"Ugh..."

"Masayoshi? You’re awake?"

When I opened my eyes, Mei's face filled my vision. I sat up and looked around, but no one else was there.

I remembered now—we had been waiting for Mizumoto and the others at the castle's training grounds. The princess had commanded us to fight, and… Mizumoto did this, didn’t he? The ground around us was gouged and torn.

"Haha… I always thought he was just a jobless nobody, but I couldn’t even touch him."

Jobs… What’s the point of them, anyway? Everyone says having a job gives you an advantage, but that didn’t matter at all. I guess the logic of this other world doesn’t apply to us Earthlings.

I stared at my clenched fist, but then a gentle scent enveloped me. Mei had leaned over to hug my shoulders before I realized it.

"That’s true. But I think we’re okay now."

"...What do you mean?"

Her soft voice near my ear made me turn my head. That’s when I noticed her neck—and the absence of that cursed slave collar.

"Wait… it’s gone?"

"Yeah. When I woke up, our collars were gone."

I touched my neck and felt nothing. That oppressive slave collar that had tormented us was truly gone. Relief washed over me, and I let out a long sigh.

"What about the others?"

"I’m not sure. I just woke up myself."

"I see..."

"For now, let’s regroup with everyone else."

"Yeah, good idea."

I remembered that Manaka and the others were supposed to be holding off Mizumoto outside. Looking toward the castle, though, I noticed something off.

"…Huh?"

"What is it?"

"Something feels… weird about the castle."

"Huh? Oh…"

Mei turned to look at the castle with me, and her voice rose in realization.

"The spires are… gone."

Her trembling words hit me like a splash of cold water. Now that she mentioned it, the castle seemed partially destroyed. No, not just seemed—it was actually in ruins.

"The balconies, too..."

"What the hell happened here?"

Did Mizumoto do this? Could he really unleash an attack powerful enough to destroy a castle? But then again, calling him “jobless” clearly doesn’t mean anything anymore.

"It was probably Mizumoto."

"What!?"

Mei gasped in disbelief, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

"He completely crushed me, after all. Even [Limit Break] didn’t work on him. He’s a monster, plain and simple."

"But… he’s supposed to be jobless, right?"

"Yeah, that’s the thing. What does 'jobless' even mean? They say it’s supposed to be useless in this world, but Mizumoto proved otherwise."

"Y-Yeah..."

"Let’s go."

Still looking unconvinced, Mei followed as I hurried toward where Manaka and the others might be.

The castle was in utter chaos, as though a hornet’s nest had been kicked. Given the extent of the destruction, it was no surprise. But no one stopped us as we moved—few dared to issue orders to those of us in the princess’s elite guard.

"Manaka!"

I spotted Manaka’s group heading toward the castle’s courtyard and called out.

"Hm? Oh, it’s Shimizu."

"Looks like you made it."

"Yeah, same to you."

"Where are you headed?"

"Where else? We’re getting the hell out of this country. The collars are gone; there’s no reason to stay."

"Exactly. This kingdom’s finished, anyway."

Manaka’s matter-of-fact tone was accompanied by Hino gazing at the ruined castle with a mix of awe and melancholy. I agreed with their decision, but there was one thing I needed to confirm first.

"...Do you know where Neguro is?"

"Huh? Neguro? No idea. Why?"

I figured as much. I’d only learned about Neguro’s situation from the princess herself. After explaining, Manaka and the others shared my anger—though most of it was directed at the princess rather than concern for Neguro.

"I heard he’s back, so I’m going to try to find him."

"Yeah… He’s an odd guy, but he’s still one of us."

Hino looked reluctant but nodded begrudgingly. If Neguro’s collar was still on, leaving him behind would feel wrong. Worse, he might be used against us.

"Alright, let’s go."

Together, we headed back into the castle to search for Neguro.

No matter how much we searched, we couldn’t find Neguro.

From what we heard, he’d been in the infirmary earlier, but when we checked the room, it was empty. Though he’d apparently been gravely injured, the fact that he was gone meant he must have recovered enough to move.

In the end, with no clue about Neguro’s whereabouts, the six of us left the castle and decided to flee the kingdom.