Hero's Coffin Chapter 45

Chapter 45

All the praise given so far had been aimed at reminding him of his responsibility as a leader. Should this be considered a peaceful form of threat?

Tying him to a cactus wasn't exactly gentle to begin with, but it was still surprising, as he had expected bloodshed when the thief leader ignored Harenir's words earlier. Well, now blood was about to be spilled elsewhere.

The leader seemed to have realized Harenir's intention, as his eyes twitched. Fortunately, the earlier build-up had its effect, and after taking a long deep breath, he spoke.

"Every night, there were strange sounds. Like the sound of rocks moving?"

"The sound of rocks moving?"

"To be precise, should I say it was the sound of rocks being carved? After hearing that noise loudly, the next day the appearance of the Encroachment Zone seemed to have changed a bit... The shape of the canyon felt different, but, hey, it's true! I'm not lying!"

Guessing that the story of a huge canyon, a terrain that would have taken hundreds or thousands of years to form, changing in just a few days would sound preposterous, the leader hastily asserted his innocence. If it had been during the time when the Dium were rampant, it might have been believable, but now it had been over 20 years since they were reported to have disappeared.

But this group knew that the Dium were alive. They had only found some small fry in the southern Encroachment Zone, but they had anticipated encountering them again here, so everyone reacted calmly.

"And what else?"

"What? You believe me?"

"Let's hear everything first. Was there anything else unusual?"

The leader blinked at Harenir's calm question. He seemed surprised, as if he had expected to be completely dismissed as talking nonsense, and then continued haltingly.

"Well, it seemed like the range of the Encroachment Zone was expanding..."

The leader, either because of his simple nature or perhaps enchanted by Harenir's voice, tried his best to provide meaningful information. He poured out details about where the sound of moving rocks was mainly heard, what time it occurred, and so on.

Finally, in an uncertain tone, he mumbled,

"This wasn't me, but one of my subordinates who saw it, but sometimes a pitch-black energy rose from the Encroachment Zone?"

"...Do you mean the sky turned completely black?"

"Well, similar, but in his words, he said 'he thought the sky had been torn'. So everyone said he was talking nonsense, that he must have seen something strange while half-asleep..."

At this story, the expressions of the companions darkened. Even Mela, who was usually expressionless, stiffened her face and turned to Harenir, saying,

"Commander, that phenomenon..."

"...It's not good news."

It seemed there was some phenomenon that he didn't know about again. Perhaps it was a sight that everyone had feared during the Great Catastrophe in the past, or in game terms, a pattern that appeared when an enemy was preparing a fatal skill.

Noi also trembled with a pale face, and he inwardly swallowed a sigh. It was obvious that he wouldn't just be acting as a guide for the Encroachment Zone anymore. Ah, a flag was being raised.

After that, Harenir talked a bit more with the leader and then nodded.

"I think we've heard everything, so I'll let you go now. On the condition that you leave the desert completely."

At his signal, Mela swiftly swung her sword and cut the rope. Freed from the cactus, the leader touched his arms dazedly and looked at him. With a surprised expression as if he hadn't expected to be really set free, and also seeming quite uneasy about this conversation, he asked,

"...Surely you're not thinking of entering the Encroachment Zone?"

"What's it to you?"

"It's, it's creepy! That place is the land of death..."

"You're afraid of the Encroachment Zone, yet you managed to rob people here."

The leader was shocked by Harenir's nonchalant response.

"What did you hear from my story? I've seen adventurers occasionally who fell into the vain dream of conquering the Encroachment Zone, but the terrain really changed! The monsters might be alive, I'm telling you?!"

Now the scene unfolded where the leader was worrying about the very people who had been threatening him just moments ago. Was the Encroachment Zone a space that all of humanity should be cautious about, even for someone who would hold a knife to a traveler's throat? Of course, Harenir didn't even pretend to listen, so the leader finally played his trump card.

"Aren't you also a leader with subordinates? If you care for your subordinates, you shouldn't commit such a reckless act! It's not like you're all going to die together, what..."

