"..."
Shizuku and Kaori weren't the only ones rendered absolutely speechless; the entire class, especially Suzuki's former group, was at a complete loss. The reality of their situation had finally set in, and the prospect of returning to the surface felt impossibly grim.
Without Suzuki around, they lacked everything.
Money, high-quality food, logistical supplies, safe routes—everything had been flawlessly managed by Suzuki. With him gone, their standard of living had utterly collapsed into a chaotic mess. Naturally, the class directed all of their resulting rage and frustration directly at Hiyama.
"Tsk. If only you had dropped dead instead."
"What a useless piece of shit."
"Go carry all our luggage, you worthless trash."
The students relentlessly dumped their anxiety on Hiyama, kicking and shoving him around. Kouki watched it all happen, yet did absolutely nothing to intervene.
Then again, wasn't that standard for him? Even back in Japan, when Nagumo was being ruthlessly bullied right in front of him, Kouki had turned a blind eye. The "Hero's" focus was always on grander delusions: saving the human race, defeating the Demon Lord, and soaking up the glory!
When I achieve all of that...
Kouki stared at Shizuku and Kaori, his expression hardening with self-righteous determination.
I will prove to you that I am a better man than Suzuki ever was!
"..."
Shizuku and Kaori could only roll their eyes internally. They ignored his posturing and helped each other prepare for the expedition, knowing that the sooner this farce began, the sooner it would be over.
Meanwhile, Hiyama continued to suffer.
They say that living is often a far more painful punishment than death for those accruing bad karma. If Hiyama had simply died, his pain would have been momentary. Whether heaven or hell actually existed was something one could only confirm after kicking the bucket.
But think of it this way: when you take out a loan from a bank, you accrue an interest rate. Hiyama had committed a malicious, psychopathic act. Logically, shouldn't he expect his resulting life to accrue a hellish interest rate as well? If his life on Tortus became a living hell, and then he died and went to an actual hell, wouldn't that be the most satisfying outcome for the people he had hurt?
Yet—
"Everyone, please stop!"
Nagumo suddenly stepped forward. Despite how inherently weak he was, he threw his arms out, standing protectively in front of Hiyama to shield him from the class's torment.
"..."
The entire cavern fell dead silent.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Nagumo?"
"N-No, I just feel like this is wrong," Nagumo stammered, his idealistic nature flaring up. "I know he did something terrible, but... but I believe this isn't the right time to—"
"He literally just tried to murder you!"
One of the male students snapped, unable to stomach it anymore. He glared at Nagumo like the boy was a total idiot. "More importantly, his little 'accident' caused us to lose Suzuki! Do you have any idea what happened after that?! We lost all of our funds! Our premium equipment, our materials, our safety net! Do you have any concept of what he took from us?!"
There was a brutal, unspoken truth in the original story: the reason the class moved on so quickly after Nagumo fell into the abyss was that Nagumo simply didn't provide much value to the group. He was a Synergist—a non-combatant—who stubbornly tried to be a frontline warrior despite lacking the talent to even swing a weapon properly. When he died, the strong didn't really feel the loss. They leveled up, the monsters stopped being threats, and they moved on.
Suzuki, however, was entirely different. He was irreplaceable. No one could replicate his logistical genius or his bottomless wallet. That was why everyone was agonizing over his disappearance. Without him, their quality of life had nosedived straight into the dirt.
Previously, they could just hoard their allowances, eat gourmet meals, sleep in luxurious inns, and focus entirely on leveling up. Now? Their money was gone. The inns were downgraded. The food tasted like cardboard.
Worse still, for the naughtier boys who used to sneak off to the back alleys to be comforted by beautiful, high-class prostitutes... the realization that they were completely broke was a fate worse than death!
With Suzuki, their lives were secure and lavish. Going from poor to wealthy was easy to adapt to, but going from wealthy back to desperately poor? It was agonizing.
Once you taste true luxury, being shoved face-first into the mud breeds a special kind of venom. That was exactly why they were pouring all their stress onto Hiyama, the psychopath who had ruined their easy mode!
Yet here was Nagumo, playing the saint, completely ignoring the reality of their suffering.
Nagumo knew everyone thought he was stupid. He knew Hiyama had intentionally fired a fireball at his back. But even so, he looked at his classmates with unwavering, naive determination.
"I still think this is wrong," Nagumo insisted. "We are all classmates. We have to support each other so we can survive and go back home. Let's just forgive him, move on, and focus on the battles ahead."
"..."
The silence this time was suffocatingly heavy.
Then, a quiet, venomous whisper cut through the tension.
"I wish it had been you who died instead of Suzuki..."
"..."
Nagumo flinched as if he had been physically struck. The words were quiet, but the sheer, unadulterated malice behind them hurt more than any monster's claw.
No one stepped forward to defend him. No one denied it. Because deep inside their hearts, it was exactly what they were all thinking. If Nagumo had fallen instead of Suzuki, they wouldn't be suffering like this.
It was a cruel thought, but reality often was, especially when faced with such mind-numbing naivety.
"Enough. Everyone, focus on your preparations."
Shizuku's sharp voice finally broke the toxic atmosphere. She expertly wrangled the group's attention back to the expedition. She knew that the faster they entered the dungeon and hunted monsters, the faster they could earn money to fix their living conditions. Her pragmatic approach worked; the classmates grumbled but turned away, deciding Nagumo and Hiyama weren't worth wasting any more time on.
I wonder if it's a blessing or a curse to be that blindly kind... Shizuku sighed helplessly, watching Nagumo out of the corner of her eye.
He is just too naive, Kaori thought, shaking her head slightly.
"You're not going to say anything to him?" Shizuku whispered.
"It's fine. It's actually better if he stays exactly as he is," Kaori replied coldly.
Nagumo was just being Nagumo. While his kindness was genuine, Kaori knew she could never stand beside someone so mindlessly forgiving. Kindness was a virtue, but weaponized naivety was a liability that got people killed. Kaori had changed; she knew there was a hard limit to what unchecked idealism could achieve in this brutal world.
Oblivious to the girls' cold assessments, Nagumo turned his attention back to his abuser.
"Are you okay, Hiyama?"
"Y-Yeah..." Hiyama muttered, his head bowed, looking utterly pathetic.
"I will help you. Let's stand up and pull our weight for the group. Our battle has just begun. We have to stay focused," Nagumo offered a reassuring smile.
"Y-Yeah... thanks..."
Yet, what Nagumo completely failed to realize was that mindless forgiveness didn't cure a psychopath.
The moment Nagumo turned his back, Hiyama's expression warped into something hideous. His eyes were bloodshot and distorted with raw, venomous hatred. He looked at Nagumo's retreating back with a glare far darker and more lethal than simple killing intent.