Hero's Coffin Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Moreover, to be afraid of evil spirits after possessing a character who had maxed out the necromancy class in this game? This was breaking character. The story's plausibility was strange. Cut! Let's reshoot this scene. He mentally called "cut" several times, but nothing happened to return to before the door opened.

Hah, if this were a game, there should be a replay function. He covered his face with his hands and spoke as if blaming Harenir's visit.

"Why did you come here? You should be with your subordinates..."

"I came to check because I heard your condition wasn't good."

Harenir must have just finished his business and joined his companions. He must have asked about his whereabouts since he wasn't there... Should he be grateful for the kindness of coming to check after hearing the answer? Since when did he care this much? It wasn't anything new for this body to be sick.

"Are you perhaps suffering from evil spirits?"

"..."

"It seems you've become like this from sharing my curse, is that right? Like having problems with your abilities when the soul-connected partner is far away..."

He ignored the question that was too embarrassing to answer, but Harenir instantly deduced the reason. As he maintained silence, Harenir approached him. He felt his presence come closer as if he had lowered his body beside him, and he quickly turned his head to the opposite side.

It was even more shameful that he was in the state of having fallen ungracefully on the floor.

"It's not something for you to worry about."

"..."

"I was just careless because fatigue overlapped. It won't happen again, so go back."

"If it won't happen again, then you can go out to see the festival too, right?"

"There are too many of those things at the festival, it's tiring. I'm not interested anyway..."

"It seems you saw many evil spirits. So you retreated to the inn because of that."

He had answered casually to the sudden question, but it seemed to have become a clue for Harenir. He was too skilled at inferring hidden truths through conversation.

"Originally, you could ignore the evil spirits on the street, right? But now you can't do that, so you're being tormented by them..."

He hesitated, as it was the first time someone else understood his being chased by ghosts. Was this a natural reaction because this was a fantasy world? No, isn't it more ridiculous for a necromancer to avoid evil spirits? Moreover, this body had even gained notoriety for causing a massacre to gather undead.

He removed the hand covering his face and faced Harenir. He was even more bewildered because there was no trace of mockery anywhere on his face.

"Why aren't you laughing at me?"

"You became like this while trying to help me, and also... you didn't laugh at me either, so why should I?"

As he blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer, suddenly Harenir grabbed his arm.

"Let's go outside. I'll get rid of any evil spirits that might bother you."

"...What are you saying? Why should I go out?"

He was dazedly pulled up by the hand that raised him, but as soon as he heard those words, he stood firm. In reality, he probably couldn't resist Harenir's strength, but Harenir had grabbed him very weakly to begin with. As if handling a very careful opponent.

So he vaguely inferred the reason for Harenir's bewildering attitude now.

"Just in case, let me say this, don't have any strange sense of responsibility. I did it of my own accord when I tried to undo your curse in the first place."

He shook his head firmly. It wasn't as if he had acted after receiving a request for help from Harenir; he had gone and connected their souls without warning. Moreover, he had said then that it was only for future sentence reduction. The transaction ended with that.

As he tried to pull his arm away, saying it wasn't necessary, Harenir spoke calmly.

"You probably haven't eaten properly, and as the one who brought you along as a companion, I should at least make sure you're fed. You would have received food regularly even in prison, right?"

"That's..."

"And, your condition needs to be alright to resolve the curse quickly."

Harenir stared at him intently, saying it was only for that purpose. Although it probably meant to quickly resolve the problem so they wouldn't get more tired of forcibly learning circumstances they didn't want to know by connecting souls, for a moment, his gaze was caught by those blue eyes.

Sometimes, he had the talent of suppressing the other person's opinion just by staring straight into their eyes. Those sky-like eyes seemed to be imbued with a sense of pressure.

Nevertheless, the touch of the hand holding his arm remained gentle.

"...So you should cooperate a bit too."

He laughed dryly at the unexpected words. That phrase was what he had said when he went to Harenir who had a nightmare, urging him to sleep properly again. He had nagged that if Harenir managed his condition well, he would be comfortable too, but he hadn't expected to have it returned like this.

