Hero's Coffin Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ah, so that's why walking was even harder. He had thought his joints had completely given out. Belatedly understanding why the cat had examined him earlier, he nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Because I worked hard."

He didn't forget to make a careful appeal for a success reward. By exploiting these gaps, he hoped that even Harenir might acknowledge that he had 'helped' him. Painting a bigger picture, he added,

"Blocking the zombies was especially tricky."

"...That's what happens when killed by Diums. They would have become more aggressive while staying in the Encroachment Zone."

"Right. Even when the two-horned Dium attacked, I tried not to release the necromancy..."

Excited by Harenir's agreement, he emphasized the situation again. As he pleaded that he had made an effort even in life-threatening situations, Harenir tilted his head slightly. It was a strange look.

"You. You feel a bit different from when we met before."

Ah, right. Wasn't Isaph the person who had thrown that strange flirtation at Harenir, saying his 'soul was pretty'? That meant they were already acquainted, had he acted too casually? As he worried that his possession might be noticed, Harenir muttered,

"Though you only said one thing and left back then..."

He barely managed to hold back a sigh of relief that was about to burst out. Right, there was no way a hero and villain would have spent much time together in the first place. It's bewildering that he suddenly approached and said such a thing, but anyway, an escape route had appeared.

According to the rules of possession stories, there's a cheat key to get past such suspicions.

"...A lot has happened since then."

"Hmm. Well, I heard you didn't show any resistance when you were arrested. Even when you were imprisoned, and then quickly sentenced to death."

He simply shifted his gaze to the side. Even the prison guard had sneered, saying 'You've been lying there like you were dead, now you're moving?', and Noi had also found Isaph's arrest strange, so clearly something had happened.

"So rumors even spread that you had died, and another soul might have entered that body."

Yes, quite perceptive.

Barely swallowing his surprise, he maintained a calm expression. He had been good at hiding emotions in his previous life, and it was even easier in this body. This body seemed to lack even facial muscles. He was sure he had a blank expression without even needing to check in a mirror.

Harenir looked curious at his reaction. The suggestion that another soul had entered a necromancer seemed quite an insulting jab, but he seemed surprised that he only remained silent in response.

"It seems you've weakened more than I thought. Judging by what I've seen so far..."

Harenir slowly trailed off. His staggering and dry heaving must have been confirmed as not an act by the three-day fainting spell. Yes, even though this body had weakened so much, he had still struggled and helped in the Encroachment Zone...!

"However."

Harenir, who had uttered that one word, smiled slightly.

"I heard that your confession was 'I tried to extract the souls of the Klam villagers and absorb their essence to recover my body...' I didn't know such a thing was possible with necromancy..."

He marveled as if it was truly impressive. Of course, even a passing cat would know that admiration wasn't meant in a positive sense. Moreover, he said this was 'confessed', so it must have been blurted out after the arrest... Hah, he really did deserve a quick execution. It was a wonder his head hadn't fallen off on the spot.

"In that body's condition, it must have been hard to even kill the villagers, but you tortured and murdered them to the end, yet your scheme ultimately failed, it seems. Ah, or is controlling them now part of the process of absorbing their essence?"

"..."

"I acknowledge that you helped in the Encroachment Zone, but don't try to take credit for it."

...Sigh. It seemed that appealing about how hard he had worked while controlling the victims of the Klam Massacre as undead was a bad move. Looking back, it was obvious. The hero's acknowledgment had been given surprisingly quickly, but he realized that the quest couldn't possibly be completed with just this.

He didn't even feel rebellious at the criticism he had just heard. He just felt newly disgusted with Isaph, and faintly regretted that his ploy had failed because of him, as he turned his head to the side.

"You can rest a bit more until you recover."

Whether it was consideration, or a favor given thinking that 'those' undead would be summoned less if his body recovered, he accepted it readily. Having nothing to say, he just wanted to avoid the situation. Though he wasn't sleepy after having slept for so long, being alone in the room seemed better.

So he tried to close the door quickly, but...

Grumble grumble.

A sound he didn't want to believe came from him rumbled from his stomach. It wasn't even a small sound. Before he could even think about how to react, his stomach growled loudly again. Come to think of it, the only food he had eaten since waking up in this world was... the potion he had in Noi's office.

"...We'll provide food."

"...Okay."

