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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Affection Detector (1)
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CRRRRRUUUUNCH—!!!
—KEEEAAARRRGGHH!!!
—GUWEEAAARRRGGHH!!!
—KYAAAHHHH!!!
The black spear spun at high speed.
The death throes of the monsters, ground to dust, echoed resonantly.
It was a magnificent spectacle.
That massive black spear was drawn towards Lee Yuri.
The scene of the monsters she had gathered being pulverized all at once truly created an overwhelming display.
After annihilating all the monsters.
The black spear confronted Lee Yuri's shield.
Even after grinding hundreds of monsters, it seemed to retain its destructive power, as Lee Yuri's feet, holding back the black spear, were pushed back steadily.
GRRRRRIIIIIND—!!
"Ughhhhhh…"
Lee Yuri gritted her teeth and leaned forward, as if throwing her body into it, to endure.
"HUUUUUUUUHHH!!!!"
Lee Yuri unleashed her mana, drawn from her entire body.
Finally.
The black spear lost its momentum and stopped in mid-air.
Before the halted black spear stood a girl, shield in hand.
It was truly like witnessing a mythical scene of a human stopping a dragon's claw.
FWWOOSH—!!!
The halted black spear dissolved, its form crumbling, turning into a pool of blood that dissipated into the air.
"Haaaaaaah…"
Thud.
Only then did Lee Yuri let out a long breath and sink to the ground.
Then, with a weary expression, she turned her head.
There, held by Kang Dohee's hand, Jin Yuha was slowly descending.
"Jin Yuha."
She smiled brightly and spoke.
"I'm quitting as vice-captain."
And Jin Yuha, too, replied with a wide smile.
"Nope, can't do that."
Of course, it was a refusal.
* * *
"...So, this girl is our Utopia's special recruit?"
"...Another, another girl."
"It's rare for men to be skilled enough to join our party in the first place. Even if they are, they're usually supporters or healers. Look at other top-tier parties. Jin Yuha is just special."
"Ah, I know... but... does she really have to be this pretty every single time...?"
"Agreed. But Sophia, junior. Is that really something you should be saying?"
"Hmm, if what I just heard is true. Certainly... this woman's abilities suit my and Nulung's attack style more than other specialists."
"By the way, this girl isn't even a Velvet Academy student, can she really join our party?"
Ichika, lying down, slowly opened her eyes to the murmuring voices around her.
Stare—
Ichika quietly blinked her eyes at the four pairs of eyes staring down at her, surrounding her.
"...Who?"
"Ah, we're the Hunters who came for your request."
Lee Yuri was the one who replied on behalf of the group.
"...Hmm, the insomnia request?"
Ichika replied in a languid voice.
"Yes, that's right. We're the Utopia party from Velvet Hunter Academy, here for the insomnia request."
"Velvet Hunter Academy...? Korea...?"
Perhaps surprised that it was Velvet Hunter Academy who came for her request, a flicker of surprise briefly entered Ichika's eyes.
"Yes, Ms. Ichika's request, which she submitted to the Japan Hunter Management Headquarters, somehow found its way to our Velvet Hunter Academy. That's why we ended up taking the request."
At Lee Yuri's explanation, Ichika gave a slight nod towards the party members.
It seemed to be an expression of gratitude.
"...But, where's my benefactor?"
Having grasped the situation, Ichika turned her gaze, searching for Jin Yuha.
Since he was the one who had first found and saved her here, this was only natural.
Lee Yuri then turned her head and looked to one side.
"Hmm, it looks like he went to look for something over there..."
A little distance away, Jin Yuha was alone, diligently searching through the corpse of a dead monster.
It was probably that artifact said to boost stats.
The party members offered to help with the search, but Jin Yuha firmly refused, saying he had to find it himself.
'...Well, there must be a reason.'
He probably wasn't trying to monopolize the reward.
No, even if Jin Yuha said he would monopolize this dungeon's reward, Lee Yuri would gladly hand it over.
After all, Jin Yuha had done most of the fighting here.
She and the other party members had merely 'added a spoon' at the end, so to speak.
However, considering his nature, always anxious about not being able to provide for others, it was hard to imagine him drawing a line and claiming this reward was solely his.
So, for now, successfully completing the task Jin Yuha specifically requested was the priority.
Lee Yuri cleared her throat. And then looked at the woman lying before her.
A blue-haired girl with an expressionless face, whose thoughts were impossible to discern.
'I have to persuade this girl to join our party...'
Generally, an invitation to Utopia is like a golden rope for Hunters who haven't yet found an affiliation; refusing it would be foolish.
But, would that really work on this girl?
Even though this was their first meeting.
