Chapter 8
Meanwhile, the three members of the 'Sky-Cleaving Sword' who had expelled Rent—
They were celebrating their victory, opening a bottle of expensive wine they normally wouldn't order and getting thoroughly carried away.
"Still, did you see the look on his face? Pathetic."
"How pitiful~ I never want to end up like that~."
"Honestly, what a relief."
The three laughed merrily together.
Then Guy directed a malicious question at Misa.
"But are you really okay with this? He was your old crush, wasn't he?"
"Oh, stop it. I only staked my claim on him because his Skill was rare. And he turned out to be a total disappointment."
Misa grimaced as if looking at filth.
"That's cold."
"That's so mean~."
None of the three showed any remorse.
They felt not the slightest guilt.
It was true that Misa and Rent had promised each other a future.
But it had been nothing more than a calculated move.
Rent, Guy, and Misa had all grown up in the same rural village.
When they became adventurers, Misa had actually found Guy more to her liking.
Rent's plain looks and timid personality were not to her taste.
The reason she'd pursued Rent was the S-rank Unique Gift he'd received at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
She'd simply latched onto its potential.
She'd kept him around as one of her convenient options.
Naturally, she had no romantic feelings for him whatsoever.
They'd never even kissed, let alone embraced.
Using every trick in the book, she'd kept the innocent Rent wrapped around her finger, making him fall for her while never letting things go too far, just to keep him on standby.
Pure-hearted Rent had been completely deceived.
He thought Misa loved him—and once he was no longer useful, she threw him away.
"I never had the slightest romantic interest in him. The only person I love is you, Guy."
"Now that's what I like to hear."
Guy gently drew Misa close by the shoulder.
Misa's feelings for Guy were no different—nothing but calculation, since she thought he was on the verge of becoming an A-rank adventurer.
But Guy thought of himself as a hero and believed it only natural that women would fall for him, so he never noticed.
"I only love you too, Guy~."
"Is that so, is that so?"
Guy basked in their adoration, completely carried away.
He put an arm around El's shoulder too, as she fawned over him from the other side.
Having kicked out his annoying childhood friend and with a woman on each arm, Guy was on cloud nine――.
Then, in the middle of their lively celebration, the three felt something strange at the same time.
Their bodies suddenly felt heavy.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong, Guy?"
"Hm? Oh, I guess the fatigue's catching up with me."
"Oh, me too~."
"Yeah, me too."
The real reason was that Rent had just activated 【Forced Collection】, but the three had no idea and assumed it was fatigue.
A cautious adventurer would have realized that the strange sensation was the malaise caused by a sudden drop in mana.
And would have checked their status with their Adventurer Tags, just to be safe.
But they didn't do that either.
Whether it was because they lacked caution, were drunk, or were too caught up in the joy of kicking Rent out—
"Shall we call it a night?"
"Yeah."
"Yes~."
Now that the nuisance was gone, the three had planned to spend an enjoyable evening together.
But their sudden discomfort put a damper on that.
The three decided to head back to their rooms early.
It wasn't until the next day that they realized what had happened to them――.