HRB 54

Eddie firmed his resolve and spoke.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Eddie.”

“If it were a diversion tactic, they would have attacked by now. Everything is quiet. That means nothing serious will happen. If those guys have any sense, they’ll probably just collect a ‘toll’ and let us pass.”

That’s how most bandit groups operated in reality. It was like a kind of medieval toll booth. Of course, they hadn’t built the road themselves.

That’s why it was even better for Ketron to act. If there was nothing serious happening at the front, there would be nothing serious at the back either.

“If we continue like this, you’ll be the only one criticized.”

Somewhat surprised by Eddie’s persuasive approach, Ketron remained silent for a while.

“…”

Eddie’s words weren’t entirely unreasonable. Ketron understood his concerns. Looking into those eyes filled with strange stubbornness, Ketron soon let out a small sigh.

If he truly had to leave Eddie alone, he would absolutely refuse to move.

Ketron’s gaze shifted to the holy sword lying carelessly beside him.

…It should be fine, if this one is here.

Finally, Ketron rose to his feet.

It was just a person standing up, but why did it feel as massive as a mountain moving? Of course, Ketron was physically large, but… it was likely due to the unique weight of his presence.

“Eddie.”

Ketron called Eddie’s name softly.

“I’ll go along with it this time because you’re worried, but if you think this is really for my sake, that’s a misunderstanding.”

Huh? At these unexpected words, Eddie could only blink.

“Your safety is more important to me than any honor I don’t even possess.”

“Uh, umm…”

“Honor, fame… none of it belongs to me. I have no intention of clinging to things without substance.”

Is this really the same young man who once thirsted for honor and fame? Of course, that was the Ketron Eddie had only known through the novel.

Ketron, who had taken a transcendent attitude by declaring that neither honor nor fame belonged to him, looked directly into Eddie’s eyes and said,

“But you will continue to stay by my side, won’t you?”

Of course he would. But the moment those words left Ketron’s lips, Eddie felt his ears burning hot involuntarily.

“What do you think matters more to me?”

More than anything else, Eddie mattered.

It was quite a passionate expression of affection. While Eddie wasn’t unaware that Ketron had at some point abandoned the idea of leaving and chosen to remain by Eddie’s side, he hadn’t realized Ketron thought of him to this extent.

“No matter what happens, I’ll be by your side.”

Come to think of it, he had said something similar before the finals too.

Feeling someone’s affection is an incredibly fulfilling experience. As Lee Jeong-hoon, he had often felt it from his family, but since coming to this world, he had rarely experienced this heart filling emotion. Eddie quietly blushed.

Eddie had no chance to respond. Ketron firmly planted the heavy holy sword right next to Eddie. There was a thunk as the blade pierced through the carriage floor, creating a hole, but Ketron paid no attention to it.

“If necessary, this one will protect you.”

“…Huh?”

“Stay close to it.”

With those final words, Ketron swiftly vanished. Of course, Ketron was still formidable even without the holy sword, so not having a weapon at hand wasn’t a problem, but Eddie was dumbfounded that he would leave the holy sword behind.

But more than that, what did he mean by ‘will protect you’?

Eddie knew the holy sword was Ego Sword, but was Ketron suggesting it could move on its own? There was no such mention in the original story.

Suddenly left alone with the holy sword, Eddie stared at it, wrapped in cloth that concealed its distinctive blue glow.

Naturally, the holy sword didn’t respond to Eddie’s questioning gaze.

* * *

After Ketron moved to the front, everything was quiet for a while.

The people sharing the carriage seemed to have some awareness that they had deliberately sent Ketron out, and they wore sheepish expressions.

With the added fact that bandits were blocking the road, the tense atmosphere filled the carriage with silence.

About ten minutes after Ketron had left, the old man who had earlier clicked his tongue at Eddie and Ketron saying ‘Young people these days!’ spoke up.

“Don’t you learn swordsmanship? You know, since you seem to have a good physique.”

“Ah.”

After briefly wondering if the old man was addressing him, Eddie confirmed he was being looked at directly and laughed awkwardly.

His physique was indeed good. The moment Eddie had possessed this body and looked in a mirror, he thought this world was truly unfair.

If he had a handsome face, his body should be at least lacking, but this ‘Eddie’s’ body was well-toned without any excess fat.

And his face was undeniably handsome. Even the combination of his colors was impressively striking.

Perhaps because of this, everyone who first met Eddie whispered about whether he was a nobleman.

At first, he would naturally retort, ‘If I were a nobleman, would I be clinging to an unprofitable inn?’ But now that Eddie’s identity had become ambiguous, it was a difficult question to answer.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Eddie noticed the old man waiting for his answer and scratched the back of his head.

