After the Demon King's army commander Beldia was defeated, Axel finally returned to its peaceful, everyday rhythm.
If there was any real change in Ren Kuroda's daily life, it was this—
A certain four-person party that somehow possessed three high-tier classes yet still lived hand-to-mouth now showed up at Wiz's magic item shop every single day without fail.
Ever since Beldia's defeat, Sato Kazuma, Akua, and the others had only grown more determined to drag Ren into their party.
After all, whether it was Beldia himself or that entire squad of undead knights, the bounties posted by the guild were staggeringly high.
Ren, who had claimed the rewards, could spend as recklessly as he pleased and still not worry about money for years to come.
As for Kazuma's group—
In theory, Megumin's Explosion magic had taken out quite a few undead knights as well, so they should have earned a respectable bounty of their own.
The problem was that Megumin's Explosion had been far too powerful—and she'd fired it right at the town gates.
The resulting damage to the roads and city walls was catastrophic.
According to Luna, the receptionist, Kazuma and his party's entire reward still wouldn't be enough to cover the repair costs…
In other words, every other adventurer in Axel at least got a sip of the soup from this incident—
While these unlucky four not only gained nothing, but ended up buried under even more debt.
Having long since gone numb to being dragged into disaster by Akua and the others, Kazuma seriously considered disbanding the party early—
Only to be instantly crushed when Akua smugly pulled out a contract.
It was a contract Kazuma himself had drafted earlier, out of fear that his teammates might run away. Anyone who left the party unilaterally would owe an enormous penalty.
This was a textbook case of lifting a rock only to smash his own foot.
Still, since escape was impossible, Kazuma understood one thing clearly—
If he kept adventuring with these walking landmines, his debt would only grow heavier.
Which meant that now, Sato Kazuma needed a powerful teammate—someone who could share the burden with him.
And that person had already been unanimously agreed upon within the party.
The man standing right in front of them.
Ren Kuroda.
If Ren joined their party, the benefits would be overwhelming.
First, Ren had always acted solo, so recruiting him wasn't completely unrealistic.
Second, his strength was utterly absurd. With Ren carrying them, not only would their survival rate skyrocket, they could pay off their debts far faster.
Third, Ren's reputation was spotless—while their own party had become synonymous with "trouble" in Axel. Some quests even explicitly banned them from accepting.
But if Axel's hero joined their ranks, their public image would instantly improve.
And besides—
Ren was incredibly strong, yes, but he wasn't unreachable. After all, they were all fellow isekai natives, and their relationship was already decent.
"So I've told you already," Ren said flatly, reorganizing the shelves filled with Wiz's financially suicidal magic items while pondering how on earth he could sell them."My level's already high enough. I don't plan on continuing as an adventurer for the time being.
"And even if I did, there's no way I'd join your party. What exactly is in it for me?"
"Ren, you're way too naïve," Kazuma shot back immediately."Our party might only have four people, but we've got three advanced classes. Once our levels catch up, our potential is insane!
"And you're forgetting the most important point—look at our lineup! Wall-to-wall beautiful girls!
"We've got a loli, a mature knight, and even a goddess! Doesn't that stir your heart at all?!"
To be fair, Kazuma really did have a silver tongue.
And judged purely by appearances, Darkness, Megumin, and Akua were undeniably beautiful girls.
If some clueless pervert had wandered in, he probably would've been scammed into joining on the spot—contract signed and soul sold.
But Ren had lived in Axel long enough to know the truth.
He glanced at the three "beautiful girls" wolfing down food at the table and delivered his critique without mercy.
"Yeah, yeah. Beautiful girls—mature knight, loli, and goddess.
"Too bad their actual settings are: a hardcore masochist, a terminal chuunibyou, and an intellectually challenged goddess.
"And if we're talking about beautiful girls—do you seriously think Wiz is worse than Akua and the others?
"Sure, she's troublesome too, but no matter how you look at it, she's leagues better than them."
Kazuma followed Ren's gaze toward the counter, where Wiz stood—
And after giving her a long, professional pervert's appraisal, he slumped in defeat.
It was true.
