By Zephyria 
Side Story 9
A rabbit.
Eddie, who was leisurely strolling through the dense forest, blinked his eyes as he discovered a rabbit in the woods.
It seemed that this world wasn’t just full of concrete buildings, as he often saw animals, but even so, a horned rabbit…
How fascinating. Even when he was Lee Jeong-hoon, it was hard to see wild animals unless they were dogs or cats, so Eddie squatted down on the spot and watched the rabbit.
He wanted to call Ketron, but he was afraid it would run away if he made a loud noise, so Eddie pursed his lips and slowly approached the rabbit.
The rabbit, with a harmless-looking white exterior except for the horns on its head, stared at Eddie without showing any signs of running away, even as Eddie approached.
Then, just as Eddie reached right in front of the rabbit’s nose.
The rabbit opened its mouth wide.
Wait, its mouth is awfully big, and its fangs look very sharp… was what Eddie was thinking.
Boom! With a sound, the rabbit suddenly exploded.
“Aaaagh!”
Even in the midst of it, the Artifact that Ketron had repeatedly told him to always carry activated automatically, deploying a shield, so the misfortune of fragments splattering on Eddie’s body didn’t occur, but just seeing a living creature explode in front of him was already a critical hit.
Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. What is this!
“Eddie.”
The culprit, presumably the one who exploded the rabbit, or rather, the monster resembling a rabbit, quickly approached and hugged Eddie tightly from behind.
“How many times have I told you that you can’t let your guard down here?”
Ketron clicked his tongue and lifted Eddie’s body as it was. Eddie, who had suddenly been embraced in Ketron’s arms, blushed even though he knew there was no one around in the forest.
“W-what are you doing? Put me down!”
“You’re like this if you let your guard down even a little, you would have been in big trouble many times if you didn’t have the shield.”
Ketron didn’t react to Eddie’s protests at all and only nagged.
Eddie slowly stopped struggling. He was aware that it was ridiculous to be carried in Ketron’s arms like a child whose rebellion had been suppressed, but there was no one watching anyway, and he felt a little guilty.
Eddie was currently traveling with Ketron.
Of course, it wasn’t a grand journey across the continent or exploring unknown areas as promised in the past, but rather a light trip that didn’t leave the Empire.
Everyone agreed to go on a full-fledged trip after Eddie became more accustomed to traveling. There was plenty of time anyway. In short, this was a rehearsal for the trip, and it was like a pre-wedding honeymoon for lovers who found it difficult to enjoy their romance leisurely with so many people around.
The light outing they took together didn’t seem to evoke any great impressions on Ketron, but Eddie, who had never been outside of Sandern’s neighboring area, found everything fascinating.
And since embarking on this journey, Eddie had benefited quite a bit from the shield. Usually in similar situations.
The only difference was whether the opponent was a person or a monster, but Eddie often troubled Ketron because he had experienced crises several times.
Having lived in South Korea, where the public order was good, and then being possessed into this world, and then spending most of his time without going out, Eddie had only just come out into the world, so he forgot that this world wasn’t as safe as the place he used to live. He often caused accidents.
The problem was that those accidents all made Ketron’s heart drop.
Just now, while Ketron was preparing a place to sleep, Eddie had gone out to explore the forest and ended up encountering a monster resembling a rabbit.
In this regard, Eddie was well aware that he was a sinner.
If it weren’t for the ring that summoned Ketron that he received when Ketron proposed and the shield Artifact, he might have already been badly hurt and the trip might have ended early.
“…Sorry.”
In the end, Eddie chose to apologize quietly and be carried in Ketron’s arms.
“Be wary and careful of everything.”
“Uhm.”
Ketron sighed deeply. As a result, he wasn’t hurt, but he had worried Ketron greatly.
Thus, Eddie was forcibly returned to the place where Ketron was building a makeshift cabin.
“Stay put there.”
Eddie nodded enthusiastically. His ambitious dream of exploring the forest while Ketron prepared a place to sleep was thwarted, but this wasn’t bad either.
Ketron, who had gently placed Eddie on a nearby rock, began to build a cabin again with Sorcery.
Today was the day to camp in the forest. Of course, even though it was camping in the forest, Eddie had Ketron, an excellent Magician and Swordsman, so it wouldn’t be that uncomfortable.
[Eddie, did you get scolded again?]
