is a Japanese light novel series written by Zappon and illustrated by Yasumo. It began serialization online in October 2017 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Kadokawa Shoten, who have published the series since June 2018 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.
A manga adaptation with art by Masahiro Ikeno has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace since May 2018. Both the light novel and manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation produced by Wolfsbane and Studio Flad aired from October to December 2021. A second season by Studio Flad is set to premiere in January 2024.
Synopsis
In a world whose inhabitants find their destinies dictated by the Divine Blessings they receive upon birth, Gideon Ragnason was a member of the Hero's Party, a powerful group led by his sister Ruti destined to save the world from evil. His Blessing gave him the common ability to survive any terrain, and he proves that additional skills can go beyond the limit. That is, until one day, Ares, the Party's second-in-command, considers him a dead weight to the party members and banishes him from the group. Gideon heeds Ares' words and leaves without telling Ruti.
Hoping to live an easy life on the frontier, Gideon moves to a borderland town and opens an apothecary, changing his name to Red. However, keeping his former status a secret may not be as simple as he thinks, especially when Rit, a beautiful adventurer from his past, shows up and asks to move in with him!
Characters
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Red is an apothecary residing in the town of Zoltan. His real name is Gideon Ragnason, formerly known as a knight and member of The Hero's Party, who was banished from the group for "being a liability". His Divine Blessing is "Guide", which gives him the ability to survive in any terrain and is important for his knowledge of herbs. To be more useful to his party members, he has learned a number of additional skills beyond the limits of his Blessing; in times of need, he proves to be a skilled combatant, tactician, and leader. Reserved and humble, but with a noble heart, he was much beloved by most of his party, and his leaving has caused much resentment against Ares, who facilitated his resignation. He runs his apothecary shop in Zoltan with his wife, Rit, who is a former adventurer and princess of Loggervia. /
Rit is a B-ranked adventurer and Red's wife, who resides with Red in his home beside the apothecary shop he runs. She is the princess of the Duchy of Loggervia, a military power. She actually came to live with Red both to escape a power struggle within her family, and because she has developed a crush on him while they worked together for a time before his retirement. Her Divine Blessing is "Spirit Scout". Her weapons of choice are two miniature shotels, one on each hip in custom scabbards.
Ruti is Red's younger sister, who happens to be the Hero. The Party she leads is the major thorn in the side of The Demon Lord's Army. Her Hero's Blessing bestows her with incredible resistance to physical discomforts; however, it also makes her indifferent to emotional extremes. Due to this, her love for her brother is Ruti's most important anchor, and she misses him terribly after Ares' scheming drove him away. As a result, she begins fighting her Blessing in order to be reunited with Gideon. She eventually develops a new Blessing called "New Truth", which has the ability to control and dominate other Blessings; eliminating her Hero Blessing's negative effects and giving Ruti her self back.
Yarandrala is a former comrade of Red's who is still on good terms with him. She is a high elf with the Divine Blessing of "Forest Speaker", which allows her to talk to and control plants. She was the first to leave the Hero's Party in outrage over Ares' scheme driving Red away.
Ares is a mage with the Divine Blessing of "Wise Man". His duty is being the second-in-command of The Hero's Party. He is responsible for banishing Gideon/Red from the party because he is obsessively jealous of Gideon's personal closeness to Ruti. The entire reason Ares was even in the party was the delusional plan to marry Ruti once she won, in order to gain noble status. When Ruti leaves to find Red, he does all he can to stop her while slowly losing his sanity. In the end, he ends up betraying the Heroes’ Party and aligns with a demon to kill Red, having become more spiteful upon realizing the life he now lived with Rit. But their fight ends with his death at Red’s hands and his name tarnished as a result, refusing to acknowledge his own flaws and cursing Red beforehand.