Wiz didn't lose to Akua's group in looks or figure—and personality-wise, she left them in the dust.
If Ren got to spend his days with that kind of girl, why would he ever risk his life adventuring with them?
"Wiz, haven't I told you already?" Ren snapped."When those idiots show up, don't serve them food!
"They always come right at mealtime, and every time you bring out full-course meals. At this rate, our shop's going to be deep in the red again!"
And he wasn't wrong.
A major reason Kazuma's party kept showing up was precisely because the food here was good.
Compared to gnawing on black bread at the guild, stopping by Wiz's shop at mealtime meant free food—even if recruiting Ren failed.
For normal adventurers, this kind of shameless behavior would've been unthinkable.
But Kazuma and Akua had long since transcended the concept of shame.
According to them, as long as their stomachs were full, pride wasn't worth a single coin.
At first, Darkness, the noble-born knight, had been visibly uncomfortable with this behavior.
But when Ren brutally scolded Kazuma and the others—
Darkness got wet.
And not only that—her face flushed bright red as she trembled under Ren's verbal abuse.
Even Ren, who'd seen his fair share of insanity, found this utterly unbearable.
Facing people like this left him with nothing but a pounding headache and deep helplessness.
Because no matter how harshly you treated them, they didn't care—
Some of them even got more excited.
"But… aren't they customers?" Wiz asked timidly."Letting guests go hungry doesn't feel right. Before you started working here, I used to experience that myself quite often…"
Wiz's gentle, soft-hearted nature—combined with Akua's so-called divine aura—meant her lich intimidation completely failed.
Every time Akua entered the shop, their roles reversed, as if Akua were the owner.
"Guests my ass!" Ren exploded."Other than freeloading, have you ever seen these bastards buy anything?
"Wiz, you can't be this kind to them—they'll just keep pushing their luck!"
Watching his lunch about to be annihilated yet again, Ren finally snapped.
He grabbed Akua by the collar and punted her straight out the door.
Even as she was lifted, the so-called goddess tore off a chicken leg from the roast, shouting curses about divine punishment—
Before being launched outside.
Seeing Akua's fate, Kazuma and Megumin immediately wrapped up whatever food they could grab and bolted for the exit before Ren could move.
As for the last remaining member—
Darkness completely ignored both the food and her fleeing comrades.
She gazed at Ren with flushed cheeks and shining eyes.
"So it's finally my turn? On the surface, Axel's hero—but inside, a violent sadist overflowing with cruelty.
"Using powerful thighs to mercilessly strike a maiden's sensitive areas… ah, that obscene gaze—what kind of treatment awaits me?"
Ren's hand froze midair.
Listening to Darkness's catastrophic monologue made his eye twitch uncontrollably.
Honestly, compared to her, even Demon King commanders felt less terrifying.
If he treated Darkness the same way he'd treated Akua, rumors of him being a deranged abuser would spread across Axel by tomorrow.
"Darkness… just leave on your own," Ren said tiredly."I'm not laying a hand on you."
"So you've moved beyond physical abuse and now force pure knights to fall of their own will…?
"I see. Though my heart resists, trapped as I am in this den of depravity, I have no other choice…"
As she spoke, Darkness began removing her armor—face glowing with bliss.
After finally driving off Kazuma's group, Ren collapsed in exhaustion.
He slapped a notice onto the shop door reading:
"Self-Proclaimed Goddesses, Chuunibyou Crimson Demons, Masochistic Crusader Knights, and Panty Thieves Are Strictly Prohibited."
But just as peace returned—
A squad of soldiers suddenly appeared outside Wiz's shop, surrounding it completely.
Axel was a frontier town; guards existed, but barely.
These soldiers, however, were fully equipped, disciplined, and sharp—nothing like Axel's lazy watchmen.
"Is Ren Kuroda present?" the leader demanded arrogantly."We are the personal guard of Lord Arudapu, the territory's ruler.
"His lordship summons you at once. You are to accompany us to his estate immediately."
The disdain in their eyes was obvious.
To elite kingdom soldiers like them, adventurers were nothing more than mud-covered rabble.