“What is this.”
Ketron, who had returned after clearing up the front, was covered in blood. He had noticed some commotion at the back midway, but he sensed a familiar Mana wave and realized the Holy Sword had moved on its own, so he finished up and came back.
But even Ketron hadn’t expected the holy sword to be in this form.
“You’re back.”
It had been a long time since Ketron had seen the holy sword’s human form. In this state, it was hugging Eddie from behind with a satisfied expression.
The way it narrowed its eyes while burying its face in Eddie’s nape showed a ‘satisfied’ expression that even Ketron had never seen before from the holy sword.
“…”
Looking around, all the masked men who had attacked from the rear were unconscious with their eyes rolled back. No one was dead.
The other carriage passengers were all awkwardly watching from the corners. They seemed to have a general understanding of what happened, yet their faces showed complete bewilderment.
“Ket, are you okay?”
Eddie tried to check on Ketron after seeing the blood on his body, but the holy sword held Eddie tightly and wouldn’t let go.
Feeling like his waist was gripped by a stone, Eddie glanced at the holy sword, but quickly averted his gaze after meeting those gray eyes that were smiling strangely affectionately.
Despite Eddie’s usually good social skills, his face showed he had no idea how to interact with this sword… no, person, no, sword.
“I’m not injured. I’m fine.”
While responding, Ketron looked at the holy sword with disapproval.
He had told it to protect Eddie if necessary, but that didn’t mean it should transform into a human. It could have easily neutralized the enemies without taking human form.
Of course, a sword using magic was strange enough, but a sword transforming into a human would surprise anyone.
The sword must have known this, so why?
Eddie had a somewhat transcendent expression while being embraced by the man, that is, the holy sword.
Furthermore, his clothes were completely disheveled. His upper body was practically half-naked.
To be in such a state, embraced by another man.
Ketron’s eyebrow twitched.
“Let go.”
At those words, the holy sword, which had been holding Eddie with a satisfied expression, narrowed its eyes.
“Well, ‘Eddie’ doesn’t seem to mind.”
Of course, Eddie had never expressed such sentiment.
“He can’t dislike his savior. Can he?”
It was like watching someone of much higher status telling a subordinate, “What are you doing? Smile.”
Eddie made no response. He seemed confused.
Ketron had a headache. This damned holy sword had a consciousness. A very distinct one at that.
An arrogant, willful consciousness.
Thanks to that, it had caused so much trouble at the slightest misstep, making Ketron sweat profusely during his time travels. Taking human form was a rare occurrence; Ketron himself had only witnessed it once or twice.
It required too much energy to do frequently, couldn’t be maintained for long, and above all, the holy sword rarely felt the need to humanize. It said the human body was just uncomfortable.
But now.
It was tightly embracing Eddie with a very satisfied expression, as if wondering why it hadn’t done this wonderful thing before.
Ketron had his own headache.
How should he explain this?
What should he tell Eddie about this strange phenomenon of a sword transforming into a human?
However, as Ketron pondered this, he found the answer in an unexpected place.
If he simply told Eddie the truth about his past, there would be no need for such worries.
That he was the hero, and that sword he possessed was the holy sword. Although difficult to understand, it was similar to an ancient spiritual being with its own consciousness, capable of humanization in this way.
“…”
But just thinking about it made his fingertips feel cold, and he clenched his fist.
Ketron had no intention of revealing his past to anyone. Such thoughts had never even crossed his mind.
After all, it was a past that had disappeared.
Above all… no one would believe him.
Everyone’s memories in the world had been erased and changed, wouldn’t a story about the hero being swapped be seen as an absurd fabrication? He’d be lucky not to be treated as insane.
But what about Eddie?
Would that person be different?
No…
He would be. Ketron felt certain of it. As he reached this conclusion, warmth returned to his cold fingertips.
But right now was neither the time nor place for such a conversation.
