Eddie woke up to someone shaking him.
His vision was blurry. At first, he thought it was because he wasn’t fully awake, but he soon realized it was because tears had filled his eyes.
Through the dark surroundings, he could sense a large, dark figure and a now-familiar scent.
It was Ketron.
“…Ket.”
His voice was hoarse as he called out the other man’s name.
After a moment of silence, the man explained why he had awakened him.
“…You were, making crying sounds.”
That’s why he came.
At those words, Ketron seemed visibly flustered by the sight of a man who would normally have brazenly responded, “Crying? Adults don’t cry. I wasn’t crying!” but who was now silently shedding tears without any such pretense.
By now, he should be smiling casually.
Saying things like it’s okay, asking if Ketron was worried, praising him—saying such reassuring words.
But Eddie simply couldn’t.
Though it was a dream, he had seen his own funeral.
The image of his older brother looking at his funeral was so vivid that he could hardly believe it was just a dream.
Eddie was suffocating and could only breathe heavily. Just breathing was a struggle.
Ketron, who had been quietly watching Eddie, reached out and pulled him into his arms. Just as Eddie had done for Ketron not long ago.
Eddie’s eyes widened briefly, but soon he lacked even the energy to be surprised and simply leaned his body against Ketron’s.
Wrapped in warm comfort and broad embrace, tears silently fell from Eddie’s eyes, soaking Ketron’s clothes.
Eddie had thought he was fine.
He thought he had cried it all out during those first two days after transmigrating.
He would feel sad when knitting needles reminded him of his mother, or when steamed buns made him think of his older brother, but he still thought he was okay.
But he wasn’t.
Eddie didn’t reject Ketron’s touch and surrendered himself to that broad embrace.
He had always considered himself a person with good self-awareness, but this experience taught him otherwise. He didn’t know his own state.
He thought he was fine, but he wasn’t.
He was not okay yet.
* * *
Ketron had never comforted anyone in his life.
It wasn’t because he was indifferent or cold.
Of course, he knew his personality had many flaws that would prevent anyone from describing him as warm-hearted, but it wasn’t because he couldn’t think of others—he simply never had the opportunity.
In his childhood, when he ran away from the orphanage and lived on the streets, he was the one who needed comfort—though he had no memory of receiving any. Neither Augustine, Boram, nor even Arthur, with whom he spent his late teens, were people who needed his comfort or who would comfort him.
So Ketron couldn’t skillfully soothe Eddie the way Eddie had done for him.
Eddie had comforted him so naturally and skillfully that he hardly noticed he was being comforted, but now that it was Ketron’s turn, he didn’t know what to say and could only open and close his mouth awkwardly.
He simply couldn’t form any words.
So with an awkward hand, he patted Eddie’s shoulder. Even that gesture was stiff and clumsy, but he hoped the sincerity behind it would reach Eddie.
Eddie was so different from usual, unable to speak properly and just crying in his arms—whatever nightmare he had must have been terrible.
What kind of dream could it have been?
Crying? You of all people?
It took Eddie a long time to calm down. His tear-soaked eyes, reddened nose tip, and occasional sniffles suggested he wasn’t completely composed yet, but at least he seemed able to control his tears.
“…Did you hear?”
His voice trailed off, and with his hiccupping, it was hard to make out what he said. Ketron didn’t mind, but Eddie seemed a bit embarrassed and wiped his nose before speaking again.
“Did you hear everything?”
After thinking for a moment about what that meant, Ketron realized it was a question about his earlier comment that he had heard Eddie crying.
“I can hear most things fairly well.”
“I see.”
Eddie seemed to be thinking about something at those words. Despite having stopped crying, he made no move to leave Ketron’s embrace.
Instead, he naturally rested his head against Ketron’s chest, using Ketron’s thigh as a seat.
Though Eddie seemed to have calmed down enough that separating wouldn’t be an issue, Ketron didn’t think of letting him go either. Rather, he adjusted his position to make Eddie more comfortable in his arms.
Eddie sniffled and seemed to be pondering something, then suddenly lifted his head.
As a result, Eddie’s forehead collided with Ketron’s chin, who had been quietly looking down at him.
