I Became the Burden of a Conscienceless Party

204 – Side Story 2. The Story After, Esmeralda (1)

The story after, Esmeralda (1)

next day.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, what I saw was Irina sleeping soundly.

I feel this for the first time, but it is truly beautiful. I mean, as a feeling before s*xual desire.

In a sense, it is a work of art. However, I wonder if it is okay to see traces of myself here and there in such works of art.

No, should I say it’s not bad?

It doesn’t feel so bad if you think of it as something that you’ve made your own.

“Umm… … .”

Just then, Irina opens her eyes.

The face that smiled bashfully at the sight of myself as soon as I opened my eyes.

Fortunately, it seems that he didn’t mind the fact that the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was me.

I was worried because you acted quite forcefully yesterday, but luckily you’re okay.

“Good morning.”

“Yes, I see.”

Irina, who is smiling brightly and clasping her hands together, wondering what is so good about it.

This must be the life of a married couple.

It seems like I’ve finally been able to return to my original position.

It was so harsh up until now that you even ran away.

“Then shall we go to work now?”

“… … .”

“We have to work hard so that people can live comfortably.”

Was it revealed in the expression on his face?

Irina spoke to me in a tone that seemed to be soothing me.

If it goes on like this, there’s nothing we can do.

“I guess there’s nothing I can do. I haven’t had much rest… … but I guess I still have a lot of work to do.”

The Demon King had a lot to do.

How has Belphegor been doing all this over the years?

Isn’t it? Am I the only one who has a lot of work to do? If I suppress them with power and authority, wouldn’t I be able to lie down comfortably like Belphegor did?

But, I have no power, no authority, and certainly no money, so I must work diligently.

***

Before I knew it, I was back to my usual daily life. Of course, the air wasn’t as gloomy and suffocating as before.

Reviewing the documents handed over by Liris and Irina in a completely natural atmosphere.

Perhaps because I have two capable secretaries by my side, the efficiency of my work is different.

So, after finishing my morning work, it was around lunchtime.

“Kids! Is your luggage here?!”

“Oh, Tina. Welcome.”

“There it is?!”

Tina came back out of the blue.

It seems she was looking for me because I disappeared from her sight.

Still, it feels good to see that you found it without wandering around for too long.

“Ahem… … ! That’s a relief. Jim. Was everything okay?”

“Yes. It was nothing like when I was with Tina.”

“No… … That… … . That, that’s right.”

It may have been something serious, but the moment you deny it, it’s the same as confessing what you did.

“Right? Irina.”

“……sure.”

Simple traffic control.

The two people understood what had happened to each other with a simple exchange of glances. However, there was no immediate clash of swords or anything.

It may be because I am right in front of you, but I don’t think either of them can be said to be innocent.

The rest of the matter will be taken care of in a way that I do not know about.

“Uh, um… … . T, right. By the way, Jim. Could you take care of this for me? Oh, it’s not urgent, so you can take your time… … . But by tomorrow… … No! I don’t mean to burden you!”

“Oh, yes. Don’t worry. In any case… … .”

Do you think I’m going to run away again because of stress?

She’s unusually boisterous. But at the same time, she’s cute because she’s like Tina.

“Well, this shouldn’t take that long. I’ll get it done and give it to you right away. And this seems like a pretty important document. Is it really okay to have it done by tomorrow…?”

“Huh? Uh… um?”

“I have some free time now, so I will process it as quickly as possible.”

If you think about it, it’s a document that he showed you while feeling so sorry. This may be the reason why he returned to the Demon King’s Castle while looking for me.

Since it was a problem that needed to be dealt with early, whether I was there or not, I guess he wanted to leave it to Liris.

At that time, the agenda brought by Tina was given priority.

“……I’m here.”

“You’re here, Millia.”

Millia is back too.

She still looked a bit awkward, so I wondered if I was pushing her too hard.

If you think about it, wasn’t she the one with the weakest physical abilities among the warrior party?

Esmeralda stood as the vanguard of the warrior party and faced formidable opponents, Tina moved through the battlefield with agile movements, and even Irina used the Morning Star for self-defense.

