I Became a Burden to the Conscienceless Party

After somehow shaking off Felheim’s persistent gaze, the hero Esmeralda, alone in her room, gritted her teeth at Jim’s incomparably sloppy attitude.

‘No, he’s a spy! How can he manage his expression so poorly?!’

Until now, although he hadn’t done well, he had never been this blatantly incompetent. Of course, it was an unusual situation.
Because the other party was showing hostility towards Jim implicitly.

‘Right, our reputation has grown too big. That’s why they don’t like Jim among us.’

Esmeralda chewed her nails and pondered.
The risks of keeping Jim and the risks of not doing so.
Which would be more dangerous?
Esmeralda had good intuition and could somewhat see through others’ inner thoughts due to her ability, but it was impossible for her to see the big picture that would unfold in the future.
After all, she was just an ordinary country girl. The only reason she could be like this now was because she was chosen by the holy sword.
She couldn’t have received proper education, so her limit was the survival tactics of a commoner.

Boom!
It was then. A noise clear enough to reach Esmeralda’s ears as she sat alone pondering in front of her desk.

“Demons! Demons have invaded!”
“Everyone, grab your weapons! Just report when you spot demons, don’t try to confront them directly!”
“Sigh…”

Esmeralda let out a deep sigh. It seems Jim, who had been trembling with anxiety since earlier, had done something.
Putting aside his lacking abilities, his actions were quite bold.

“I need to clean this up somehow.”

Esmeralda immediately rushed out.
First, she had to resolve the situation. Whether to deal with Jim or not, shouldn’t she save people first?
She is the hero, after all.

Esmeralda rushed out of the building without even unpacking.
The “baggage” mentioned here refers to her personal belongings.
Of course, that Jim is in a similar situation to her personal belongings.

“…”

What Esmeralda discovered after rushing out like that was a group that anyone would find suspicious.
And a sack that would be perfect for putting a person in, which they were carrying.

“…Wouldn’t wearing black clothes in broad daylight make you stand out more?”

Esmeralda quietly drew her sword while looking at the people in black with disbelief. The holy sword, symbol of the hero, revealed itself.

“Hmm…”

Esmeralda barely held back the words trying to escape her mouth.
There was an uproar about a demon attack, but the opponents are humans. Would she, who has been fighting demons all this time, not know that?

‘It’s humans’ doing, so the mastermind must be Felheim Senova, who’s been looking at Mr. Jim with disapproving eyes since earlier.’

The timing is quite coincidental.
It’s a timing that could be suspicious, but also the moment when tension is most relaxed.
They aim for the moment when the body, tired from a long journey, first enters a place where it can feel at ease.
As expected of someone commanding a fortress city, it seems they accurately understood human psychology.
If so, it was obvious who would be in the sack that the people in black were carrying.

‘Jim must be inside?’

Esmeralda examined the sack closely using the hero’s ability.
Above the sack in her eyes appeared a person’s name and status.

[Name: Jim]
.
.
.
[Note: He thinks the current kidnapping is a ploy by the Demon King’s army to extract him, so he’s cooperating.]

Esmeralda tilted her head and then looked at the people in black.

“Huh?”

The group was cautiously retreating while keeping an eye on Esmeralda.

[Note: They plan to kidnap Jim and quietly dispose of him.]

‘No, what the hell is this idiot doing?’

Didn’t I tell you not to follow strangers?!
A battle that the hero Esmeralda had never experienced before began.

Earlier, when I communicated with Major Lilith, there was something she added at the end of the communication.

-Ahem, anyway, we’ll contact you again soon. Until then, please hang in there safely.

So this is what it was.
It was a signal that they would rescue me soon! Wow! As expected of Major Lilith! How could she come up with such a strategy?!
A method to protect my safety while rescuing me, just in case!
As expected, people from the Demon King’s army’s Strategy Department are different.

“Tch, the hero…”

But it seems that even this level of surprise operation doesn’t work on the hero who has been through thick and thin.
I stayed as quiet as possible while inside the sack.
There was no reason to, but I did it just because I was scared.

Common Magic
[Search]

I quietly cast magic to check the situation around me.
Besides the man carrying me, there were 6 more people around me.
And among the hero’s party, only the hero Esmeralda is here right now.
If not now, I might not be able to escape.
Our execution team seems to be standing still like this because they don’t know much about the hero’s true capabilities yet.
It can’t be helped. Even if they can act like real kidnappers, they can’t respond perfectly to someone they’re seeing for the first time.

‘I guess I need to help a little.’

Fortunately, as I was mobilized for an infiltration operation, I specialize in deploying magic stealthily.

Black Magic
Six Realms Manifestation – Preta Realm
[Hand of Craving]

The prisoners of the Preta Realm. The grip strength of their hands reaching out in hunger.
That magic, crawling along the ground like a snake, grasps Esmeralda’s ankle.

“What is this?!”
“Now!”
“…?!”

But it seems the execution team was more surprised than the hero who was flustered.
Even while the hero was tearing apart my black magic with her holy sword, the execution team still couldn’t do anything.
These guys are frustrating…
No, no. It’s natural. They’re friends I’ve never coordinated with before, I expected too much.
Yes, I understand. But it was only like that because it was the first time, it’ll be different now.

