I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

“Hahahaha! Hahaha! You all came here to catch me? Really?”

In the slums, there stood an out-of-place luxurious house. On its roof sat a boy with short green hair and two small horns protruding from his forehead.

He was the Affection Demon.

He laughed hysterically, patting the roof with his hands.

“Ah, indeed… Who would’ve thought such a gift would be bestowed upon me?”

When he first heard about the other Demons’ disappearances, he thought he had made a mistake. They had started to go missing one by one after leaving to disrupt Utopia.

So, he prepared as much as he could. All he could do was deploy all the slaves he had gathered over time.

In truth, he couldn’t hide his unease, even with all these preparations.

He was so weak that even a single member of Utopia could easily kill him.

He didn’t possess exceptional combat abilities like the other Demons, nor did he have any talent for hiding.

But these idiots had made a grave mistake.

They had come to dispose of him in a group, not alone!

Even more surprising, it was the rare full party of Utopia.

His power was most effective with a larger number of people.

“Huh? What are you guys doing?”

Then, he curled his lips up to his ears.

The world believed that Utopia was a group united by virtue, heroism, and ambition, with no internal conflicts.

But he, who had received the ‘Demon Eye’ from the Demon of Jealousy, knew better.

These girls all had their hearts set on the same person.

That person was Jin Yuha, the only male member of the Utopia party.

It wasn’t hard to understand.

His appearance was exceptionally handsome, and despite being male, he possessed great abilities. It was only natural for them to be attracted to such an outstanding person.

However, what surprised the Affection Demon was something else.

“It’s not just a simple liking, is it?”

The intensity of the party members’ feelings for Jin Yuha was extraordinary.

It was a deep and sticky emotion that couldn’t be described as mere affection.

Not a single one of them had less intense feelings.

The only one who seemed slightly less affected was the new silver-haired student who had joined recently, but even that was enough for his power to take effect.

“Hahaha! You guys have been hiding these feelings and acting like nothing was wrong?”

He knew exactly what was going on, having encountered such situations numerous times before.

“If one of you reveals their feelings, the whole party will collapse. So, you’ve all been forcing yourselves to hide it, right?”

Ah.

The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it.

If Jin Yuha had appeared here…

Of course, it would’ve been fun to make them betray their love for Jin Yuha and fall for each other.

But what he truly enjoyed was catastrophe.

A fierce competition where everyone pointed their swords at each other to win over one person!

What could be more entertaining than seeing this party, praised as heroes and trusted by all, crumble due to jealousy and internal strife?

If that had happened, he could’ve witnessed a true catastrophe…

But Jin Yuha didn’t show up, and only the girls came rushing in.

“Well, I have no choice but to make you all fall in love with each other.”

Just as he was about to use his ability, a loud noise echoed.

Huff huff—

Behind the girls, a handsome man with black hair was running towards them, breathing heavily.

The Affection Demon opened his eyes wide and burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! Checkmate!!!”

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.

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“You’re finished! It’s over for you!”

The boy-like Demon laughed maniacally.

“I, the Affection Demon, succeeded in pushing Utopia into the pit of affection!”

Shin Se-hee glanced back and saw Jin Yuha running towards them.

“Good, Jin Yuha is here. Now it’s a matter of timing. I need to get him to talk, so I’ll lead the conversation.”

Pretending not to notice Jin Yuha running towards them, Shin Se-hee spoke to the Demon.

“What do you mean? You’re going to die soon.”
“Haha! You want to kill me? You shouldn’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Ah, I see you’re confused. Let me explain. My ability is affection. It’s a very romantic power that forces others to feel affection for you.”
“Cut the chatter and get to the point.”

Whoosh!

As Shin Se-hee ignited a fire in her hand with an annoyed expression, the Demon waved his hands frantically.

“Whoa, whoa. With my Demon Eye’s ability, you’ll feel a strong affection for Jin Yuha. In other words, you’ll compete for him!”
“Competition?”
“Yes, jealousy! You saw the Hunters on the way here, right? That’s what you’ll become, consumed by jealousy. Oh, and just in case, if you kill me here, this curse can never be lifted. But if you spare me… Who knows? I might lift the curse. You’re humanity’s hope, right? You need to maintain Utopia, don’t you?”

The Demon smirked and taunted them.

Then, a chilling sound filled the air.

Thud.

The Demon’s head flew off, spraying blood everywhere. His eyes were wide open in disbelief.

“I don’t usually listen to Demons for long.”

Baek Seol-hee sheathed her sword and spoke.

Good, Instructor Baek Seol-hee had beheaded the Demon at the perfect moment.

Shin Se-hee calmed herself.

This was about deceiving Jin Yuha.

But it was also something that had to be done.

The purpose of this operation was twofold.

One was to instill a sense of crisis in people, making them believe that Utopia might disband and that the current situation was inevitable.

And the second,

The most important purpose.

It was to create a gap in Jin Yuha’s basic ethics,

The idea that one person should be with one person.

This gap needed to be created so that Jin Yuha could later consider the option of accepting all of them at once.

If not for this drastic method, Jin Yuha would undoubtedly choose one of them.

And that meant,

Grind.

