I Became the Burden of a Conscienceless Party

90 – The Ascetic of Kapilavastu (3)

The Ascetic of Kapilavastu (3)

The moment when full-scale negotiations for Jim and Garnet to join hands were about to begin!

Gulp.

“… … Before we start talking, what should I feed you first?”

Unfortunately, Five has only just been released.

It seemed more important to fill our stomachs before negotiating.

It’s humiliating to say this in front of Jim, but her pride has long since been tattered.

I was now willing to endure this level of humiliation.

“Okay, then. There’s no rush.”

Jim was smiling brightly, unaware of Five’s feelings.

***

Five was finally able to relax after eating a quick meal and taking a shower.

Peace has finally come to my mind and body. Considering that I was held captive until just a moment ago, I could say that my recovery was quite quick.

“Phew… … .”

The refreshing feeling from a shower and the fullness from a meal.

All of that satisfies her. Now, she can even think positively about dealing with Jim.

Of course, it depends on the content.

“… … Yeah, everything is good. I just wish you could do something about that gaze.”

First of all, I have to deal with the burden of staring intently at my bare skin revealed between the towels.

If he had just glanced at me, I would have thought he was annoying, but when he stares at me like that, it’s just scary.

I felt like I was on the verge of incomprehensible madness. It was quite unsettling.

Jim’s gaze, which had been staring intently at her chest for a while, now sweeps down her legs.

Five, who had been holding the towel near his chest under Jim’s gaze, looks at the bottom of the towel, chews his lips, and turns his head.

A situation where you had no choice but to choose which of the two to prioritize.

Five chose the chest area.

It was a good thing for Jim, who rarely thought highly of Five’s curves, but Five had no way of knowing that.

“… … Could you please ask the extras to quickly bring me some clothes to change into?”

“You seem to be in a hurry. But, even if you change now, your clothes will just get damp because of the moisture in your hair, so wouldn’t it be better to stay like that for a little longer?”

“Ugh… … .”

Jim, what a coincidence.

Jim was a man who often showed brilliant intuition in front of his true self.

“… … Okay, okay. Should we continue what we were talking about earlier? What do you mean you can help me?”

“I see. Then it would be quicker to reveal my purpose first. I wish to meet and talk to the Demon King.”

A surprisingly sound sense of purpose.

Five was planning on burning this place down and leaving if Jim had said he would defeat the Demon King.

The reason she wants to challenge the Demon King is because of her past regrets.

That’s why I tried to challenge myself even though I knew I would lose, but I wouldn’t have believed it if Jim had said something like that.

So, he would have thought that it was a deception and would have eliminated the very possibility of cooperating with them.

But, a conversation?

It’s almost as if the meeting with Belphegor is the goal itself.

“I saw it recently, but before I could even speak to it, it blew up the area around it and disappeared.”

“Hmm… … ?”

Five frowned at Jim’s words, which sounded like something he had experienced firsthand.

Was the burden that much? She also knows Belphegor’s status well.

After all, wasn’t he the one who silenced the entire Demon King’s army and brought even the previous Demon King, Leviathan, to his knees?

She was there at that time and it really hurt.

“Okay, so what’s the bottom line?”

“I would like to borrow your strength, Commander. I don’t think I can reach the Demon King’s Castle alone.”

“Strength? Or name?”

“Depending on the situation, you may need both.”

“You weren’t thoughtless, were you?”

For a torturer, his way of thinking was quite normal.

Yes, if it’s the ‘name’ of Legion Commander Five, you’ll be able to reach the Demon King’s Castle with ease.

Of course, how many demons would stand in the way of mentioning her name?

But Jim knew.

That too is only a matter of time.

She’s officially already declared dead, so that information will probably get out eventually.

If that happens, there will be a problem in clearing the way with just Five’s name.

Yes, from that point on, what is needed is Five’s power.

“It’s not even funny.”

A plan to meet the Demon King.

It’s certainly the fastest and most realistic plan, but Jim is forgetting the most important part.

“Why should I help you?”

That is, it is a one-sided help from Five.

Jim’s promise to allow me to challenge the Demon King was nothing more than a play on words.

If she could make her way like that, she would naturally be able to face the Demon King.

That is, Jim’s proposal is missing the most important part.

“You’re trying to order me around without even showing me your hidden power?”

“I guess so.”

Yeah, Jim’s suggestion would only work if he were as skilled as Five.

Then it is cooperation, not help.

If it was a price for saving her life, then Jim saved her first and then negotiated separately, then Five didn’t need to be bound by it.

“Then how do you want to show it?”

“You are saying strange things.”

Jim let out a deep sigh as if he was dumbfounded and turned his gaze from his legs to Five’s.

