Hero's Coffin Chapter 88

Chapter 88

#Part 9. 58%

His eyes flew open.

"..."

A ceiling engraved with elaborate patterns, a canopy surrounding a huge bed, a sparkling chandelier. All these unfamiliar things existed clearly in his field of vision. He regarded all this scenery awkwardly as if seeing it for the first time, then froze at the slowly approaching sense of déjà vu.

His slack facial muscles stiffened. As if startled by some shock, he sprang up from the bed.

Ugh! But a groan burst out involuntarily from the pain in his waist. It went beyond mere stiffness, feeling almost as if it had been shattered to pieces. Moreover, this wasn't just his waist, but an extreme pain coming from his entire body. He couldn't even leave the bed and just groaned.

At that moment, someone rose beside him. They seemed to have naturally woken up at his movement, and he couldn't bring himself to turn and look at that presence.

"Is..."

"It was an accident."

The moment he sensed that he, Haren, was about to call his name, he hurriedly spoke. His throat was completely hoarse and cracked. It was even more distressing that just from his voice, one could tell what had happened last night. Though he should have lost his reason from the curse and not remember, sadly it was too vivid.

Suppressing memories he couldn't bear to recall in his right mind, he buried his face in one hand.

"...Let's pretend it never happened."

It was almost like a sigh. Looking at just the content of his words, it wouldn't be appropriate as a first greeting to someone he had spent the night with, no, it was almost a trash-like statement... but considering the situation and the other person, there were no wiser words than this.

He cleared his throat with a cough and added one more thing.

"...Sorry."

It was an apology added because there had been no words from Haren until now. Had he gotten a hangover as soon as he woke up? Honestly, he felt wronged that he had to apologize when he was the one pierced by a weapon, but then he remembered his conscience since he had pounced on him.

But Haren was still silent. By now an answer should have come, so why? He looked at him quizzically. Of course, he didn't have the confidence to face him properly, so he just glanced, but he saw his hand first.

A hand that seemed as if it had been about to reach out to him was suspended in the air.

"..."

The weight of the subtle silence was heavy. Feeling as if it was even pressing on his breath, he hurriedly added words as if being chased. He couldn't bear the awkward energy mixing into this silence.

"It's just that my body is such trash that it was more vulnerable to the incubus's curse, and unfortunately because our souls were connected, you got swept up too. This was an accident, and it's not your responsibility. So... let's pretend it never happened."

"..."

"If we have to blame someone, it's my fault, um, so blame me and..."

"Let's pretend, it never happened."

Though he tried his best to speak calmly, the voice that came back was very cold. Sharp ice shards seemed to fall as if he had plunged into a polar sea.

He turned to look at Haren, dumbfounded. Why did he sound angry? And indeed, his face was stiffly frozen. Though his blue eyes were so cold it made him want to shrink away, puzzlement took precedence.

"...Yeah. Isn't it good for you too to pretend it never happened?"

He couldn't understand his reaction at all. He had thought he would naturally welcome his suggestion. Weren't holy knights who followed God supposed to be pure? Though holy knights could marry and Haren himself was born from such a union, so there probably wasn't an absolute rule of celibacy, but perhaps such acts were only possible in married relationships.

Though he didn't know much about religion, surely a debauched night life was far removed from devout believers who cultivated pure conduct. And above all else.

"You're the hero of the Holy Empire, so doing such a thing with someone like me is an unpleasant stigma. I use unholy necromancy and have committed terrible crimes, I'm a death row inmate..."

He deliberately mentioned those words as if to remind him. A necromancer pointed at by all the empire's citizens, one who used an unholy power that went against God's will. And even before gaining notoriety for stealing the holy sword, this body was a death row inmate. For the terrible crime of killing all the residents of Klam Village.

No matter how cynical Haren was towards God, wouldn't he want to forget spending a night with such a person? Moreover, it seemed to have been his first time... Though that part was the same for him too, but anyway, no, that's why this agreement was necessary.

"Let's pretend it never happened at all. I'll pretend I don't know, no, I'll completely forget it."

"...It's not that you find it unpleasant and want to forget?"

However, for some reason, Haren's face sank even more coldly. He was bewildered, as if his words had angered him, and was even more flustered by the question he received in return.

Wasn't it me who wanted to forget?

Well... of course.

