I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

When my face was suddenly shown in close-up, a woman’s scream erupted.

– “Eek! Yikeee!!?”

Next, her phone flew into the air.

– “M-my! My! I-it’s on installment!”

Thud.

On the screen, I effortlessly snatched Lee Yoo-ri’s phone mid-air.

It was only then that I realized what was going on.

‘Ah, it’s Ichika’s ability.’

The ability to turn memories into video.
Hadn’t she used it once before during the academy entrance ceremony to capture that demon who had sneaked in?

This time, she had visualized memories from Lee Yoo-ri’s perspective.

‘…No matter how slow time flows in dreams, she made this in just one day?’

I glanced at Ichika out of the corner of my eye.

Until now, I hadn’t noticed, but her face was deeply marked with exhaustion.
Dark circles, almost like spilled ink, were smeared under her eyes, and her usual indifferent gaze was replaced with faint cloudiness.

‘She’s been pushing herself too hard…’

Without battle, she has no means to constantly replenish her magic. She must have used that magic to slow down time.
I turned my attention back to the screen.

Meeting Lee Yoo-ri to fill in for the missing dealer spot, the two of us awkwardly speaking formally to each other.

Looking back now, it felt so unnatural.
At the time, I thought I had approached the conversation smoothly, but…

The screen showed my restlessness, trembling legs, and wavering pupils filled with anxiety.

‘Well, it was just a week since I’d been tranmigrated…’

At that time, I must have been quite tense at the reality of having to personally take down monsters.
The screen showed my slightly trembling hand holding the sword and the cold sweat running down my back.
Yet it also captured my efforts to hide all of that.

After that, the less important scenes were appropriately omitted, leaving only the moments that told our story, finely edited like a professionally directed film.

The moment I sensed the snakes, Lee Yoo-ri and her friends’ shocked reactions.

Then, the screen shifted to Lee Yoo-ri eating a convenience store meal alone. When I suddenly appeared, she choked, pounding her chest.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I smirked.

Even wearing armor, she was pounding her chest like that.
Even now, it looked so silly.

“You… idiot…”

Beside me, Lee Yoo-ri groaned, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment at her past self.
The tips of her ears were flushed bright red.

Snap—

On the screen, the plastic bag Lee Yoo-ri had been holding was snatched away by my hand.

– “I can’t eat this much. I think Yuna packed extra because I’m a guy.”
– “Still, it must’ve been hard for you today… you should replenish your strength…”
– “But I’m a guy. I need to watch my figure.”

.
.
.

Following that were scenes of me fighting in battle, Lee Yoo-ri narrowly escaping death after mistakenly stepping into danger and being surrounded by goblins.

– “Tch… If I had gone to the academy with Jin Yuha, we might’ve become close friends.”
– “Then just go to the academy with me, Soup.”

I appeared with a playful smile on my face.

Low murmurs of admiration flowed from the party members at that scene.

“Hmmm…”

How should I put it?
Perhaps it was Lee Yoo-ri’s memory embellishing things.

The screen made it seem as though I had heroically appeared out of nowhere to save her.
The portrayal looked radiant, almost like I was surrounded by a halo.
In reality, I couldn’t have been that impressive.
It must have been the emotions etched into Lee Yoo-ri’s heart at that moment that influenced the video.

‘This is so embarrassing…’

Really, I just took down a few goblins, and it made me look like some grand savior.
Nowadays, I could waltz into a place like that with my limbs tied and still take everything down.

The documentary-style video that the party members had prepared followed this pattern.

The tutorial boss battle.
The group dinner.
The interpersonal combat class.
The strategy and tactics class.
Shin Soo-yeon’s arrival.
The Utopia Party’s inauguration.
The encounter with the Darkness Guild in the Thorny Grasslands.
The showdown with Ryu Jin-ju at the Hunter Management Bureau.
The bloody fight against demons during the midterm evaluation.
The Lee Yoo-ri family kidnapping incident during the vacation.
The first battle against a demon.
The swimsuit festival.
The battle against the Lust Apostle in Jukai Forest.
The monster extermination mission in America.
The journey with my mentor.
The fight against the Fire Dragon in the Winter Palace.
The library quest.
The duel with Shin Do-hwa in China.
The training in the Sword Emperor’s Mountain.
The first clearing of the Demon Realm Gate.
Each party member’s personal stories.
The second clearing of the Demon Realm Gate.
And finally, the third clearing of the Demon Realm Gate.

