By Zephyria 
Am I hearing things?
But the warmth of the large body holding me, the breath on my neck, and the all-too-familiar voice felt too real.
Eddie slowly turned his head.
When his eyes met the dark eyes staring intently at him, Eddie finally realized this was not a dream but reality.
“Ket?”
As Eddie called his name with a hint of confusion,
“Yes.”
a calm reply came back. Just as always.
It wasn’t a mistake.
Ketron had truly returned.
Eddie pulled away from Ketron. Danny was nowhere to be seen, and only Ketron stood there.
“Ket…”
Eddie’s smile, which had brightened with joy as he looked at Ketron, stiffened. He hadn’t noticed it before, but a scar, so prominent it was unrecognizable, was etched onto the corner of Ketron’s right eye.
Ketron, knowing where Eddie’s gaze was fixed, gave a wry smile.
“It’s healed now.”
“The scar…”
The flesh had healed, but a deep scar remained. It must have been a fatal wound when it was inflicted.
“It’s fine. I can see well. It will take time, but it will heal completely.”
Ketron seemed to know exactly what Eddie was worried about and preemptively answered the questions Eddie would ask.
But even knowing that, Eddie felt a pang of sadness that such a scar marred the perfect face he loved.
Eddie reached out a hand towards the healed mark. The rough scar looked like it would be difficult to heal perfectly under normal circumstances, but with sorcery and priests in this world, it might not be entirely impossible to erase the mark.
But beyond that, Eddie was upset by the fact that Ketron had sustained such a significant wound, one he couldn’t hide even during the long time it took him to return to Eddie.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
If it were the old Ketron, he would have shaken his head and said no.
“…A little.”
But instead of pretending it didn’t, Ketron chose to whine to his lover. That was perhaps one of the small changes between Eddie and Ketron. Don’t pretend. Be honest with each other.
As if to reward that honesty, Eddie’s lips lightly brushed over the scar near his eye.
After a few ticklish pecks, Ketron, unable to bear it any longer, pulled Eddie into a tight embrace.
Held by his solid body, Eddie belatedly realized his heart was pounding wildly.
Ah, he’s back.
Ketron was back. He had returned alive to Eddie’s side after finishing his long journey. Just as he had promised.
“Ket.”
“Yes, Eddie.”
“…Welcome back.”
Eddie belatedly offered his greeting.
Eddie reached out and caressed Ketron’s face. As always when Eddie touched him, Ketron passively accepted his touch. His hand, stroking the smooth face that gently closed its eyes, naturally moved down his neck, lightly tracing his upper body, which was clad in only a thin layer despite the winter.
Then, he felt Ketron’s already firm muscles tense. Ketron let out a sigh.
“Eddie, if you touch me like that, I won’t be able to hold back.”
He had been unintentionally abstinent for months. Eddie knew better than anyone that the feelings between them were not purely platonic, but Eddie’s touch now held a different meaning.
…It felt like I touched a similar body just a few days ago. In the moment I mistook it for a dream.
No wonder it felt so strangely familiar. Eddie bit his lip hard. For some reason, after a long time, he felt a slight surge of irritation. The tenderness that had filled his chest moments before evaporated instantly, and Eddie, touching his tingling back of the head, spoke.
“I had a dream-like experience a few days ago.”
In fact, he had been thinking about it ever since he woke up. Was that really a dream? The lingering warmth on his body, the traces, the dull ache—no matter how he thought about it, it felt like the day after intimacy, which was strange.
“You appeared… and you got on top of my body while I was lying down.”
“…”
“I was tormented all night, but when I woke up, you were naturally gone, and there was no news of the Hero’s return anywhere, so I naturally thought it was a dream. But my back hurt, and my lower body hurt, so I thought it was strange.”
It felt so strange that Eddie even asked Danny a question.
“Danny, is there any news from the subjugation party?”
“I apologize. There’s no particular news.”
