In the infamous bonsai game, [Velvet School Life!], there is a system called ‘Chemistry’ between the characters.

Some characters, when grouped together, have a synergistic effect where ‘1+1’ becomes ‘3’ or ‘4’, with their strengths complementing each other. On the other hand, some characters just don’t get along, and when grouped together, the result is disastrous, with ‘1+1’ becoming ‘1’ or even ‘0’.

It’s not just about picking the strongest characters. Players need to pull a variety of characters and find the right combinations.

It was a blatant attempt by the developers to sell as many characters as possible.

Among these characters, the chemistry between ‘Shin Se-hee’ and ‘Lee Yoo-ri’ is quite interesting.

On the surface, the two are starkly different.

One is a wealthy hunter from a prestigious family, with impressive achievements, a cunning personality, and a high rating of four stars.

The other is from a dirt-poor background, with nothing but debt, a naive personality, and a three-star character whose angry face is quite adorable.

Based on this surface information, it would seem that Shin Se-hee would have the upper hand and be able to manipulate Lee Yoo-ri at will…

‘But that’s not quite how it works.’

I curled my lips at the scene before me.

“Cheonhwa, I’m sorry for suddenly joining your meal.”
“……It’s fine.”

Shin Se-hee nodded stiffly, her face frozen.

Her voice was meek, and her lips were stiff. She seemed extremely nervous.

“But I didn’t know Cheonhwa would eat this kind of food.”
“……Jin Yuha said he liked it.”

We had come to a typical Korean restaurant with private rooms, probably because Kang Do-hee had been disturbed during meals before.

Munch, munch…

Lee Yoo-ri picked up some side dishes with her chopsticks and said,

“I’ve heard a lot about Cheonhwa.”

“What did you hear…?”

“I heard that Jin Yuha has been relying on Cheonhwa a lot.”
“Yes… You’ve also benefited from Jin Yuha’s help. The Camella Forest Gate…”

Hiss!

Shin Se-hee covered her mouth, flustered.

Lee Yoo-ri raised an eyebrow.

“Benefited? That’s a weird way to say it. How did you know about me clearing the Camella Forest Gate? Did Jin Yuha tell you?”

Lee Yoo-ri turned to me.

“No? I didn’t say anything.”
“Then it’s really weird. How else would you know?”
“Well, it’s been quite a hot topic lately, hasn’t it? Exploring the unknown, preventing the gate explosion… It’s been less than two weeks since then, and the final settlement hasn’t even come in yet.”

“……That’s true. It hasn’t been long since then, and the remaining settlement money hasn’t come in yet.”
“……”

“Have you, by any chance, done a background check on me?”

Lee Yoo-ri glared at her suspiciously. Shin Se-hee lowered her head, avoiding eye contact.

Suddenly, Lee Yoo-ri smiled slyly.

“Hey, no way. Cheonhwa wouldn’t do something like that. She’s the idol of all hunters. There’s no way she’d do something so sneaky.”

Lee Yoo-ri, like a skilled chef, was expertly grilling Cheonhwa.

Shin Se-hee’s smile and composure were crumbling in real-time.

Today, instead of teasing Kang Do-hee, I got to witness Shin Se-hee squirming and struggling.

‘This is better than any side dish.’

Munch, munch.

I continued eating while enjoying the show.

In the game, [Velvet School Life!], Lee Yoo-ri was known as Shin Se-hee’s personal manager. In the game, Shin Se-hee would avoid Lee Yoo-ri whenever she appeared, and in PVP, the chance of magic failure increased drastically when facing her.

So, I wondered if it would be the same in reality, and I brought her along.

But it turned out to be even worse than in the game.

Shin Se-hee was completely at Lee Yoo-ri’s mercy, like a frog in front of a snake.

‘But why is this happening?’

Honestly, I had no idea.

It was just the way it was in the game.

.

.

.

Shin Se-hee was flustered.

‘What is this person? My gaze keeps being drawn to her…’

There were things she needed to do, but her attention kept drifting towards a certain woman.

A seemingly ordinary girl that Jin Yuha had brought to the lunch.

Tank. Lee Yoo-ri.

She was definitely an ordinary person.

When investigating Jin Yuha, her name had come up.

Just before coming to the Academy, Jin Yuha had formed a party with her and cleared the E-grade gate, Camella’s Forest.

Of course, they had explored the unknown, defeated the boss monster, and prevented the gate explosion, which was a decent achievement…

But it wasn’t that difficult since Jin Yuha was in the party.

In other words, she was a solid person, but in Shin Se-hee’s eyes, she fell far short.

That was Shin Se-hee’s objective assessment of Lee Yoo-ri.

But…

‘……I’m uncomfortable.’

It felt like her gaze was forcing her to act, drawing her attention.

