I Became a Burden to the Conscienceless Party

At first, she was just thinking of abandoning him.
No matter how much Jim held the party together, could it be more precious than life? This is a rational judgment.

‘Jim’s departure… Yes, let’s tell them that we had no choice but to let him go because he said he wanted to rebuild the village.’

He left of his own will, not kidnapped or killed. If she explains it that way, even Milia won’t go berserk immediately, right?
It might be a bit awkward considering Esmeralda’s actions of holding onto Jim and not letting him go until now, but time will resolve that too.
And strictly speaking, it’s not a lie, is it? Jim will return to his real hometown, not the fake one, and live happily.
Well, since he’s in the Demon King’s Army, they might meet again.

‘Sigh… Until then, I should somehow get closer to the kids.’

Yes, it failed this time.
But it’s not a painful mistake, nor an irreversible one.
So, she just needs to run away when the opponent shows mercy like this.

‘…Yes, losing to the strong isn’t shameful.’

As long as she wins in the end.
Originally, Esmeralda started as an ordinary country girl. Even after becoming a hero, she didn’t immediately become strong, so it’s natural that she experienced numerous defeats.
She became as strong as she is now because she survived even humiliating defeats. It’s the same this time. She just needs to become stronger in the future.
Esmeralda came up with several excuses like that.
But…

“Ha! Really… This is truly a foolish act.”

Esmeralda sensed killing intent.
It wasn’t directed at her.
She just happened to sense it flowing out from inside the tent.
No, she might have been unconsciously focusing on that side, thinking this might happen.
In the end, Esmeralda noticed the situation she had been worrying about.

“Sigh, really, nothing goes right in this life.”

She turned back the way she came.

“Haha!”

Esmeralda laughed.
She really didn’t know what she was doing herself.
To say she just followed her heart would be tantamount to suicide.
If you ask whether Jim is someone worth risking her life to protect, she can assert that he definitely isn’t.
Yet Esmeralda blocked Corps Commander Eleven’s sword.
Despite knowing that he spared her because it was troublesome. Now that she’s made it more troublesome for him, there’s no way out.

“Hm, I thought you had some sense, but you’re truly foolish.”
“What can I do? I prefer following my heart over my head.”
“Do you know who this person is and still do this?”
“Of course. I know well.”

Clang!
Esmeralda grinned and deflected Eleven’s sword upwards, which was pressed against her holy sword.

“He’s my precious comrade. At least until he betrays me first.”
“You foolish…!”
“If I was going to pursue rationality, I wouldn’t have become a hero in the first place!”

As if rebutting Eleven’s roar, Esmeralda shouted and swung her sword.
But the moment their swords clashed, Esmeralda’s sword started to be pushed back one-sidedly.
Because the difference in skill is evident.
Not just in strength, but also in technique, there’s no way Esmeralda could overwhelm Eleven.

‘But!’

Swish!
At that moment, swords flew from all directions, tearing through the tent, towards Eleven.
The holy sword that moves according to its owner’s will. Esmeralda’s power to synchronize that ability with other swords and control them.

‘The number of swords I can move at once is still 12! But for one-on-one combat, it’s more than enough!’

Esmeralda deliberately retreated as if pulling the opponent’s sword.
It looked like she was losing her balance and about to fall. But Esmeralda knows. The opponent is clearly a monster.
To defeat the opponent, she needs the mindset of cutting off six layers of flesh and crushing bones.

“How crude!”

Clang clang clang!
But Eleven is a battle-hardened veteran who survived 100 years on the battlefield.
Without being flustered by Esmeralda’s crude improvisation, he deflected all 12 swords with a single swing.

“…!”

For a moment, Esmeralda was captivated by that sight.
A single sword swing as graceful as flowing water.
Her eyes took in the ability of a swordsman at a level far beyond her.
The sword that came back straight.
The moment it was swung neatly, Esmeralda came to her senses.

“Ugh!”

She receives that single strike.
And Esmeralda flew backwards, unable to withstand the force.
The tent that Esmeralda had torn instantly became a tattered mat and disappeared into the sky.

“Strange.”
“…”

Eleven, far from thinking of chasing Esmeralda, looked at Jim who showed no signs of waking up despite this situation.

“I see. Did you give him a sleeping drug?”
“Haha, he keeps trying to run away. It’s troublesome, so I just put him to sleep.”
“How strange. You call such a person a comrade?”
“What’s so special about being a comrade?”

