Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside - Volume 7 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

To everyone who has picked up this book, thank you very much! I’m the author, Zappon.

This story that we’ve read together has finally reached its seventh volume. Seven volumes.

That’s quite a lot. Many series with that many volumes are quite distinguished. It’s an honor to have my story join that sort of eminent company.

The first volume was the beginning of Red and Rit’s slow life together, the second through fourth were the story of saving the Hero, the fifth was a reunion with friends who had parted ways, and the sixth and seventh are the story after the Hero retired from trying to save the world.

Ruti was forced to spend all her life saving others because of her Hero blessing, but with her free of that compulsion, the world was without a Hero.

As far as Ruti was concerned, she’d never wanted to be the Hero. Still, her quitting left a lot of problems unsolved. The incident with the Kingdom of Veronia was one of those. Originally, the Hero would have ridden into the Veronian court and settled the intrigue and machinations herself.

Is it a sin for Ruti to quit being the Hero? Will thousands of people meet unfortunate ends because she chose a slow life in Zoltan?

Even if the Hero alone bears the fate of the world, there are still plenty of other people who are responsible for the fates of families, towns, cities, and even countries. If all those people do their best, it should be possible to save the world without forcing the Hero to sacrifice herself.

This story is the result of a one-day war that happened in the middle of nowhere, a place called Zoltan.

At last, the battle with Leonor is over, and in addition to starting a new arc with the eighth volume, I also have an announcement to make!

Because of everyone’s support, this series has been greenlit for a spin-off!

The tentative title is I’m Not a True Comrade, But I Decided to Get Stronger for My Sister, the Hero.

The main series is about Red and his friends living their happy lives now that their adventures are done, but the spin-off will show how Red and Ruti’s journey began.

A tale of the first stage of a Hero’s journey—when the strong-at-the-start-but-drops-off-midway party member is at his peak.

Ruti is the strongest now, but when she started, she was only level 1.

She was an ordinary girl who loved her big brother, Gideon, and was overjoyed to be with him after having been apart for a few years. There were lots of difficulties and painful memories during the Hero’s journey, but it was also a time when Ruti could have Gideon dote on her as much as she wanted. Gideon protected her, and she did her best not for the world, but to stay with her big brother.

While not about a slow life, the current plan is for the spin-off to be a wholesome sibling story.

Although it’s an offshoot of the original series, it takes place well before the first volume, so it will be accessible to people who haven’t read the main story. It takes a certain amount of determination to get into a long-term series from the start, but it is much easier to pick up a spin-off and try it.

Manga, drama CDs, audiobooks, and a spin-off novel—I hope you’ll continue to join me as the tale continues to expand!

Next in the main story is the eighth volume.

The conflict with Veronia has ended, and Zoltan is peaceful again.

The season has passed from winter to spring, the time when the Zoltan people actually work for real, so they can take it easy in the summer. However, for Red and his friends, who worked hard during the winter, it is a season for camping out in the woods and trips out into the countryside to really enjoy their easy days.

I’ll do my best to make the next volume fun!

As always, this book could not have been completed without the help of many people.

All the illustrations are great, but the cover, with the conflict passed and the rain breaking, is truly incredible. I love that feeling of freedom and spaciousness. Thank you, Yasumo!

To the designers, proofreaders, printers, and everyone involved in the actual production of this book, it is thanks to all of you that this book exists. Thank you very much.

To this series’s editor, Miyakawa, we’ve finally reached the seventh volume!

Double-digits are just around the corner. We created this book together, and I’m so happy that many people have chosen to read it. Thank you so much!

Let’s continue giving it our best going forward, too!

And finally, to you, who picked up this book and read it. I’m grateful this story has reached you. If it was enjoyable, then I am truly satisfied as an author.

Zappon

On a quiet, rainy day, 2020