The parade was over, but the festival was just beginning.
The square was littered with flowers and paper that people had thrown, but no one complained.
People were scouring the ground, eyes peeled for any stray silver coins they might have missed, while others were enthusiastically clinking glasses late into the night at inns and taverns alike.
They ordered expensive snacks without hesitation. Perhaps it was the festive mood, but the fact that silver coins had been scattered so freely in broad daylight certainly contributed to their increased spending.
The city was in a frenzy of excitement, much like when the news of the Demon King’s defeat had first arrived.
As a result, Eddie’s inn was packed with tourists who had come to enjoy the festival.
Which meant that even more Fire Chicken Noodle was disappearing into people’s mouths.
At first, not many people ordered it because it was an unfamiliar dish. But then, a few customers who wanted a meal bravely ordered, “Noodle? Is it a noodle dish? Give me one!” and that was how it started.
“Kuaaagh!”
“My lips are on fire!”
“Poison! It’s poison! It must be poison!”
“Milk!”
The extreme reactions that followed immediately after eating it seemed to pique curiosity, and before long, everyone was trying it, causing Fire Chicken Noodle to sell like hotcakes. Milk also sold well as a set menu.
For the first time since its founding, Eddie’s inn had a long line of people crossing their legs in front of the restroom. Eddie watched with a satisfied smile as people, unable to bear it any longer, went to find restrooms in other buildings.
“Good, good.”
It was an even more developed devilish smile.
Business is all about timing. Now that he had succeeded in attracting attention with the spicy flavor, Eddie thought it was time to bring out something else, and he looked contentedly at the customers filling the first-floor bar.
Before the crowds arrived, Eddie had prepared a room for Ketron on the second floor of the inn.
It was next to Eddie’s room.
And that was an honor that even Gerold had not enjoyed, so Gerold said with genuine bewilderment and disbelief,
“What is it about that beggar that makes you go so far for him, Eddie?”
The look on his face was similar to that of someone watching a newcomer dislodge an established resident. To be precise, Gerold was neither an established resident nor had he been dislodged, but it was similar to that.
Eddie couldn’t give a detailed explanation. How could he say, “This is a world inside a novel, and that beggar you’re talking about is actually the protagonist of the novel and the real Hero who was betrayed”?
“He’s just a kid, and I feel sorry for him.”
Eddie made such a lame excuse, even though there wasn’t much of an age difference. In fact, Ketron looked very young in Eddie’s eyes.
He had died at the age of twenty-eight. In his eyes, twenty was really young. A soft, downy baby.
How could he not feel sorry for such a kid, who had gone through all sorts of hardships and was now standing in front of him, wounded?
Besides, there were now only a few people left who even remembered the terrible things he had gone through.
“He’s also injured. I’m going to take care of him until he’s all healed.”
“…”
Gerold looked complicated but didn’t say anything more. He just sighed deeply, pricking Eddie’s faint conscience. It was like looking at a younger sibling who had thoughtlessly picked up a stray dog off the street.
“Will those wounds even heal? He refuses to be treated.”
“Hmm.”
Eddie had failed to tend to Ketron’s wounds. Not because he was clumsy, but because Ketron wouldn’t allow Eddie to look at his wounds.
Ketron refused the touch of strangers like a shy cat, regardless of the medicine brought from the East.
Well, it wasn’t that surprising, so Eddie didn’t particularly care. It would be strange if a guy who had been betrayed by his most trusted companions didn’t have any wariness of strangers.
Eddie was just glad that Ketron hadn’t Darkened and had settled down inside his inn.
The situation after Ketron’s Darkening wasn’t described anywhere, but considering the meaningful descriptions and Ketron’s personality, which was described as righteous but quite ruthless, it probably wouldn’t have been a bright future.
I feel like I’ve prevented the end of the world once again. Thinking that, Eddie winked at Gerold.
“I’ll try to soothe him. And make him eat.”
It was a pathetic sight, like promising his parents that he would take good care of the stray dog he had picked up, but in the end, Gerold backed down at those words of promise. With a deep sigh.
“Ugh.”
Eddie stood in front of Ketron’s room, looking down at the rejected items.
The soup and banana milk that he had brought for Ketron to eat had failed to attract Ketron’s attention.