Shin Se-hee had never been controlled by anyone in her life, and this unfamiliar situation was extremely uncomfortable.

Her head was in a mess.

Shin Se-hee was losing her smile and her composure.

Normally, she would never make such a mistake, but one blunder after another was slipping out of her mouth.

“Yes… You’ve also benefited from Jin Yuha’s help. The Camella Forest Gate…”

Oops, another mistake.

She had accidentally revealed that she had done a background check. Normally, she wouldn’t have made such a ridiculous mistake.

The more she tried to fix it, the more tangled it became.

It felt like she was being bewitched by something.

‘What… What’s wrong with me…?’

Shin Se-hee glanced at Jin Yuha and then quickly turned to Lee Yoo-ri.

He was stuffing plain rice into his mouth as if he found the whole situation amusing.

‘……Is he treating me like a side dish or something!?’

As if he had expected this, his shameless face made her blood boil.

‘So, from today onwards, I’ll start working on Do-hee in earnest…’

Just as she was trying to distract herself by thinking about Kang Do-hee.

” Jin Yuha, I have a question. I heard you made a deal with Cheonhwa. What was the deal about?”
“……A necklace.”

Hiss!

‘Ah, damn it! Why am I doing this!!’

Shin Se-hee quickly shook her head at Jin Yuha.

‘You can’t talk about that!!!’

Jin Yuha smirked and opened his mouth to Lee Yoo-ri.

“Well, that…”
“What?”
“Hmm…”

He glanced at her as if testing the waters, his expression nonchalant.

She had completely lost the initiative, which she should have been holding.

Thump, thump, thump…

Thump, thump, thump…

His lips drew her gaze, and her heart raced. He smirked and let out a soft laugh.

“I think it’s a bit inappropriate to reveal personal information about Shin Se-hee as part of the deal.”

Haa…

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

“Okay, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Lee Yoo-ri didn’t seem too concerned about the question either, and she let it go.

“Try this, it’s delicious.”
“Okay!”

As the two of them chatted away, Shin Se-hee felt like she had become the third wheel.

Although she had just met Lee Yoo-ri today, she knew.

Lee Yoo-ri.

This woman was incredibly uncomfortable. Only Shin Se-hee felt uncomfortable, though.

In other words, she was her arch-nemesis.

Shin Se-hee felt humiliated, as if she were naked, and could only continue eating with her head down.

.

.

.

Ah, I should have brought Soup along sooner. I should have brought her from the beginning.

After lunch, Lee Yoo-ri left as she had to go to a training ground a little further away.

“See you, Soup.”
“Yeah. I’ll come here again tomorrow!”

I waved goodbye to Lee Yoo-ri as she walked away.

As soon as she was out of sight, Shin Se-hee, who had been standing stiffly beside me, spoke in a subdued voice.

“That woman… What is she?”
“Soup.”
“……Soup?”
“Yeah, she’s my reliable tank.”
“She’s suspicious. Jin Yuha. It’s better to stay away from that woman.”

Shin Se-hee, with a stiff face, said to me.

Who was she to talk about suspicion? It was ridiculous.

“Sorry, but you’re the suspicious one here.”
“So, you’re going to keep bringing her to eat with us every day…?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan.”
“……”

Shin Se-hee bit her lip.

She glared at me for a while before finally speaking.

“I won’t eat with her…”
“I’m going to bring her, though?”
“Ugh…!!! Just the two of you, enjoy your meal together!!! I don’t want to be a third wheel!”

Her face turned bright red as she shouted at me.

Ah.

She’s backing out now.

This was a bit disappointing.

Is Soup that scary? Today was the first day, so she was being polite and didn’t say much.

Shin Se-hee was the one who kept talking and dug her own grave.

Honestly, it was cute and reassuring, but why was she so intimidated by her?

‘Is Soup not a leash but… a super-effective disciplinary stick?’

I tilted my head, puzzled.

The next morning.

Ring─♪

Kang Do-hee frowned at the sound of her phone ringing in her sleep.

“……Hmm.”

Kang Do-hee fumbled for her phone and brought it close to her face.

━━━━━━━━━━

[Designation Request.] – A-grade Hunter Kang Do-hee

Request Type – Investigation Request.

Investigation Target – Velvet Hunter Academy. Male quota student Jin Yuha.

Purpose of Investigation – To confirm the possibility of the target being a demon.

Reward for Completing the Request – 5 million won.

Request Period – Until the end of basic training. Related materials will be delivered in a timely manner.

※ As this is a top-secret matter, direct contact with the target is strictly prohibited.

━━━━━━━━━━

Kang Do-hee frowned as she skimmed through the attached documents.

“What the hell is this nonsense? That quota student… a demon…?”