Usually, when people kill someone for the first time, they feel great disgust and extreme nausea—a heightened pulse rate due to adrenaline, and hyperventilation.
However, weirdly, Raive didn’t feel any of those things.
Was it the effect of him looping back? Due to him experiencing death himself numerous times? Or maybe just because he has a screw loose? Nobody could tell.
Anyway, right now, all he wanted to do was to avoid any further deaths. Whether himself or those around him.
As such, he pointed straight at the magic sword and denounced.
"That sword is cursed. Once you take hold of it, it will devour your consciousness, turning you into a mindless ripper." He said. "If you want to live, don’t touch it."
"..."
The others faltered immediately.
After all, if not for Raive’s help, telling them the future, they wouldn’t even be there. In short, they didn’t doubt that he could see the "future."
However...
"W-What proof do you have for that...?" Khamish, who was standing behind everyone, asked in a loud voice. "I-Isn’t it just you wanting to monopolize that sword that’s why you’re saying this?"
"You..."
Raive paused.
Although he knew that Khamish killed him because the Magic Sword controlled his body, that doesn’t mean he’d just forgive him either.
"Alright then. To prove my words, try and hold that sword."
As such, he conceded, allowing Khamish to get the sword and see for himself. Then, he turned to Shymine and sighed.
"Shymine, as soon as he takes hold of the sword and rushes towards us, freeze his entire body but his head and the sword." He said. "Everyone, let’s back off to the edge of the room."
"Alright."
Everyone moved as he asked them to.
Raive stood a few steps back, while Hershey and Therese moved as far back as they could. Shymine only moved slightly behind Raive, ensuring that she kept Khamish within her range.
"Hah! What an overreaction!" Khamish scoffed as he stepped closer, then grabbed the sword. "See? Nothing happened! That bastard just wanted to—"
But mid-speech, he realized something weird.
His body was moving by itself, running toward the one closest to him—Raive. As soon as he realized that he couldn’t control his body, even losing the ability to speak so suddenly, he finally realized.
’Raive’s words were true!’
Not only him, but everyone else thought as such.
And the next moment.
CRACKLE!
A wave of cold wind washed over Khamish, causing his entire body to freeze.
Only his head was left accessible, unfrozen.
"HISS!"
But despite that, Khamish still kept trying to move. He twisted his neck, as if wanting to pull himself out, but to no avail.
"So this sword is the cause, right?" Shymine whispered before waving her hand.
As she did, a vine of ice formed, wrapping around the sword and Khamish’s hand. Then, with a light tug, pulled the sword out of his grip.
CLANK!
With a loud, metallic noise, the sword fell to the ground.
"...H-Huh... I can... move again!"
And immediately after, Khamish regained control over his body.
Seeing him return to sanity, Shymine turned to Raive as if to ask for his opinion. Of course, he nodded to her without delay, signaling that it should be alright.
Shymine released the ice, causing it to turn into mist immediately. It dissipated in just a few seconds.
Khamish fell to his knees, panting hard.
He was frozen, after all. His skin felt as if it were about to fall off. But thankfully, no permanent damage was dealt.
And most of all... No life was sacrificed this time.
"Now, you see what I mean?" Raive said with a sigh.
"Y-Yes..."
Khamish felt ashamed.
He really thought Raive just wanted to keep the cool sword to himself, so he acted that way. However, now proven wrong, he could only feel embarrassed.
If there was a hole anywhere, he wanted to jump into it, curl up, and cry.
"Alright then. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s distribute the loot."
As if nothing much had happened, Raive continued.
"First, the sword. Khamish, keep it inside your skill for now. We might find a use for it later, or maybe undo the curse that controls its wielder."
"H-Huh?"
Such a decision was outside of everyone’s expectations. They thought Raive would just leave the cursed magic sword there without touching it!
However, Raive knew that even a sword like that should have its use somewhere down the road. As such, he didn’t want to waste it.
"Shymine, use your vines to place it inside Khamish’s bag."
It was already proven beforehand that using the ice vines doesn’t let the curse reach the user—Shymine—at all. In other words, as long as direct contact was avoided, they could move the sword around.
Following his orders, Shymine grabbed the sword with an ice vine. Then, through complex control, managed to chuck it inside Khamish’s bag just as planned.
With this, only two items remained.
"Just to confirm..." Raive said, turning to everyone else. "Nobody would complain even if I decided the distribution of loot, right?"
Without delay, everyone nodded firmly.
Raive was literally their savior, after all. If not for his help, then they, too, might’ve ended up cut up into a dozen pieces and embedded into the wall like the rest.
Furthermore, they were saved from danger once again thanks to his warning about the sword.
If they dared to claim any of the loot for themselves, they would seem greedy for sure.
Seeing that there were no objections, Raive smiled and grabbed the scroll.
"The skill level-up scroll... Hershey, you take it."
"H-Huh? Are you sure, mister...?"
To everyone’s surprise, Raive didn’t claim the rewards for himself. Instead, he passed them to the youngest among them. Their only "healer."
Of course, Raive already thought it through.
Shymine’s skill was already useful as is. Therese’s skill is just as powerful. But more than offensive strength, they need a safety margin first and foremost. Thus, upgrading their healer was for the best.
"Don’t worry, just take it," Raive said with a smile.
Then, he grabbed the candy next and threw it over to Shymine.
"For the stat-up candy, you should take it, Shymine."
Of course, this choice was deliberate too.
Therese might have a powerful skill, but her mentality wasn’t fit for battle.
Thus, Shymine, who was more ready to use her ability to protect or to harm others, was the best fit.
Shymine stared at the candy for a moment, as if split, before opening her mouth and taking a bite. Her body glowed blue for a brief moment, showing that the candy’s effect was applied.
Raive smiled.
With this, he had presented himself as a rational boss who prioritizes overall efficiency over personal gain.
And of course, that meant...
The trust others had in him had just risen a level higher.