Ch.15Hero Esmeralda (4)

# Hero Esmeralda (4)

In the end, as Lug had schemed, the hero Esmeralda ended up traveling alone with him. With rumors about Lug already circulating both inside and outside the party, no one would look favorably upon this journey to his hometown.

In truth, had the hero been backed by some organization or group, she would have flatly refused such a proposal.

But the heroic image she had built up over time made it impossible for her to do so.

She was someone who acted out of goodwill.

Therefore, she couldn’t refuse a request made by a comrade with tears in their eyes.

Of course, Lug’s already rock-bottom reputation would plummet even further because of this, but if he succeeded in escaping as planned, that wouldn’t matter anyway.

‘Ugh, how annoying.’

Esmeralda smiled brightly while observing Lug, who followed behind her with just a small backpack. Despite having worked as a porter for a long time, he was visibly sweating from carrying even this much weight.

It made sense since he was originally a Mage, but still…

[Tireless Stamina Lv. 2]

His physical condition was truly terrible.

‘Does that trait even mean anything?’

Lug was always the first to tire among the hero’s party members. Of course, he might have slightly better stamina than Millia Asrin the mage and Eirene Saintess the cleric.

But since he basically carried luggage around, he expended more energy than both of them.

Even so, he had only managed to develop two traits from his time as a porter.

And even those traits were at a low level.

[Comprehensive Estimate: Lv. 274]

To put it in perspective, this number hadn’t changed at all.

Lug had shown almost no physical or mental growth whatsoever.

Of course, the comprehensive estimate wasn’t necessarily higher just because trait levels were high.

It was merely a measure of one’s combat capability. Even with numerous traits, one’s comprehensive estimate might not be high.

Naturally, higher trait levels generally meant a higher probability of being strong.

But Lug’s comprehensive estimate was strangely high.

His combat-related traits consisted only of common magic and black magic. Even those were negligible compared to Millia’s.

That’s what made it so strange.

Comparing when she first met Lug, Millia had always had a higher level of common magic than him.

Their black magic levels were similar.

Yet Millia was weaker than Lug. Despite her other magical abilities, Millia’s comprehensive estimate was around 200.

‘I should check that out sometime.’

Probably because of a single trait.

Blue Blood Lv. 1

A trait she had never seen or heard of before.

That’s why she couldn’t understand it.

While she had figured out most of Lug’s abilities over time, this trait remained unidentifiable.

Despite being only level 1, it gave Lug an absurdly high comprehensive estimate.

Of course, she had recently noticed that the black magic Lug used felt different from that of other demons, but…

‘The difference wasn’t significant enough to feel threatening.’

It had power appropriate to his black magic level. That’s why Esmeralda couldn’t help but keep an eye on Lug’s single unique trait.

So she had used Lug as bait.

Pushing him slightly when a blind arrow was fired or when a dragon used its breath.

Most of Lug’s reasons for wanting to retire were provided by Esmeralda.

Of course, she never intended to kill him, so she always kept things just on the edge.

‘Does this bastard not even know what trait he possesses?’

Esmeralda examined Lug following behind her with half-closed eyes. His legs were trembling, suggesting he would soon reach his limit.

“Shall we rest here for today?”

“Y-yes, l-let’s do that.”

Lug was already too exhausted from Esmeralda’s forced march to form proper sentences.

This was Esmeralda’s intention.

If he was this tired, he wouldn’t think about sneaking away at night.

Whenever she moved alone with Lug, she always pushed him to exhaustion like this.

“Then you rest. I’ll prepare the tent and dinner.”

“I-I-I will…”

“Haha, I said rest.”

Esmeralda forced Lug to sit on a nearby rock with a bitter smile.

Once forced to sit, Lug couldn’t get up again. He had reached his limit, just as Esmeralda had planned.

Lug was a demon spy. He had been selling their information all this time.

But his porter act was always sincere. His principle that the most useless person should handle the most miscellaneous tasks hadn’t changed even now when he was thinking of escape.

Perhaps it was this sincerity that had kept him from being discovered until now.

Yes, perhaps that’s why Esmeralda hadn’t killed him yet.

‘Oh, come to think of it…’

While tidying up the surroundings, Esmeralda glanced at Lug again as if something had suddenly occurred to her.

‘Lug has never tried to kill us even once.’

Even when he was stronger than her.

Even when he wasn’t.

There had been plenty of opportunities to strike when they were eating or sleeping.

Esmeralda was confident she could handle such situations, but from Lug’s perspective, it might have seemed different.

“Really.”

Esmeralda muttered in a cold voice, observing Lug’s behavior.

“You’re such a coward.”

***

In their modest camp, Esmeralda set up the tent, heated some preserved food for dinner, and took the first watch.

Normally, with two people, they would take turns, but Esmeralda didn’t fully trust Lug.

Moreover, Lug had already reached his physical limit and was practically half-unconscious.

Esmeralda sat alone, leaning against a tree, gazing up at the moon.

This solitary time was most precious to her. A time when she could just be herself.

“Haah…”

The country girl Esmeralda had died the moment she grasped the holy sword.

