The Hero and His Harem Adventure Party

"Have any adventuring parties been looking for new companions lately? I'm planning to make a trip to Blue Creek Valley," Marvin asked.

"Of course. I'll let the boss know right away. He'll give you the relevant information." The waitress smiled sweetly and briskly went about her business.

In Faerûn, there was no convenient, all-purpose adventurers' guild like the ones that were indispensable in certain fantasy novels.

To accept quests, one either relied on notice boards or went around gathering information personally. If one was a well-known adventurer, quests would come knocking on their own.

To find companions, one either relied on personal connections or could only place one's hopes in places frequented by adventurers, such as the Friendly Arm Inn.

Recently, many adventuring parties that had gone to Cloakwood Forest to rescue the lady knight had met with failure, suffering heavy casualties.

To fill their vacancies, they often left messages at inns and taverns throughout town, hoping to use the proprietors' connections to recruit suitable companions.

After a long while, Marvin had yet to see the gnome proprietor, but his dinner arrived instead.

"Mr. Marvin, sorry to keep you waiting. Your apple-braised dire wolf liver." The waitress brought over a large bowl of steaming stew.

This dish was rather complicated to prepare.

First, the whole dire wolf liver was placed in cold water with ginger, leeks, and thyme, then boiled and removed to get rid of the blood and gaminess.

Next, the liver was cut into finger-thick pieces and placed in a cast-iron pot along with four mashed apples, then simmered over low heat for an hour.

Finally, it was seasoned with rhubarb, sugar, salt, and garlic, then cooked over high heat until the sauce reduced.

Marvin had not been very hungry before, but the aroma of the food suddenly whetted his appetite. He eagerly speared a piece of dire wolf liver and put it into his mouth.

Its rich, creamy texture immediately spread across his tongue.

The melt-in-the-mouth texture paired with its savory, full-bodied flavor made it a rare delicacy, much like premium foie gras.

Moreover, the two distinct sour notes from the apples and rhubarb intertwined into a refreshing complexity that perfectly balanced the greasiness of the dire wolf liver.

After he finished the stew in one go and had the waitress clear away the dishes, the gnome proprietor finally arrived.

His short little legs went "thump thump thump" as he ran downstairs, a notebook in hand.

"Long time no see, my finest wizard friend! Sorry to keep you waiting." The gnome proprietor jumped up and gave Marvin a hug. "I haven't seen you these past few days. What have you been busy with?"

"Picking suitable weapons. What about you?"

"Still running this inn diligently, as always." The gnome proprietor waggled his eyebrows and lowered his voice. "I just finished speaking with my parents. They've agreed to seek help from the Harpers.

Soon, a famous Harper will be coming. Haha, those damned mind flayers can just wait to be turned into fried octopus skewers!

And Dad will be teleporting over a batch of powerful magical equipment. When that happens, the Friendly Arm Inn's safety will be guaranteed."

With that, the gnome proprietor handed the notebook to Marvin. "This is a list of adventuring parties that left their names here and are looking for new companions. Take a look for yourself."

Marvin opened the notebook and quickly found the name of the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad.

"Average party level: Level 2. Area of activity: the wilderness between the Friendly Arm Inn and Sharp Tooth Forest. Primarily handles low- to mid-difficulty commissions... The current captain is a human fighter. Other members include a tiefling rogue, a human cleric, and a Drow ranger."

"The party composition is quite sensible. They look like a steady, reliable group." Marvin nodded, feeling that this squad suited his needs quite well.

But after reading further, he gave up on the idea.

Although the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad was recruiting companions and gave priority to spellcasters, they only accepted women!

"Banlit, have you seen the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad? Why are their recruitment requirements so... unique?" Marvin asked in confusion.

The gnome proprietor chuckled. "You haven't come to the Friendly Arm Inn these past two days, so you don't know. The moment this 'Sacred Eternal Sun' squad appeared, they became the center of everyone's attention!

As for why, you'll understand once you look."

Following the direction indicated by the gnome proprietor, Marvin looked toward a nearby dining table.

Four young people sat around it.

One was a sweet, innocent-looking female cleric. Judging by her attire, she likely worshipped Torm, the god of courage and sacrifice.

Another was a somewhat rebellious-looking tiefling girl, with a faintly mischievous smile always playing at the corner of her lips.

There were probably many men who liked this kind of little-devil beauty.

Then there was a slender female Drow with a cool, detached demeanor. Her brilliant silver hair was especially eye-catching.

She was also the woman in the hall who drew the most attention from men.

Surrounded by the three beauties like stars around the moon was a handsome young man.

He wore exquisitely crafted mithral plate armor bearing a circular pattern resembling the spread wings of an angel. His golden hair shone dazzlingly bright, though one lock of his bangs had been dyed red.

The Sacred Eternal Sun Squad's whole aesthetic seems rather out of place. What is this supposed to be, some Japanese-style hero and his harem adventure party? Marvin grumbled inwardly.

If he had not confirmed that he was still at the Friendly Arm Inn, he would have thought he had somehow transmigrated again into some anime fantasy world with a title longer than twenty characters.

Seeing Marvin's dumbfounded expression, the gnome proprietor slapped the table and burst into laughter, as though he had pulled off an excellent prank.

"Hahaha, my friend, you really should have looked in a mirror just now! But don't worry. Almost everyone looks as shocked as you did when they see the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad.

Especially the men. Every one of them has flames of envy and jealousy shooting from their eyes! Of course, not you. As an excellent wizard, you must let reason overcome base desires, right?"

Whether it was because he had some sort of fan filter or not, the gnome proprietor truly thought too highly of Marvin.

To be honest, Marvin was rather envious too.

If he had a choice, he would also have wanted to transmigrate into a Japanese fantasy world where one could casually build a harem, rather than cautiously scraping by in Faerûn.

Only after quite some time did the gnome proprietor manage to suppress his laughter and begin introducing the origins of the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad to Marvin.

First, naturally, was that young man who looked every bit like a protagonist.

His name was Eruien Brightblade, and he was the youngest official member in the history of Elturel's elite legion, the Hellriders.

In order to join the Order of the Companion and become a paladin, he chose to leave the knightly order. Determined to travel the Sword Coast as an adventurer, he would temper his character through the sights he encountered and the battles he fought on his journey.

"Elturel..." Marvin searched his memories for the place name.

Travel east from Baldur's Gate along the upper reaches of the Chionthar River for roughly two hundred miles, and one would reach Elturel.

This city was the capital of the theocratic nation of Elturgard. Known as the City of the Eternal Sun, it was the safest city in western Faerûn and also a place with an exceptionally strong religious atmosphere.

It stood at the complete opposite extreme from Baldur's Gate, a commercial republic that championed freedom of faith.

As a result, the relationship between the two nations could not be called particularly good, and conflicts had occurred repeatedly throughout history.

After becoming an adventurer, this young man named Eruien had experiences that truly seemed as though he were blessed by the gods.

After he and his childhood friend, the tiefling girl, left Elturel, they helped a young cleric repel gnolls and protect a village.

Beautiful female companion +1.

Then, at the northern foothills of Sharp Tooth Forest, he encountered a female Drow.

She worshipped Eilistraee, the Dark Maiden—the only good deity in the Drow pantheon. Having had enough of the scheming and intrigue of Drow society, she had come to the surface in search of a new life.

Moved by Eruien's enthusiasm, this female Drow rejected by her own kind joined the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad.

Beautiful female companion +1 again.

Eruien's romantic luck really did resemble that of the hero protagonist from those Japanese fantasy light novels.