I’m sorry.”

“…Um.”

Jin Yu-ha seemed quite flustered by the sudden situation.

Her expression was as if she hadn’t expected this development at all, leaving her speechless.

“…We can’t disband the party because of our feelings, right? You can just continue to be the same as before, Jin Yu-ha.”

That’s right.

The party members had no intention of confessing their feelings to Jin Yu-ha under the pretext of the curse inflicted by the affection spirit.

That would be a cowardly act of covering their own hearts with lies.

This was merely a stepping stone to gain public recognition for this special relationship and to break Jin Yu-ha’s ethical stance.

However.

The words that Jin Yu-ha finally uttered after a moment of hesitation were far beyond Shin Se-hee’s imagination.

* * *

Having arrived late, I could only stop for a moment in confusion.

‘They’re not under any abnormal status, huh?’

It didn’t take long to grasp the situation.

If they were under an abnormal status, there should be evidence of it, with a strange heart-shaped light in their eyes, but that wasn’t there.

The situation that followed flowed strangely.

‘Not each other. Me…?’

The object of affection is me.

Up to that point, it’s okay.

‘…But why are they saying such things?’

The party members acting as if they were cursed, even though they weren’t.

Even the master?

– We won’t fight over Jin Yu-ha. Instead, let’s ensure we all receive equal affection.

‘Huh?’

A thought flashes through my mind.

The puzzle pieces in my head start to fit together one by one.

The party is not under any abnormal state.

With the drone camera hovering, it seems to be broadcasting.

Right now, Shin Se-hee is pretending to be cursed, and all the party members are declaring that they will receive equal affection from me.

If what I’m really thinking is correct.

Then.

I closed my eyes tightly and let out a long sigh.

‘…This is my fault, isn’t it?’

I became aware of the feelings of goodwill the party members had towards me.

No, to be more honest, it seems I had already known it for a while.

It was just that I had been blindfolded by the sense of the game.

Perhaps I had not been able to escape the sense of the game until now.

In Velvet Star, I was merely a ‘sponsor’ who watched over them from behind, providing support and items, and indulging in voyeurism.

In other words, during the time of the game, it meant I had a relationship that did not directly involve these people.

But now, I am no longer a sponsor watching them from a distance outside the screen,

I have become a member who breathes and jostles in the same space.

‘Haha… I really am a piece of trash.’

Even upon reconsideration, I am trash.

This place, Velvet Star, is different in many ways from the ordinary modern world I lived in, but,

In terms of concepts, it was almost the same except for gender.

In other words, it meant that someone meeting multiple people at the same time was considered unclean and vulgar.

That’s why they set up this ridiculous stage.

A stage where no one would find it strange if I had relationships with all the party members.

And they must have sent me an indirect message.

That I didn’t have to choose just one of them.

‘…Because I didn’t choose in advance.’

Even though I had noticed their affections,

I cowardly pretended to be a patron and didn’t choose one person.

And that was still the case now.

Greedily,

I still couldn’t choose just one of them.

Because the option of being with all of them was the first thing that came to mind.

Yeah.

First, an apology.

“Um, everyone, I’m sorry.”

I felt everyone’s eyes on me.

All together, all at once.

I want everyone in the party to be happy without anyone being unhappy.

In front of that grand yet trivial wish, I had no choice but to nod seriously.

“…I don’t know if I can do it well, but I’ll take responsibility. For all of you.”