Hero's Coffin Chapter 74

Chapter 74

"I just thought if I talked with Saiph, I might be able to communicate better with my brother later..."

"I told you not to approach him so easily! Look, he even has a suspicious collar on his neck. It could be sealing his real power!"

As Jade mumbled, Serena panicked and tried to stop him again. Appreciating Serena's imagination, he asked abruptly,

"...Why. You don't seem to communicate well with your brother?"

The Sile he had met in Rus seemed very talkative and sociable, but Jade's attitude was like a sorrowful older brother who hadn't talked with his sibling in a long time. He played well in the Isaph follower meeting.

Jade's eyes immediately lit up.

"Yes, that's right! Even when I want to talk, he always pushes me away saying I don't understand. I thought we might be able to talk if we read the books he reads together, so I secretly entered his room, but he got really angry. I tried to explain that I just wanted to understand, but when I asked what on earth the Secret Society of Darkness was keeping secret, we ended up fighting even more..."

He asked cruel questions of an otaku as a normal person...

He listened to the words pouring out like a lament with a troubled feeling. Jade's parents were worried about Sile, so he had tried to intervene a few times, but it always went wrong, and on days when he visited home after a long time, his brother would slam the door shut.

He didn't know how he ended up giving family counseling, but at least he could tell that Jade sincerely cared for his brother. It was just that his method was burdensome to his brother.

"...Just leave him alone."

"What? What if we grow even further apart?"

"The more you forcefully approach, the more your brother will distance himself. So don't interfere too much, and just stop him if it seems like he's going to dangerous places with the friends he hangs out with..."

Just then, remembering the voice phishing incident, he added some advice, and Jade's eyes widened.

"How did you know?! In a recent letter from my parents, it said Sile got caught up in some scammer's commotion with his friends. They said he almost got seriously hurt, so I was thinking of scolding him when I return after this request—"

"Don't scold him."

He shook his head firmly.

"The scammers are trash, your brother didn't do anything wrong."

"But he almost got hurt, so I need to warn him sternly..."

"If you want to warn him, you can do it in a worried way. He must have been scared too. Rather than scolding him saying it happened because he was doing strange things and playing around, comfort him saying he must have been scared. ...He's your brother."

"Brother..."

"If you show that you're always on his side like that, one day your brother will talk to you too."

Sile's age seemed to be late teens to early twenties, so he thought it might be late puberty, but anyway, he packaged his words to say it would resolve itself once that time passed. If he scolded him harshly now, they might become estranged forever.

He ended up speaking longer than he expected. Perhaps he was inwardly bothered by the story that Sile, who had smiled innocently and got along well with others even in the quite absurd place of the Isaph follower meeting, was actually drifting apart within his family. He, who didn't even have a family, found the sight of the struggling older brother strangely catching his eye. Maybe he felt a strange sense of responsibility as the cause of that commotion.

He heard mercenaries muttering from the other side, "What? He's saying more normal things than expected?" As it seemed they were viewing his earlier behavior as an act, he hurriedly added one more thing.

"...The journey to find one's power is originally lonely. Be the place he can return to."

He tried hard to say something random, but gradually Jade's eyes widened. As if deeply moved, he kept nodding.

"That's right, whenever I return home after finishing mercenary work, I always feel secure and comfortable like I'm returning to my place! I should become such an existence for Sile!"

Jade miraculously interpreted it well. Beside him, Serena's eyes shone as she said, "As expected, do people who embrace dangerous missions gain higher insight?" He was starting to wonder how these two were in the same mercenary group.

"You're a really kind and good guy! I should tell Sile about you!"

"...Hmm."

"Come to think of it, Sile said he doesn't go out late at night anymore after that incident. He said he received help from a very great and cool person there, so he'll follow that person from now on. What was the name again? Isa...Saiph?"

"Keh, kuh, cough!"

He choked at the completely unexpected words. That day, Kalterik had almost shouted his real name but barely managed to cover it up, resulting in his name being called strangely, and Sile had taken it at face value? No, anyway, he had just gotten him to stop following Isaph, so why was he following someone else again?

As he kept coughing, someone beside him held out a water flask.

"..."

It was a person wearing a robe with a deep gold background embroidered with silver thread. Though their face couldn't be seen due to the deeply pulled hood, the slender chin and small build visible beneath the hood suggested it was a woman.

Though her clothes were quite splendid, he hadn't realized someone was beside him until she handed over the water flask. Somehow, it felt like she had been watching him all along. As he looked at her dazedly, she extended her hand in front of him again.

She was probably giving it to him thinking his throat must be sore from coughing so much, but he hesitated to trust a complete stranger. When he couldn't bring himself to take the water flask, she shrugged and withdrew her hand.

Then she asked a very unexpected question instead.

"Does that cat have a name?"

He was surprised by her low voice resonating in his ears, incredibly refined yet powerful. It was the first time since Harenir that he had felt someone wasn't ordinary just from their voice. A voice that commanded attention in an instant.

When he remained silent, the being lightly gestured with her chin. It was probably pointing at En in his arms, but somehow it also seemed like naturally urging an answer. Like someone used to such behavior.

"...En."

"What a cute name. Carefully attaching a lavender ribbon, and holding him so preciously even now... You must cherish him very much."

"...What kind of conversation do you want to have?"

His voice naturally lowered as wariness crept in. As he stepped back one step, sensing the other person wasn't ordinary, the lips beneath the golden hood curved into a smile.

"No, it's not bad."

"...?"

"It seems... a cuter combination than I thought."

...Huh? Was she saying the combination of the cat and ribbon was cute? But somehow she seemed to be looking back and forth between him and the cat. En, uncharacteristically docile, remained in his arms with his back turned to her.

Just then, Jade exclaimed "Ah!"

"That's right! I was originally going to ask you how you tamed the cat!"

"...Suddenly?"

"Yeah, my brother was looking for a black cat for a while. So I was going to learn how to tame cats from you and tell him. I thought we might be able to talk if I did that."

He burst into a dry laugh at the sight of Jade's eyes shining, saying it was a good plan. His wariness dissolved at the sudden words, and a chuckle spread. He really didn't understand the mind of an otaku, but this was a kind normal person who wanted to be together somehow.

"Wow, when you smile, it feels like the atmosphere changes."

And at this reaction of his, Jade's eyes widened. His eyes sparkled as if he had seen a rare sight, making him cover his mouth in embarrassment. Why did it seem like people around him had been reacting more to his smiling lately? They were surprised as if dealing with someone who never smiled at all. Harenir too.

"Can't you smile one more time? Take off your hood while you're at it!"

"Don't say strange things."

"Aw, I want to see your face properly."

"...What are you saying."

He answered dryly and stepped back slightly. Without realizing it, he had been caught up in conversation with Jade. He thought he should go back now, but Jade quickly followed, saying not to run away. The brothers were very alike in this pushy aspect.

As he stepped away again, and Jade followed, continuing this subtle chase, something solid touched his back. He unconsciously recognized who it was without turning around, from the warm scent like sunlight that tickled his nose.

"Shouldn't you go in now to properly manage that dangerous seal?"

Harenir was suddenly behind him.

Moreover, he appeared saying something outrageous, and as he was about to exclaim in disgust, Harenir wrapped his arm around his shoulder from behind. It was a natural action that blocked Jade's approach.