“I never had the opportunity to learn.”

The one who responded to this answer was the elderly woman who appeared to be the old man’s wife.

“Dear, why are you asking such things? Anyone can see he’s a nobleman.”

“Don’t noblemen learn swordsmanship? Magic and swords! They monopolize all the high-level education!”

Sensing the resentment toward nobles in his words, the old woman glanced nervously at Eddie and hit her husband’s arm. She seemed convinced that Eddie was a nobleman.

Before Ketron defeated the Demon King, the aristocratic faction had been draining the blood of the imperial citizens for 10 years.

There were so many garbage like nobles that Eddie had cursed countless times while witnessing the selfish aristocrats portrayed in 〈The Hero Doesn’t Hide His Power Too Well〉.

People who actually lived as commoners in such a world would have gritted their teeth even more.

Since Eddie was not a noble, and there was nothing to gain by pretending to be one, he waved his hands in denial.

“I’m really not a noble.”

“What do you mean you’re not? When you’re using noble pronunciation.”

“Pardon?”

“Your accent is that of a noble, why are you pretending not to know!”

Eddie blinked his eyes. What was this about? Noble pronunciation, in his speech?

Although the language patch was perfect, it seemed he wasn’t fluent enough in this world’s language to recognize others’ dialects, accents, or intonations, so this was the first time he’d heard such a thing.

Perhaps thinking that Eddie was just playing dumb about his concerns, the old man clicked his tongue and changed the subject.

“Well, leaving that aside, what’s your relationship with that young man?”

For some reason, at that topic, it felt like the ears of everyone inside the carriage perked up.

“Who… oh, you mean Ket?”

“Ket? That wasn’t his name…”

“Didn’t you say Ketron? …Oh my, oh my, it must be a nickname.”

Ket, indeed. The old woman slapped the old man’s shoulder repeatedly, saying that young people these days use such nicknames, how embarrassing.

While Eddie agreed that the nickname “Ket” was cute, he didn’t understand why it was considered embarrassing, tilting his head in confusion.

“They looked very affectionate. Reminds me of when I was dating…”

The old man said this with a face lost in memories. Unable to understand the context, Eddie could only smile awkwardly.

The idea that he and Ketron had quite an affectionate relationship… wasn’t exactly wrong, but what did that have to do with dating? Eddie tilted his head. Their reaction didn’t make sense to him.

“These young folks nowadays give such brutal nicknames.”

“Why? I think it’s nice.”

It seemed they were misunderstanding something. Eddie scratched his cheek.

“As for Ket and me… well, let’s say he’s my employer?”

“Sounds like a complicated relationship?”

Eddie’s relationship with Ketron was indeed complicated in various ways. But what did that have to do with the current conversation? The nuance was also strange.

“Like when we were young too, huh?”

“Oh my, you’re being silly.”

“I was even hotter than them!”

The old man and woman had completely drifted into their own world. Since there were many parts Eddie couldn’t understand anyway, he quietly withdrew from the conversation with a smile.

At that moment, a loud voice came from the front. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but it was an angry voice. Following that came the clanging sound of blades clashing.

The atmosphere, which had lightened somewhat during their conversation, immediately tensed up, and everyone froze.

Though Eddie didn’t need to worry about Ketron being in danger, he instinctively bit his lip in concern. He felt a bit regretful too.

Wondering if he had unnecessarily put the kid in danger because of his own insistence. Even if someone is strong, blades are indiscriminate.

“This… isn’t dangerous, is it?”

No one responded to the muttering of the husband from the couple who had first recognized Ketron. It was a question no one could answer.

Eddie waited anxiously for the sounds to subside. Probably, if it was Ketron, he would subdue whoever the opponent was without taking too long. He had that ability.

So, he needed to trust and wait…

While thinking this, Eddie anxiously bit his lip. It was just for an instant that something out of place among the bushes caught his eye.

…A person?

Shortly after Eddie thought he might have seen someone in those bushes, as if to prove his thought wasn’t a mistake, people suddenly burst out from the rear of the carriage.

They had the unmistakable fierce looks of bandits. Men with menacing expressions approached, their faces partially covered with masks or cloths, probably to hide their identities.

‘We can’t assume those in front are all there is.’

Ketron’s prediction had been right.

People were in panic, screaming or curling up in fear, but no one attempted to jump out of the carriage to escape.

This was because a fierce battle was ongoing at the front, while masked men were gathering at the rear, pressing in from all directions except the north.

There was nowhere to run. It was a perfect encirclement.