I Became the Burden of a Conscienceless Party

53 – Dragons and Demons (6)

Dragons and Demons (6)

Esmeralda’s first thought when she came to her senses again was, ‘What on earth was I thinking about just now?’

It’s weakened. That’s clear.

He is the enemy. You must not forget that. If you make a mistake, it could be not only you who dies, but everyone else.

Esmeralda glared at Jim again, trying to calm her mind.

“Hero? Why on earth are you looking at me like that…?”

As someone who has treated her with sincerity up until now, I can only feel wronged.

‘Even the demons know grace.’

Jim’s affection for Esmeralda has decreased.

‘I gave you special treatment.’

Fortunately, Esmeralda was still a benefactor, as it was a burden she had been carrying on her chest.

Esmeralda would probably remain Jim’s benefactor unless he throws her at the Dragon’s Breath.

Jim feels a deep sense of satisfaction at the sensation in his chest that he can feel more clearly than ever before.

Yes, to the extent that he wouldn’t s*xually harass Esmeralda during her treatment.

“ha…….”

Esmeralda sighed at the obvious psychological state of such burdens. She was used to it by now.

Of course, it still felt repulsive to have my nose buried between my own sternum and sniff it hard.

Esmeralda also knows grace. No matter what, it was her decision to come to these ruins, and Jim even treated her.

So don’t be angry.

[Note: I still think it’s a bit smaller than Irina.]

Bam!

She was angry.

This is a matter of pride. I can’t stand being compared to Irina, let alone Millia.

Esmeralda’s right hook hits Jim’s chin squarely.

“what?”

Jim collapsed without even realizing what had happened to him.

‘It’s not that different?’

I’m a little different from Milia. She’s the type of person who admits what needs to be admitted.

Esmeralda squatted down in front of Jim, who was almost on the floor with his head down, and asked.

“How long has it been since I lost consciousness?”

“About 8 hours.”

[Note: Black]

Esmeralda adjusted herself from a squatting position to a kneeling position, adjusting her skirt.

This time she was bad.

If it wasn’t Jim’s fault for being defenseless in front of no one else, then what was?

Esmeralda had gradually come to accept that Jim was this kind of creature.

“Eight hours, so I wasn’t unconscious for as long as I thought.”

“Your sturdiness is getting closer to that of a troll as the days go by. Haha.”

“Mr. Jim, the snout is for thinking and playing. If you spit out words without going through your brain, that’s not talking, that’s barking.”

“……sorry.”

Jim bowed his head in response to Esmeralda’s firm warning.

Luckily, I was already head down, so I only had to move a little.

“Then, should we slowly resume our exploration? My physical condition is not good, but… …. Rather than staying like this, it would be better to move.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just wait for the rescue?”

“No, I think it would be better to move forward rather than staying here. I think it would be better to check if the road ahead is blocked first.”

Esmeralda said, pointing to the fragments of broken rock.

Judging from the shape of the rock trap, it was a trap focused on pushing two people. So there’s a high chance that this path will end in a blockage.

In that case, waiting for a rescue might not be a good option.

The place they flew to through the teleportation trap. If there was no path on either side, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find them.

So, check if the path is blocked, and if so, break down the wall to join the correct path.

“Phew, then… … . Huh?”

“Oh my.”

Esmeralda tried to get up again to continue on her way, but she began to stumble, as if she was not yet fully recovered.

Fortunately, Jim, who was lying on the floor, quickly got up and helped her up, so she didn’t fall, but Esmeralda looked at him with gloomy eyes.

Jim’s face was touching his chest, perhaps because he was supporting Esmeralda as he got up from his prone position.

‘Now I really can’t tell who’s at fault.’

At this point, it’s surprising. To be honest, it would be difficult even if you tried to do it intentionally.

Of course there are problems.

“Mr. Jim, don’t try to rub my face secretly. If you do that, you might actually end up rubbing the Holy Sword on my face.”

“Ahem! Hmm, hmm… … .”

Never pass up that opportunity.

There is not a shred of hesitation in the way Jim seizes his opportunity.

No matter how many times I warn you that you only live for today, you don’t hesitate when the opportunity comes.

“Still, thank you.”

Esmeralda grabbed Jim’s hair, which kept trying to press it against her chest, and forcibly pulled it up to the side of her face.

‘Now that our faces are close, this is burdensome in its own way.’