Black Magic
Six Realms Manifestation – Asura Realm
[Chaotic Footsteps]

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
With a sound like hundreds of people stomping at once, the area around hero Esmeralda sinks.
It’s an attack magic, but rather than its power, it’s black magic that focuses on restricting the opponent’s movement.
With this, the hero retreated further back than where she was initially.
Now! Let’s escape! This will only work a few times at first, that monster-like hero will quickly adapt.
Fortunately, it seemed the execution team had grasped the situation as I felt a swaying like they were turning their bodies immediately.
But there was something that caught their ankles again.

“Haha…”

It was the killing intent of the hero, Esmeralda.

Esmeralda tried to rescue Jim. Regardless of whether he was a spy or not, wasn’t he a companion? If he’s dragged away like this, he’ll surely endure severe torture.
If he’s to be killed, she would kill him herself.
And she would kill him as cleanly as possible. That was Esmeralda’s justice, even for a spy she had been using.

‘I’ll kill him. I’ll really kill him.’

But that justice was now violently shaking.
Her ankle, caught at an unexpected moment, was still stinging.
She couldn’t help but be caught off guard by a method she had never seen or heard of before.
It was fortunate that Esmeralda had been keeping an eye on Jim even normally.
As it was her duty to closely watch the movements of the demon spy, she was able to respond quickly.
Yes, if it wasn’t for her, it could have been dangerous.
Her body shook as her ankle was caught with the people in black right in front of her. If the opponent had been a slightly more experienced assassin, Esmeralda’s neck could have flown off.

“I’ll definitely kill him…!”

The duty changed from rescue to elimination.
Esmeralda immediately rushed towards the opponent with her sword raised.
But her target wasn’t the people in black. It’s the foolish demon spy, Jim, who has been checking her with unheard-of magic since earlier.
She will punish the damn traitor.

‘Definitely!’

The hero Esmeralda’s holy sword emitted a more brilliant light than ever before.

“Ugh?!”

At that reckless movement, the people in black stepped back while pulling on the sack they were carrying.
Even the people in black who were trying to quietly dispose of Jim ended up protecting him for a moment due to the overly blatant momentum.
Their positions were suddenly reversed.

“Haha, how long can you protect with such movements?”

And Esmeralda felt an indescribable ecstasy.
The people in black were overwhelmed by the ecstasy and madness in Esmeralda’s eyes.
But surprisingly, Esmeralda was in a very calm state.

‘First, just the arms and legs… Regrettably, no more than that.’

She was extremely restraining herself in order not to kill Jim.

“W-wait! Do you know what’s in here when you’re acting like this?!”
“What does it matter? If demons are carrying it, it can’t be anything good, right?”
“We’re not demons…”
“Boss!”
“Ahem! Hem, hem… What’s inside is a person. Surely the hero wouldn’t swing her sword at a person, right?”
“I would though?”

The hero was serious.
Although she acts like a fool in front of people, she’s someone who can make extremely cold judgments.

“You know, I know that the value of my life is worth more than hundreds of people. So if it’s a hostage that can’t be saved, I don’t hesitate.”
“…And if they can be saved?”
“Are we close enough for me to tell you even the criteria for judging that?”

Esmeralda grinned.
Although she said this, there’s no need to negotiate as long as she’s sure of what’s inside.
And right now, the thoughts of the people in black were clearly visible to her eyes.

[Note: They are sincerely thinking of you. Therefore, they are trying to avoid the result of Jim dying in front of your eyes.]

Felheim Senova is a veteran who has fought demons on the front lines.
Yes, she knows well.
How difficult the situation on the front lines is, how desperately the hero’s existence is needed.
She sincerely cares about the hero. That’s why she wanted to get rid of the baggage carrier who would only be a burden.
Even pretending to be demons like this was an action to divert the hero’s anger towards the demons while simultaneously getting rid of Jim who only holds her back.
In other words, she intends to direct Esmeralda’s hatred in a certain direction.

‘Then at least they can’t kill Jim in front of me.’

Felheim Senova thinks that she, the hero, is coddling Jim.
She thinks of her as a naive being who can’t cut off what needs to be cut off.
She doesn’t want the future of humanity to be held back like that.
So she won’t want her to be hurt. No, even if she gets hurt, she would want that resentment and anger to be poured out on the demons.
Esmeralda tapped her shoulder with the holy sword with a more relaxed expression.
It had become a fight that couldn’t be lost.
And at the very moment when joy and sorrow intersected.

Boom!!
Flames rose from behind Esmeralda.
Intense mana, overwhelming destructive power.
Seeing the fragments of that somehow familiar power, Esmeralda muttered in a dejected voice.

“…Milia?”
“Jim, where are you? Where did you go? I said I would protect you…”

[Name: Milia]
[Race: Human] [Title: Explorer]
[List of Characteristics]
Common Magic Lv. 59
Elemental Magic Lv. 57
Spatial Magic Lv. 10

A list of characteristics that seem to have been diligently learned like a textbook magician.
And…

Black Magic Lv. 31
Curse Magic Lv. 37
Biochemical Magic Lv. 28
Human Experimentation Lv. 17

Atrocious characteristics bundled together like a comprehensive gift set for criminals.

[Comprehensive Estimate: Lv. 341]
[Note: Suffering from separation anxiety, delusions, and homicidal urges.]

Yes, she was the absolute reason why Jim was needed in this party.