HRB 114

“Hmm.”

Eddie swallowed.

Few of the shops in the nearby market, where he sometimes went with Ketron to buy produce, were open.

He realized he had been too detached from the outside world, holed up in the mansion. To think he had expected people to be trading peacefully as they used to.

Half were open, but half were closed. Even those that were open seemed to have done so out of habit, not expecting many customers. The market, which had always been bustling with countless people chattering, was quiet.

Perhaps because of that, Eddie stood out distinctly in that space. He was already striking in appearance, but now that he had reappeared after a long time, everyone knew he was the young Owner of Eddie’s Inn, and that he had recently lost his entire building to an immense magic bombardment.

What’s more, the man rumored to be his lover was the true Hero they had forgotten—that rumor must have spread like wildfire.

“Hey, Eddie! Are you alright?”

The vegetable seller, who had a particularly good rapport with Eddie due to his regular purchases of vegetables, exclaimed as soon as he saw him.

“Haha, I’m fine. What’s there not to be fine about?”

“No, your building collapsed! What’s fine about that?”

Ah, right. The building had collapsed.

Come to think of it, it made sense. Eddie scratched his cheek.

“Well, the building collapsed, and you guys disappeared after that! Ugh, everyone was worried.”

“Ahaha, thank you.”

Indeed, it must have been confusing for everyone when the familiar faces who always came to the inn for a drink or two vanished along with the building. Still, they must have been worried because they had grown fond of him.

Grateful for their concern, Eddie offered his thanks, and the vegetable seller let out a small sigh.

“So the young man living with you was the true Hero.”

Eddie gave a more awkward laugh at the words mumbled by the seller. While Eddie had always known, it was merely the world catching up to the truth. For others, it must have been earth-shattering news.

That the Demon King had been resurrected, and that the Hero had been replaced.

“Arthur, that scoundrel who deserves heavenly punishment.”

For Arthur, that fact became a disadvantage. Arthur, the Hero’s companion, had his own notoriety.

He, who had sometimes heard whispers that he wasn’t suited to be the Hero’s companion, had stolen the Hero’s place. Now that the truth had finally come out, the anger of those who had been deceived by him was beyond imagination. It was arguably the greatest national deception.

Furthermore, many looked upon him with suspicion, wondering if Arthur had also been involved in the Demon King’s resurrection the moment his memories returned. It was highly probable that Arthur would never be able to recover within the empire, no matter what.

Neither Eddie nor anyone else felt any sympathy for that fact.

At Eddie’s request, the vegetable seller packed a few cabbages for him. He apologized for their condition, mentioning that distribution wasn’t smooth lately, but they didn’t look too bad.

With so many people to feed, Eddie bought the maximum he could carry. As he was about to leave with his basket, the vegetable seller glanced at Eddie and asked.

“So, are you going on a campaign?”

Ah.

Seeing the vegetable seller’s anxious face, Eddie hesitated, unable to find words for a moment, but then nodded.

A look of relief spread across the vegetable seller’s face.

For ordinary people, Ketron’s departure was a matter of desperate need. Conversely, Eddie was merely worried about Ketron.

He had only come out to buy a single cabbage, but his mind was a mess.

Perhaps thinking he had shown his relief too openly, the vegetable seller cleared his throat, managing his expression.

“My apologies. Even if he’s the Hero, it must be hard for you when your lover is going on a campaign.”

“……No, it’s not.”

Eddie replied reflexively, then wore a puzzled expression without realizing it.

It had only been relatively recently that he and Ketron had started a serious romantic relationship. How could the vegetable seller be so certain they were lovers?

Unaware that they were already quite a famous couple in the capital, Eddie tilted his head.

Meanwhile, the vegetable seller chattered about the recent situation. Since they always had lively conversations when they met, Eddie forgot his question and soon became engrossed in the chat. Suddenly, the quiet market became noisy.

Hearing the murmurs of the people around him, Eddie wondered what was happening and turned his head towards the sound.

Someone was standing at the entrance of the market.

It was a man with a gaunt, emaciated face. The clothes he wore were clearly once luxurious noble attire, but they were dirty and torn, making him look nothing like a noble.

What was peculiar about the man was that despite his gaunt face and such clothes, he held a sword in his hand.

…He looks like a lunatic from Line 1.

Eddie thought to himself without realizing it. He looked literally like a madman.

“What the heck, is he crazy?”

The vegetable seller muttered the same thing, looking at the man, then shook his head, seeing the weapon he held.

