I Became a Burden to the Conscienceless Party

Esmeralda and Jim.
Both were looking at each other and smiling, but secretly harboring disgust.
As always, Esmeralda was the first to give in. She had no choice.
She knows about Jim, but Jim doesn’t know that she knows about him.
The mature one should be the one to endure.

“I’ll go meet Felheim. Can you tell Irina?”
“Yeah, got it. Take care, though that person must be busy dealing with the sudden attack. Sigh, we were just about to rest, what’s all this?”

Tina stretched as if disgusted. Her flexible body stretched out like a cat extending its limbs.

“Right? Milia.”
“Yeah, I’m really tired.”

Milia stared blankly at Tina and then stretched as if imitating her.

Crack!

“Ugh!”
“Haha, that’s why you should exercise more regularly. Milia, you’re too unfit, you know?”

But when Milia let out a faint groan as if even stretching was difficult, Tina immediately pointed it out and laughed.

Jiggle.

“Haha… Damn.”

And she cried looking at the two enormous masses that didn’t exist on her.

The already baggy robe.
Although it’s said that even that can’t hide it, at the moment when she stretches both arms above her head, even that baggy robe clings to her body, showing off its presence more than usual.

“Oh…”

And Jim enjoyed that moment.
The moment he feels alive in this damn party.
Yes, it’s the glorious moment when a great life stirs.

“…”

Esmeralda left with a dejected smile, the pathetic sight of her party members etched in her eyes.

‘We need to catch the Demon King quickly.’

Her goal hadn’t changed since the old days. Whatever the initial reason was, the reasons to catch and kill the Demon King kept increasing.

Esmeralda left, thinking about how to persuade Felheim Senova. No one was there to see her off.
It’s not surprising anymore at this point.
Milia and Irina only joined with their own purposes.
Jim was a demon spy and Milia only showed interest in magic and Jim.
If anyone in the hero party truly cared about the hero, it was only Tina, but even she had fallen into Jim’s clutches.

‘Come to think of it, where on earth did Irina go? It’s unsettling…’

And Irina Saintis.
She had a sinister side that even Esmeralda couldn’t control.

“Hello! Felheim. We meet again so soon.”

As always, Esmeralda visited Felheim Senova’s office with a somewhat foolish smile.
Felheim Senova seemed busy receiving reports from her subordinates, but upon seeing Esmeralda, she immediately dismissed everyone around.
It seems she also knows that her plan was completely shattered.
To be honest, at this moment when Jim’s identity has been exposed, neither Esmeralda nor Felheim Senova had a clear upper hand.

“Thank you for your help this time, Hero. I never imagined that demon bastards would invade this far into the fortress.”
“Hee… Is that so?”

Felheim Senova put a cigarette in her mouth with a somewhat relaxed attitude.
She too has some cards up her sleeve. Which side’s weakness is more fatal will be determined by the conversation from now on.
Thus began the battle of wits between the two.
First, Esmeralda glared at Felheim Senova with eyes that contrasted with her characteristic smile.
And Felheim Senova, as if unconcerned, continued to pour out superficial words.

“I feel uncomfortable receiving thanks like this when Milia’s rampage seemed more dangerous than the demons’ invasion. Honestly, we didn’t even detect any demons. Or are you mocking me, Felheim?”
“…”

And Esmeralda shut Felheim Senova’s mouth, which had been continuing with praises, with one barbed comment.
She’s not in a clean situation either, but at least it’s certain that Felheim Senova tried to have Jim kidnapped and killed by her soldiers.
Esmeralda is not a fool. She just acts that way because it’s convenient.
But when she shouldn’t, she’s colder than anyone else.
Because otherwise, she’d die. She’d be looked down upon. Someone would get hurt.

“Felheim. This is a warning. Don’t even think about interfering with our party any further.”

To Esmeralda’s cold voice, Felheim Senova replied with an indifferent attitude as if uninterested.