“Ouch.”
It wasn’t a particularly hard collision, so Eddie made a playful sound and laughed. Though his face still showed traces of crying, he definitely looked better than before.
“I had no idea sounds could be heard. The walls here don’t seem that thin.”
“I just… hear well.”
Not only were all his senses heightened, but Ketron wasn’t skilled with just swords. Though limited to combat applications, he was also among the best in magic. In terms of battle ability, he was even stronger than Boram, who was called a grand mage.
Naturally, humans with high mana affinity had much more developed senses than others.
“I didn’t think you could hear me and moved around carelessly. Must have been noisy.”
“Not really… you don’t make much noise, so it’s fine.”
“Is that so? Well, I suppose that could be true.”
Eddie scratched his chin briefly before continuing.
“It would be embarrassing if you ever heard me pleasuring myself.”
“…”
At those words, Ketron’s jaw tensed. His body understood the meaning before his mind did, stiffening like stone.
Eddie, not noticing that Ketron had frozen completely, casually muttered, “Though I haven’t done that since coming here,” and the sound brushed past Ketron’s ears.
“It would be embarrassing for me, and for you too.”
The questioning face was still buried against Ketron’s chest.
Ketron understood. This was Eddie trying to break the tension caused by his tears with some light banter.
So there was no need to react seriously to what he said, and the appropriate response would be to smile faintly at Eddie’s joke.
But Ketron couldn’t do that.
The moment he understood those words, his entire body tensed up. It took all his effort not to tighten his arms around Eddie.
Especially below his waist, his thigh area became rock-hard with tension, causing Ketron to briefly lift his head and sigh deeply.
Why is my body reacting this way?
Confused by his body’s inexplicable response, Ketron just stared up at the ceiling patterns clearly visible even in the darkness.
“Ket?”
When Ketron suddenly sighed without making any expected response or saying anything, Eddie tilted his head curiously.
With a rustling sound, Eddie’s silky hair brushed against Ketron’s chest.
At that insignificant touch, Ketron could no longer hold back and lifted Eddie up in his arms.
“Whoa?”
Ketron promptly placed Eddie on the bed as if handling a child’s doll.
Suddenly deposited on the bed like a doll, Eddie made a surprised sound, but Ketron couldn’t bring himself to look directly at him.
“Ket? What’s wrong?”
Eddie tilted his head in genuine confusion, but—
“I’ll… be going now.”
Ketron had no intention of explaining Eddie’s confusion. Or rather, he couldn’t explain it.
His body’s condition was far too abnormal. Having never lost control of his body in his life, Ketron couldn’t endure the unfamiliar heat that bubbled up like a strange chemical reaction.
As Ketron abruptly stood up and turned to leave, Eddie desperately grabbed him.
“Ket! Wait.”
Ketron, who was about to open the door and go outside, glanced back briefly at Eddie’s voice.
Eddie gave Ketron a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
It was sincere. Thank you for comforting me, thank you for coming when you heard me crying. Without you, I would have cried much longer and been much sadder.
Though he didn’t say these words, they seemed to be heard nonetheless. Ketron stood quietly by the door for a moment, then simply nodded.
And the door closed.
In the room that was quiet once again, Eddie stared at the closed door and clutched his chest. He could feel his nightclothes damp with cold sweat, but he lacked the energy to change, so he slipped back onto the bed.
His eyes felt dry from crying so much.
With his heart still pounding from the aftermath of the dream, Eddie didn’t notice that Ketron’s reaction had been somewhat strange, and he closed his eyes again with difficulty.
Still, thanks to Ketron, he thought he wouldn’t have any more nightmares.
* * *
Ketron returned to his room next door after leaving Eddie’s room. He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
Usually, he could fall asleep quickly even if he couldn’t sleep deeply—a skill developed from the need to rest whenever possible. But tonight, sleep wouldn’t come.
Despite tossing and turning and changing positions several times, he remained wide awake. Finally, he abruptly sat up.
“…”
His mouth felt hot.
The strange sensation of heat bubbling from deep within his body was something unfamiliar to Ketron.
Yet while he wasn’t entirely familiar with it, he wasn’t completely ignorant of what it was either.