She would have to continue living as a hero. Acting with a foolish expression and wielding her sword for others.

After sighing miserably while looking up at the moon for a while, Esmeralda quietly lowered her head.

“That was faster than expected.”

Before Esmeralda stood an old man who had approached without notice.

As they were getting closer to the location of Lug’s fake hometown, she had anticipated that demons might make contact around this time, so Esmeralda wasn’t surprised and drew her sword.

“You came alone, I see. Well, I suppose that means you’re confident?”

“I heard the hero was stupid, but meeting you in person, I see that’s not entirely true.”

The two faced each other across the campfire.

Despite the situation, Lug remained asleep in the tent.

Esmeralda ignored the tingling sensation she felt and glared at her opponent.

The opponent stood with his back straight and hands behind his back, as if unconcerned with whatever she might do.

Her power, Emerald Tablet, showed her general information about her opponent.

The most important details were:

[Name: Eleven]

[Race: Demon] [Title: Corps Commander]

[Trait List]

Unique Swordsmanship Lv. 82

.

.

.

[Comprehensive Estimate: Lv. 812]

[Note: He is interested in you. Run away.]

Esmeralda belatedly noticed the rank insignia on the opponent’s collar.

Three stars. Undeniably a high-ranking officer equivalent to a lieutenant general.

This was the worst crisis she had ever faced.

“Sigh, my life really sucks.”

Just looking at the comprehensive estimate, he was at least twice as strong as her.

Of course, since the numbers couldn’t be directly compared, the actual gap might be three or four times greater, which wouldn’t be surprising.

There was a reason for his composure.

An elderly demon was a rare sight to begin with.

Being old meant having survived.

For demons, this was a clear truth more than anything else.

“I won’t chase you if you run. My assigned mission isn’t to subjugate you. At my age, you see, overtime work becomes quite tiresome.”

“Wow, really?”

“But leave that fellow behind.”

“That’s unfortunate, but I have no choice. Goodbye, Lug. It’s been fun.”

Esmeralda immediately sheathed her holy sword and stepped back.

“Don’t you think I might be lying?”

“What else can I do but believe you? I have to trust you.”

Of course, Esmeralda wasn’t a fool who blindly trusted demons.

She simply had a means to be certain.

‘It’s a shame, but I have to give up. Seeing that a corps commander has intervened to capture Lug, this won’t end easily.’

Fighting a corps commander to prevent a demon spy’s escape was too much of a losing battle.

Honestly, Esmeralda couldn’t understand if Lug was worth that much, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Esmeralda thus disappeared from the sight of Corps Commander Eleven.

***

Demon Lord’s Army 11th Corps Commander, Eleven, slowly entered the tent.

He saw Lug still unconscious, fast asleep.

“…”

Eleven couldn’t understand no matter how much he thought about it.

What was so special about this youngster who couldn’t even detect his killing intent?

Why did he have to receive a recommendation to resign just for asking one question?

He had dedicated his life to serving the Demon Lord’s Army. That belief hadn’t changed even when the Demon Lord changed.

But now he was questioning whether it was the right thing.

In the Demon Lord’s Army, position and power came from strength.

Was there any reason to give special treatment to a powerless common soldier?

Demons were supposed to mercilessly cut off the weak, even if they were family. Most demons did so, and that included nobles with proper names.

That’s why Eleven believed there must be something he didn’t know.

That he was the one who was lacking. That there was something he couldn’t see.

And this was half-confirmed by the words of Lilith, the Demon Lord’s advisor.

“I don’t understand. I really don’t.”

Lilith had confidently said he would understand when he met Lug. But even with a blade at his throat, the other party showed no signs of waking up.

He was sound asleep, oblivious to the world.

So whose problem was this?

Was it his, for failing to see Lug properly?

Or was it the other fools who mistook the weak and useless Lug for the Demon Lord’s illegitimate child and poured resources into him?

Either way, he could find out.

“If you truly are a special being, you should be able to block this much. If not, then it’s better for you to disappear for the sake of the Demon Lord’s Army.”

Eleven raised his sword and brought it down toward Lug’s neck.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal.

Eleven looked down at Lug, then slowly raised his head to look at the girl who had blocked his sword.

“I clearly gave you a chance, yet you throw your life away like this?”

“…I was really trying to take that chance.”

[Note: He intends to kill Lug.]

“But I can’t just leave a comrade to die.”

As always, Esmeralda jumped into an unfavorable battle.

If Lug returned to the Demon Lord’s Army, that would be unavoidable.

But if Lug faced death because of Esmeralda’s choice, she would risk her life to protect him.

No, even if it wasn’t her choice, if Lug was placed under an unreasonable threat, she would draw her sword.

“Because I am a hero.”

A hero is someone who saves the innocent. That’s why she had to raise her sword in this moment.

She wasn’t on humanity’s side.

Nor was she on the demons’ side.

She was on the side of the innocent.

“If I, who set out to save the world, can’t even protect a comrade, wouldn’t the title of hero weep?”

The current Lug was clearly innocent.

Even if that was by the Demon Lord’s Army’s standards rather than her own.

She was a hero who couldn’t tolerate injustice.