By Zephyria 
With those words, the hand that had entered the space torn with a ripping sound disappeared, and the time it took for the torn space to return to the ordinary interior of the inn, as if nothing had happened, was instantaneous.
Eddie’s body, having lost its support, collapsed onto the bed.
The Demon King had vanished completely, leaving no trace as if he had never come at all.
“Eddie!”
Ketron rushed forward and caught Eddie’s body.
Completely stunned by the surreal event, Eddie barely regained his sense of reality at the feeling of trembling arms tightly embracing him.
The inside of the inn was quiet, as if nothing had happened, making it even harder to believe, but it was definitely not a dream.
The Demon King was truly alive.
Was he not dead? Or was he resurrected? Why did he come to me? Why did he say thank you to me—
“Eddie.”
Eddie, who had been lost in thought, snapped his head up at the sound of his name.
He saw his Hero, still unable to escape the fear of almost losing Eddie.
He hadn’t realized it, but Ketron’s body had been trembling since the moment he embraced Eddie, twitching slightly.
Seeing how startled he was, Eddie realized the priority and reached out to hug Ketron.
Now was not the time to think, but to soothe the startled Hero first.
The bed couldn’t withstand Ketron’s weight and sank to one side. Eddie felt Ketron’s embrace was a little painful, but he didn’t even think of complaining because he was so desperate, and instead stroked his back.
Eddie’s condition, having just been grabbed by the Demon King who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wasn’t exactly positive either, but Ketron was trembling too much, so he couldn’t help it.
Eddie was surprised too, but it seemed like Ketron was more surprised.
He decided to calm Ketron’s desperate hands, which were fumbling to confirm Eddie’s existence, before calming his own startled heart.
Eddie patted and stroked his back and the arms that were holding him.
“Ket, it’s okay. I’m okay.”
As he murmured, patting him carefully as if he were soothing a baby, he felt strange, as if he was being comforted even though he was the one comforting Ketron.
He had seen the Demon King, but it was a little funny that the person who witnessed it was being comforted more than the person who had been grabbed by his hand.
Even if it was funny, the Demon King had disappeared anyway, and he could think about it later, so it was important to soothe the terrified cat first.
As he patted and patted, trying to calm the startled Hero, Eddie felt his own heart, which had been pounding like crazy, gradually calming down.
After stroking Ketron for a long time, Eddie smiled wryly and asked when Ketron seemed to have calmed down to some extent.
“Why were you so surprised?”
It wasn’t a real question. It was Eddie’s attempt to make the situation seem like nothing.
Eddie knew best that the weight of his existence in Ketron’s heart was not the same as before.
In a world where everyone had forgotten Ketron, Eddie was the first person Ketron had met since he lost the world, and had become a precious existence.
It would be strange if he were okay after almost being killed by the nemesis he thought he had eliminated.
At those words, Ketron, who had buried his face in Eddie’s neck, opened his mouth in a voice thick with emotion.
“Just.”
He paused for a moment, his voice a little hoarse, choosing his words before continuing.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to go through this.”
“…”
That wasn’t true. In the first place, the Demon King had come specifically for ‘Eddie’. Not for the Owner of the inn where the Hero was staying.
Before Eddie could correct Ketron’s misunderstanding, Ketron continued.
“Even so, the thought of leaving your side is something I can’t even imagine, and I hate myself so much for it…”
So much that he hated himself.
With those words, Ketron buried his face in Eddie’s shoulder.
Eddie, who had been blankly trying to figure out what those words meant, soon felt his shoulder getting wet and wore an astonished expression.
“Ket, are you crying?”
“…”
His shoulder continued to get wet without a reply.
Eddie sighed softly.
If this was the case, he couldn’t pretend not to notice.
Eddie tried to get up for a moment to wipe away Ketron’s tears, but he couldn’t move at all because Ketron was holding him so tightly.
“Ket, I’m not going anywhere.”
“…”
“It’s okay.”
Only after soothing him in that way did Ketron finally release his grip on Eddie.
Eddie took out a wet wipe from the bedside table. Since he had unlimited access to the convenience store items, he had brought the most expensive one and was using it comfortably. It was an expensive wet wipe that had been advertised several times as having several layers of embossing.
Eddie tore off several sheets of it without hesitation and approached Ketron.
“Look at me.”
“…”
“Lift your head.”
After a moment of silence, Ketron slowly lifted his head at Eddie’s words. Seeing his face, which was a mess with tears, Eddie felt a throbbing in his heart for some reason.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Eddie roughly wiped away Ketron’s tears without realizing it. When he made eye contact with Ketron, who was standing still without complaining, he felt a pang of guilt. He carefully rubbed Ketron’s cheeks again and said.