Ketron suddenly stood up.
It wasn’t a conscious decision; he was confused himself, but when his gaze fell on the holy sword in his peripheral vision, he instinctively moved toward the bathroom.
Click.
After firmly closing the door behind him, Ketron sighed softly in the bathroom.
Though he couldn’t fully understand what was happening, upon reflection, it wasn’t all that strange.
Wasn’t it a normal occurrence for a healthy man to wake up with morning arousal?
What was unusual about a healthy adult male feeling such desires?
But it was true that this was unfamiliar to Ketron. He had never succumbed to his body’s desires before.
He had little interest in addressing such needs, and until now, there had been no appropriate situation for it.
Ketron’s sole objective had been to defeat the Demon King.
And after accomplishing this primary goal, situations became so complicated that he had no leisure to develop interest in such matters.
But why these urges were suddenly emerging now was a mystery even to him.
Ketron’s gaze shifted downward.
He saw that his lower region had swollen considerably. Once he acknowledged the desire, it seemed to have instantly increased in size and presence, as if it had never been dormant.
Ketron awkwardly reached down. When he clumsily lowered the loose pants Eddie had bought him as pajamas, he could see his manhood tightly contained in his underwear. The tip was already slightly wet—had he hesitated any longer, the holy sword might have noticed.
Holy sword, soundproofing, Eddie.
This thought suddenly occurring to him, Ketron decided to take a shower, concerned that despite the improbability, some sound might be heard.
After removing all his clothes, he turned on the water, and hot water began pouring from the ceiling fixture. Eddie’s inn had ridiculously good facilities, allowing the use of such magic-powered structures without restrictions even in the early morning.
Usually, he didn’t particularly appreciate such amenities, but at this moment, he was grateful for these facilities.
At least the sound of water would wash away any other noises.
“Haaah…”
Ketron reached down and firmly gripped himself. The substantial volume, which barely fit in his large hand, seemed to stiffen immediately at his touch, as if it had been waiting.
His hand moved awkwardly. Being his first time comforting himself this way, it felt incredibly awkward despite it being his own body.
Fortunately, the water noise muffled the gasping sounds, which was a small comfort.
His inexperienced hand stroked up and down. It wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, nor was he imagining anything specific, yet it hardened instantly as if he had been holding back for a long time, trembling as if about to release at any moment.
“Haa.”
Yet despite feeling like he was about to finish, rushing made his already tense area painful, and attempting a more leisurely pace wasn’t working either—perhaps due to his lack of imagination, the stimulation from his clumsy touches wasn’t enough to easily reach climax.
Just, quickly, hurry up.
For Ketron, to whom all of this was incredibly awkward, he simply wished for it to end quickly, but his body wouldn’t readily comply with his wishes.
Even trying to imagine something, nothing particular came to mind.
Having never read such books, imagined such things, or seen them with his own eyes, how could anything suddenly appear in his mind…?
‘It would be embarrassing if you ever heard me pleasuring myself.’
But why did Eddie saying those words suddenly come to mind? That face looking up at him from within his arms, with reddened eyes. Those beautiful light purple eyes looking up at him, damp with cold sweat.
Pleasuring himself.
Pleasuring himself.
Alone.
Eddie pleasuring himself.
Something he had never dared imagine, something too burdensome for his limited imagination, suddenly appeared in his mind. Like a fire igniting in his head, an intense scene spread instantaneously.
“Ngh…!”
In that moment, his throbbing member, which had seemed unable to release, ejaculated with surprising ease.
The thick color seemed to prove how long he had held back. But Ketron was too stunned to notice such details.
A wave of exhaustion swept through his entire body, as if all his strength had been instantly drained. Though his lower region softened slightly after that single release, Ketron couldn’t move for a while.
Unable to comprehend what he had envisioned at the moment of climax.
He could only stare blankly at his hand still gripping his lower area, his eyes slightly widened.
But his body seemed to understand faster than his mind.
The moment he recalled the face he had just imagined, his member stood rigid again as if it had never lost strength. Ketron’s expression changed to one of shock as he looked down.
He remained standing there blankly for a long time, until the water pouring from above automatically shut off, unable to detect human movement.