“From the moment I sat down here, I had no intention of hiding anything.”

Jim’s eyes were not as cloudy as usual, but clear as if he was seeing straight to the source.

Yes, just by looking into those eyes, Five could feel some kind of pressure squeezing his heart. There was no need for a skill test.

The moment I met Jim’s gaze, I could feel just as much of a sense of crisis as I had felt from the Corps Commander and the First.

But that wasn’t the part that puzzled her the most.

“No… … . But why were you looking at my legs with those eyes? With those clear, pure eyes… … .”

“Isn’t it nice to see? Oh, this is a compliment. You, Commander, are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.”

“… … I wish you would give me some time to think about your proposal.”

The thing is, Jim is the same madman whether his eyes are cloudy or clear.

Five held off on the proposal, basing it solely on external factors, excluding the possibility and Jim’s actual power.

The question was whether it was okay to travel with such a pervert.

***

The warrior Esmeralda had returned to her village.

What Jim said was to think it over and decide for yourself.

That was partly because of that, but also because I had a real sense of the existence of the Demon King.

That is, she acknowledged that she might die.

No, I realized that my chances of dying were higher than ever.

That’s why I wanted to see my hometown even if it meant forcing myself to do so.

Because it might be a place you can never return to.

Esmeralda returned to her hometown for such lyrical reasons… … .

“Oh my, the stew is really tasty. I was wondering who taught you how to cook, and it was your mother.”

“Oh my, look at the way she speaks. Don’t you know how she picks out only pretty words? Do they suit your lady’s taste?”

“……yes.”

“Ma’am! Give me another bowl!”

“Okay, Tina, you need to eat a lot and grow bigger. Is this enough?”

The scenery at home was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

The members of the warrior party, who would normally go out to find work to do, all invaded Esmeralda’s hometown.

The incident started because of Tina’s remarks.

He followed her to keep an eye on her, as he had a vague suspicion that Esmeralda was hiding something.

For Esmeralda, who was trying to calm her mind, this was only disquieting.

It felt like my last memory was being tarnished.

“Oh my. My daughter was always getting beat up by kids, so you don’t know how worried I was. I wish she was a little more well-behaved like our saint.”

“Oh, no. How much do we benefit from your grace, sir? I actually think your bold actions are admirable.”

“… … .”

As always, Irina acts like a natural saint in front of the public.

Esmeralda didn’t even realize that food was going down her throat in a situation that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

However, the tense atmosphere has calmed down somewhat.

It was not so much because of her desperate explanation as because they were competing with each other.

Yeah, they didn’t give up their luggage.

The situation is that each group is still searching for luggage.

In the meantime, he followed Esmeralda to keep an eye on her.

“I’m going to go get some fresh air for a bit.”

“Huh? Is this all you eat?”

“Haha… …I have no appetite.”

“Surely our daughter. You’re not upset that I compared you to a saint, are you?”

“Hey, why are you upset about something like that? It’s just hot.”

really.

Esmeralda didn’t care at all about being compared to Irina.

Because I know that it’s all flashy on the outside but rotten on the inside.

Of course, if you compare appearances, I’ll get angry. Appearance is a different matter.

She was confident about her appearance.

“Oh, Hero. Would it be okay if I came with you? This is my first time looking around your hometown in detail.”

[Note: I’m thinking of going to find hidden luggage.]

“no…….”

“Are you worried that I might be uncomfortable going with you…?”

“no…….”

There were two ‘no…’s, but the nuance had to be different.

The first one was ‘What the hell is this crazy b*tch thinking?’, the second one was ‘This b*tch is no joke.’

A situation where Esmeralda chose only the words she would not be able to refuse, based on what her mother had said.

There is no way I can refuse.

If I refuse here, it would be the same as confirming the worries that Esmeralda’s mother had expressed earlier.

If anyone saw it, it would become the established theory that she was trying to leave because she was annoyed at being compared to Irina.

“I want to go too.”

And if Irina leaves, Milia will come too. Two people who are more sincere than anyone about their luggage would not be able to stand by and watch one of them get ahead in a situation like this.

“Oh, me too! I ate a lot, so I should empty my stomach a bit too.”

And Tina, whose thoughts had not reached that far, simply read the atmosphere and joined Esmeralda’s walk.

Esmeralda felt the meal she had just eaten was weighing on her, as she felt suffocated from not being able to be alone, either at home or outside.

“… … Then shall we go?”

Esmeralda forced a smile as she watched the line of warriors following her, hanging behind her as if to keep an eye on her.

‘I wasn’t supposed to come to my hometown… … .’

But my insides are just burning.

Where can you find someone who can understand her?

It might be nearby.

In a cabin near the village.