Since their outing that day, Eddie and Ketron often left the inn together.
Of course, these weren’t grand journeys. They simply strolled through a nearby park, walked around the neighborhood, or went to the market. Even Ketron, who initially refused to go outside, seemed to have grown accustomed to it, sometimes waiting for Eddie first.
‘Finally, our Ket is going out on his own!’
Of course, there was an incident where Eddie made such a fuss about it that Ketron frowned and tried to back out again, but their brief outings were gradually becoming a daily routine.
In the meantime, Eddie bought some clothes for Ketron at the market, as well as some yarn. Surprisingly, knitting existed here too.
For Eddie, who grew up with a mother who knitted everything from scrubbers to scarves herself, and who would sit side by side on the sofa knitting during winter, it was a nostalgic item.
That’s right, that’s called needle knitting. You’re really good at it, whose son are you?”
“…”
Eddie’s expression turned somber while looking at the yarn and knitting needles. Biting his lips from the suffocating feeling as if something was stuck in his chest, he soon returned to his usual expression.
As if he’d never had that darkened face, he called Ketron with a bright voice and a light smile.
“Ket! Let’s go exercise!”
That day’s course was around a nearby park.
After easily coaxing Ketron out, Eddie greeted Gerold and briskly left the inn.
Though called a park, it was really just a dirt path alongside a large lake. It wasn’t as pleasant as modern parks, but as the season grew colder, there was a certain refreshing quality when the cool air from the lake filled one’s lungs.
Of course, when it got even colder, it might be difficult to indulge in such leisure… but Eddie, who considered himself a proud Die-hard Ice Drinker, was less sensitive to the cold than others, so he thought it would be alright.
“Ket, want a drink?”
Eddie took a sip of the sports drink he had brought from the convenience store before setting out and held it out to Ketron.
But the blue-colored drink must have seemed quite suspicious, as Ketron narrowed his eyes instead of immediately accepting it. After the previous americano incident, Ketron had developed a habit of questioning things Eddie offered him.
Yet in the end, he always accepted and tasted them anyway.
Ketron timidly tasted the sports drink, and finding it better than expected, gulped it down without hesitation.
“…Not bad.”
The 600ml sports drink was empty in an instant.
I should have brought another one.
While thinking this, Eddie made a mental note out of contentment.
As expected, our house cat likes sweet things.
Though he had grandly called it exercise, it was just a walk around the lake, so it ended quickly.
Eddie still held onto Ketron’s sleeve as they walked, and fortunately, Ketron neither rejected nor brushed away Eddie’s touch, so Eddie was adapting to the outside world quite smoothly.
Of course, he still flinched a little when strangers brushed past him outside.
But still, it’s going well.
Eddie thought so. Everything was going well.
Of course, it didn’t take long to realize that was an illusion.
* * *
That day, after finishing the walk with Eddie, Ketron had come down to the first floor alone.
It was because he was tired of hearing the Holy Sword’s noisy chatter.
The Holy Sword, which had been more furious than Ketron and constantly called for revenge after Ketron realized he had been forgotten and betrayed, had recently been making even more noise, apparently displeased with Ketron acting as if he was settling into the inn.
「Didn’t you say you would only stay here until your injuries healed?」
He had no comeback for that. His injuries were almost completely healed. Only traces remained now, almost embarrassingly minor to even call a wound. In the past, he wouldn’t have even considered this level of injury. That’s what the Holy Sword was pointing out.
However, despite its displeasure, the Holy Sword didn’t push Ketron too harshly beyond that. As if it knew the reason.
“Haa.”
Ketron sighed and rubbed his face.
Even he didn’t understand yet. Why he was settling here with no thought of leaving, why he was postponing his departure day after day while acting as if he would dash out as soon as his thoughts were organized.
No, why the thought of leaving didn’t even cross his mind.
Is this really enough? Is it okay to just stay here and do nothing?
He no longer had any sense of mission to save the world. It was a sense of duty that had already faded, scattered, and turned to ashes. But even apart from that, he didn’t particularly have anything he wanted to do.
The Holy Sword advocated revenge, but it was such an overwhelming task that he didn’t know where to begin.
Whatever it was, maybe he could rest a little before starting.
Such weak thoughts also occurred to him.
If he expressed these thoughts outwardly, the innkeeper—no, Eddie would probably say with a casual smile, “Of course. Why not? Rest as much as you want, Ket.”
Even knowing that he disliked that nickname, Eddie would always add it at the end, treating him as if he were actually a cat. That man would definitely do that.
When he thought about it that way, all his worries seemed ridiculous. He vaguely felt that everything would be alright.
Just as Ketron was thinking this, leaning back in his chair, the surroundings became noisy. More precisely, it seemed like voices were murmuring outside the inn.