He absolutely couldn't revisit last night's events in his right mind. Ordering him to kiss him, making him take off his clothes himself, then bursting out in frustration asking why he wouldn't put it in. Afterwards, he cried that his stomach would burst while spouting all sorts of nonsense.

Even as he kept leaking something that had become so thin it was almost like water towards the end, he still clung to him somehow with his limp, strengthless body. He couldn't even bear it when he tried to move away to give him water to drink, and clung to him, endlessly entangling while drinking from his mouth. One couldn't go crazier than this even if they tried.

But if asked whether last night was unpleasant... that didn't seem to be the case either. Rather, he had cried because every moment felt too good, um, no. This wasn't the context. He hurriedly rubbed his face with his hands.

He let out a short sigh and organized his thoughts. Unable to face Haren, he turned his gaze to the side as he pondered, then spoke.

"Is that not okay?"

"..."

"I only ended up like that because I was affected by the curse too."

Unable to find a suitable answer, he just turned the question back. He felt even more wronged as Haren pressed him as if interrogating him, even though he had already summarized that it was just an accident, and if they had to blame someone, it was his fault.

Hadn't they pretended not to know about what happened on the sky island before, so couldn't they do the same this time? Did he have to take responsibility because he had pounced on him? So saying he would forget now was his way of trying to take responsibility...

"You also chose that method because you had no choice, right? Am I wrong?"

He was silent for a moment, but still no answer came. He barely held back a sneer that was about to escape. Though he had thought Haren wouldn't deny this statement, it was ridiculous that he seemed to have waited for a different answer.

"You helped me... yes, thank you. So I'll pretend it never happened and forget it."

His voice sank. Though it might sound like his mood had suddenly soured, his tone had just lowered because he was sad about his position of having to thank him for that situation. He uncomfortably massaged his nape, then stopped at the stinging pain he felt.

Even without checking in a mirror, he could guess it would be full of red marks. Haren had been particularly persistent in biting that spot last night.

"..."

Though Haren had voluntarily sunk into the curse, he knew his excitement wasn't intentional. He could distinguish this. He had just stepped up to help because someone was vomiting blood and growing cold before his eyes. A kind of mercy, or pity.

If not for the incubus's curse, Haren would never have kissed him, nor endlessly bitten his nape while holding him.

"...Alright, let's do as you say. Because such a thing would never have been possible if not for the curse."

Just then, Haren answered. His tone was similar to when he had accepted the proposal on the sky island before, yet different. It was lower and drier than then, and even tinged with a hint of mockery.

Saying that 'such' a thing wouldn't have happened in their right minds.

Though his words contained such an obvious content, they stung somewhere. He felt strange even though he had suggested it first. This was all because his throat hurt. There were no marks anywhere else on his body, but his neck was so swollen, and it stung more as the collar rattled and brushed against his skin.

And as he examined his body, he realized that Haren seemed to have washed him after he had completely collapsed from exhaustion last night. He felt somewhat regretful that those memories were the haziest. As he fiddled with the new clothes, trying to recall that moment, he suddenly sprang up from his seat as if startled. Why was he feeling regretful?

He shouldn't stay by Haren's side any longer.

"I'll make sure to erase the marks on my neck cleanly myself."

Since the wound on his lips had healed instantly with the healing potion last time, his nape should clean up quickly too. Fortunately, he saw a potion on the bedside table and took it. It was the leftover potion Haren had fed him when he had just woken from the nightmare.

He headed to the bathroom with relief, and didn't look back until the end.

***

A party was held at the lord's castle.

The lord of Nadael, excited by the success of this subjugation, declared he would host a banquet for all who had participated in the subjugation team. At a time when everyone could have died if things had gone wrong, an intense sunlight had shone down and resolved all problems, so he rejoiced, thinking God's hand had touched the city.

'It was as if Solnium had sent down light.'

The mercenaries' testimony made the lord very happy. The only thing that could explain the strange phenomenon that occurred in the moment of confusion when everyone was sinking into the swamp was God's care. He also viewed the Death Knight's evil spirits suddenly changing and pulling people out as simply being moved by God.

The party was held in the spacious hall of the annex, and all sorts of delicacies were served on numerous tables. Most of the conversations passing between the jubilantly dining subjugation team members were about yesterday's miracle, so Beatrice, hearing this, burst into loud laughter and approached him.

"Ahaha! Don't you feel like you've become a god?"