Ketron hadn’t stepped out of his room on the second floor since he had entered it.
He had left the rejected medicines, food, and banana milk in front of the door, but he hadn’t even opened the door.
As if declaring a severance from the world.
Sometimes, the right thing to do is to leave a person alone.
But Ketron had already spent enough time alone for the past month.
Now was the moment when someone’s touch was needed. Eddie judged so.
Eddie grabbed a cold banana milk and a straw from the refrigerator at the entrance of the store and headed to Ketron’s room.
Eddie hesitated for a moment, looking down at the cold soup, lukewarm banana milk, and medicines in front of Ketron’s room, then carefully took the rejected medicines in his hand and knocked on the door.
Ketron was sitting quietly next to the bed. The Holy Sword Albatross, roughly tied with thick cloth, was leaning against the bed next to him.
「Are you just going to stay here?」
The Holy Sword, Albatross, whispered in an angry voice. It was a voice that only Ketron, the owner of the Holy Sword, could hear.
「Even a marionette with broken strings has more strength and spirit than you. Where did the Ketron I knew go?」
“…….”
「Just destroy the world. If you say you will, I will gladly lend you my strength.」
The Holy Sword, Albatross.
Generally, when you think of a Holy Sword, you think of a sacred sword that only embodies justice and guides the Hero’s faithfulness, but the Holy Sword Albatross was not like that.
He had richer emotions than humans, was proud, and arrogant.
This sword, which would not allow anyone to lift him unless he recognized them, was angrier about Ketron’s situation than Ketron was.
「I can’t believe that idiot who always wanted to touch me and possess me has finally taken your place.」
Ketron didn’t react to the Holy Sword’s criticism of Arthur. He had nothing to say. As Albatross put it, he was in a state of being even less motivated than a marionette with broken strings.
What should I do? What am I?
There were no answers to be found. If Albatross hadn’t remembered him and spoken to him, he might have gone mad before even arriving in the Empire.
The moment he thought he had reached the top, he fell to the bottom. And in a state where there was no longer any place to climb.
He was left alone in an empty space with nothing, and there were no choices.
He just exists. As a nobody.
As someone whom no one remembers.
…No, he will remember.
Arthur. And Boram, who cast the Sorcery.
Should I take revenge? What will change if I take revenge? What will be left after I vent this frustration? Everyone in the world has forgotten him, so even if he claims to be the Hero, will anyone believe him?
As Arthur’s companion, Ketron knew Arthur well. A person who was better at improvisation than using his body. His former companion, who was quick-witted.
You’re probably preparing and planning a lot. To solidify your position as the Hero. In case the Hero you abandoned tries to harm you with burning revenge.
You know me well, as we’ve spent a long time together.
“…”
Ketron didn’t reply and quietly closed his tired eyes.
He hated complicated and noisy things, and he thought it would be better than being noticed by people, so he settled down in this inn, but he didn’t intend to put down roots.
However, he was just staying because he hadn’t figured out where to go or what to do.
「Haa.」
Albatross sighed deeply and finally fell silent. Albatross was a spirit dwelling in the sword. He had seen many humans over a long period of time, so he understood human existence, but at the same time, he didn’t fully understand humans.
Even the Holy Sword couldn’t understand Ketron’s mind, which was probably more complicated than anyone else’s in the world at this moment.
Ketron closed his eyes as everything became quiet.
Quietness is good. He preferred it to being noisy. Until now, he had unintentionally spent noisy times with many people, but this quietness was what Ketron originally wanted.
Ketron once again sank alone into the deep sea. Into that terribly dark and cold place.
Knock knock.
However, before he could properly dive into that deep water, the quietness was shattered.
“Hey, can I come in?”
It was a question, but the other person didn’t wait for Ketron’s answer. No, he acted as if he knew that Ketron wouldn’t answer. He didn’t intend to answer anyway, so he didn’t feel particularly wronged.
The door opened, and the innkeeper appeared.
His bright silver hair caught his eye first, and his handsome face, which suited that brightness, winked at Ketron as soon as he saw him.
“What, you’re not crying and you’re doing well?”
At those words, Ketron couldn’t help but make an absurd expression.
…Is he calling me a crybaby right now?