As if taking advantage of that moment, Harenir pulled his arm, and he was led along, no longer able to shake him off. Was it because he was really hungry from not eating all day, or was there still a bit of desire to see the festival?

As he walked, looking strangely at Harenir's back, he soon became puzzled at where they arrived.

"...Where are the others?"

They had come to a night market. Were they supposed to find the companions now? He looked around in confusion, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"They'll manage well on their own."

"...?"

"Choose the food you want to eat yourself."

He became confused by Harenir's nonchalant response as he shrugged his shoulders. If he said that, wouldn't it mean he was someone who couldn't manage on his own? ...Well, that was true.

He had naturally expected to join the companions and eat the food Harenir ordered, and since they had always resolved meals that way until now, he hadn't known he would be given a choice. So the current situation was quite bewildering, but inevitably, his gaze moved here and there following his curiosity.

Though he seemed to have become somewhat accustomed to this world's food, it had always been close to just getting by, so festival food was also a first. The excited heat of the festival, felt much closer than at the inn, was unfamiliar.

"..."

After looking around, he moved hesitantly. Most of the street food was light, snack-like fare that was easy to eat while walking. Common sights included skewers of whole grilled meat, fruit sprinkled with spices, drinks decorated with early spring flowers, and bread shaped like Solnium's emblem.

Harenir really seemed to mean for him to choose as he wished, even giving him money so he could comfortably taste one of each. When he stared at unfamiliar foods, the merchants kindly explained and even gave out small samples. Was everyone so kind because it was the Holy Festival?

As his stomach gradually filled, his mood lifted. The foods generally suited his taste, making him even more curious. Was this the joy of eating? His steps, which had been slow, gradually picked up speed, and his head moved busily.

Suddenly, Harenir spoke to him.

"You seem to like sweet foods."

"...Me?"

"You were smiling when you ate those foods."

I was smiling? Thinking back on the foods he had eaten so far, it did seem like that was his taste... No, wait, why are you looking at my face?

There was a faint interest in Harenir's eyes. A curiosity as if getting to know a being he had never known before. Somehow, it felt like the reason he had given him a choice in the first place was to figure out his taste, and feeling embarrassed, he quietly covered his mouth.

Moreover, he seemed to have realized something else while watching him.

"By the way, is this your first festival? It's as if you're not from the empire..."

"Y-yes, it's my first. I've never seen one before."

He even stammered in his surprise. He was a person from not just outside the empire, but from an entirely different dimension. In fact, even if festival foods varied by region, they would mostly be similar, so his behavior of finding everything unfamiliar might have seemed strange.

A peculiar light settled in Harenir's eyes as he looked at him. Was he connecting the story of having to go to the inn to avoid the evil spirits on the street earlier with the current situation? He couldn't explain, and it was a correct guess in some context, so he remained silent, and eventually, Harenir grabbed his arm and moved.

The more he was led along, the more diverse scenery he saw. There were many people dancing and singing, and splendid performances were held everywhere. It was much more full-scale than what he had seen in the morning, and now even the flowers hanging between the street lamps sparkled. It looked as if flowers were falling from the night sky.

This seemed to be the heart of the festival.

"Why..."

Even without continuing the question, he could figure out the answer. Could it be that when he said it was his first festival, Harenir had deliberately tried to show him this sight?

Somehow, he felt a churning inside. The colorful lights dyeing the square were fascinating, and it was also new to him that no ghosts were visible even though he had entered among so many people. Had he become able to control his spirit vision again by being close to Harenir?

Thud, it felt like something had fallen.

Something that didn't sparkle like the festival streets, something that wouldn't bloom beautifully like a flower, rolled around inside. It rummaged through every corner, making him feel queasy, and finally tried to make him lose his balance and stagger.

"..."

He stubbornly stood firm and looked straight ahead.

This was just the mercy of the hero, kind and gentle as the rumors said. A light favor given like a reward for all the hardship until now, though it had never been directed at a prisoner before. A trivial piece of affection offered by a being praised as loving enough to be called kind.

He, and this body, had never received such a thing, so even this one piece was heavy enough to make him stagger. Suffering from the anxiety of feeling like he would keep tilting somewhere.