Another Prologue

The Lieutenant Colonel—the one who had promised to help me escape—was murdered by the Hero.

Frankly, she was just one of my workplace superiors whose name I never even bothered to memorize. But her sacrifice shall be eternally engraved upon my heart.

"Damn it all......"

Truthfully, I never saw it coming. That the Hero would follow me, I mean. She was the sort who would nod along obediently whenever I stepped away for even a short while.

This whole operation only went ahead after I'd run through several rounds of verification just to be sure. I confirmed how long she would sit still for me. I confirmed exactly how far she'd tolerate my going out.

And yet, of all times......

"There's no way I was made, right......?"

Of all the opportunities available, she picked yesterday. That alone was suspicious—as if she'd seen straight through my plan.

"No, no. That's just paranoia talking."

If she truly knew, she'd have no reason to keep me alive. I've served beside her for years, so she'll forgive me? Even the most easygoing Hero imaginable wouldn't let that slide. Well, maybe it isn't entirely impossible...... but there'd be no reason to keep pretending she doesn't know, would there?

The Hero had already become something far beyond anything I could handle. In a situation like that, continuing to feign ignorance while pardoning the demon spy who'd been selling information? No such charity exists in this world.

Right. If she'd caught me, my head would already be rolling.

"Nom, nom. Irina! The forest is just loaded with fruit!"

A blonde, green-eyed girl came bounding out of the woods with her arms full of unidentified fruit, nodding away with her cheeks stuffed to bursting.

"Hero...... those berries are poisonous. You can tell just by the color of them."

"Oh, are they? Well, it won't affect me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so it should be fine, right?"

"No—hah...... Sit down, please. I'll cast a purification spell on you. And throw those berries away while you're at it."

The girl standing before her—with snow-white hair and blue eyes, the very picture of demure grace—let out a long sigh and ushered the Hero into a seat, all but scolding her.

Healer and support of the Hero Party.

Irina Saintis, the Saintess.

The Hero Party originally counted five members, myself included, but at present we were scattered, each tending to our own duties. Though "duties" really just meant everyone had gone back to their day jobs—nothing Esmeralda had specifically ordered. Since every one of us was a rising star in our respective circles, absences were simply part of the arrangement.

Of course, with more serious operations on the horizon this time, the plan was to reconvene midway......

I should have bolted before then.

Some people have all the luck. Mine was nowhere to be found. How did the one gathering happen to be the exact group assembled to be the natural enemies of demons?

Still, there was one silver lining.

"......If it were anyone else, maybe. But there's no way the Hero figured it out."

The Hero is fundamentally naive. That's the conclusion I've reached after more than three years of infiltrating this party and living among them. Presumably, as an apostle personally appointed by god, she is pure of heart—and purity is just another word for ignorance.

In plain terms: she's an idiot. But even idiots have good instincts and better luck.

Case in point—she foiled my escape just now.

"God damn it. If the Hero had been chosen by the Holy Sword, I should have accounted for her having good instincts......"

I just never imagined those instincts were sharp enough to sniff out an escaping demon and his entire network. If she could do that, she should have rooted me out the day I infiltrated.

Thankfully, her innocence and ignorance meant she apparently never suspected that I'd been the one leaking information all along.

"Jim, are you all right? I heard from the Hero. She said you were abducted by demons last night, while we were all asleep."

"Ah, I—I'm fine, Saintess."

While I'd been grinding my teeth alone in the corner, the woman who'd been busily restraining the Hero came over to me.

A girl with hair white as snow and eyes blue as the sky—the sole conscience of this lunatic party, and at the same time, my natural enemy: the Saintess.

Just having her approach was enough to steal the air from my lungs.

Truly worthy of the title of Saintess of the Heavenly God Order. The mere concentration of divine power radiating off her was nothing short of lethal.

Had I been a low-tier demon, her simply drawing near would have been enough to melt me into a puddle of blood.

"Perhaps it would be better to sleep in the same tent from now on? If something like yesterday happens again......"

"N-no, I'd rather not."

"But I worry. You're so much frailer than the rest of us, Jim."

It stung, I won't lie. But she wasn't exactly wrong—I had, at some point, become the weakest member of the Hero Party.

Whether I revealed my true form or not.

"Still, keeping that up looks bad to everyone else and invites needless misunderstanding, so I'd rather you didn't. I have no wish to be a burden."

Sleeping in the same space as you would give me nightmares, is what it would do. In them, baby angels would appear with trumpets blaring and confront me in dulcet tones: 'Have you completely lost your survival instincts, you bastard?'

"I see...... I suppose burdening you further wouldn't be right either."

"In that case, you could just let me leave the party......"

"Absolutely not."

Irina Saintis refused my request with a bright, blooming smile.

