I Became the Burden of a Conscienceless Party

87 – The Demon King and Lilith (13)

Demon King and Lilith (13)

Esmeralda felt as if she were on her way to execution.

After Millia and Irina woke up, they held Esmeralda responsible for the disappearance of their luggage.

‘Me too… … Please take care of me too… … .’

Esmeralda is also upset.

He is wandering around, losing confidence in himself and even feeling skeptical about his goals due to the existence of an extremely powerful demon lord.

But look at her, who doesn’t care about herself who is suffering so much, and is blinded by a man and driven to her. It’s so unfair that I can’t live.

“So… … you’re saying that instead of stopping Mr. Jim from leaving, you just watched?”

Irina glares at Esmeralda with the most murderous expression she has ever seen. In her hand she is holding the Morning Star, which she rarely takes out except in battle.

“No, I fainted too… … .”

“Didn’t you say you had a conversation before you passed out?”

“I also had a hard time back then… … .”

“Esmeralda.”

As Esmeralda slowly backed away from Irina, who was striding towards her, Milia approached her from the side.

“You didn’t think Jim would run away? Wasn’t that girl here to steal Jim in the first place?”

“That… … Lieutenant General Liris had already… … before Jim left.”

“Don’t talk back.”

“… … .”

“Answer straight.”

“……sorry.”

Esmeralda told her not to answer, but when she remained silent, she apologized with tears in her eyes at Milia’s murderous attitude, demanding an answer.

“Calm down, kids. This isn’t necessarily Esmeralda’s fault. In the first place, isn’t it cowardly to only push Esmeralda when you’ve already fainted?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Irina and Milia kept their mouths shut and glared at Tina.

That’s right. There’s nothing wrong with that. But, that’s that, and what’s in the middle is what’s in the middle.

At that moment, the aggro of the two people began to subtly turn towards Tina.

Tina, who had been the first to realize that Esmeralda had lost her luggage, comforted her.

“Are you okay, Esmeralda?”

“Ugh… … Tina… … After all, there’s no one else but you.”

Esmeralda hugged Tina, who was trying to comfort her. Tina could have been suffocated by Esmeralda’s strength, but she just hugged her back and patted her on the back as if it was okay.

Of course, Tina has her own thoughts too.

“So… … ? Just tell me. Where did you hide your luggage?”

“… … .”

Esmeralda hid her luggage.

And he’s making excuses to other people, saying he ran away.

Tina thought so.

Because I thought that’s what I would do!

Tina, whose dragon tribe ways had already begun to take root deep in her brain.

It is only natural that treasures be hidden in one’s own secret nest.

“You hid Mr. Jim… …?”

“Did Esmeralda hide her luggage?”

And the other two people with good ears glared at Esmeralda with cold eyes at Tina’s words.

Esmeralda just sighed at the sight of the two people muttering as if it had already been decided.

Now I’m tired of feeling wronged.

“Stop! If you come any closer, I’ll burn this note that Jim left behind! I can do it! I can do it! Don’t come any closer!”

Esmeralda threatened the note with a matchstick in her hand.

It looks like the last resort a criminal might choose after taking a hostage.

He was far from a warrior.

And if there are people who threaten to take hostages, there are those who deal with them.

“Try it.”

Irina didn’t tend to negotiate with criminals. No, she didn’t care about notes.

“uh……?”

“If you are a warrior, you must have already checked the contents of the note, right?”

“……It’s not?”

“I’ll check that out and check my head.”

Because she was a true priest who knew many ways to draw the truth out of people’s mouths.

A model priest who hears confessions from others in all sorts of ways.

“That’s right, I learned it too.”

“… …Milia, I think the way you think about your brain is different from Irina’s.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as the result is the same.”

Kkieeeeek!

A thin, hideous tentacle extends from the tip of Millia’s staff and writhes.

How on earth would he go about poking around in her head with those little tentacles?

“… … Then I will read it.”

Esmeralda quietly wagged her tail and read the note Jim had left behind.

-Thank you for your time. I’ll lift the weights.

Very brief content.

A short text that only confirms the fact that he ran away, but does not provide a single clue as to where he ran to or what he was thinking.

The content is simple.

It’s much cleaner than adding this and that to a breakup.

but…….

“… … If I chase after him now, wouldn’t I be able to catch him?”

For Esmeralda, things couldn’t have been worse.

***

Beep beep beep beep beep───

Lilith opened her eyes to the tinnitus that was bothering her ears.

“ah…….”

And only then did Lilith realize that she had returned to the Demon King’s castle. Belphegor had come to rescue her in person.

And using that overwhelming force, he swept away everything around him.

Because someone had messed with her, who was of the same species. That was reason enough for the Manmata clan.

‘I couldn’t do anything.’

Beep beep beep beep beep───

Tinnitus becoming more distinct.

Jim protected himself even in a life-or-death situation.

He threw himself upon her and embraced her, enduring the pouring lightning.

Why did you do that?

What did you say?