Though he hadn't been in the habit of eating regular meals originally, he suddenly felt extreme hunger as soon as he realized how long he had been fasting. Plus, hadn't he used up a tremendous amount of energy?

Bang!

Just then, the door opened and the other companions poured in. As soon as Noi saw him, he shouted, "Oh, you're finally awake?!", while Mela looked him over briefly, and Kalterik flinched in surprise.

"Ugh, I thought you were an evil spirit..."

The appearance of Isaph, who had collapsed for three days and just gotten up, must have been quite miserable. The clothes under his robe were all pitch black too.

He suddenly understood why they hadn't worried about Isaph when entering the Encroachment Zone. With pale skin and wearing only black clothes, and even his lips lacking color, it wouldn't be strange to mistake him for an already contaminated person.

"Go wash up. I'll order some food."

He obediently followed Harenir's words. Now that he was aware of his hunger, he could think of nothing but food, and thanks to that, he didn't find the bathroom of this other world unfamiliar at all and came out quickly after washing. The bathroom here was even larger than the cramped one he had experienced in his studio apartment in his previous life.

However, he had naturally assumed he would receive food like rations in his room, so he was puzzled when no food came even after waiting for a while, and opened the door to step out. The smell of food was coming from outside, in the common area. And there, on the round table, lots of food was laid out.

All his companions were seated in chairs, with just one seat empty.

"...Wasn't it supposed to be brought to the room separately?"

"Now that you're awake, we need to discuss what comes next."

Harenir answered in a calm tone, but he felt very disgruntled. Why are they suddenly sharing plans? It was in contrast to their previous attitude of dragging him to the Encroachment Zone before explaining anything. Was it because he had proven his ability this time and hadn't lied, that they were including him in the conversation?

Feeling somewhat unfamiliar with the situation, he stood at a distance, just staring at the table, when Kalterik shouted loudly,

"I don't want to eat with someone like you either!"

His feelings must have been clearly visible on his face. In truth, it was more that he felt awkward rather than disliking it, but if he had to choose between liking and disliking, it was closer to disliking.

He had rarely eaten with anyone before.

In his previous life, people had avoided him, and even if someone approached, they had ulterior motives. He had declined to be with those whose intentions to use his ability to see ghosts for their own gain were obvious, and had avoided such situations himself.

Perhaps it had been the same for Isaph. So his hesitant steps weren't just due to the influence of his previous life. Feeling awkward for no reason, he inwardly defended himself as he deliberately approached the table as nonchalantly as possible and sat down. It was uncomfortable that it happened to be next to Kalterik, but...

Reading his expression, Kalterik frowned deeply.

"I will absolutely never thank you. The undead you controlled were victims of the massacre! It's obvious that you weakened yourself by researching some suspicious sorcery..."

"I never asked for your thanks..."

Kalterik faltered at his muttered words. Having already realized during his earlier conversation with Harenir that quest success was still far off, Kalterik's words only fanned his disappointment. Absently fiddling with the utensils in his hand, he quietly murmured,

"Your gratitude means nothing to me."

The only thing that held meaning for him was the true acknowledgment of the hero. Something that now seemed very far off.

As he moved his fingers with an increasingly troubled feeling, he heard Noi across from him inhale sharply with a "Heek." Somehow, even Kalterik, who should have flared up immediately, remained quiet, so he raised his gaze in puzzlement... and only then realized that the utensil he had been fiddling with all this time was a knife.

Ah.

It would indeed look strange, even eerie, for a person exuding a gloomy aura like an evil spirit to mutter while holding a knife.

[Q. Then what has meaning for Isaph?

A. Your soul.]

It seemed like the kind of atmosphere where such a question and answer might be exchanged.

Even though he was said to be weakened now, he had once been a being treated like a calamity that even the Holy Empire couldn't control.

"W-w-what did you say...!"

"Kalterik. Let's refrain from unnecessary commotion."

Belatedly, Kalterik jumped to his feet. As if ashamed of having been momentarily tense, he reacted even more strongly, but sat down immediately at Harenir's words. Though the sight was amusing, he carefully hid his expression.

He felt he had figured out a way to deal with Kalterik, at least a little. Of course, since he was a holy knight who despised necromancers, using it often would backfire, but for now, the analysis showed that a calm response worked much better with him.