CHAPTER 347: 346

-[Authentication confirmed as a member of Utopia. Welcome, Cadet Jin Yuha.] *

As I approached the entrance, an automatic facial recognition program activated. An emotionless voice greeted me.

"Oh, right. There’s an authentication process. Master, I’m sorry, but could you wait here for a moment? It seems I’ll need to issue you an access card to bring you inside."

"Alright."

Leaving my teacher outside, I entered the building first. Soon, I saw faces I recognized from the game.

Wow, it’s so nice to see them in real life.

But their reactions were... strange.

"W-what? C-could it really be J-J-Jin Yuha!?"

"Unbelievable!?"

"J-Jin Yuha! It’s really Jin Yuha!!"

"Hey, stop talking nonsense—Hiiiiii!!!"

"Kyaaahhhhh!!!"

"I’d heard he was handsome, but oh my... wow... amazing..."

"Everyone! Get out here! Quick!!!"

The commotion escalated instantly.

A crowd gathered, staring at me as if I were some rare, mystical creature.

’...What is this?’

It felt like I was an idol visiting a military base. The pressure was overwhelming. Among the crowd, I even spotted a familiar face.

’Hey, why are you screaming over there?’

It was Hwarang, a special admission student I had mentored alongside Alice.

"Hwarang."

When I called her name, the room fell silent. All eyes turned toward Hwarang and me.

-Who’s she, that Jin Yuha is talking to her?

-Apparently, a new recruit.

-What? Jin Yuha is talking to some rookie?

-Grr... so jealous!

-Should I kill her? No, calm down.

I could hear murmured gossip.

Ugh, this is so uncomfortable.

It feels incredibly weird to be the one being observed when I was always the one doing the observing before.

Oh, what? M-Me?"

Surprised, Hwarang, who had been dazed for a moment, pointed at herself with her finger.

Yes, you.

I nodded my head.

"...It’s been a while. By the way, is Lee Min-young inside?"

"Ah, y-yes! She’s probably upstairs!"

"Alright, thanks..."

"Huff! Jin Yuha just thanked me and spoke to me...!"

Seriously, why are you acting like this when we’ve already eaten meals together before?

Holding my spinning head, feeling utterly drained, I headed upstairs.

.

.

.

"Hah... Jin Yuha. You might as well have summoned me to you instead."

"Sorry, I didn’t expect things to turn out like this either."

At Utopia’s second branch, on the top floor, a woman with short, neatly trimmed orange hair rubbed her tired eyes.

Lee Min-young.

Once, she had been an idealistic intern at Utopia, passionately preaching justice. Now, she was somehow caught up in Shin Se-hee’s web. She had become the effective leader of the sub-party, with Shin Se-hee overseeing everything.

"Is this place always like this?"

"...Well, when you gather only people of the same gender and make them repeat daily training, meals, and missions, the... atmosphere is inevitable."

Although I hadn’t specified, Lee Min-young understood my question perfectly and answered.

Ah. That makes sense.

As I’ve mentioned before, Velvet School Life is a bishoujo game. Naturally, there weren’t any standout or particularly useful male characters worth recommending for the sub-party.

’So, the outcome of only taking in women is... this, huh.’

It really wasn’t strange that the dynamic resembled a gender-reversed military.

"Hmm, maybe I should recommend a few male party members—" "Please don’t. That would literally cause a massive fight."

Before I could finish my thought, Lee Min-young cut me off with a stern expression.

"Anyway, what brings you here today?"

"Oh, I came to pull someone from the sub-party."

Her face froze.

Then, it twisted as if she had seen something revolting.

"...Trash."

"What?"

"No, I mean... a trashy bastard, perhaps."

"...Using polite speech doesn’t make that any better, Lee Min-young."

She let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Is eight party members not enough for you?"

"...What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Sigh, weren’t you supposedly cursed by the Demonic Minions? Is that just smoke and mirrors? Do you think taking one more will be enough? Why not take two to round it out to ten? Or twelve? That way, you can have twenty members in total. How many kids do you plan to have? One per member? You’d practically create a whole guild of offspring." (LOL ha ha ha)

Lee Min-young suddenly exploded with rapid-fire words, clearly annoyed. Her unexpectedly

antagonistic response caught me off guard, and then I realized— Ah.

I hadn’t explained, had I?

That I wasn’t taking them to Utopia, but for the Demon Slayer Squad instead?

.

.

.

"I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Just kill me. I haven’t been sleeping well lately, and my mind has been scattered."

Finally understanding the situation, Lee Min-young banged her head on the desk and apologized.

"...No, it’s fine. It happens."

I awkwardly accepted her apology, noticing that she looked like a sleep-deprived graduate student. Her stress and exhaustion were apparent.

"You seem really tired. Are you okay?"

"...It’s just, there are so many people to manage."

Lee Min-young covered her face with both hands, looking ashamed.

"Hmm, is it a lack of support?"

"No, no. We have enough support. It’s just that as we expand, we need more management positions. The problem is finding someone qualified. They’d have to meet Cheohwa’s standards, which are ridiculously strict..." "Ah..."

This must be the curse of being a middle manager.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do here.

There weren’t any characters who came to mind as being both operationally skilled and trustworthy. Plus, I’d left all sub-party operations to Shin Se-hee. Suddenly stepping in now wouldn’t sit well. And if I recommended someone who failed, it would only lead to accusations of favoritism.

"Well, do your best. I’ll send over some elixirs. At least take those."

That was about all I could offer.

"...Thank you. Truly. Sob."

"Anyway, could you call Fen Miao for me? Oh, and also issue an external visitor pass." "Fen Miao? Are you taking her with you? I heard from a mission report earlier that she discovered the targets, so she should return today."

Lee Min-young added in a concerned tone.

"By the way, Jin Yuha, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Fen Miao is..."

"I know. She’s highly skilled but lacks social skills, right? Unique and potentially dangerous as well."

"...How did you know?"

"I get detailed reports on most students from Shin Se-hee."

I clarified to avoid another misunderstanding. Otherwise, I’d probably be accused of being a creep who memorized all the female students’ details.

"Oh... I see. Good thing you already know."

Lee Min-young nodded.

It was then—

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!

A red alarm flashed on the round device on Lee Min-young’s desk, emitting a shrill noise.

"Wait a second, Lee Min-young. This... isn’t a distress signal, is it?"

"Y-Yes, it is. But..."

Lee Min-young looked up with a stunned expression.

"This mission... it’s the one Fen Miao was dispatched for today..."

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