That she might also be excluded from that choice.

‘Just thinking about that scene makes me want to kill. It’s hard to say if I wasn’t affected by that Demon’s ability either.’

That’s why she and the other party members had accepted the heavy choice of ‘deceiving Jin Yuha.’

“I’m sorry, Jin Yuha. I’ll apologize and accept my punishment later.”

Shin Se-hee sincerely apologized to Jin Yuha in her heart.

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.

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The Demon was dead, but the uneasiness remained.

The chat was buzzing with messages, faster than one could say it was on fire.

-What did that guy just say?

-About Jin Yuha… What? Utopia will fight among themselves?

-The Utopia members… Are they already cursed?

-Does that mean they’ll all be obsessed with Jin Yuha?

-If that happens… Will Utopia become like those Hunters we saw earlier? The curse will remain even if they die;;

-What is this…

People considered Utopia as their last hope and heroes.

If Utopia were to disband due to internal strife and turn against each other, it would be a disaster for the common people.

Shin Se-hee took a deep breath and spoke.

“I didn’t expect this, but it’s definitely not easy.”

“Yeah…”

“The curse… It’s real.”

“We’re going to feel affection for Jin Yuha, and we’ll compete for him, right?”

“No, that can’t happen.”

“Yes, if Utopia disbands due to internal strife, who will be the most heartbroken?”

The party members nodded in unison.

“We will never fight over Jin Yuha. If anyone becomes greedy, we’ll kick them out of the party.” Shin Se-hee spoke firmly with a stern voice.

“Instead, we’ll ask him to give us equal affection. And let’s find a way to lift this curse together.”

Shin Se-hee’s radical statement was broadcasted, and the wind-catchers she had placed in advance started their activities in the chat.

-What? Equal affection?

-So, you’re saying you’ll all date Jin Yuha?

-Huh… Is that possible?

-Hey, can’t you see what’s happening? They’re cursed to fight over Jin Yuha, so they’re making a bold move to be with him together.

-Huh…?

-What about Jin Yuha?

-Crazy! This is a scoop!

-F*ck, is that even possible????

Then,

Thud. Thud.

Jin Yuha, who had arrived late, walked towards them. Shin Se-hee swallowed nervously.

She felt guilty for deceiving Jin Yuha, and it pricked her conscience.

“Jin Yuha, I’m sorry.”
“…”

Jin Yuha seemed taken aback by the sudden situation.

He looked lost for words, as if he hadn’t expected this development.

“We can’t let our feelings destroy the party, right? Just continue to treat me as you always have.”

That’s right.

The party members never intended to confess their feelings for Jin Yuha, using the curse as an excuse.

That would be a cowardly act, covering their true feelings with lies.

This was just a foundation to gain public acceptance for this unique relationship and break Jin Yuha’s ethics.

However.

Jin Yuha, who had hesitated for a moment, spoke words that far exceeded Shin Se-hee’s imagination.

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I arrived late and couldn’t help but stop in surprise.

‘Are they not affected by the status ailment?’

It didn’t take long to understand the situation.

If they were affected, their eyes would show a strange heart-shaped light, but there was none.

The subsequent events unfolded strangely.

‘Not each other, but me…?’

The object of their affection was me.

That was okay.

‘But why are they saying this?’

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

Even Instructor Baek Seol-hee?

-We won’t fight over you. Instead, we ask for equal affection.

‘Huh?’

A thought suddenly struck me.

The pieces of the puzzle in my mind started to fit together.

The party members weren’t affected by the status ailment.

The drone camera was broadcasting, as evidenced by its hovering presence.

Shin Se-hee was pretending to be cursed, declaring that all party members would receive equal affection from me.

If my guess was correct,

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply.

‘…Is this my fault?’

I became aware of the party members’ feelings for me.

To be honest, I think I already knew it.

I had just been ignoring it, pretending it was just a game.

Perhaps I hadn’t fully escaped the game’s influence.

In Velvet’s, I was just a ‘patron’ who supported them from behind, provided items, and watched from afar.

In other words, I wasn’t directly involved with them in the game.

But now, I’m no longer a patron watching from a distance,

I’m a member who breathes and interacts with them in the same space.

‘Haha… I’m such a piece of trash.’

Thinking about it, I was indeed trash.

Although the world of Velvets was different from the modern world I lived in,

The concept of morality was similar, except for gender.

In other words, having a relationship with multiple people simultaneously was considered unclean and vulgar.

That’s why they set up this ridiculous plan,

A plan where people wouldn’t find it strange for me to be in a relationship with all the party members.

And they indirectly sent me a message,

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

‘…Because I didn’t make a choice beforehand.’

I was aware of their affection,

But I cowardly pretended to be a patron and didn’t choose anyone.

And that was still the case.

I was so greedy that I couldn’t choose just one of them.

I was thinking of being with all of them.

Yes.

First, an apology.

“Guys, I’m sorry.”

I felt everyone’s gaze on me.

I wanted all of us to be happy, without anyone being unhappy.

In front of this grand yet simple wish,

I couldn’t help but nod seriously.

“I don’t know if I can do it, but I’ll take responsibility. I’ll make you all happy.”