Esmeralda turned her head slightly with a trembling expression.

It felt strange, perhaps because I never had a chance to look at it up close.

“I’ll help you out for now, but you’ll have to take care of the trap yourself. Then let’s proceed slowly.”

“Oh, yes.”

Esmeralda didn’t know how to react when he said such a cowardly thing with such a serious face.

There’s nothing particularly strange about it, but it might have been because I felt that Jim’s face wasn’t as bad as I thought when I saw it up close.

I thought he was a pervert, but… … .

‘It’s not that I’m ugly.’

He’s not quite handsome, but he’s okay.

Esmeralda realized that she had never really looked at Jim properly.

I feel like I’ve always just looked at the things that come up nearby, but I’ve never really looked into the devil called Jim.

‘Why is this kid acting like that when he looks so normal… … .’

After looking closely, I thought it was a shame that he was a pervert.

Of course, Jim’s transformation into a pervert was something that happened recently, and there must have been a reason for it, but it’s still a pity.

Esmeralda realized that Jim was very sick.

“Still, there are murals and such engraved on the walls of the ruins.”

“Oh, I see.”

Esmeralda glanced at Jim and then answered with a startled look, as if she had committed a crime.

Even Jim was seriously examining the ruins when she looked away.

That part shocked me inside.

“Well, so this is… … .”

“It’s a dragon. If you look closely, the wings and hands are different from those of humans. It also has horns.”

“Could it be a demon tribe?”

Esmeralda secretly tried to pack her things. How would she react?

“That’s not true. No one would worship the Demons in this way. If you look at it, it seems like they won people’s favor by imparting knowledge. The Demons have low intelligence, so.”

“ah…….”

Esmeralda was able to calm down as she watched Jim give an answer that was refreshing and heartbreaking.

That’s right. What’s carved on the wall isn’t just the appearance of a dragon.

There were also people who worshipped him like a god.

The Dragon Tribe originally stood out as a guardian of balance.

Although they have recently become enemies to both humans and demons, they are fundamentally a race that is as wise as they are powerful.

Only then did Esmeralda begin to walk, examining the mural closely.

The content of the mural was not difficult to interpret. It was about people who worshipped the dragon tribe.

To be exact, it was a picture of various races, including humans, dwarves, and elves, bowing their heads to a single dragon.

That one dragon was looking after them as if he were a wise man, without showing off.

As you walk along, the timeline of the mural advances and the group created by that one dragon prospers.

“… … .”

Esmeralda, who was carefully moving forward while examining the mural, suddenly stopped walking.

Have you discovered a trap?

Jim studied Esmeralda’s expression with that thought, but her expression was just a hint of discomfort, as if she had discovered a trap or something.

“Mr. Jim.”

“yes?”

“Have you seen this sentence?”

Esmeralda’s eyes were focused on the middle of the mural, where the dragons seemed to be forming a group and holding up their symbol.

The painting had large pupils and numbers surrounding them, forming the shape of eyes.

I don’t know what the numbers mean. I don’t know what kind of beast the pupils are modeled after.

But I know what those eyes symbolize.

Archaeologist of the warrior party.

The symbol of the group Tina belongs to.

“Eyes of Truth?”

“Right? I didn’t see things wrong, did I? Huh… … .”

Could it be a coincidence that their emblem, the imperial academic society, is engraved here?

Esmeralda stared at the mural for a while, then slowly turned her head forward.

Her reaction was delayed because Jim was already looking ahead and not at the mural.

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of footsteps of a large number of people approaching.

Although the costumes were all slightly different, they all had the same pattern engraved on their chests.

“Oh, did you see that?”

“That’s why I told you to be careful not to let outsiders in.”

“Ha, are you going to clean up the corpse again today?”

Eyes with vertical pupils and numbers engraved around them.

They are scholars belonging to ＜Eye of Truth＞.

“Oh, wait a minute. This is going too well, but let’s have a little conversation first… … .”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you live after seeing this. If you want to blame me, blame your own foolishness!”

Esmeralda tried to speak as calmly as possible to the familiar development, but what she got in return was only the development she thought was familiar.

“Ah, well then. There can’t be a single woman with a conscience in our party.”

Esmeralda finally admitted it.

Tina also had something to hide from me. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised or even betrayed.

‘It should only happen once or twice.’

Because I’m used to it now.