My mother's left.
Marin and Luna are in separate rooms.
And I will wait here in this empty room for two hours.
Is that what people say?
That they feel so nervous.
But it looks like there's at least some consideration for me.
This room looks like a guest room...
There was a pot of tea on the table.
And there were cookies next to it.
Anyway, I should eat it, I guess. And the taste is...
'Delicious.'
Not very fancy.
Just flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.
The simple taste of the countryside.
It's my mother's taste... but Misaki-san, Haruka-san, and Sayo-san can all make the same thing, so I don't know exactly what it is.
Still, this is the taste of the village.
And that's correct.
Working a normal job.
And sometimes eat something extravagant with my friends.
The house is just fine.
That's all to be truly happy.
Eating this reminds me of that.
Life in the village was happiness.
Now I have Marin and Luna, my family.
What's the point of me meeting them now?
The people I abandoned and the people I picked up...
I shouldn't have come now, should I?
Well... at least I get to pay for my sins.
'But, sins?'
What have I done?
When I fought the dragon, I lost but no one blamed me for being a bad loser.
'So... I'm still the party leader, I've decided to give you one order while I'm still the party leader... Maria, Lida, and Mel are to be expelled from this party in the near future! The other day in the fight with the dragon I thought... you used to be girls... you used to cry when you were little and Ceres and I used to help you... the other day, the three of you crying had the same faces as then... you should quit fighting now... You can go back to the village or you can go to Ceres.'
From there I felt what Ceres had done for me and sought to make the three of them happy.
Then I asked the Pope to allow me to resign from Hero (Yuusha) and to dismiss the three main jobs.
In return, I entrusted the peace of this world to 'Ceres'.
So far I have done 'bad things to Ceres' but I was a 'good guy' to the three of them.
'I don't want to fight,' and I should have tried my best to make that wish come true, even if it was a clumsy one.
As a result, I won the dismissal of the three positions.
However, only Ceres stayed in the party, and he was forced to take the responsibility.
With the Hero (Yuusha) party gone... the four of us ran away to the village.
I was going to start over in the village with the three of us who had grown tired of fighting...
But we were tricked into doing our duty as S-class adventurers... and we fought Mammon and lost...
Then, in order to heal our injuries, we made a deal with Cecilia-sama and helped her with a plan to get together with Ceres.
Now, the four of us called him "stepfather" together.
Ceres is my mother's husband, so he's definitely my 'stepfather'.
In the end, after all that happened, we decided that Ceres was what we needed... so the four of us recruited him.
But Ceres became an important figure in the world, and Mariane was pissed off.
At that time, I'm in trouble... so I talk to Ceres...
'Hey, didn't I save you from Mammon too? And Zect and the others aren't Hero (Yuusha) anymore... you can live free from now on... freedom is good.'
'You don't need me anymore, do you? You are four S-class adventurers, you can make as much money as you want... you won't fight the Demon King, you won't continue your journey... and why don't you just hire a servant for the job? Besides, you'll be happy to be with the one you love.'
'Hey, Zect... you love the three of them... then you should be responsible for feeding them! Look at Orcman... he has nearly ten wives and many children... he is far below you in the class of adventurers.'
But Polygamy is no longer an option.
I told him that...
'Zect you're wrong, you should learn 'if you belong to Hero (Yuusha) party even once', as the proof that Orcman who was a baggage carrier in the previous Hero (Yuusha) party had many wives, and I, a magic warrior, had 4 wives including Shizuko-san before becoming a 'hero'. So Zect will be fine... and if not, I'll take care of it.'
'Good for you, huh? You can finally cross the line, get rid of your virginity and have lots of kids like Orcman.'
In response to Ceres like that...
'I said-! Ceres you're mistaken, I don't love the three of them... well Ceres isn't coming back... and these guys are dragging my feet.'
'If Ceres is gone, I don't need these guys... I've kept them on hand out of 'love' so far, but they're no longer party members... so Ceres... it's up to you... I'm leaving these girls behind...'
Yeah, I tried to escape.
But I couldn't. I was caught.
'Hey, Ceres... it's not me the three of them love, it's you!'
'Zect you're gonna get me in trouble... don't lie to me like that! I hate to say it but you wanted this harem so badly that you kicked me out, right...? Now the four of you can have a good time together... So, enough!'
'It's true! If you think I'm lying, ask the three of them!'
'All three of you... Are Zect's words a lie...?'
The three of them were silent as if thinking, and then.
'What I need is Ceres... I really want to be your lover, but I don't mind being your stepdaughter... can't you let me stay with you?'
'I want to be your lover too, but if not, let me be your stepdaughter... I believe that Hero (Yuusha) polygamy is allowed for close relatives, so mother and daughter should be fine...'
'Ceres... I'm sorry for the horrible things I said... but I've found my true love... Can I?'
Yes... they chose Ceres over me.
And then the three of them and my mother and the others started to argue.
In the end...
I got slapped by my mother and my face swelled up.
'Haa... haa... Zect... you are just like Sector... you think about girls so easily... you only think about yourself. Enough, you are really pathetic as my son, you should be free to live your life! In return, I'll cut off all ties with you, is that clear?'
'Ah... that's fine, I don't need you anymore... I've done my best so far in my own way... I've taken good care of you... please forgive me already...'
'You, you're still saying that...'
'Wait a minute... Lida, are you sure that's what you want?'
'I don't want to fight anymore... not about Zect... not anymore.'
'Maria, are you okay with that?'
'Mel, you're the same...?'
''...''
'Ah~ that's enough, Shizuko, it's not only Zect-kun who's to blame, it's my Maria too, please don't cut ties with him.'
'Yes, there's no need to go that far... it's just that in the end he didn't have a connection with our Mel... well then, thank you Zect-kun for everything.'
'If that's all right with everyone then I understand... Zect, I'll cancel the disownment... if everyone says it's all right, then it's all right... you're free to go! Just know that one day you will realize how much you have given up, and you will regret it... now get out of here!'
'Mother...'
'Zect...'
'Thank you for your help, Ceres... Goodbye.'
'Zect... we should have a drink again sometime...'
And so to Ceres, who looked me in the eye as I walked away...
I think I raised my right hand and waved away.
I'm sure of it.
* * *
Is this... really that bad?
Certainly I've done some bad things to Ceres, right?
I put him through a lot of trouble, and he had to wipe my ass.
But... now that I think about it... what did I do wrong to my three childhood friends?
Sure, I fought and lost.
But when I think about it... it's true that Ceres took care of it... but I was doing my best to keep Lida, Maria, and Mel from having to fight.
Well, it was my fault, but I had broken their hearts and as a result, their hearts had left me.
At least when I met mother and Ceres... Lida, Maria and Mel must have been completely off my mind.
I was saying harsh things, and I was saying 'I'm sorry', but that's it, isn't it?
I just left three people whose hearts had turned away from me and who fell in love with Ceres.
But... now that I think about it, I just didn't tell them because I was too harsh.
Is it my imagination or do I feel like I haven't done anything bad to anyone but Ceres?
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