I Became a Burden to the Conscienceless Party

Needless to say, Esmeralda wasn’t a hero from the beginning.
She was an ordinary country girl and lived a monotonous life every day.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she lived the exact same life every day.
There was a time for sowing and a time for harvesting. She had grown up helping her parents with their work since she was young.
Every year, the things she could do increased, and the things she knew how to do increased. There was no time to be bored.
But in the autumn when she turned 17.
At the time when crops were to be harvested as usual, she realized.

‘Ah, I’ve learned everything now.’

That this year is no longer new.
That a monotonous daily life would begin.
That unless she breaks out into the world, she would live a life of simply plowing fields, sowing seeds, and harvesting in autumn in this narrow and quiet countryside.

“Hmm…”

A common adolescence.
She recognized the identity of what had come to her later than others.
She wanted to be special. She wished to escape from the monotonous daily life.
But such things are mere childish fantasies. She knows the world.
She had grown up learning and studying under her parents, so she knew well how harsh this world really is. Therefore, the fantasy of specialness she’s dreaming of now would obviously become a deadly poison.

“Let’s stop.”

Esmeralda shook it off.
She decided to live this monotonous but most valuable life.
Although it might be boring, she knows this is the best happiness she can enjoy.
But one day.
The fantasy she had erased came right before her eyes.

“The holy sword…”

It appears in numerous fairy tales and in many history books.
A sword for the savior who will prevent threats to this world when they come.
The proof and guiding light of a hero.
It was floating in front of Esmeralda’s eyes. During her usual daily routine, during monotonous work, when she was reminiscing with thoughts like ‘I once had such thoughts’.
The moment she recalled the memory of wishing to be special, the holy sword appeared before her eyes.

“…”

But Esmeralda knew.
That specialness is poison. That the moment she grasps this sword, she would be rejecting with her own hands the peace that she could even consider boring now.
And she knew.
That this holy sword doesn’t respond only to her.
It has already passed through many people and will continue to do so in the future.
The qualification of a hero wasn’t that special.
Many people could become one. It’s just that only one is chosen.
Even if she doesn’t grasp this sword, there wouldn’t be a problem.
After all, the holy sword would disappear just as it had come, seeking a new owner.

“But.”

Through whose rejection did this holy sword come to her?
Just by encountering it, she could tell that the holy sword had passed through numerous people. Even this time, there were many people besides her.
It was only because they all rejected it that the opportunity came to Esmeralda.

“Haha, I know. If I pick this up, my life is over, right?”

There were things she could understand just by facing the holy sword.
The moment she grasps that sword, all sorts of adversities would entangle her fate.

It would be a difficult journey, and there’s no guarantee of success.
The burdens she alone would have to bear would become too many.
Ah, yes. That must be why.

“Still, if it’s something someone has to do…”

She once wished for specialness.
But she knew it was an illusion. Because being special means living a life you can’t get used to.
Yes, she didn’t grasp the holy sword because she didn’t wish for specialness.

“At least I, who knows all this…!”

But if she turns away from this holy sword like others did, who would be the next suitable person?
She’s an ordinary girl living in this rural outskirts.
Because she once dreamed of being special, she knows about the holy sword and the weight of the title of hero to some extent.

But what about others?
Will everyone the holy sword goes to in the future be the same as her?
What if they don’t know anything?
What if they carelessly grab the holy sword that appears before them, even though they know?
What if it goes to a child so young they can’t even recognize such things, who only knows made-up stories from fairy tales?

“I’ll take that path.”

Yes, she made a decision for the sake of those she had never met. No, for things that could only be estimated as possibilities.
Her motivation might have been specialness, but her choice lay in good intentions.
Thus, the girl decided to take the sword.
To walk the most special and most arduous path in this world.

A hero born in the outskirts.
She neither particularly hid this fact nor deliberately revealed it.
Because according to her prediction, there would be people coming to find her.
In the meantime, she practiced how to hold and swing the sword.
She tried to become familiar with the powers she gained by becoming a hero.
After about a week had passed like that.

“Whaaat? This girl is the hero? She looks about the same age as me!”

