These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy

“No no~ That’s not what I want at all. I don’t want you to serve me or obey me. I just want to be friends with you, Ethan~”

Lillian Ji let go of one hand and waved her index finger in front of my face, speaking in a cheerful tone.

“Sure. We’re friends now. And since we’re friends, how about giving me that photo back?”

Friends are supposed to help each other out—or wait, no, use each other? Whatever. Either way, asking for a tiny little photo shouldn’t be too much, right?

“Friends... are people who help each other... hmm, or use each other, right? So what benefit would I get from giving this photo to you, Ethan?”

So you were about to say “use” just now! Her definition of “friend” is exactly the same as mine! Who would’ve thought that someone as high-spec as Lillian Ji is just as friendless as I am? That’s honestly kind of sad. (lol)

No, wait—back to the point. Looks like she’s not going to hand over that photo unless I offer something she’s satisfied with.

But what do I even have that's worth anything...?

In my pocket, I’ve got a ¥50 and a ¥20 bill, a couple of coins for coffee, my laggy piece-of-junk smartphone that crashes when I open QQ, and a ¥10 coupon for the Peace Supermarket near my house...

None of this qualifies as bargaining material! This girl’s a literal rich and beautiful elite—this crap wouldn’t even register to her.

So in the end... I really do have to sell myself?

But still—

As I lay in Lillian Ji’s arms, I looked up toward the top of her head, the back of my head sinking into the soft cushion of her chest.

Whoa... soft. Didn’t realize her chest was actually kind of big... Ahem—no, I meant ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) her title.

No matter how many times I check, it’s still [Necrophiliac Killer]. Even ignoring the “necrophiliac” part, just “killer” is enough of a red flag for me to stay far, far away. Anyone whose title contains “狂” (as in “maniac”) clearly has an extreme obsession with killing.

Killing one person makes you a murderer. Killing ten makes you a serial killer. But a “killer maniac”...? How many has she killed? Dozens? Hundreds?

If she really is someone who kills without blinking, then of course she’d have a bizarre fetish like necrophilia. That’d explain her warped mind.

Should I agree to this or not...? Wait, no—this isn’t even a choice, is it?

That photo in Lillian Ji’s hand made her the absolute ruler of the situation.

Sure enough, seeing my silence, Lillian patted me on the head like a pet dog, then adopted the tone of a queen speaking down from on high.

“But~ if our relationship went a step further, it’s not like I wouldn’t consider giving this photo to you.”

A step further... She means boyfriend and girlfriend, right? So we’re back to that again. Why does she want me as her boyfriend in the first place?

“Why are you so set on making me your boyfriend? Are you just using me as a shield?”

That kind of setup would honestly make the most sense. Maybe she’s sick of all the confessions she keeps getting, so she just wants a fake boyfriend to shut people up. And I’m the ideal candidate—because I’m the guy who seems the least interested in her.

Or maybe... she’s just looking for a scapegoat. If her murders ever get exposed, she could dump the blame on me—a human shield, a fall guy, a disposable puppet.

Those are the only two possibilities my sad little brain can come up with.

But then—Lillian’s next words blew all my theories to hell.

She tilted her head and said, “Because I like you, of course~”

And her title turned pink again!

What the hell!? Can she seriously control her own emotions!? She just says she likes me and actually starts to feel it!?

That’s not even yandere—that’s full-on delusional stalker freak! (Lit.: 痴女)

Lillian tightened her arms around my neck, eyes sparkling as she said, “Because I want to hug you~”

The pink got even deeper!

I swear I could see little hearts in her eyes!

She rubbed her cheek against my head and purred, “I wanna do naughty things with you, Ethan~”

Damn it, she’s too cute! Something’s wrong with me!

“I wanna have your babies~”

GAHH!! I almost died from her kawaii beam! This is too dangerous!!

You beast! I’m being blackmailed here, and somehow I’m falling for you!? I’ve lost all faith in myself—and in this cute-is-justice world!!

No—don’t let her fool you, Ethan! She can control her feelings! This is just another act!

I need to expose her! If I can just grab some dirt on her, then I’ll have leverage too!

“So... what exactly is it that you like about me?”

Okay, I know it sounds pathetic coming from me, but I do understand how unlikeable I am. Hell, if I were a girl, I wouldn’t go near a guy like me either.

