"Are... are you sure about this? Giving me something this incredible...!"
"It’s nothing special, really. Although, it’s certainly not a bad piece of kit."
While Yugo and Misery were training, a certain individual was making contact with Berbar, her upcoming opponent.
Cyan Fail—one of the Hero Candidates and, like Zenon and Isaac, a reincarnator from another world—was handing Berbar a gift. It was a flat, metallic breastplate that gave off a dull silver sheen. It had been lightly coated with magic power; Berbar, recognizing its quality at a glance, drew a sharp breath.
Cyan watched him with a thin smile. "I’m glad you like it. It’s yours to keep—even after the duel is over."
"Wait, really!?"
"Yeah. Just keep it a secret that it came from me. If the others hear about it, they’ll all be hounding me for handouts."
Overwhelmed by Cyan’s apparent generosity, Berbar nodded his head so vigorously it looked like it might snap off. Cyan’s smile widened at the reaction, prompting Berbar to ask the obvious question.
"H-Hey, why are you being so good to me?"
"Hm? Oh, it’s simple. I just want the match to be fair. You know I gave Misery some materials a while back, right? If she used those to upgrade her gear, you’d be at a disadvantage. Think of this breastplate as me balancing the scales."
"I... I see! That makes sense!"
Berbar nodded, looking entirely convinced.
The truth was that this man, Cyan, was the very Hero Candidate who had previously deemed Misery useless and cast her aside.
Cyan Fail. His real name was Mizuiro Manaka. In his previous life, he had been a perfectly average gamer, the kind you could find anywhere. While he played more than the average person, he wasn't particularly hardcore, nor did he ever bother with challenge runs or self-imposed restrictions. Aside from being completely unpopular with women, he was an utterly ordinary player whose only real goal was the pursuit of "fun."
After being reincarnated into this world by divine guidance, he had followed that motto to the letter. He wanted to enjoy a fun life as a hero, hanging out with game characters, getting close to beautiful girls, and eventually building a harem. That was the extent of his greed—at least, until recently.
The turning point had been his duel with Isaac. Losing to him had sparked a sense of crisis, and Cyan had decided to take the "conquest" of this world seriously so that he would be the one laughing in the end.
Or perhaps, the act of assassinating the weakened Isaac during the recent chaos had been what finally caused his moral compass to snap.
In any case, he was now a man consumed by ego, intent on snatching up all the best rewards while trampling over the other reincarnators.
He had originally approached Misery because he figured he might as well add her to his harem. She wasn't his absolute favorite, but she was cute enough that he wanted to keep her as a second or third-string girlfriend. However, after the loss to Isaac, he had shifted his strategy toward solidifying his power base first.
As a result, Misery had been the first thing he cut. That rejection was precisely what had shattered her self-confidence.
To be fair, Cyan was a veteran of Luminous History. He had the tier rankings—the clear assessments of every character's strength—etched into his brain. In those rankings, which evaluated units from S down to C, Misery was bottom-tier.
Misery Pim... C-Rank An early-game recruitment, but fundamentally lacking in firepower. While she can become decently strong if raised with love, the sheer time and effort required makes it vastly more efficient to focus on higher-tier characters.
Having seen that assessment online, Cyan had never bothered with her in his previous life. Even if he recruited her, she was left to rot as a third-string benchwarmer. He only had memories of deploying her once or twice out of curiosity, only to groan at her pitiful damage output.
If he spent all his time on Misery, the dozens of other, more capable companions would be snatched up by the other reincarnators. He decided he didn't have time to waste on "trash," and so he had ruthlessly discarded her.
But now that his own party was somewhat established, he finally had the breathing room to reach out to her again. He was using Berbar for that very purpose.
For some reason, she had recently started hanging around with that loser, Yugo. To pull her away from him and make her more receptive to his own "rescue," he needed Berbar to win. If she lost the duel, a heartbroken Misery would surely distance herself from Yugo, allowing the "events" Cyan had already started with her to resume.
She wouldn't be much of a combat asset, but she was cute enough to keep around as a harem member. That was why he had gifted Berbar a piece of high-performance gear.
"With this armor, Misery’s attacks won’t mean a damn thing! I’ll crush that weakling!" Berbar boasted, practically huffing with excitement.
"Go get 'em. I’m expecting big things from you!" Cyan offered a hollow cheer and a practiced smile.
He watched Berbar walk away, the boy clearly pumped up by the "expectations" of a Hero Candidate. Once Berbar was out of sight, Cyan’s expression shifted, revealing his true nature.
"Do your best for me, you little mob. Unlike Misery, you aren't even a companion character."
Mobs existed to be used by the protagonist. Misery was at least a character in the game, but a mob like Berbar had even less value than she did. He was just a pawn to achieve a goal. Both of them were merely game characters whose fates were dictated by the protagonist’s choices; they were just dancing in the palm of his hand.
"Well, I gave him top-tier gear, so Berbar’s victory is a given. All I have to do is sit back and wait. Good things come to those who wait, after all...!"
His part was played. Now, he just had to wait a week for the good news to arrive. Smirking at the thought of his impending success, Cyan turned and headed back to his room in the dormitory.