I Became a Burden to the Conscienceless Party

To be honest, I’m not bragging, but I’m quite handsome.
As a magician, I’m naturally intelligent, and my life as a porter has even given me a solid physique.
Yes, I’m handsome. What made me certain of this was one day.
In the middle of a journey to move towards the Magic Tower where Milia was, in order to regroup the hero party members.

“Mr. Jim, if it’s really hard for you, would you like to run away with me?”
“Uh, um…”

The Saint made such a proposal while the Hero was away.
Isn’t this honestly a temptation?
I had been thinking that recently she and the Hero, Esmeralda, had been whispering to each other a lot, and it seems they were talking about me.
Yes, the two girls were consulting each other about their fresh emotions.

“If Mr. Jim is okay with it, let’s run away together to a place where no one can reach us.”

The Saint, Irina, proposed to elope with me.
Wow, it’s really an attractive proposal. No, if the other party wasn’t the Saint, I would have fallen for it completely.
If only being with her didn’t cause physical pain, it would have been worth considering deeply.
In some sense, wouldn’t it be more dangerous by her side than with the hero party?
And I haven’t met the Demon King yet. I have to meet him, talk, and come to a conclusion.

“Mr. Jim. Won’t you?”
“Uh…”

But when she looks at me with those tear-filled eyes, it’s quite tempting.
Eyes that make you want to fall into them.
Maybe I could endure a little pain? Like this, the two of us could run away, build a house on a hill, live happily, and have about thirteen children…

“Ahaha, what are you two talking about so interestingly?”

Just as I was imagining such a rosy future, Esmeralda, who I thought had left her seat, appeared and spoke to us, instantly bringing me back to reality.
That was dangerous.
I thought I was being brainwashed or something.
What kind of mindset made me think positively about such a proposal?
I’m frightened by my own complacency.

“Irina?”
“Fufu, it was a joke.”

Wow, that was really dangerous.
It seems I was about to take it seriously, not realizing it was a joke.
Yes, once again, I was the only one being serious.
I’ll definitely repay the price for making me shed tears of blood someday.
I secretly wiped away my tears as I watched the two of them look at each other and laugh amicably.

It’s impossible to let my guard down at all.
That was Esmeralda’s recent state of mind as she began her journey.
She had been able to have a sincere conversation with Irina at the Papal State and reach a somewhat amicable conclusion.
Yes, now the Celestial Order is truly cooperating with Esmeralda.
It can’t be anything but a good thing.
Just looking at Irina, she’s well restrained by setting the goal of receiving Jim after the Demon King subjugation is over.
No, that’s what she thought.

“Haha, Irina, really? If you make jokes like that, I’ll feel hurt.”
“Fufu, I’m sorry, Hero.”

However, Irina was no ordinary person. She was secretly maneuvering behind the scenes.

[Note: This is stage 2 of brainwashing. With time, one can naturally regain their senses.]

Irina had been secretly manipulating Jim’s mind. Seeing that it had reached stage 2 of brainwashing, it seems she had been secretly drugging him for a long time.
Esmeralda thought it was fortunate that she could see the effects of brainwashing manifested in surface thoughts.
An additional effect of the power [Emerald Tablet] that even she didn’t know about.
What would have happened without this?
Would Jim and Irina have run away?

‘That woman would do that and more.’

Esmeralda responded with a bright smile to Irina, who was still looking at her with a beaming smile.

‘And that bastard too.’

Then she looked at Jim, who had seemed likely to fall for Irina’s scheme just moments ago.
Even if he was under the influence of brainwashing, seeing how completely he fell for it

“Mr. Jim, you’ve prepared all the items you said you would, right?”

Esmeralda’s nagging.

“Of course. Although it’s not that far to the Glacies Magic Tower, I prepared generously just in case.”

However, Jim diligently began to unpack his luggage and explain each item in detail.
His eyes are sparkling as if he’s doing porter-like work after a long time.
He was so stupid that he didn’t even notice he was being nagged at.
He seems to be getting dumber by the day.

“Ah, yes… You did well.”

In the end, Esmeralda was left speechless at the sight.

“Fufu.”

Irina, who was smiling ecstatically at such a Jim to a frightening degree, was even scarier than usual.