There was someone who first found her. It was Tina, a scholar belonging to the Eye of Truth.
Somehow, she was the first among various groups to find her and become her friend.
Honestly, Esmeralda, who had been tense in many ways, could feel relieved.

[Note: She thinks you’re an amazing person for becoming a hero at a similar age to her.]

Because she purely respected Esmeralda’s choice.
Because she praised that noble intention. Because she tried to open her heart and become friends even knowing all that.
And one by one.
People who found the hero’s existence through their own methods gathered.

The Seven Magic Towers who found her through astrology by observing the flow of stars.
Their elder magicians came.

The Celestial Church who received her location through oracles and came to greet her.
Their high priests came.

And the Empire, which holds the largest territory in human history, encompassing all of that.
Officials from there flocked.

Envoys representing each group filled the small rural village on the border.
Esmeralda revealed her name and intentions as composedly as possible.
Of course, she had no intention of letting her guard down.
She had already investigated numerous histories where people tried to use the symbolism of the hero.
She intended to be careful with every single word she uttered.

The maximum struggle she could make as someone who didn’t know politics and had no backing.
The fruit of a hero who tried to fight for the future of humanity, not for personal gain.

“Hello, Hero. I am Irina Saintis, the saint of the Celestial Church. I look forward to working with you.”
[Note: She intends to grind you up as material for holy relics in the future.]

But that was…

“Nice… to meet you. I’m Milia Aslin. Ah, I’m, I’m a magician. Please take care of me?”
[Note: She plans to research new magic using the hero’s corpse.]

Just a meaningless struggle.

“Haha…”

Yes, how much could she do alone?
She has no funds to travel, no place to stay.
She’s a commoner whose knowledge of the world is at best only what she’s read in books, who can’t even discern how the political structure within the empire is flowing.

“…Please take care of me.”

She received two time bombs that could explode at any time at the start of her journey.
Tina’s presence was somewhat comforting, but it didn’t seem like it would be much help.
In the end, if those two reveal their true nature, wouldn’t Tina be the first to be disposed of by them?
Esmeralda felt her insides burning, but she didn’t show it.
Because at that time, her greatest weapon was information.
The information that she knows the other party’s intentions.
She must live being mindful of that.
But if the other party also learns of this information, it will become troublesome.
It was a powerful weapon but also a bomb that might stab her at any time.
Yes, this too is a bomb.
She felt like she had become a bomb carrier.

“Wow! Thank you all! Let’s work hard together to save the world, okay? We’re the proud hero party after all!”

She had to act as an innocent, stupid country girl as much as possible.
If the effect of her power is discovered, it’s over.
She has no strength, power, connections, or wisdom to survive between the two major forces of the Church and Magic Towers.
She proved her worth with her life on the line at every moment. While being mindful of the enemies in front and behind.
To not become material for holy relics, to not become an experimental subject.
To not lose those friends, even if it meant wearing such a facade.
As Esmeralda was gradually going mad under such all-round pressure, a fateful encounter came to her.

“Sob sob! The monsters living in the forest turned the village into this state! I want revenge but I don’t have the power! Please, Hero, please…! Please…!”

[Name: Jim]
[Race: Mixed Demon]
[List of Characteristics]
Common Magic Lv. 32
Black Magic Lv. 34
Blue Blood Lv. 1

[Comprehensive Estimate: Lv. 274]
[Note: He plans to investigate the hero party and, depending on the situation, eliminate everyone.]

The worst enemy for the hero who was around Lv. 100 at that time.

Esmeralda is blankly staring at Jim. The appearance of the demon spy she fatefully encountered that day.

“Can’t we rest a bit more?”
“Wow, Jim, how can you be so carefree when you were even kidnapped?”
“If, if Jim wants to rest, shouldn’t we, we rest?”
“If you’re tired, should I cast holy magic on you?”

Esmeralda looked over the members of the hero party, each thinking only of themselves, and then let out a deep sigh.

“We’re leaving now, so shall we go?”

She walked looking ahead.
With bombs strung up on her back.
Today too, she walked alone among people to save the world.