The events unfolded in chronological order.
Even though trivial moments were omitted and condensed, there were still so many things.

I caught a glimpse of myself entering the academy alongside Lee Yoo-ri from her perspective.

Then came the scene where Shin Se-hee, who initially seemed impossible to befriend, eventually pleaded as if surrendering, leading to her being appointed as the operator.

Kang Do-hee, displeased with me as a male quota, initially tried to maintain her distance. However, I persistently closed that gap. The process of her cold demeanor gradually softening was captured perfectly.

Through my mentor’s eyes, I was seen swinging a sword with poor skill.
Still, even that seemed endearing to my mentor. The gaze on screen said it all.

The scene moved to senior Ga-eul guiding me through real-world gate training and teaching me how to use magic stones.
Even then, I was just as clumsy as ever.

In Sophia’s memory during the midterm evaluation, I appeared living in a cave, casually taking a bath after being kidnapped.
That moment must have been special to her.

Through Ichika’s perspective, the moment I saved her from dying due to a demon’s curse was shown.
The part where she mistook me for an incubus and fought me was a little amusing, though.

In Alice’s memory, I was rescuing her from despair when she was captured by a demon.

As each person’s perspective was added, the process of how the complete Utopia came to be was laid out.

Honestly, it sent chills down my spine.

‘So this is how the party members view me…’

The Jin Yuha in the video was nothing less than a hero of this world.

Always striving, always at the forefront, utterly reliable, and never backing down in the face of danger.

But,

At the same time, the hero always looked precarious.

Teetering on the edge of life and death every day,
diving in as if he had multiple lives to spare.

“Jin Yuha!!!!!!”

Each time, the party members’ voices burst out with worry and concern.

‘So this is how they were looking at me.’

A faint ache bloomed in my chest.

The moments when Lee Yoo-ri shouted my name, shield in hand, stepping in front of me.
Shin Se-hee anxiously biting her nails as she waited alone for news of my return.
Kang Do-hee sighing deeply as she looked at the broken training equipment.
Senior Ga-eul’s sympathetic gaze as she watched me practice swordsmanship.
Sophia clasping my hands in prayer as she treated my wounds.
Ichika keeping her eyes on me even during moments of white-hot chaos in battle.
Alice swinging her sword until her hands bled, trying to match my skill.
My mentor blaming herself for teaching me forbidden techniques.

Everything that no one ever said to me was vividly captured in the video.

Unconsciously, I raised my hand to press against my chest.

Thump—thump—

I could feel the weight of my heartbeat, far from light.

To make this video, everyone had laid bare their embarrassing memories without hesitation, staying up all night to create it.
Their devotion left me overwhelmed.

They revealed their true selves—
all for the sake of comforting me, just me.

Even though this misunderstanding was born from a moment of absent-minded words,
their sincerity was powerfully conveyed.

‘…It was so obvious. How did I only realize it so late? Or maybe, I still haven’t fully understood.’

How much the party members thought about me.
How deeply they cared for me.
I had no sense of the weight of it all.

‘I… am surrounded by such precious people.’

Even now, the party members’ attention wasn’t on the video but on me.

Lee Yoo-ri’s anxious gaze,
Shin Se-hee’s worried eyes,
Kang Do-hee’s feigned indifference,
Senior Ga-eul’s gentle touch,
Sophia’s affectionate look,
Ichika’s silent yet unwavering devotion,
Alice’s endless faith.

All their emotions sank deeply into my chest.

Throb.

Before I knew it, my eyes reddened.
I bit my lip, but my throat tightened regardless.

How could I possibly put these feelings into words?
How could I convey this gratitude?

I had no idea how to respond.

These people were far too good for me.

As I wept for what felt like an eternity, the words I finally managed to utter were:

“Ah… Couldn’t you have warned me about something like this in advance…? I have no idea how I’m supposed to react to this…”

It was such an uncool line.