Esmeralda roughly wiped away the blood trickling down her mouth from internal injuries and gripped her sword again.

“If it’s enjoyable and comfortable when we’re together, that’s a comrade, isn’t it?”

As Esmeralda spoke, she felt like she was convincing herself.
Ah, that’s right. It was enjoyable being together. Despite everything, it seems she couldn’t think of Jim as just an enemy.
That’s probably because Jim has never crossed the line until now.
Even Esmeralda has put sleeping drugs in Jim’s meals.
Yet Jim has never even thought of poisoning or attacking while they sleep.

“If Mr. Jim was truly a hopeless trash, I wouldn’t have thought of saving him. But that wasn’t the case. Even though he had the opportunity, Jim didn’t try to kill us.”

Whether he didn’t want to dirty his own hands.
Or if he had some guilt deep down.
Esmeralda thought it was cowardly, but that’s all.
That’s not a reason to kill Jim.
Yes, she is a being who always pursues goodness, even if she’s taken advantage of like a pushover. A being who pioneers the path others don’t take.

“So, I’m going to take Jim back.”

Hero.
Esmeralda charged in, feeling somewhat relieved.
The odds are still slim.
She’s outmatched in strength, technique, and even in the amount of experience accumulated.
A fight with no chance of winning.

‘And I’m always the person who challenges such impossible fights!’

Clang!
Esmeralda’s holy sword strikes Eleven’s sword. It feels like swinging a sword at a massive rock.
Despite the overwhelming gap, Esmeralda deliberately smiled.

“Haaaaaah!”

12 swords follow the trajectory of the sword she swung.

“…!”

Eleven stepped back with his eyes wide open at that skill.
Swordsmanship aimed at breaking swords.
Even Corps Commander Eleven couldn’t think of clashing swords head-on against Esmeralda’s radical fighting style.

Clang clang clang!
Eleven smiled at Esmeralda’s swordsmanship, which looked like she was wielding an opened fan rather than a sword.
The opponent is weak.
Compared to him, her swordsmanship is insignificant and she lacks the power to push through.
The 12 swords that follow Esmeralda’s holy sword again and again no matter how many times he deflects them. The skill of offense and defense united, swinging like a fan and blocking like a cloak.
Eleven didn’t judge it as cowardly.
How could it be unpleasant for the weak to devise ways and means to defeat the strong?

“Good. Keep going!”

Eleven pushed Esmeralda back while bursting into laughter.
He didn’t care about the 12 swords that followed to break his sword. If the opponent aims for a single point, it’s easier for him to respond.
Instead of dodging, Eleven decided to push through as if aiming for a short decisive battle.

“Haak!”

Esmeralda inhaled.
Far from being able to confront using the 12 swords, she was struggling just to block the sword that was pushing her back madly.
Esmeralda smiled, wringing it out, in the midst of such fierce attacks that she even forgot to control the swords.

‘But, at this distance!’

Esmeralda has moved quite far from her original position as she kept retreating. And that was also what she was aiming for.
She moved away from the campsite where the bonfire was and entered deep into the forest where even starlight doesn’t reach.
Slowly, little by little, she lures him in like that. At the point where their eyes have adjusted to the darkness and they can perceive each other’s movements.

“My specialty is swordsmanship, but that’s not all I have.”
“What?!”

[Common Magic Lv. 21]

Learn what can be learned.
The more means available, the better. Fortunately, she had plenty of teachers around her who could teach such things.
Esmeralda’s main skill is swordsmanship using the holy sword.
But because of that, the opponent doesn’t suspect that Esmeralda can use other means.
A strike that pierces that gap.

Common Magic
[Flash Bang]

For a moment, a brilliant white light burst in front of Eleven, who had come close while pushing Esmeralda back.
Eleven’s vision, which had been staring with eyes adjusted to the darkness, was instantly consumed by light and disappeared.
Esmeralda’s strike aiming for that gap.
With the holy sword placed horizontally to the ground as the center, the 12 swords are arranged in a circle. They were maintaining regular intervals as if looking at the hour hand of a clock.
Simultaneously, the swords are imbued with colorful sword energy.
A sword technique that maximizes the power of the swords synchronized with the holy sword.

Unique Swordsmanship
[Midnight]

The hero, Esmeralda’s secret technique poured towards Eleven.