By Zephyria 
The Emperor’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of his chair.
“What about marriage?”
“Though there was no formal engagement ceremony, they’ve already promised to marry, so it wouldn’t be wrong to call them engaged. It seems they haven’t planned any details yet. The Saint appears somewhat reluctant.”
“Hmm.”
The Emperor smiled, his eyes narrowing. He continued tapping the armrest with his fingers—a habit when something amused him.
“Simon.”
“Yes.”
“Since inheriting the throne, I find these days the most entertaining.”
“Is that so.”
“If just one more thing gets resolved, it would be perfectly enjoyable.”
“…”
Marquis Rivalt knew exactly what that was, as well as the Emperor did.
What issue troubled the imperial faction nobles the most? The remaining demon clan problem, the nobles’ greatest weapon.
Before the hero defeated the Demon King, they claimed demons flourished because the Emperor lacked piety. Now, with just remnants remaining, they used the hero’s glorification to treat the Emperor as a mere figurehead.
The conflict with the noble faction, inherited from the previous Emperor, was so vast that it weighed heavily even on the newly enthroned Emperor.
The Emperor tapped his cheek thoughtfully. Though problems were mountainous, he no longer felt the same helplessness as during his crown prince days.
“Well, as you know, this won’t be resolved overnight.”
“Yes.”
“For now, let’s focus on concluding the upcoming tournament successfully.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
The two men laughed heartily again.
This was the day before the tournament.
* * *
Ketron had been a wanderer since childhood.
He had visited every corner of the continent, experienced diverse cultures, and met various races. Naturally, he had observed countless types of people.
For someone like him, a short trip to a neighboring city hardly qualified as “travel.”
But if his companion considered it a journey, Ketron was coming to realize that perhaps it could be one.
“Ket! That person has long ears!”
Though Eddie refrained from pointing out of courtesy, he was so loud and excited that the large-eared being, who had excellent hearing, noticed anyway. Instead of pointing this out, Ketron simply replied,
“That’s an elf.”
Then Eddie exclaimed over another race.
“Gasp, their skin is blue!”
“They’re dragon-blooded. Probably a quarter.”
“W-what’s that Yoda-looking thing just now…!”
“…That’s probably a fairy.”
Ketron explained each time Eddie marveled at something new, though he tilted his head at the “Yoda” reference before making his best guess. He was probably right.
Thanks to the tournament, tourists from around the world had flocked to Sandern, the neighboring city with the Colosseum, making the streets more crowded than usual.
Though Eddie wasn’t fragile enough to get hurt if swept up in the crowd, Ketron skillfully stood beside him, keeping people away.
His movements were so natural that Eddie didn’t even notice Ketron doing this as he looked around with sparkling eyes.
As if he were venturing outside the inn for the first time.
“…”
While non-humans weren’t extremely common, they weren’t rare enough to inspire such wonder. After the Demon King’s appearance, different races (except demons) had united and lived among each other.
Yet Eddie marveled as if seeing non-humans for the first time.
True, non-humans were uncommon near the inn, but surely he couldn’t be seeing them for the first time?
Ketron kept these thoughts to himself, merely storing them away.
“Ket, don’t you want to eat that? Should I buy it for you?”
When Eddie asked with gleaming eyes, pointing at a stall selling large sausages, Ketron broke from his thoughts.
“Isn’t it you who wants it?”
“Oh, come on~”
Despite saying this, Eddie pulled Ketron’s arm toward the stall even though Ketron hadn’t expressed any interest. Watching those excited steps, Ketron simply smiled slightly when Eddie wasn’t looking.
He set aside his questions about Eddie. There was no point dwelling on them now—they wouldn’t yield answers, and such thoughts weren’t worth entertaining in this moment.
Time flew by as they sightsaw, sampled food, and took carriage rides, and soon evening fell.
By twilight, Eddie and Ketron began looking for lodging.
Just before entering a visible inn, Eddie said with a serious face:
“I hope they won’t recognize me and think I’m a spy from the inn in the next town.”
“…”
He seemed genuinely concerned about this.
“Hah.”
Ketron let out a small laugh at this. Though more a laugh of disbelief than joy, it was still a laugh.
And seeing Ketron smile like this was a first for Eddie too.
Oh.
Eddie was momentarily stunned. A handsome man with a genuine smile was far more captivating than he had imagined.
And was he merely handsome? The novel 〈The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well〉 occasionally included passages praising Ketron’s appearance.
The variations were so diverse that it was hard to notice their frequency, but frequent they were.
When Eddie first saw Ketron’s face after being transported to this world, he couldn’t help but think to himself, “No wonder.”
Well, with a face like that…
He seemed to have no interest in grooming or self-care, yet his appearance shone naturally like an unpolished gem that gleamed without effort.
When that face smiled, it created an illusion that everything around him brightened.
With such a face, one should tell him to smile more often, that it looked good…
But Eddie felt strange.
While it was good to see him smile, Eddie somehow wished Ketron wouldn’t smile often.
More precisely, not in front of others.
Why do I feel this way? As Eddie tilted his head in confusion, Ketron, his face already returned to its usual stoic expression as if he had never smiled, spoke up.
“If we’re going to be mistaken for spies anyway, might as well learn something useful.”
He even made such an uncharacteristic joke. Eddie stared blankly for a moment, then erased his previous thoughts and burst into laughter.
“Shall we?”
The inn they entered while exchanging such trivial conversation was thoroughly ordinary. Nothing worth benchmarking, just a typical fantasy world inn.
In fact, its cleanliness and basic standards fell far short of Eddie’s inn, causing him to abandon his own “Eddie the spy” theory. Well, our inn is much better.
Inside this inn, they encountered a slightly awkward situation.
“I have a room, but only one left.”
The portly innkeeper said with an uncomfortable expression.
“Just one? What about the bed?”
“Just one bed too. This room only became available because of a cancellation. You won’t find vacancies anywhere else. Even without the hero appearing, the tournament is still the tournament. It’s the first event in ten years.”
True enough. They were lucky to find even one room available.
“What will you do?” At this question, Eddie pondered briefly before nodding. What did it matter if there was only one room and one bed? They were both men. For last-minute accommodations, this was actually quite good.
Besides, Eddie recalled sharing a bed with Ketron before and felt more comfort than discomfort, so sleeping together didn’t seem so bad.
“One room? …And one bed?”
But Ketron wore a subtle expression at hearing there was only one room.
“Yeah. Why?”
“…It’s nothing.”
By the time they unpacked in the room, it was late evening. Though they had snacked plenty throughout the day, Eddie belatedly realized they hadn’t eaten anything that could be called a proper meal. He noticed Ketron had grown somewhat quiet.
Is he hungry?
They had eaten mostly what Eddie suggested, and except for the initial sausage, most were small treats rather than filling foods. Considering how much Ketron usually ate, it was significantly insufficient.
Unfortunately, this inn seemed more like a tavern, apparently not selling proper meals.
In this world, even decent restaurants transformed into taverns in the evening, so the chances of finding substantial food elsewhere were slim.
If I’d known this would happen, I would have packed some kimbap in that spatial pocket to feed him.
Eddie regretted this belatedly.