Wait—didn’t Lily Yang say that her charm spell got embedded in my brain? Could that be the reason Lillian’s gone nuts for me?

No, that shouldn’t be it. Lily said it only slightly improves people’s impression of me—it shouldn’t make girls fall in love. If it did, I’d be living like some harem anime protagonist right now instead of playing psychological death tag with the hottest lunatic in school.

I glanced sideways at Lillian, still completely baffled as to what she sees in me.

She noticed my gaze, smiled, and blushed adorably.

“I love everything about you~”

GHA—!!

That was a critical hit... If only she didn’t have that title. If she weren’t a delusional, mentally unstable killer... having a girlfriend this cute would make me the happiest guy alive...

If she weren’t a necrophiliac murderer...

Wait—necrophiliac...

Don’t tell me...

“You love everything about me?”

“Mmhm~ Everything.”

“Then... what part of me do you like the most? My mind?”

“Mm.” [Title turns green.]

“My body?”

“Mm!” [Title turns pink.]

“My personality?”

“Mm-mm...” [Back to green.]

“My corpse?”

“Mm-mm!” [Back to pink.]

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!

I tore myself out of Lillian’s embrace and rolled backwards across the ground to put some distance between us.

So it’s my dead body she’s in love with! Her title only turns pink because for that brief second, she imagines me as a corpse!!

What the hell!? To her, I’m just a dead body!? That’s way too terrifying!!

“Oops, guess I let that slip~ But Ethan, it looks like you already knew my preferences... How’d you figure it out?”

“You— You really are—!”

She admitted it! She didn’t say it outright, but that was basically confirmation!

So it’s true. Lillian Ji is a full-blown necrophiliac killer.

“That’s right, Ethan~ I love your body. I want your body. I want you to stay with me... forever. After you die, that is.”

My teeth started to chatter. Her murderous aura wrapped around me like a noose.

This isn’t yandere. Lillian is something worse.

If a yandere says, “If you won’t love me, I’ll kill you,” then Lillian says, “Only when you’re dead will I truly love you.”

One is unstable obsession. The other is straight-up madness.

She stepped toward me as I scooted back along the floor. Finally, she reached me and straddled my lap, cupping my cheeks with both hands.

“Of course, I could kill you any time I wanted, but... that would be too boring, don’t you think? Ehehe~ So let’s make a bet, Ethan. How about it?”

“What... kind of bet?”

Lillian smiled sweetly, tucked the photo into my shirt collar, and said:

“If you can survive my assassination attempts until the end of this week, I’ll give you the original photo and delete all the backups. Deal?”

“And if I don’t survive... well, I guess I’ll be dead.”

“This is actually a chance for you, you know? If I were to send this photo to your parents—or upload it online... what do you think would happen~?”

“......”

Do you even have to ask? That’d be a fate worse than death. The real issue is that Serena would get dragged into it too. I can’t let that happen. Even if it kills me—I won’t let that happen.

Ah... So this is how it is.

“So it’s death either way. Might as well roll the dice and fight. That’s what you mean, right?”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do when you’re cornered, Ethan~”

“...But this is kinda unfair, don’t you think?”

I’m the target here. I’m at a complete disadvantage. She can set traps, choose her assassination method—she holds all the cards.

“That’s why I said~ if you become my boyfriend, you can restrain me~”

“Ah...”

So that’s what this whole “boyfriend” thing was about. By officially being my “girlfriend,” she makes it harder to kill me without raising suspicion.

She deliberately increased her own difficulty. God, what a pervert.

Not that I should be surprised. She’s already a pervert.

Lillian draped her arms around my shoulders, gazing at me with puppy-dog eyes like some innocent, love-struck girl.

And damn it—she actually looked adorable, which pissed me off even more.

“Then~ from now on, we’ll be a couple locked in a love-hate relationship~ Will you be my boyfriend, Ethan~?”

“......I will. I’ll be your boyfriend, Lillian Ji!”

I practically shouted it—but Lillian looked overjoyed.

Her title above her head changed from green to blue.

Looks like she now considers me “hers.”

“Then from now on, call me Lillian, okay? Love you, Ethan~”

She kissed me on the cheek.

But there was nothing sweet about it—it felt more like she stamped a death warrant on my face.

And just like that... I became Lillian Ji’s boyfriend.

And the three-day death game began.