Just looking at the aura she exuded, her peculiar speech, and her indifferent attitude towards everything, it was easy to predict it wouldn't be simple.
"Ms. Ichika."
When Lee Yuri called her name in a slightly stern tone, Ichika, who had been blankly staring at Jin Yuha, turned her head.
"We understand that our sudden offer might come as a surprise to you, Ms. Ichika."
"...Offer?"
Ichika tilted her head.
"Yes, to be direct. It's an invitation to join. Our Utopia needs your abilities. If you don't have an affiliation yet, would you like to join our party?"
Lee Yuri was about to explain the salary, benefits, Utopia's standing, and its future prospects upon joining.
However, Ichika spoke first, cutting her off.
"Is my benefactor there, perhaps?"
Ichika pointed at Jin Yuha with her finger and asked.
"Huh? Th-that's obvious, isn't it? He's our party leader."
Lee Yuri nodded, slightly flustered.
"Then it's fine."
It was such a straightforward acceptance that all her worries about how to recruit her felt awkward.
"!"
At her decisive answer, Lee Yuri's face brightened considerably.
It would have been absolutely perfect, if not for her last words appended at the end.
"Anyway, I've become a body that can't live without my benefactor now. Yeah. My hands are itching even now."
"Wh-what do you mean by that...?"
"C-can't live...!? Hands itching...?"
"...Huh? M-Ms. Ichika? Y-you can't live without Jin Yuha, what exactly do you mean by that...?"
Lee Yuri and the party members asked again, flustered, but...
"Found it—!!!"
It was completely drowned out by Jin Yuha's sudden shout.
* * *
'Phew—I was worried what I'd do if this wasn't here...'
I had been digging through Suzuki Satoru's corpse pile for a while.
Finally, I picked up the discovered ring and let out a sigh of relief.
Originally, it was an item automatically acquired the moment the boss was defeated, so I wondered if it wouldn't appear now that the game had become reality.
A silvery-white ring twisted into a streamlined double helix. The gem embedded in the center emitted a faint, transparent pink glow.
'Yes, I finally got it... The Affection Detector!'
An artifact that ranked as a Tier 1 item obtainable through quests, not microtransactions, in Velvetsra.
In fact, whether or not one obtained this in the first quest, 'Jukai Forest,' dramatically split the game's efficiency.
Because of this, it was one of the precious items that anyone who had played Velvetsra to a certain extent would definitely acquire.
Therefore, posts about not obtaining it in the first quest would be met with comments like:
—Newbie, I won't say anything harsh, but reset immediately and clear it again.
└ But, I got all S-rank character gacha and early item gacha, it was an unprecedentedly good pull...?
└ What's the point then, you wasted the Affection Detector LOL
└ Agreed LOL If you don't get this early on, it's better to just restart. Don't regret it later saying the game sucks, just restart.
Such comments would pop up like mushrooms after rain.
I recalled the item's description I had seen in the game.
[Ring of Affection and Obsession]
—A ring bestowed by the Demon, Incubus, upon his favored apostle.
Increases all stats by 3~5% depending on the 'favorability' of the person wearing it.
It was a simple description, but its implications were not.
A 3~5% stat increase might not seem particularly significant at first glance.
However, it's not an increase in a single specific stat, but *all* stats.
Furthermore, it's an artifact that boosts by percentage, not absolute value!
This means that in the late game, when stats break through their peak, the increase becomes ridiculously high!
However, this ring had a trap.
Depending on the chemistry between the character wearing it and other characters, buffs might or might not be received.
If Lee Yuri were to wear this, Shin Sehee, who has poor chemistry with her, would not receive the stat-boosting buff.
And if Kang Dohee, with her independent nature, were to obtain it, almost all characters wouldn't receive it, or would only get the minimum 3% increase.
'So, this ring absolutely has to go to someone like a capybara.'
Giving it to a character who was generally friendly with all party members and had smooth relationships was the best option.
'Hmm, so at first, I thought about giving it to Im Gaeul, who had the most unproblematic relationships with the party members...'
Not the benevolent and inclusive 'mom' character from the original game,
but what if I gave it to the *current* Im Gaeul?
'Hehehehe... Juniors, if you want to receive the stat-boosting buff, you'll have to get on my good side, won't you? Come on, obey me—? Quickly repeat after me! I respect Senior Im Gaeul!'
I briefly imagined Im Gaeul wearing this ring, then vigorously shook my head to clear the delusion.
'And since this is reality, not a game. Who knows what kind of discord this might cause.'
Mm-hmm.
As expected, it's best if I wear this myself.
Since I get along well with all the party members,
there wouldn't be any party members who don't receive the buff.
At that moment, Jin Yuha didn't know.
Just how much turmoil this decision would bring among the Utopia party members in the future.