After being banished by the hero, I decided to join another party – the revival of the legendary hero's team! However, the seductive heroine in her thirties clad in a bikini armor has a mysterious reason why she can't fight! - Episode 19

Life really is inconvenient without Fudra.

That’s why I discussed it with Elza and the others and decided to have the Adventurer’s Guild investigate Fudra’s current situation.

If we’re going to ask him to come back, we’ll likely need to make some sort of concession.

Today, I received word from the guild that the investigation was complete, so I headed to the nearest branch.

“I’ve come to collect the results of the investigation on Fudra.”

“Of course! Here you go. These are the report and the recording crystal.”

“Thank you.”

Taking the report and the recording crystal, I moved to the tavern area with Elza and the others.

The report stated that Fudra was living with two women of marriageable age and hadn’t taken on any requests.

“He’s added another one…?”

“With a life like that, he’s probably never coming back to us.”

“A life filled with fun and ease, unlike the grueling Demon King subjugation. Fudra isn’t one of the Four Special Jobs like us, so he doesn’t get the massive rewards we do. There’s no reason for him to keep traveling.”

That’s true.

Even if Fudra isn’t as capable as us, he’s still an A-rank adventurer.

He can earn more than enough money.

Given his current environment, it makes sense for him to choose a peaceful, enjoyable life far away from the Demon King.

If I were in his shoes, I’d probably make the same choice.

“This is seriously disappointing.”

Sure, in town, we get support, so things aren’t too bad. But when we go camping, it’s a disaster.

Even with money, the results aren’t the same as when Fudra was around. Things don’t look as clean, as cute, or as well-maintained.

Honestly, titles like Saintess, Sword Saint, and Sage don’t mean much. They’re just former villagers at the end of the day.

Come to think of it, they’re not even that beautiful.

If I weren’t a hero and didn’t have a reputation to maintain, there are plenty of women in the red-light district who are far prettier than these three.

If that’s the case, I might as well cut my losses.

Once the Demon King is defeated, I’ll have my pick of women anyway.

In fact, I might as well give all three of them to Fudra.

Even though he’s found new women, these three are still special to him.

They’re his cherished childhood friends, people he grew up with.

I have a feeling he’s weak to that kind of sentiment.

Worst-case scenario, we could use them as bargaining chips to convince him to come back.

It could work.

“So, I’ve been thinking… What if one of you three ends up with Fudra? It’s not my ideal scenario, but it’s the only idea I’ve got! If one of you marries him, he could join us and share in the rewards. After defeating the Demon King, he might even get a title if he’s married to the Saintess, Sword Saint, or Sage, right?”

“That might work. It’s worth considering.”

“Yeah, I suppose it’s something to think about.”

“But the question is, who would become Fudra’s partner—and eventually his wife?”

“Does anyone feel up to it?”

“Well… I don’t know. Maybe? Maybe not?”

“I’m not sure either. I don’t dislike Fudra, but…”

“I’m torn. What about you, Elza? Cecilia?”

Honestly, I don’t care about them anymore.

To be honest, I’ve stopped expecting anything from them beyond their combat abilities.

“Well, let’s put that aside for now and check the recording crystal?”

“Good idea.”

When Elza murmured her agreement, the other two nodded as well.

We looked into the recording crystal, and…

“What the hell is this!?”

The moment I saw it, I couldn’t help but yell out.

Fudra was walking with two women, one on each arm, clearly having the time of his life.

“He looks so happy.”

“Yeah, so peaceful and cheerful.”

“Exactly.”

Now that I think about it, Fudra doesn’t have any parents.

Maybe that’s why… he seems to prefer older women.

It could be that, as someone without a family, he yearns for a sense of belonging and care, which draws him to older women.

Can we even call him back in this state?

A peaceful life with women he likes in a safe place.

Even though these three are his cherished childhood friends, returning would mean resuming a harsh, battle-filled life.

Sure, the latter option promises glory and status if victorious.

But… does Fudra even want to become a noble or a lord? Does he care about wealth?

He probably doesn’t.

So, do we even have a way to bring him back?

Are these three even more valuable to Fudra than those two women?

And if none of the three step forward to become his partner, nothing will progress.

We’re going to have to discuss this seriously.

“Do you think we can call him back in this situation?”

“It’s going to be tough, isn’t it?”

“Probably impossible?”

“Yeah, I think so too. But we can’t just give up, can we?”

“““You’re right.”””

In the end, after a discussion among the four of us, we decided to head to Fudra’s place for now.

◆◆◆

“Hey, Cecilia, Isabelle… What do you think about what we just talked about?”

“I don’t know why he’s living with those older women, but we’re his childhood friends. We probably have a good chance of winning, don’t you think?”

“Exactly. Plus, I’m his ex-girlfriend, after all.”

“For now, we said what we had to to Dolman, but until we meet Fudra, we can’t let him catch on to our intentions.”

“Yeah, Dolman already seems to be leaning toward offering one of us up to Fudra, but we should stick to the stance of ‘we don’t want to go, but we have no choice.’ That’ll work best for now.”

“Agreed.”

The real fight begins once we meet Fudra.