Hero's Coffin Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Suddenly, his head felt distant. He couldn't remember well, but since most black cats have yellow eyes, that cat probably did too? If it had purple eyes, he would have remembered because it was unusual.

Just then, a "Waaah—!" sound was heard from outside. It seemed a winner had emerged from a contest with a big prize held at a nearby tavern. The enthusiastic cheers seemed to encapsulate the joyful atmosphere of the festival.

He quietly stroked the cat's back and asked,

"Who won outside? It was some arm wrestling contest, right?"

–Nyaa.

"...Don't tell me it's Kalterik."

He wondered if the NPC had telepathically given him the answer as the terrifying presence suddenly came to mind. He was surprised at how plausible the inference was, but soon shook his head with a dry laugh. He could probably confirm the answer if he opened the window and leaned out far, but he didn't particularly want to do that.

He didn't want to feel the festival atmosphere any closer.

Just hearing the sounds of the joyful festival he couldn't be part of from inside the room was enough. Well, he had never attended a festival in his previous life either, so it was the same here. It wasn't anything new.

Moreover, today there was considerable antipathy towards beings wearing black robes. People looked at them unfavorably, asking if they wanted to engage in 'such play' even on this holy day. Wouldn't hostility towards Isaph be high on a day when events earnestly longing for the hero were being held? So it was right to stay quietly hidden today.

He felt foolish for thinking he could see the festival if he was with his companions for a while. Even if they weren't in a relationship to 'enjoy' together, having companions would draw less suspicion. That's why he had been quite curiously looking around until they headed to the flower shop...

"Wait a minute. Is this possibly a bug to hide because they didn't set up the festival map properly?"

-...nyaa.

What, why does this sound like 'right?'

Shaking his head and dismissing it as a misconception, he grabbed En's two paws. As he was about to playfully act out a scene from an investigation drama, telling it to answer truthfully, suddenly a dizziness struck him and he got goosebumps. In an instant, his nerves were drawn outward and his instincts gave a chilling warning.

Something was coming.

The commotion that had been coming from outside the window suddenly stopped, and even the scenery turned pitch black. He felt a chill as if only the room he was in had been dropped and thrown into darkness.

–Grrrr.

Suddenly, En leapt out of his arms. Then it stood in front of the door, its tail fully raised, snarling fiercely. Seeing its back posture as if guarding against the being approaching now, an ominous feeling surged that this wasn't a situation to be easily overcome if even the NPC was taking action.

But apart from that judgment...

"What does this tiny cat think it's doing!"

Feeling dumbfounded, he hurriedly ran and hugged En. En struggled as if trying to escape, but he held on tightly with his arms. Although he had shouted at it earlier to solve this problem, seeing the small cat actually step forward to try to protect him made him feel like the worst trash.

Thud, boom, thud...

The ground shook with each approach of something. No, perhaps his heart was beating so hard that he felt the whole space shaking. Cold sweat poured like rain.

Before he knew it, 'it' was right beyond the door.

"G-go away."

He tried to speak as calmly as possible, but his voice trembled. The cat struggled again in his arms, so he hugged it more tightly. Usually, ghosts would tuck their tails and run away with just one word from this body, so he commanded again with more force.

"I said go away."

[Why?]

"...What?"

[You said you were sick of it anyway. Wouldn't it be easier to just end it all?]

It was a bewildering response. But more than that, goosebumps rose at the fact that it was 'communicating' with him. Moreover, that statement was one of the things he had irritably blurted out to En earlier, had it heard that?

Had it become more widely known that he was in a vulnerable state during the brief moment the window was open? Generally, ghosts have a desire to find someone who can recognize them, and this ranges from simply wanting to communicate with the living to evil intentions of coveting life force. And evil spirits corresponded to the extreme, most negative case.

Evil spirits even deliberately seek out strong opponents sometimes. Although a clash would occur, if they could ultimately devour the opponent, they could obtain a powerful body.

[Open the door.]

Scratch, scratch, scraaatch. A sharp noise like long nails scratching a blackboard poured out continuously. He stepped back hesitantly at the involuntary disgust that rose.

Fear followed behind the vague belief that Isaph wouldn't fall to that thing. He had suffered too many experiences in his previous life to just trust this world's settings. Moreover, wasn't Isaph in a weakened state now? His head was filled with confusion, and as if to amplify it, the scratch scratch— sound continued endlessly.

Then suddenly, a very clear and gentle voice was heard.

[Isaph, are you there?]

...Harenir?

Unconsciously drawn to the owner of that voice, he approached the door. Thinking that he had returned, the moment he grabbed the doorknob, En in his arms let out a loud "Meow!" As he stopped in surprise, laughter was heard from the other side.

Kihihi, that sound seemed to come from right beside him.

[Is this the voice you feel relieved by?]

...Ah, the door had opened slightly.

Only now realizing the situation, he sighed. The evil spirit had imitated Harenir's voice to induce him to open the door. Had it read his memories? How on earth? While surprised, anger also welled up.

Why would I feel relieved hearing Harenir's voice?

It was truly nonsensical, but the more he denied it, the more ridiculous his action of approaching the door in response to that voice became. There was no way Harenir would come here in the first place, he would be happily enjoying the festival with his subordinates, so why had he reacted?

As he was self-deprecating, whoosh, black energy spread before his eyes. The door had only opened very slightly, but the pitch-black fog squeezed through the gap. Bang! The door flung open completely.

An overwhelming fear surged as the approaching evil spirit's form looked grotesque, as if dozens of humans were clumped together. Ah, it looked even more horrifying than the evil spirits he had seen in his previous life. Moreover, dozens of other ghosts followed behind it. It seemed like the room would be filled with ghosts. He stepped back hesitantly before falling on his backside.

The cat struggled again in his arms, but he was just caught in the fear of the past, suffering from the sorrow of why he still had to be chased by ghosts even here. This was really sickening.

"Please, just leave me alone...!"

At the moment he curled up hugging the cat, whoosh— golden light flooded his vision. It was just a very faint sunlight. It was small like a piece of sunlight falling through leaves, but because of that, it created a gap on the shaded floor all the more clearly. As the light spread in an instant, his vision cleared abruptly.

A gentle spring breeze softly ruffled his hair. He blinked blankly and looked at the being that had appeared here now.

"...Why are you like this?"

Harenir was in front of him.

Just by drawing his holy sword, the ghosts that had filled the space disappeared in an instant. He hadn't even exerted force to cut them down. They were beings that would vanish with just a single ray of sunlight.

Even the largest evil spirit that had deceived him flew into a corner and crashed. As it wriggled as if preparing to counterattack, En, which had finally escaped from him, hit it with a thud. As soon as it struck down with its front paw, the thing died.

–...

En turned to look at him with very contemptuous eyes. It was something that could be ended with one cat punch, had he voluntarily eaten a sweet potato?

Perhaps the NPC had come to assist, knowing that he couldn't properly use necromancy now. As Isaph's familiar, it would make sense for it to have that much power. In other words, he had hugged the simplest solution and solemnly vowed to protect the cat.

It seems he had been caught in the fear of the past and magnified the size of the evil spirit, but along with the deflating realization, extreme shame washed over him.

"...Isaph, is there really a problem?"

The cause was none other than Harenir. If he had been afraid of ghosts alone and En had resolved it, he could have just awkwardly moved on, but to show such a sight to him.