Clop clop.
Jim was driving the horse of the carriage after a really long time. Until now, he had been carrying just one backpack as a porter, but now there’s no need for that.
Because it’s a safe zone.
What could be a threat when traveling through the Empire, especially on the path to the Magic Tower?
Today it’s not cold, moderately warm, and even the wind is cool, so Esmeralda, sitting at the back of the carriage Jim was driving, yawned.

“Sleepy…”

The demon forces they had to face countless times while going through fortress cities.
The Corps Commander they encountered while visiting Jim’s hometown (not).
The crisis they faced at the Celestial Order where they went to treat wounds.
For Esmeralda, who had gone through such arduous journeys, this moment couldn’t help but be boring.
Of course, it’s not that she doesn’t love peace.
She’s facing the Demon King and the dragon race to create this kind of peace.

‘Still, just sitting still doesn’t suit my temperament…’

But even when she lived in the countryside, she spent every day fulfillingly.
A daily routine of running to the fields when she opened her eyes and returning when the sun set.
At a glance, it might seem like she worked like an ox, but she felt a sense of accomplishment in her own way.
Because the harvest from her fields was substantial in proportion to how long she worked.

“Hero, are you bored?”
“…”

And there was one person who accurately saw through Esmeralda’s psychology. The Saint, Irina, with her strange personality that enjoys tormenting others.

“Irina, what are you scheming again?”
“Scheming? We’re friends, aren’t we? It’s not strange to enjoy leisure time with a friend.”

Unbelievable.
Even more so with that blatantly innocent smile.
Esmeralda glared at Irina with half-opened eyes.
Jim is holding the reins in front, so he doesn’t have the leisure to watch this situation, but there’s nothing good about making a commotion to draw attention.
Esmeralda lowered her voice and asked Irina:

“So? What are you trying to do?”
“This.”

Irina showed Esmeralda an object with a bright smile.

“…A book?”
“Yes!”

Esmeralda, who had flinched and prepared to counterattack, belatedly realized that what Irina handed over was a book and relaxed her guard.

“Why a book?”

She knew Jim had prepared many miscellaneous things, but she didn’t know there was a book among them.
Is this for leisure?
No, come to think of it, Jim and Milia used to exchange and read each other’s books, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

‘Well, I did receive a book as a gift from Milia recently too.’

Then this must be a gift prepared for Milia.

“Reading will be good nourishment.”
“Hmm…”

Esmeralda looked at Irina suspiciously but accepted the book she offered for now.

[The Female Knight and the Tentacle Dungeon]

“…”
“…”

Esmeralda froze in the very posture she had received the book.
And Irina, staring at such an Esmeralda with a smile.

“…Irina. How would you like me to react?”
“It wouldn’t be bad to scream shyly and be embarrassed.”
“I won’t. What do you take me for? Do you think I’m a teenager going through puberty?”

Esmeralda quietly put down the book Irina had handed her.
There was no need to be flustered.
After all, even at the moment she accepted the book, she hadn’t completely let her guard down. Of course, she hadn’t expected Irina’s scheme to be this.

“That’s a shame.”
“Hmph.”

Irina, perhaps because the reaction was unexpected, pouted her lips and crawled back to her original spot, quietly offering prayers.
Was she bored too?
Esmeralda glared at such an Irina as if looking at a crazy woman, then sighed deeply and went back to watching the scenery unfolding beyond the carriage.
Beyond the well-maintained road, she could see trees densely planted.
That’s all she could see.

“…”

Esmeralda’s gaze momentarily turned to the book she had put down.
She knows.
This is Irina’s real aim.
If she can’t resist her curiosity and opens the book, Irina intends to use that as an excuse to torment her.
Seeing through that much is nothing.

“…”

Glance.
But her eyes keep going to it.
Leaving the book there without retrieving it is probably part of Irina’s plan from the start.

Esmeralda quietly turned her head to check on Irina.
She was still praying.
With her hands respectfully clasped and her eyes tightly closed.

‘With my reflexes… it wouldn’t be a problem to put the book back in its original place before Irina opens her eyes.’

Reading the book is already a decided matter.
Esmeralda had now come to calculate her physical abilities and reflexes. And after checking Irina’s angle, the state of her eyelids, etc., Esmeralda finally reached out her hand.