Why is it that every single person in this cursed party is so desperate to keep me around? And is that really the kind of refusal you deliver with a smile that sunny?

"But if anything is ever weighing on you, please tell me. I can't do much for you, Jim, beyond praying......"

"Actually, there's plenty more you could do than tha—urk!"

Irina seized my hand in both of hers and fell into a posture of prayer. Pure white light spilled from her palms ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and seared into my skin.

"......"

Do not scream. It took me exactly two years to grow accustomed to this ritual.

Small mercy: her prayers were of the blessing variety rather than the demon-annihilating kind, so while it hurt, it left no wounds behind.

"Hee hee. You always say you hate it, and yet you always let me pray for you anyway. I'm truly grateful for that, Jim."

"......"

No. I am not "letting" you pray. Whenever Irina Saintis grabs my hand, my body simply curls in on itself like I'm being electrocuted.

It means physical damage is involved, and I physically cannot stay still.

I want to run, believe me. Even sharing a table with a Saintess whose head is a flower field makes my skin crawl—never mind sharing one with the Hero!

"Shall we go eat, then? We couldn't properly host you last night, what with you being abducted and all...... but today I managed to put my skills to good use alongside the Hero."

Irina Saintis beamed at me, still clutching my hand. What a fresh, lovely smile. Speaking entirely separately from that smile—please let go of my hand.

The sensation was starting to fade from my fingers.

"Ah, no, I'm not really hungry......"

And there was no way food was going down my throat. They say the Lieutenant Colonel met that fate for my sake.

How could I possibly sit there and eat with a straight face, less than a day after her death? I would fast for three days and three nights in solemn commemoration of the Lieutenant Colonel's......

"You've had such a hard time, Jim, so today we made it special—your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠favorite! A spicy, piping-hot gukbap loaded with chili flakes! Irina woke up at the crack of dawn to cook it, you know!"

"Yes. Coming right now."

Fine. I'd fill up on gukbap and start my mourning at lunch.

A red stew, bubbling away in the pot like something ladled straight out of hell.

The Hero, Esmeralda, didn't care for the stuff, but for Jim's sake she kept her mouth shut.

"Here you are! Eat up while it's hot, Jim!"

"Thank you, Hero."

"Oh, think nothing of it! Looking after my comrades' spirits is part of my job, after all!"

"Ah. Right......"

Looking after the comrades' spirits was, as a rule, Jim's job.

Esmeralda the Hero was, strictly speaking, the one being looked after. She showed no sign of inner torment, but only because she was too ignorant to know better—which meant there was a great deal she needed teaching, in many respects.

"Whew...... whew...... You really love this dish, don't you, Jim? Me, ugh...... it's just too spicy for me......"

Irina, who had been served first, asked through welling tears. It was plain as day that this meal had been made solely with Jim in mind.

And even through the suffering, she fought to keep her benevolent smile in place. A Saintess to the very end.

"Haha, is that so? Maybe it just reminds me of the food back home."

It tasted like the Purgatory Soup of the Demon Realm. Having been stationed away from home for so many long years, Jim often found himself craving this kind of stew as a stand-in.

That's right, Purgatory Soup...... I'm sure I ate it with the Lieutenant Colonel too. And now she can never eat it again.

Jim abruptly pictured the face of the workplace superior who'd been murdered just last night, and his spirits sank. He set down his spoon.

"Could I have one more bowl?"

"Of course! This whole dish was prepared for you in the first place!"

Jim accepted a refill of the bowl he'd scraped to the bottom and raised his spoon once more.

Had he intended to grieve the Lieutenant Colonel's death, he wouldn't have eaten in the first place. Besides, he was the only one among them who could actually enjoy a properly spicy gukbap.

Everyone knew Jim loved the stuff, but nobody else had to share the sentiment.

"Ugh......"

Irina, tears streaming down her face, forced every last bite down under the sacred obligation of never wasting food.

"Nom, nom."

Esmeralda, at least, was not a picky eater.

The other two members of the Hero Party weren't present, but had they been, one would surely have been weeping and the other quietly setting down her spoon.

So thinking, Esmeralda polished off one bowl of gukbap, then another.

As the meal wound down, Esmeralda fixed a long, careful stare on Jim, who was already spooning into his third bowl.

"Is, is something the matter?"

Jim asked, feeling an inexplicable discomfort under that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gaze. The Hero, Esmeralda, answered with a sweet, placid smile.

"No, nothing at all."

A pure, spotless smile. One that looked almost simple-minded.

But what was reflected in those two eyes was......

"Then eat up and enjoy, Jim!"

The clearest truth of them all.

You're staying with me to the very end, you damned demon.

The Hero, Esmeralda, was watching the demon spy Jim like a hawk today as well.