No, there’s no need to apologize… As he said that, Eddie felt embarrassed, thinking it was indeed a delusion. He chided himself for what kind of delusion he was having.
But now, meeting Ketron after so long, touching this familiar body, and smelling Ketron’s unique scent, realization dawned.
Ah, so that wasn’t a dream after all.
“When… when did you arrive in the capital?”
At that, Ketron subtly avoided Eddie’s gaze. Of course, seeing that, Eddie gained certainty.
Under Eddie’s sharp gaze, Ketron hesitantly opened his mouth.
“…It would take about three days by horse, so I grew impatient. If I used all my mana to travel alone now, I could see you within an hour or two… But I couldn’t possibly drag these burdens along. You were almost there, but everyone insisted we couldn’t just rush in, that we had to give prior notice and have a welcoming ceremony. I repeatedly said I didn’t need parades or welcoming ceremonies, but they vehemently opposed, saying it was also for the army that sounded the victory bells, so I couldn’t move. Nothing was going my way.”
This was probably the longest Ketron had ever spoken in his true form.
Perhaps what stopped Ketron in that state was the phrase ‘a welcoming ceremony for the army that sounded the victory bells.’
Of course, Ketron was the main protagonist, but the subjugation party was also another protagonist.
Moreover, he heard that there were not a few who had sacrificed themselves. A parade for them was essential, so Ketron couldn’t have acted recklessly.
“I was going crazy not being able to reach you for months, but if I had just come in and gone straight to you, I was worried it might cause you trouble.”
So I came secretly… As he continued his excuse, Eddie’s bewildered face quickly turned bright red.
Eddie, unable to hold back any longer, slapped Ketron’s shoulder. Ketron let out a yelp and flinched, but the man who had saved the world twice and fought the Demon King alone wouldn’t have genuinely hurt from the touch of Eddie, a mere mortal.
“Even so, you barge into the Imperial Palace and assault someone sleeping? Are you a beast?”
“Eddie…”
Ketron looked at Eddie with a rather pitiful expression.
“Are you not in pain now? I was in a hurry and couldn’t be considerate…”
“Shut up!”
No wonder my backside felt sore from just having a dream!
The quiet cat had climbed onto the hearth first!
Eddie knew Ketron was good at anything involving physical action, and he learned quickly. Especially in that regard, his proficiency developed so rapidly it was like a sudden blooming of talent, making Eddie think he’d be devoured in an instant someday.
Even so, to come so silently and devour him so deliciously while he was sleeping!
“No wonder my whole body ached from what I thought was just a dream! Huh? You deliberately kept me asleep when I was waking up, didn’t you?”
“Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t have been there. Eddie, just a moment. Please don’t be angry.”
“You knew that and still did it? Huh? How can I not be angry! And it’s fortunate it went unnoticed, but what if you’d been caught sneaking into the Imperial Palace? Do you want to be punished?”
“I was confident I wouldn’t be caught… No, I’m sorry. Eddie, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.”
Ketron, shamelessly, looked at the angry Eddie pitifully and then pecked at his cheek.
He knew very well that acting cute like this would make Eddie overlook most things, and he was exploiting that.
Eddie thought his tactic was obvious, yet he realized he was slowly falling for it.
He patted the large body pulling him closer a few times, but his hands soon chose to embrace the broad back.
It had been too long since he missed him to just resent him. They had barely started dating officially before being forcibly separated, and the other person was someone who had risked his life to protect this world and returned.
“I missed you, Eddie.”
The words he had said upon their reunion came out again. Eddie’s grip tightened on Ketron, whom he held. Eddie squeezed his broad back with such force that his veins bulged.
“Yes, I’m glad you returned safely.”
It pained him that his handsome face bore a scar, but he had said it would heal completely…
With that thought, Eddie wanted to hold the man in his arms even tighter, putting more strength into his arms, when, at that moment, his eyes met a grinning face peeking out from behind Ketron’s back.
It was Augustine.