The Holy Sword, which was roughly placed next to the cabin, chuckled and spoke. Eddie had a sulky face, but he couldn’t refute it. It was true that he had been scolded for doing something worthy of being scolded.
Ketron was building a house that was quite decent for a makeshift cabin. At least, even the nobles who had opposed the two’s trip, wondering how Ketron alone could take care of Eddie, nodded their heads, saying that this was excellent.
The society of nobles that he had somehow become a part of wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either.
It was like he had given up peace and gained a more luxurious life? As for Eddie, he didn’t want such a luxurious life to that extent, and it was annoying because there were many people who interfered.
In any case, the Prince was in a position to receive extreme treatment. Especially since the Emperor had no children, the young Prince, who was the first in line to the throne, was receiving everyone’s attention in many ways.
But that Prince was dating a male lover? And the target was the Hero who saved the world and received the title of Duke?
There were bound to be many words from the people around him.
They were very anxious to tell Eddie, “You should keep the Hero as a mistress (?) and think about getting married to continue the lineage,” or “It’s good to be on good terms with the Hero, but you should think about the future.” Whenever they saw Eddie, the old nobles couldn’t help but add a word.
The problem was that they were really saying that for Eddie’s sake.
Eddie, who had been firmly educated and raised in a Confucian country, found it too difficult to argue with the old nobles who were not showing hostility to him, but were really worried and nagging.
Of course, Ketron wasn’t the type to tell Eddie everything in detail, but he was probably hearing a lot of things as well.
But Eddie wasn’t particularly worried.
He didn’t have much attachment to the position of Prince, and if he was with Ketron, Eddie was confident that he could live well anywhere.
Of course, the convenience store was following him, so how could he starve to death anywhere? Although the floor wasn’t warm, if he laid a blanket on the convenience store floor, he could avoid the wind and rain, and he wouldn’t have to lie down sick from being cold and hungry. Probably.
Of course, Eddie didn’t intend to throw everything away either. Imperial Authority was at its peak, and in a situation where the noble faction had collapsed, there were no nobles with enough guts to dare to force the Prince to marry.
In addition, Emperor Ricarius had no particular comments about Eddie and Ketron’s relationship.
He rather said to Eddie, who was complaining about why Ketron’s Duke title was a single-generation title, “Anyway, that person won’t look at anyone other than you, so there’s no chance of having children, right? It doesn’t matter if it’s a single-generation title or whatever, does it?”
…Eddie was persuaded.
In any case, the Emperor was supporting the two of them, and Eddie was making his own efforts to reduce the marriage worries pouring in on him by trying to get the Emperor married, so this problem would be resolved soon.
“It’s done, Eddie.”
While Eddie was quietly lost in thought, the natural cabin was completed in an instant.
“…Wow.”
It was very nice for a one-night stay.
The outside was built firmly with thick wood, and the top was covered with leaves in preparation for rain. Inside, there was a wooden bed, a table, and two chairs, so honestly, it seemed like he could live there for a month, not just a day.
Eddie even took out a blanket from the Hyperspace pouch that Gerold had given him. He took out a fluffy blanket and put it on the wooden bed, and took out pillows and cushions, completing a room that was in better condition than a decent inn.
“Good.”
Eddie lay down on the bed first. Perhaps because he had laid out such a thick and fluffy blanket, it felt like a fairly soft bed even though it was made of wood.
Eddie closed his eyes as it was. He felt Ketron’s gaze falling on his face, but Eddie didn’t open his closed eyes.
After a while, Ketron, who had approached, reached out and lightly stroked Eddie’s cheek with the back of his hand. It was a light touch that felt like deep affection and some other emotion beyond affection.
Eddie chuckled.
“Ket…”
“Yes.”
He didn’t call him because he wanted something in particular. Eddie quietly closed his mouth, and Ketron, who was caressing Eddie’s face, quietly lowered his head.
Their lips met. Now that Eddie opened his lips quite skillfully, Ketron naturally slid his tongue into his mouth.
It was then that the sound of heavy rain suddenly hitting the roof was heard.
“Uh!”
Eddie opened his eyes wide.
He forgot that he was in the middle of a kiss and jumped up from his seat as it was.
“It’s raining, Ket!”
A rainy landscape in the deep forest, he couldn’t miss this! Eddie shouted quickly and ran outside.
“…”
Ketron, who had only tasted Eddie a little, briefly fell silent, licked his lips slightly, and went outside, where Eddie was looking at the forest where the rain was pouring down like crazy with a look of rapture.