"Yugo, I’ve rounded up the rumors you asked for regarding Misery."
"I heard quite a bit from the girls, too!"
"Thanks, both of you. I’m useless when it comes to gathering information, so this really helps me out."
The following day, Yugo met with his companions—excluding Fee, whom he had sent ahead to the training grounds—to go over the intelligence they had collected.
Settling into his role as the group’s resident informant, Hex began to lay out what he had discovered about Misery.
"Regarding the person Misery yearns to be like—the one you were most curious about... nine times out of ten, I’m certain it’s her father."
"Her father? You mean her dad?"
"Yeah. Misery's father, Hunt Pim, is an elite Magic Knight known by the alias 'The Stinger'."
"Pim... I see. I thought the name sounded familiar, but I didn't realize she was the daughter of that Mr. Pim...!"
Marcos muttered his realization, appearing as though the pieces had finally clicked into place.
Naturally, Yugo knew nothing about Misery's father, so he requested an explanation with a silent glance. Combining his own knowledge with the data he had researched, Hex began to explain.
"Even though Misery's father was a commoner by birth, his exceptional skill was recognized and he was eventually assigned to missions in the Royal Capital. He was a self-made elite, so to speak. In battle, he was always the first to charge, carving a path for his allies and keeping their spirits high. He was so active that he was given the title 'The Stinger'—the 'Needle That Pierces Enemy Lines'. He retired from the front lines after being injured in a war several years ago, but he remains a fairly famous figure."
"I see... So, Misery's fighting style is a direct mimicry of her father's movements?"
"Most likely. However, I think it’s a difficult style for Misery to pull off. The primary reason is simply the difference in physical stature between a man and a woman."
Yugo, now understanding that Misery was modeling herself after her famous father, shared Hex’s assessment.
He had noted during yesterday's sparring session that her martial arts proficiency was impressive, yet the style itself didn't seem to fit her. Misery's father, Hunt, was likely a man one or two sizes larger than her. With superior muscle mass and a broader skeletal frame, the raw power behind his thrusts would have been incomparably more ferocious than hers.
In contrast, Misery was a relatively petite woman. This physical gap created a massive discrepancy even if they used the same techniques.
A light hit with the left hand was something an opponent could ignore when delivered by Misery, but it would likely carry enough weight to deal significant damage if delivered by her father. Naturally, his right-handed follow-up would then become a literal finishing blow. A combat style that utilized combinations to set up a decisive strike after a light lead—that was clearly the ideal Misery envisioned.
"If the build and muscle mass are different, the power of those thrusts changes completely. She probably isn't far behind in terms of punch speed, but there's likely a world of difference in power between her and her father."
"And then there's the arm reach," Hex added. "Misery has a shorter range. I think she’s tried to compensate for that by unnaturally extending the needle tip of her Wasp Needle, which has only caused her attack power to drop even further."
Misery's fighting style was a veteran's combat technique, one her physically gifted father had perfected specifically for his own body. Naturally, even if she mimicked it to the letter, she could never achieve the same results as its creator.
Yugo nodded as he confirmed the problem: Misery was struggling because she was chasing her father's shadow with a style that didn't suit her. As he considered her primary motivation, Melt spoke up.
"I heard the same things Hex just mentioned from the girls in the dormitory. Misery was one of the transfers from the High School Division, but she has plenty of friends and people to talk to, so it wasn't hard to find rumors. However, I also heard something a bit more concerning."
"Concerning? Like what...?"
"I suspect... this might be the actual reason she’s so desperate to get stronger."
Melt’s voice was heavy with complex emotions, and she looked down with a pained expression.
Everyone focused on her, realizing her information likely answered Yugo’s second question: what was the catalyst that drove her so hard? Melt spoke quietly.
"To put it bluntly... Misery was 'discarded' by a student who is one of the Hero Candidates."
"Discarded? You mean... was Misery dating someone!?"
"No, no! I said I was putting it bluntly, didn't I? I mean she was dropped as a candidate for their party."
"Oh, right. I see. That’s what you meant...!"
Yugo was momentarily stunned by the phrasing, but he breathed a sigh of relief once the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Taking over for Melt, Anhel provided a more detailed explanation.
"Do you remember what Hex told us before? The group called the Hero Candidates is busy recruiting companions—party members—to take on future assignments and field training. The students are all desperate to land one of those spots."
"Yeah, I remember. So Misery was just one of those desperate students?"
"It seems it was a bit different than that. Misery was working hard, but she seemed to realize that her actual skills might not be enough to make the cut. But then, one of the Hero Candidates actually approached her first."
Summarizing Melt’s findings, the story became clear.
Despite Misery feeling inadequate compared to the other students, a Hero Candidate had reached out to her. He had even given her gifts, such as rare materials. Misery was overjoyed to be singled out by someone so envied by the student body, and she truly believed she would be joining his party... but then, one day, he suddenly stopped speaking to her entirely.
When the other students saw the Hero Candidates spending time with a different group and saw that Misery was no longer being called upon, rumors began to swirl that she had been "discarded" for being incompetent.
"...It would be painful enough to be rejected because you weren't good enough," Melt continued, "but the rumors went further. People said the only reason she was approached in the first place was because she’s a cute girl—that they never expected her to be a real fighter. I heard from the girls that Misery is really suffering because of those stories."
"I don't know what the Hero Candidates were actually thinking, but that’s a pretty cruel position to put a student in," Anhel remarked. "Then again, they have to judge based on the entire student body, so I guess some people are bound to be left out."
"And the students who get cut, or the ones who were never considered, vent their frustrations by attacking others. Misery is just one of their targets," Hex added.
"So, Misery's desire for strength comes from wanting to prove all those people wrong..."
She wanted to show up the Hero Candidate who dropped her and the students who mocked her for it. That was clearly one of her goals. Using spite as a motivator to improve oneself was far more noble than simply lashing out at others, and Yugo had no intention of criticizing her for it.
However, when he considered how much it must hurt her—knowing the gap between herself and the father she admired, while being ridiculed by everyone else—his heart ached for her.
That was why he had to convince her to find a new path. He had to help her realize her own potential. As Yugo reaffirmed his responsibility as her master, Fee came sprinting into the area, completely out of breath.
"Brother! Brother, it’s terrible!"
"What’s wrong, Fee? Did something happen?"
Seeing Fee’s panicked state, Yugo and the others felt an immediate sense of dread. Fee struggled to catch his breath, his face pale as he looked at his brother.
"M-Miss Misery... Miss Misery is—!"