The masked men were sprawled unconscious all around, and there were people pretending not to eavesdrop on their conversation while clearly perking up their ears.
Ketron sighed.
“First, we need to erase their memories, then leave.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Al—”
Ketron stopped himself from saying “Albatross” when faced with the holy sword’s defiant attitude. He saw Eddie staring at him with a blank expression.
Although he had resolved to tell Eddie everything, blurting out the legendary ego-sword’s name so suddenly wouldn’t be wise.
Ketron let out another sigh. The magic he knew was mainly focused on combat, and while he could use simple basic spells, he was weak when it came to advanced magic like tampering with people’s memories.
The holy sword mocked Ketron.
“What’s with the sighing.”
Albatross didn’t seem to genuinely intend to refuse Ketron’s words. Before using magic, he looked at Eddie, who was still in his arms with a dazed expression, and smiled brightly.
“See you later, Eddie.”
With those words, he snapped his fingers.
Instantly, everything flashed with light.
* * *
After Albatross “cleaned up” the situation, the journey back to Eddie’s inn was smooth.
Though bandits had attacked, the caravan leader was fortunate to have the tournament winner join them, so they overcame the crisis without major losses. He gratefully presented Ketron with an artifact as a gift, and there was a minor matter of handing the bandits over to the capital’s guards, but these events didn’t hold the two men back.
Yes, two men.
Albatross had returned to his sword form, acting as if he had never taken human form or shown off his impressive magic skills.
“Eddie! Ketron!”
Sebastian rushed out, nearly in tears with joy upon seeing Eddie and Ketron return.
Eddie looked bewildered at Sebastian’s excessive greeting, as if they hadn’t seen each other for months. Later, he learned that while they were gone, Sebastian had been learning kimchi recipes while simultaneously being terribly pressured by Gerold for being illiterate.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Though Eddie greeted the hardworking Sebastian and Gerold cheerfully, his mind was preoccupied with entirely different thoughts.
“I’ll explain everything when we get back.”
That’s what Ketron had said after everything was settled. Eddie had quietly nodded in response.
Even with Eddie’s limited perceptiveness, it wasn’t hard to guess what Ketron wanted to say.
To explain about the holy sword, he would necessarily need to explain how he became its master, which would require revealing that he himself was the true hero.
But Eddie felt his conscience pricking at Ketron’s attitude.
Ketron trusted Eddie.
That’s why he had chosen to explain the facts he’d been hiding all along, rather than taking the easy option of erasing Eddie’s memory.
But unlike Ketron who was willing to tell his story, Eddie couldn’t tell Ketron the truth.
I already know your story. I’ve read the original work, and you’re the protagonist… this is the second act of your story, and I’m your helper.
But that was something he shouldn’t reveal.
Was it simply because saying that would be a painful path like taking the red pill? No. The moment he said that, the ‘story’ would collapse.
No one had told him this, but he instinctively knew it. Just as he had instinctively realized that he had been incarnated as a helper in this story, if the protagonist of the play learned that he was the protagonist, the story naturally wouldn’t proceed properly.
So in a way, Eddie was deceiving Ketron.
How could he have any right to be angry that Ketron had hidden his past as a hero? It wasn’t even something to be angry about in the first place.
There was no obligation for a forgotten person to dig up their past and reveal it to those around them.
His mind was in turmoil. Trying to untangle the threads in his head only made it more overwhelming.
“For now… let’s eat first.”
Having temporarily organized his complex thoughts, Eddie stood in the kitchen after a long time. Whatever his worries, as a human being, he needed to address eating and sleeping first.
Anyway, they had just returned from their journey, and perhaps because they’d been through more than expected, he was terribly tired.
And simultaneously, he was hungry. But also tired.
So while he didn’t really feel like cooking… isn’t there something simple? Having returned after several days, he felt awkward asking Gerold to cook, but he couldn’t immediately think of what to make himself.
Eddie was lost in thought for a moment.