That is, all three people had outstanding physical abilities.

On the other hand, Millia had no means of attack other than magic. As such, her stamina would decrease and the aftereffects she felt after intense exercise would also be strong.

Is that why?

“Irina, please heal me.”

“… … I see what you mean.”

Unlike usual, Milia sought out Irina first. It was a moving thing to do, considering that she was the one who had the most antagonistic relationship with Irina.

That would be the case, doesn’t it mean that he has compromised with reality?

I hope that we can continue to have this kind of relationship where we support each other’s shortcomings by compromising one by one.

If we can watch it together at night, that wouldn’t be bad either.

The atmosphere of the Demon King’s Castle, which had been so ominous, could be resolved thanks to much conversation and effort.

***

There’s still a lot of work to do.

However, I no longer feel as stressed as I used to, because I can now relieve the stress that builds up.

One day, while continuing to live a faithful life of working hard during the day and working hard at night.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

“… … Where did the warrior go and why hasn’t he come back yet?”

Where is this guy now?

At this point, shouldn’t you give up or change your mind and come back? The empty space feels empty.

Doesn’t it feel like something’s missing since you don’t have that usual gloomy look in your eyes? What if something happens?

“hmm.”

When I explained this anxiety to my wives, their reaction was simple.

‘You, Hero? Are you worried? No… … . You wouldn’t go somewhere and get beaten up, would you? Won’t you come back when the time comes?’

That’s a fair point.

There are only a handful of people who can claim victory over her.

One of them is Demon King Belphegor, who currently resides in the Demon King’s Castle.

Another one is the former Second Commander of the Legion, a werewolf called Robeno, who also currently resides in the Demon King’s Castle.

And the other one is probably the head of the ＜Eye of Truth＞, Rapha, who has been quiet recently.

The strength of the warrior Esmeralda has practically reached a level where no one but those three can do anything about it.

But, it’s not that it doesn’t exist, it’s just that the possibility is low.

“… … .”

“Do you want to go find it?”

“I didn’t know my expression was so easy to read.”

As I was pondering this, Irina put her teacup down on my desk and asked. It was typical of her that she was so exquisite in her choice of positioning.

Yeah, what can I do when I’m used to acting like I look good in front of people?

Just love me.

“It was like that from the beginning. It’s like there was no one who didn’t know that Mr. Jim was a demon.”

“… … I didn’t know?”

“Let’s just say that Tina was trustworthy.”

Isn’t that Tina’s strong point?

There were many times when I felt a chill in my liver because of her, but thinking back now, I feel a chill in my liver instead.

Because she, whom I suspected the most, was nothing and everyone else, whom I did not suspect, was deceiving me.

“If you’re worried, should you go look for it?”

The one who made that suggestion was Milia, who had been listening to the story with a blank expression.

Should we say that it is typical of her that she can casually suggest such a story?

I think the part where he seems possessive but sometimes shows human emotions is his charm.

“hmm…….”

By the way, you said you were going to look for it… … .

I never even thought about it. Now that I think about it, I’ve always just run away, I’ve never gone out to catch anyone.

When I think about it like that, I guess I’m really trash and all…

“Then I guess I should do that.”

“yes?”

Yes, Esmeralda has always come to me, so this time I must go find her.

“Even if it was Rapha who did it, I could convince him. I’ve done it before, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Even so, isn’t Mr. Jim vulnerable to everything else? He’s just a normal human now.”

“I came this far even when I lost all my strength and was left on the side of the road. Don’t worry. My specialness doesn’t come from strength.”

“okay.”

Irina agrees.

Since she also viewed me as an object of faith, it was relatively easy to persuade her.

And the rest is the same.

Milia, who had made the suggestion herself, had no doubts in the first place, and Tina, who had a free-spirited personality, was the same.

Although Lilith and Garnet expressed their concerns, after much persuasion, I set out on a journey to find Esmeralda with everyone’s trust on my back.

If something happened to her, I believed I was the only one who could solve it.

***

That moment.

Esmeralda was muttering with a serious expression in the middle of the forest where there was no sign of life.

“… … I can’t find my way.”

She was just lost.