"..."

"In a world where even the hero is said to be dead, who could stop..."

Thud, a small noise cut off the leader's words. It was the sound of gravel rolling on the ground as Harenir approached him, but even though he had only taken one step closer, the leader closed his mouth at the shadow that seemed to engulf his entire body. His face turned pale as if overwhelmed by the pressure.

Standing right in front of the man, Harenir tilted his head slightly. The edge of his deeply pulled hood rustled, brushing over the bridge of his nose.

"I don't understand why you're so concerned."

"I, I, well, since I told you the story..."

"Ah, are you afraid you might have sparked unnecessary curiosity and sent someone to their death?"

His pale red lips drew an elegant arc.

"That's quite a meager sense of responsibility."

Though he spoke with a beautiful smile, his voice resonated too coldly. Somehow, it had an edge to it. Was it because the leader had mentioned 'subordinates', had that touched some burden in Harenir's heart? As he watched the scene from a distance, he reflected on the leader's words.

Come to think of it, even thieves who commit crimes in the empire naturally think of the hero as the one who will stop the Dium.

"If you don't leave right now, I'll take it that you have no intention of leaving and tie you to the cactus again. Oh, did you perhaps enjoy being tied up?"

"Th-there's no way...!"

Realizing that Harenir's words weren't a simple threat, the leader moved with a grimace. He hurriedly woke up his subordinates and urged them that they needed to leave the desert, and as they supported each other while moving, he looked back one last time.

Suddenly, as if he had a very strange feeling, his face turned pale.

"W-wait. I think you were called 'Commander'... W-who are you?"

It was a strange question mixing informal and formal speech. As he asked very politely while trembling, Harenir shrugged and took out his mercenary badge from his bosom to show him.

The leader nodded blankly.

"Ah, the commander of a mercenary group... no, huh? Were silver badge mercenaries this strong?"

"Stop being a nuisance and get lost already!"

Kalterik shouted, "Wah!" Stomping his feet with his huge body and even raising his arms, the thieves inhaled sharply and retreated at the sight that looked almost like a bear attack.

The thieves probably had some experience fighting with mercenaries that scholars visiting this place had brought as escorts. While a Grade 1 silver badge wouldn't be easy to deal with, Harenir's casual subduing of one person with a small pebble and the unique atmosphere emanating from him seemed to have become elements of suspicion.

But Kalterik appropriately cut the atmosphere, and the thieves quickly disappeared. Harenir watched their retreating figures and finally spoke to Mela.

"Just in case, let's check the surroundings at night. It would be troublesome if they stayed."

"Yes."

It was Mela answering cleanly as always, but afterwards, as if something was bothering her, she moved her lips. She hesitantly said,

"...I hope you won't mind what the thief said earlier. I don't think it's reckless, and even if it's dangerous, if you go, Commander, I will follow you."

"That's right! Isn't where the Commander is where we should be?"

"Me too, me too!"

Following that, Kalterik and Noi quickly raised their hands and added their words. While he knew that those two would unconditionally follow Harenir, it was surprising that Mela had spoken up first like that. They were subordinates with truly amazing loyalty, no matter when he saw them.

Harenir's eyes widened. He blinked with a surprised expression as if he hadn't expected to hear such words, then smiled, relaxing the corners of his eyes.

"If you think it's too dangerous, I'd like you to run away, but..."

Behind the smile that seemed to say he couldn't help it, a kind promise was added.

"I'll protect you all so that no one gets hurt."

The subordinates' eyes sparkled at the sweetly resonating voice. It was understandable to be deeply moved when someone loved by God said they would protect you. Kalterik exclaimed with an overwhelmed face, "The safest place would be by the Commander's side, how could it be dangerous!" It wasn't simple flattery, but a voice full of trust.

In truth, he wanted to run away if it became dangerous, but he was tied down by the quest and couldn't leave... Perhaps hearing such a promise would be reassuring.

But he still couldn't imagine Harenir saying he would protect him, and feeling an incredible distance, he shuddered alone.