"Let’s distribute the loot."
Raive announced with a clap, gaining everyone’s attention fast.
The four thought that this time, he would be picking a few for himself. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make any sense. But...
"First, the ten stat-up candies. Shymine, you take four; the rest will get two each."
"W-What...?"
Everyone stared at Raive as if he was crazy. After all, once more, he didn’t get a share of it!
"I should get two, and you take the other two, so that it’d be fair!" Shymine complained. "Otherwise, I’d feel bad for you and the others!"
She already took the first stat-up candy during the clearing of the first trial. Taking more than the others would make her feel like she was taking advantage of them instead. Worse, Raive didn’t even take a share, pushing her conscience to the limit!
Of course, if she knew that Raive had already taken 11 stat-up candies himself, she wouldn’t think this way, but... He had no intention of telling them that.
"Just take it." He said. "I only guided everyone, so I didn’t do much. Making you and the rest stronger is our main priority." He said, lying through his teeth as easily as breathing.
Well, technically, it wasn’t a lie, anyway.
If he could consume the candies again, he would’ve done so.
But his skill was weird in that the consumable items he used in a previous loop would no longer be usable for him again. If not for that, he might’ve already spammed the auto-load and reached max stats then and there.
"That’s..." Shymine faltered, wanting to rebut his words.
However, she couldn’t.
After all, from everyone’s perspective, what he said was true.
Shymine and Therese were the ones actually fighting, with Shymine taking the bigger burden. So, prioritizing strengthening her should be a better choice for their party than strengthening those who couldn’t actually fight.
It was logical and efficient, and most of all, worked in her favor.
Seeing her hesitate, Raive just smiled. "Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing."
"If you really say so..."
Everyone received their candies, and as per Raive’s command, all of them consumed them then and there. This way, no internal fights for loot could happen anymore.
"Next, the scrolls."
He moved to collect the four scrolls. Three of those were level 1, and only one was level 2. Of course, Raive had already decided how to distribute them beforehand... rather, there was only one way.
"Hershey, you take the level 2 scroll. The rest of you, take these level 1 scrolls. One each."
Shymine looked like she wanted to interject again, but after a bit more deliberation, decided to hold her tongue. She knew that Raive would just beat her using sound logic, anyway.
Seeing a fast learner like her made Raive’s smile grow even wider.
"With you consuming a candy before using the scrolls, there should be no risk of your vessel getting filled up and endangering your lives." He said.
"So don’t hold back and use the scrolls now."
Of course, the others no longer hesitated either.
They knew that Raive had their best interests in mind; thus, he was sacrificing himself. They didn’t want to waste his goodwill at all.
One by one, their bodies released a faint glow, indicating the leveling up of their skills.
And with that, they were finally halfway done.
All that was left was splitting up the trinkets that also dropped from the boss. Specifically, there were three items.
[Rose Ring - Equipment]
[Releases a faint floral fragrance if the user’s health is low.]
[Vitality +1]
[Rose Insignia - Equipment/Consumable]
[An insignia bearing the seal of the Rose Demon. Using it can summon the Rose Demon for a limited time.]
[Attack +3]
[Rotten Rose Poison - Consumable]
[Rosebud monsters are said to condense all poison they consume throughout their entire life into a single drop within their bodies. Consumption of it will result in instant death.]
Although they were basic equipment and consumables, they had varied applications. As such, deciding on who would get what was a conundrum to Raive.
However, before he could even speak—
"Raive, you take those items."
"...Huh?"
Shymine already spoke for him.
"No, that’s not good." Raive laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek. "We should properly decide on who should—"
"We already took the candies and the scrolls; it’d be unfair if we took those too."
Even Therese, who wasn’t proactive, actually supported Shymine’s push this time. No, it wasn’t just her either.
"Right! Brother, you should take those! If you don’t, then I’ll cry!"
"Man, being humble and generous is fine and all, but you’re just being a pushover now. You should take those items for yourself."
Even Hershey and Khamish voiced their thoughts, supporting Shymine.
In short, it was a four-on-one.
Raive didn’t really want the items either, but seeing that the others were pushing for it, and since they seemed like they wouldn’t back off...
"Alright..."
He could only nod.
"But next time, you shouldn’t force things like this." He said. "I’m distributing items based on everyone’s position and priority levels, to further increase our chances of survival, so whether it’s fair or not doesn’t really matter."
If they were giving it to him, even if he didn’t want it, he would still accept it.
A hungry man wouldn’t refuse a free meal, anyway.
Raive first grabbed the Rose Ring and slid it onto the middle finger of his right hand. Since it was a ring with a simple design of an etched rose, it didn’t look gaudy at all. And thanks to that, it didn’t look weird even when a man like himself wore it.
Next, the Rose Insignia.
It was of a simple shape and design, just like the ring. The shape was like a small heater shield, with a weirdly twisted rose design in the middle.
Around that, a few curves and lines were drawn, creating a unique design.
Raive was curious about the "Rose Demon" from the item’s description, but now wasn’t the time to test it. He didn’t want to die again just to reset the items after a test.
He checked his body, looking for where he could put the insignia.
However, he couldn’t decide on one.
"Come here, give it to me."
Thus, Shymine volunteered, grabbing the insignia and helping him pin it over his left chest. She took a step back, took a gander at the insignia, and nodded.
"That should do it. It looks good on you!" She praised.
"Thanks."
Raive, too, liked the design quite well.
But more than that, he was pleased.
’Having simple-minded allies really is the best!’
Finally, regarding the poison, he just pocketed the bottle for now.
Although, of course, he already had plans for its use.