Although she was acting like her fiancée, it was just an act.

At least for Jim.

Besides that, the only thing between Jim and Lilith is a relationship in which they have only exchanged a few communications.

I didn’t even know his face. This was the first time we met in person.

however…….

“Mr. Jim… … .”

Yet Jim saved himself.

He protected her with his life. His actions, which were clearly acting, were not acting. He consistently kept his word from beginning to end.

But what did he do?

What could you do?

He was just continuing to act even when he was in front of an enemy who was clearly targeting him.

I was worried about getting caught, so I was concerned about my own safety.

So I did nothing. No, I did nothing.

This is the result.

“If only I had been a little more courageous… … .”

Beep beep beep beep beep───

Tinnitus that is so loud it feels like it’s tearing your ears.

And then tears began to pour out of Lilith’s eyes.

Gratitude for the things that protected him and the love that grew from them.

And the self-loathing and guilt towards the man who protected her so much and did nothing when he was in danger.

All those emotions mixed together and overflowed, pouring out as tears.

“I… … I will… … for you… … . All those damned dragons and Abaddon scum… … !”

That’s when Lilith began to reach extreme conclusions.

Beep beep beep beep beep───

Lilith was able to realize that the tinnitus that had been bothering her ears all along was the sound of reality.

“This…….”

Communication magic.

And the only people Lilith can talk to at all times are the Demon King, the Commander of the Legion, and Jim.

As soon as Lilith realized that fact, she felt her heart pounding loudly.

And when I carefully received that communication, this is what I heard.

-Ah, Lieutenant General Liris. Are you okay? Are you hurt?

“Mr. Jim… … ?”

-Yes, I am. I am glad that you are safe. I was worried that you might have been questioned because of me, but I am relieved to hear your voice like this.

“I’m okay… … No, more importantly, are you okay, Mr. Jim?! Are you okay?!”

-Yes, I’m fine. So, you don’t have to worry.

“how…….”

Lilith pursed her lips and spoke as if pouring out her emotions.

“How can you not worry… … ? Because of me… … you, you… … Mr. Jim… … .”

How did you stop Belphegor’s attack? What are you doing now? Where are you and what are you thinking?

Countless thoughts come and go in Lilith’s head.

There were many things I wanted to ask. However, Liris did not do so.

Right now it’s just… … .

“I’m so glad you’re safe… … .”

Because I wanted to enjoy this feeling of relief.

***

This time, Jim finally succeeded in escaping from the warrior party.

Now it was time and a good time to run away, so there was no reason to hesitate.

The first thing he did after escaping was to contact the Demon King’s army.

“Well, it seems okay. I don’t know what happened to my position, but it seems that Lieutenant General Liris returned without any problems.”

Jim had no choice but to end the call after listening to Lilith’s voice, which was so sobbing that it wouldn’t even form a sentence, and reassuring her as much as possible.

Because it seemed like Lilith needed some rest.

Jim, who had been able to relieve one more burden from his mind, only then turned around to face the person who was watching him with a sullen expression.

“… …Is this okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I got separated from the warrior party.”

“Don’t you know I’ve been wanting to get out of there all along?”

“No, well… … that’s true.”

Accompanying that load are the extras who collapsed there.

Jim decided to take him with him and leave, as there was a high chance that he would be killed by a party of warriors when he woke up later if he were left there.

And there was a sense of homogeneity.

“Isn’t it ambiguous where you will return to anyway, Lieutenant Colonel?”

For some reason, the extras found it difficult to return to Ra Pa. No, to be exact, it would be more appropriate to go to the ＜Eye of Truth＞ where many dragons were stationed, not Ra Pa.

“That’s true.”

Even without that, since he was a demon, he had a tendency to act like a scapegoat, and if he were to return alive after the death of the ancient dragon Indra, he would not be able to avoid being looked at with suspicion.

Rapha will let it pass without a problem, but the dragons under his command are the problem.

If it was an elder dragon that showed absolute loyalty like Indra, it might be understandable, but it was highly likely that a mediocre dragon would look down on extras.

That is, he is in an extremely difficult situation if he returns to the eyes of truth.

And the same goes for Jim.

Jim has already shown his abilities.

It’s been seen many times up until now, but now it’s become so obvious that it can’t be covered up.

“No, but can’t you think about it again even now? No matter how much I think about it, your plan is not working.”

“But it is also a necessary thing, isn’t it?”

Now, Jim and the extras weren’t heading straight to the Demon World.

If he was headed to the Demon World in the first place, there would be no reason for the extras to accompany him.

They had places they had to stop in between and replenish supplies and manpower for their own conclusion.

Human resources are especially important.

Because right now, the two of us can’t accomplish anything.

The extra who was trying to return to the Abaddon area of ​​the Demon World also had the same thought. However, the reason he continued to show an uneasy reaction was no different.

“Even so, will that b*tch Five cooperate with us?”

This is because the two were currently going to the place where their former superior, the 5th Corps Commander, Five, was being held captive.