“I won’t.”
“…”

Esmeralda became serious at Felheim Senova’s ready answer. She wouldn’t back down so easily.
But…

[Note: She intends to withdraw from the hero party.]

She wasn’t lying.

“…That’s good.”

Although it was strange, Esmeralda decided to cover up her doubts as she didn’t want to complicate the situation any further. She had too many other things to worry about.
Esmeralda spoke with her usual bright, foolish expression.

“Then I’ll believe your words, Felheim. I’ll see you next time.”
“…Wouldn’t you like to rest a bit more?”
“Well, the situation doesn’t look good. Let’s have a relaxed conversation next time? …And I hope we can meet in a better situation then.”

There are no eternal enemies and no eternal allies. Esmeralda glared at Felheim Senova once with cold eyes and immediately left the room.
Felheim Senova stared blankly at the door Esmeralda had left through for a while, then spoke in a stiff voice.

“Is this enough?”

When Esmeralda came, she had dismissed all the soldiers at once.
In such a situation, someone’s voice responded to Felheim Senova’s words, which should have been a soliloquy.

“Yes, you did very well, Felheim Senova. The gods will surely recognize your noble choice.”
“Haha…”

Felheim Senova laughed.
It was a self-deprecating laugh.

The saint of the hero party.
Irina Saintis.

She met with Felheim Senova one step ahead of Esmeralda when the situation was about to be settled and made a deal.
Of course, that deal was…

[Intimidation Lv. 47]

In front of her position, it was nothing more than a one-sided coercion.
Felheim Senova knew about the girl named Irina Saintis.
In public, she was considered a pure, innocent, beautiful saint as if drawn in a picture, but there was a story that those who knew, knew.
That is, she was the actual power in the church. While her holy power was special enough to be a saint, she herself was dangerous as a person.

“Your grandchild is cute.”

Irina touched the frame decorated on Felheim Senova’s desk with her usual innocent face. When the frame fell forward with a thud, Felheim Senova, unable to hold back anymore, spoke through gritted teeth.

“…Please stop. Didn’t I say I would cooperate?”

The church is in Irina’s grasp.
And although the church has somewhat declined, it’s an organization with powerful authority and strength.
With just one word from Irina Saintis, even a minor noble could be branded a heretic and have their name erased.
Would the Empire not know this? They know and are leaving it be.
Because she’s getting rid of things that would hinder her within appropriate limits. She was originally a person who kept within bounds well.

“Hm? You’re saying strange things. Are you afraid I might do something?”

Irina puffed up her cheeks and grumbled as if offended.
Felheim Senova felt a chill down her spine at those actions that looked like those of an ordinary girl to anyone.
A powerful organization. Moreover, a position that could make a person not a person with just a few words.
Because it was in front of such a person, Felheim Senova could do nothing.
She had to cover up even the fact that she had accidentally discovered the baggage carrier’s identity as a demon with just one word from her.
She too is an ordinary person. Even if she fights for the greater good and peace, it’s natural to want to protect her family.

“…Just one, may I ask just one more thing?”
“What are you curious about?”
“I simply can’t understand why you’re protecting a demon. Perhaps…”
“If you’re thinking of saying something blasphemous, you’d better not. It might make me upset.”

Irina Saintis, who preemptively blocked the question of whether she had forsaken God, responded with her usual gentle smile.
But that smile contained a firm warning.

“I see. Um… How should I put this?”

Irina smiled shyly while spinning around like a girl filled with excitement.
Having survived all sorts of political maneuvering from within the church, she knows.
That Esmeralda, who seems like a fool, is actually not a fool. That Jim is actually not human.
That Esmeralda can read people’s surface thoughts, and that Jim actually belongs to the Demon King’s army and is selling information to them.
That both are trying their best to deceive the party members.
She knew all of this.
If she couldn’t even see through that much, how could Irina have built up the church’s influence until now?
Therefore, it wasn’t important.

“Isn’t it lovely to watch?”

It was so enjoyable and happy to watch them dance in the palm of her hand, knowing nothing.