Swordsmen were common in this world, so a man holding a sword wasn’t surprising, but given his appearance, he warned Eddie in a voice full of caution.

“It’s best not to engage with crazy people. Go around him.”

“Ah, yes.”

Eddie nodded at his words. Since the man was unfortunately standing in the direction Eddie was heading, he decided he would have to go the other way and return to the mansion.

But why did this thought come to mind at that moment?

“Carelessness in a moment can lead to disaster!”

The Holy Sword’s words, spoken just before he left the mansion, suddenly flashed in Eddie’s mind.

What a terrible thought.

Eddie bid farewell to the vegetable seller and started walking in the opposite direction of where the man stood. He figured he would reach the mansion soon enough, even if he had to take a detour.

“Eddie.”

However, it wasn’t long before Eddie had to whip around at a chilling voice from behind him.

The man, who had been standing at the market entrance, was now behind Eddie. He pronounced Eddie’s name precisely.

His voice, hoarse and cracked, was unpleasant to hear, as is typical of someone who has barely spoken for days.

Face to face, the man’s condition was more severe than it had appeared from a distance. His eyes, bloodshot with broken capillaries, the dark circles under his hollow eyes, his chin covered in unkempt stubble, and his generally dirty appearance, as if he hadn’t washed in days.

What stood out most were his eyes. His hollow eyes, gleaming with madness, met Eddie’s.

Why was this man calling Eddie’s name?

As if he had come specifically to find him.

Eddie instinctively felt the need to flee. While it was generally not good to converse with madmen, it felt wrong to be in the same space as this man who called his name chillingly, as if Eddie were his target.

At that moment, Eddie’s gaze fell upon the sword the man held. It was large, long, and had a uniquely radiant and beautiful feel to it.

…A sword that looked exactly like the Holy Sword.

“……Ah.”

Only then did Eddie seem to understand who the man before him was. Who this man, with his ordinary brown hair and brown eyes, his unremarkable appearance, and his poor condition, truly was.

Eddie stepped back. His grip on the shopping basket tightened involuntarily, and his gaze was drawn to the sword in the man’s hand—identical to the Holy Sword, but emanating a dark aura that even an ignorant Eddie could sense.

Eddie hated blades. He still felt a revulsion towards any blade other than the true Holy Sword.

Anyone who had ever been stabbed by such a thing and died would feel the same.

However, Eddie, while stepping back, found himself unable to move.

Huh?

His body wouldn’t move.

It was a completely different sensation from being frozen by fear. It was a bizarre feeling, as if his movements were being blocked by something. He couldn’t budge.

Why isn’t my body moving…

Eddie gasped for breath. Breathing was all he could do. His body, completely rigid as if cast in wax, couldn’t even turn its eyeballs.

Then, a chilling sound echoed in Eddie’s ears.

— Screeeech

The sound of gears, as if they had been waiting, reverberated deep within Eddie’s brain.

But that sound was slightly different from the sounds that occurred when something ‘went wrong.’

It sounded strangely fast, as if it were rejoicing. Of all the loud noises he had heard during his time here, this was the loudest, largest, and simultaneously the fastest.

He saw the man, no, Arthur, raise the sword in his hand. It was too obvious what he was about to do, he knew it… yet Eddie’s body refused to move.

Suddenly, the moment of his death flashed through Eddie’s mind.

A customer who made him think he had never seen them before, despite being a local shopkeeper, who suddenly approached him… the moment he plunged the knife into his stomach.

Lee Jeong-hoon didn’t die instantly from being stabbed.

That was his misfortune.

Since Lee Jeong-hoon didn’t die immediately, what did that man do?

…He twisted the knife he had plunged in halfway from the inside. He couldn’t even scream. It hurt too much. It was too agonizing.

After that, he was terrified of standing among people. His hands would tremble, fearing anyone might suddenly turn and attack him.

While his condition gradually improved over time in this world, Eddie constantly had to fight such fears.

That was precisely why he couldn’t fail to understand what was happening at this very moment. His heart constricted with instinctive terror. Because he knew what kind of pain he was about to endure.

And the moment the fake Holy Sword plunged into his body, Eddie thought.

I really, really hate swords.

They say your life flashes before your eyes at the moment of death, but there was nothing like that from his past death. Instead, the memory of closing his eyes while his parents’ faces flickered before him was vivid.

But now, it was Ketron’s face that came to mind, not anyone else’s.

The face of the man who, even when stubbornly silent until Eddie accepted his feelings, always told Eddie he loved him with his expressions and actions.

And then, everything snapped.

It was darkness.

Just like before.