Hero's Coffin Chapter 42

Chapter 42

He couldn't possibly admit that he had been eavesdropping on the hero's backstory, so he turned his head to the side. Just then, his eyes fell on the display shelves full of potions.

"Just, there were so many potions, I was looking..."

Usually, Kalterik stuck close to Harenir, so why had he come over here? He felt disappointed that the interesting conversation between the mercenaries had been interrupted.

"Why aren't you by the commander's side?"

"The commander told me to look for any other necessary items. He entrusted me with an important task!"

You were sent away because of your bad acting, you idiot.

Guessing Harenir's true intentions, he looked for him with his eyes. He was entering some warehouse while talking with a priest on the other side, and he was newly surprised at how calm Harenir was even when alone with a temple priest. Would that priest even imagine that the being he was with was the hero?

Sigh, he consoled his disappointment with an internal sigh. Just as he had learned that Harenir was the son of the Holy Knight Commander, born with a diamond spoon in his mouth, he thought he might have been able to get other clues as well.

As he was inwardly cursing Kalterik for interrupting this flow, the guy suddenly opened his mouth.

"Ahem, well. Many types of potions are exclusively supplied by the temple, so it's understandable to be curious."

"...Exclusively?"

"Because the Order's status rose after resolving the Great Catastrophe. Energy replenishing potions and healing potions are only made at the temple and are of superior quality. Especially healing potions are quite difficult to obtain..."

It made sense that the temple's power would grow after the Holy Knight Commander dealt with the Dium, but to monopolize potions that seemed close to necessities? While understanding why his companions had risked detection to visit the temple, he was also quite bewildered.

Why was Kalterik explaining this to him...? He had never told him anything before. Sensing his puzzled gaze, Kalterik cleared his throat.

"Ahem, ahem!"

He looked somewhat embarrassed. Come to think of it, his behavior had been a bit strange since the sky island, perhaps... was he grateful for being pulled out of the succubus's nightmare? Even though he had threatened to subjugate him as an undead and use him like a slave if he didn't come to his senses?

Was something wrong with this guy's head? Or was he sick?

Just as he was suspecting this, Kalterik coughed loudly. The cough was so big that he stepped back with a grimace. Was he really sick?

As he moved far away, Kalterik spoke while continuing to cough.

"Cough, hack, this is, cough, just something in my throat, hack!"

"Get away. I don't want to catch your cold."

If this body caught a cold, who knows how much it would groan. Treating him like a germ carrier without even pretending to listen to Kalterik's explanation, Kalterik's face turned bright red. As if ashamed, his voice rose sharply.

"You bastard, really...!"

"You two seem to have become friends now."

The being who appeared, cutting off the shout, was Harenir. He hadn't even sensed his presence, not knowing when he had approached from behind. Kalterik seemed not to have noticed either, as he flinched in surprise before hurriedly shaking his head.

"What?! How could that be! Becoming friends?!"

For once, he agreed with Kalterik's opinion. It was a tremendous insult. He looked at Harenir with eyes full of that sentiment... but as soon as he met those blue eyes directly, he felt very uncomfortable. Why was the distance so close, of all things.

As he was trying to subtly take a step to the side, Harenir suddenly held out his hand. In his palm was a red potion. A healing potion.

"Wouldn't it be better to get rid of that quickly?"

Harenir smiled gently and tapped his own lips with his other hand. As he blankly watched the straight index finger touch those pale red lips, his whole body stiffened with belated realization. He maintained his picture-perfect smile and kindly added the reason.

"The wound on your lip is rather bothersome, after all."

It was the first time he was conversing with Harenir since last night. Though there was no mention of last night in his words, as soon as he heard the word "wound," the memory of that time threatened to surface. He barely stomped it down and took a deep breath.

To make it completely as if nothing happened, he was saying to erase the wound quickly too. The lip wound would be bothersome and noticeable in daily life, and visible to Harenir's eyes as well.

Not wanting to lose to his extremely calm voice, he answered as calmly as he could.

"...Alright."

It was just one word, but he didn't know how much effort it took to keep it from trembling. Anyway, long speeches didn't suit Isaph, and the longer he spoke, the higher the chance of sounding ridiculous.

He realized that the reason he had gone into the warehouse with the priest earlier was to obtain healing potions. And it seemed he had bought not just one for him, but in bulk. He looked curiously at the heavy pouch attached to Harenir's waist but then lost interest.

He probably bought them for his subordinates, not needing them himself. Though he had heard healing potions were difficult to obtain, he must have used his Grade 1 mercenary silver badge and skilled acting to persuade the priest.

"If you see anything you need for going to the western Encroachment Zone, stock up."

"...I don't have money."

"Well, I'll count it as compensation for your hard work."

Harenir chuckled and answered as if he had heard something unexpected. Though he meant he would pay for it, hearing the words "compensation for hard work" created an uncomfortable distance in his heart again. He didn't want to hear any thanks for his hard work from him for a while.

Anyway, when we go to the Encroachment Zone, I'll only be summoning undead, so what other items would I need? He turned his head abruptly and said,

"I don't particularly need anything."

***

He needed a lot of things.

Ah, there was a reason why his companions had taken time to prepare before departing. He should have thought about why they visited the shop once more even though Noi had packed supplies when escaping from the holy city.

He blankly looked at the scene spread out before him.

"It's a desert..."

All he could see was a vast wilderness and huge rocks. They hadn't even arrived at the Encroachment Zone where life was said to be contaminated. The entire western region was just desert.

The information he had heard on the way here was ordinary. It was mostly information Noi had gathered from the temple, including that there had never been a case in history of demons growing additional horns, and that the frequency of monster appearances had increased recently across the country.

And the Order had decided to treat the hero as missing rather than dead, he said. It was presumed to be for the purpose of guarding against the notorious death row inmate Isaph, whose infamy had grown too great. Also, they had not taken a clear stance on the disappearance of the southern Encroachment Zone so far.

Noi had earnestly advised that everyone should be careful not to reveal their identities for a while, and finally added lightly,

'Well, it should be fine now since we're going to the western Encroachment Zone!'

He hadn't thought much of it at the time. Since the southern Encroachment Zone was said to be the smallest, he had only wondered how large the western one would be... but now faced with the truth, he felt at a loss.

Probably part of this area was encroached, but it seemed that crossing the desert would be more difficult than searching the Encroachment Zone. He blinked blankly. There had been no mention of a desert in any of the stories he had heard on the way here, so why?

But perhaps they thought that any citizen of the empire would naturally know that the entire western region was such a vast desert. As he was inwardly swallowing a dry laugh, Noi quietly asked Kalterik from behind.

"Isaph didn't prepare anything separately?"

"He said he didn't need anything. Well, he'll manage on his own. He was originally a wanderer without a settled place anyway."

Kalterik answered in a grumbling tone, as if still displeased about being treated like a germ carrier. He felt indignant at the look that seemed to see him as a stubborn concept-obsessed person who would move wearing only a black robe even when crossing a desert. No, damn it.

Shouldn't the NPC give prior notice for a map like this? He looked at the black cat with accusing eyes, but it only made a "Meow" sound. A blue window popped up in front of his eyes.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supplies can be searched for using undead.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, really? Is this how Isaph usually traveled? Could he go anywhere with just a black robe and a black cat?

While bewildered, he also felt quite uneasy about the mention of searching with undead. It meant that Isaph really did use undead like slaves, and most of the supplies found in the desert were likely to be abandoned or belongings of the dead. Hmm, well, they would be items that undead could find well...