“I’m okay.”
“…….”
“I’m right here, aren’t I?”
Ketron obediently closed his eyes. The tears welling up between his long eyelashes were heartbreaking. As he wiped his face, Eddie continued to chatter in place of the silent Ketron.
“I don’t hurt anywhere right now, and I’m fine.”
“I’ll be by your side, so don’t be anxious.”
“…Your wish isn’t selfish. I want to be by your side too.”
He wasn’t originally that great at talking, so he didn’t know what to say at first.
But there was no need to weigh things. Eddie just tried to express his honest feelings.
Hoping that he would understand that Ketron’s desire to be by his side was not selfish.
I want to be with you too, he said desperately.
Eddie sighed as he gently stroked the corners of Ketron’s eyes, which were red and swollen with tears.
“I don’t know what to do when you cry.”
Whether it was because he was four years old, or eight years old if you considered his original age, he usually didn’t realize that he was much younger than him because of his taciturn personality and the fact that he was the Hero, but when moments like this came, he was reminded that he was much younger than him.
Eddie’s tone became sweet without him realizing it.
“Stop crying, okay?”
If Sebastian had heard Eddie’s tone, he would have thought something like, ‘So that’s how he seduced him… wow.’ It was a tone dripping with honey.
The tears continued to fall even after he wiped them away. But they were gradually decreasing.
When Ketron seemed to have calmed down to some extent, Eddie belatedly had the luxury of appreciating the face of the crying handsome man.
If I still think his face is pretty in this situation, am I too oblivious? No, I am oblivious.
Even in the midst of all this, Eddie thought Ketron’s face, with his reddened eyes, was so pretty. Others would describe him as handsome, but to Eddie, he was just beautiful.
Eddie stroked his cheeks, which were red and flushed from crying so much, and teased in a small voice.
“Crybaby.”
At those words, Ketron’s eyebrows, which had been still all along, twitched.
“I’m not a crybaby.”
His voice, which immediately retorted, was a little hoarse, perhaps because of the tears. That was somehow funny, and Eddie said again with a smiling face.
“I’ve seen you cry three times now, you know?”
“…Ah.”
Ketron, who was about to retort, belatedly realized that what Eddie was saying was true and quickly subsided.
When they first met, when they met Augustine again, and now.
All three times must have been difficult situations for Ketron to handle, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t be excused, but anyway, Eddie had already seen him cry three times, so he was a crybaby.
Ketron seemed to realize that he had cried quite a lot in front of Eddie, so he couldn’t deny those words and groaned.
Cute.
I want to kiss him.
But that seemed a bit much for a grown man, so instead, Eddie hugged Ketron.
Eddie had been held in Ketron’s arms all along, but this time, Ketron was held in Eddie’s arms. Of course, because Ketron was so big, he couldn’t hold him completely in his arms, and all he could do was hug his head tightly to his chest.
Ketron, who had been wide-eyed and stiff for a moment after being hugged by Eddie, soon reached out and hugged Eddie’s waist tightly without hesitation.
“You’re so cute, I could die, really…”
It was when Eddie couldn’t help but mutter those words and was about to kiss Ketron’s hair.
Tap, tap, tap, the sound of footsteps crossing the hallway was heard, followed by the sleepy voice of Sebastian.
“Eddie~ Some guests are complaining that there was a really loud noise inside the inn…”
Sebastian, who had approached Eddie’s room with a Magic Lamp while mumbling, was horrified when he saw Eddie’s door, which Ketron had smashed, and said, “What’s wrong with the door?”
“I-Is there a real thief or robber…!”
However, he, who had been shouting in surprise, soon stiffened when he witnessed Eddie and Ketron hugging each other tightly inside the room.
And soon, his face turned red as if he had thought of something.
Sebastian, who had been staring at the two for a while without saying anything, only opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish several times, screamed.
“No, really, these people! What are you doing with the door open?”
“There’s nothing you can’t do in front of a virgin, really! Do you want to spread rumors that you’re that kind of couple all over town!” Sebastian shouted angrily.
“Do things like this with the door closed!”
I’m so embarrassed, really!
Then he slammed the door shut and left.
Of course, the broken door didn’t do its job and opened again with a creaking sound.
“…”
“…”
Of course, the two, who had suddenly been thrown out of the fluffy atmosphere, could only look at each other, not understanding what Sebastian was talking about.