Voices saying things like ‘It’s really him!’ or ‘How lucky, to actually run into him!’ reached his ears, causing Ketron to narrow his eyes. He couldn’t understand what the commotion was about.
The source of the noise, which had been growing closer from outside, boldly opened the entrance to Eddie’s inn and came inside just as Ketron was looking puzzled.
A large body packed with muscles was the first thing visible. With his preference for exclusively white clothing making him even more noticeable, the man wore a grinning face.
It was a very familiar face to Ketron.
In an instant, as if his mind had never been at ease, Ketron swallowed at the feeling of his chest tightening.
Wearing white priestly robes that somehow both suited and didn’t suit him, with a huge, elongated staff strapped to his back, it was the hero known as the Saint, one of the hero’s companions—Augustine of Divine Power.
“I heard they sell some unique side dishes here?”
His bright green eyes curved pleasantly. Though wearing priestly robes, what emanated from his entire body was the aura of a warrior.
Far from the image of someone kneeling submissively in prayer before God’s evidence, he was proof of divinity in a different sense from the Saint, but he preferred fighting over peace.
Ketron had first met Augustine five years ago. They had clashed over a minor misunderstanding, fought, and Ketron had won. Augustine had asked to join him on his adventures.
“You’re really the best, Ketron!”
If Ketron had to name the only friend in his life, it would have been Augustine. Though they might have had a small age difference, if they weren’t friends, what relationship could be called friendship?
But after defeating the Demon King, Augustine hadn’t looked for Ketron.
At first, Ketron was shocked, wondering if Augustine had also betrayed him, but soon realized that Augustine wasn’t that type of person.
He too had simply forgotten Ketron entirely due to the spell.
And thanks to that, the two people’s betrayal had succeeded.
Very smoothly.
Ketron found himself staring at his lost friend. His comrade, whom he had never been this distant from since their first meeting, seemed no different than before despite the long separation.
Despite titles, being called a hero, and everything else, he remained unchanged.
Augustine’s eyes, which had been scanning the inn, met Ketron’s.
“Oho.”
As soon as their eyes met, Augustine’s eyes curved. For a moment, Ketron’s heart dropped, wondering if Augustine had recognized him, but Augustine’s gaze didn’t contain the warmth one would expect when looking at a friend.
Augustine looked Ketron up and down, then naturally approached him and casually took a seat opposite him.
People’s stares followed uncomfortably. Even without their fame, the sight of a large man in snow-white clothing sitting across from a man in completely black attire would have been eye-catching.
“You’ve got a good build.”
“Kid, you’ve got a good build?”
“Where did you crawl out from?”
“Where did you crawl out from to be like this?”
Voices from the past overlapped with the current sound.
“Your eyes are something too.”
This was something he’d never heard before. Back then, Ketron had just been a youngster full of hostility.
Ketron unconsciously made an uncomfortable expression.
However Augustine took it, he waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t take offense, I don’t have any bad intentions. It’s just that, someone of my caliber can roughly tell by looking at a body or presence, and you’re quite impressive.”
Augustine scratched the back of his head at Ketron’s sharp attitude.
“I’ve been told many times to be careful because my way of speaking can be misunderstood. But it’s not easy to change.”
He said this with a smiling face.
“If you’re going to talk a lot, work on your manner of speaking. You always cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
…That was what Ketron had said to him most often. If he had been taciturn like Ketron, it might have been different, but Augustine was not only talkative but also quite blunt and often didn’t consider others’ feelings, causing many misunderstandings.
Augustine’s voice countering that remark also rose in Ketron’s mind simultaneously,
“You’re one to talk? No matter how many troubles I cause, they can’t even amount to half of the trouble Albatross causes.”
While Ketron was momentarily sunk in numbing memories, Augustine tilted his head.
“Come to think of it, who told me that? Lately, my memory has been hazy at times. And I’m still young.”
“…”
Seeing him apparently not even noticing his own memory loss, Ketron felt a tightening sensation inside.
The realization of his friend’s oblivion, encountered at an unexpected time and place, momentarily left Ketron breathless. Somehow, this felt more painful than Arthur and Boram’s betrayal.
Ketron abruptly stood up. He wanted to leave the place first. The people’s staring eyes were uncomfortably persistent.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
But Augustine didn’t seem inclined to let Ketron go so easily.
“Sir, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but if you don’t mind, would you like to spar with me? If you’re not in a hurry.”
“…”
“I haven’t properly exercised my body recently, and somehow I feel like you’d be a good match.”
Well? How about it? Want to go?
His smiling face as he said this contained not a trace of malice. Positive energy overflowed from him, clearly believing that the other person would accept, just as his friend had always done in the past.
It was a different kind of overwhelming feeling than what he felt with Eddie, and Ketron couldn’t bring himself to refuse.