“Paki, why are you making that face?”
Eddie’s expression was so awkward that the old man, who had called Eddie “Pakirius,” tilted his head with a puzzled look.
Apparently, his nickname was “Paki.” Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and opened them at the second confirmation that he hadn’t misheard.
If this moment wasn’t some kind of ridiculous play, then Eddie’s real name must be Pakirius.
Didn’t the Second Division blatantly imply to him on the first day he checked it? That ‘Eddie’ wasn’t his real name.
Still, he didn’t expect it to be this kind of name.
Eddie’s expression changed every moment, of course, for the worse. The old man, who had been quietly watching him, groaned with a troubled look, as if he had thought of something.
“Did I come too late after all this time?”
Eddie, who had shrunk from the shock of the name, belatedly focused on the old man.
Who on earth was this person who called Eddie by his real name and seemed so happy to see him? He still didn’t seem old enough to be ‘Eddie’s’ older brother.
But the young man who looked like Eddie’s brother in age looked exactly like Gerold, so anyone would see him as Gerold’s relative rather than Eddie’s.
The crucial thing was that the man stood behind the old man without a word, just watching the two of them meet, as if that was exactly his role.
“I’m sorry I put so much burden on you and came after so long. Are you angry?”
Even as he said that, the old man kept checking Eddie’s expression and comforted him with a guilty look.
Eddie didn’t know how to react, so he hesitated, but then Gerold, who had gone out, returned with the sound of the door opening.
He looked at the situation inside the inn, twitched his eyebrows for a moment, and then made a knowing expression. Then he stood naturally next to the young man and asked.
“What’s this, so suddenly?”
At that, the young man, who had been wearing a stern expression, grumbled.
“Is that all you have to say to your brother after seeing him for the first time in a while?”
His brother, after a long time.
That meant the man was Gerold’s brother. It wasn’t surprising, since they looked so alike.
“I’m not particularly happy to see you.”
But Gerold just replied with a nonchalant face. The two men’s eyes met in the air. It was unlikely, but it was as if an electric current crackled between the brothers, who seemed to be having a staring contest. They didn’t seem to be on very good terms.
“Where’s Ebon?”
“He took my wallet and went to the nearby bakery.”
“Still a bread fanatic, I see.”
And you’re still Ebon’s living wallet. Gerold didn’t react much to that.
“I told him I’d buy him a bakery.”
Gerold made a blatantly pathetic face at the misplaced concern.
“Ebon is getting more and more immature because you’re so soft on him, Brother.”
“What’s the difference between you and me?”
“…That’s your problem, Brother.”
“Huh?”
Gerold, as if he had no intention of answering that question, sighed and looked at the old man.
“You used a bizarre Sorcery this time.”
“Oh? Ah, that’s right.”
The man seemed to realize something belatedly and approached the old man with a flustered face.
“I forgot to undo it.”
He stood next to the old man, who was fussing over Eddie’s body, asking if he was sick anywhere.
“You haven’t undone the Sorcery yet.”
“Hmm? Oh, right.”
The old man belatedly realized that he was in a completely different form than usual and was taken aback. No wonder Pakirius looked embarrassed instead of happy to see him; there was a reason. He clicked his tongue and belatedly stepped away from his younger brother.
The man reached out and snapped his fingers once. Then, an amazing thing happened.
The wrinkles on the old man’s face quickly disappeared one by one, the age spots disappeared one by one, his hunched back straightened out in an instant, and the clothes that fit the old man’s body also changed into a different form.
Eddie’s eyes widened as he watched the change.
By the time he had finally transformed into his original form, the young man, Eddie’s purple eyes were as big as lanterns.
“Paki.”
A powerful voice, completely different from the old man’s voice, called Eddie again.
It was a voice that was, damn it, familiar to Eddie.
“Do you recognize me now?”
Normally, Eddie would only know the faces he had met after his possession in this world, so it would be right to say he didn’t know. But Eddie looked at that face for a long time with trembling eyes, and then belatedly nodded.
Then he called out to the other person.
“…Brother.”
Then the man who was called brother smiled happily, as if he was glad that he finally knew.
“Yes, it’s your brother.”
The blond man, smiling brightly, smiled brightly at his resentful younger brother, who had finally called him brother.
Ketron, who had been lying down with his eyes closed, opened his eyes wide at the sound of someone running down the stairs.
He would have ignored the sound of someone else, but it was Eddie’s presence that he was always watching.
Why is he running down the stairs so urgently at this hour?
Ketron thought for a moment, then immediately opened the door and left the room, heading to the first floor.
The presence of Eddie he had felt for a moment was not a bad presence, such as being surprised or embarrassed, but he was still worried.
When Ketron went down to the first floor, there was a very strange situation unfolding there.
The first thing Ketron saw, or rather, the only thing he saw, was Eddie’s pale face.
“Paki? What’s wrong?”
Ketron reflexively approached Eddie, and then belatedly checked the face of the man standing opposite Eddie and raised his eyebrows.
…Why is the Emperor here?
Why had the face he had seen at Sandern’s Tournament, and several times before when he was a Hero, suddenly appeared at Eddie’s Inn?
More than that, the strange title he was calling Eddie by, and the fact that he didn’t look surprised even after glancing at Ketron, whom he had personally praised and rewarded in the past, seemed to indicate that he knew Ketron was here in advance.
More than anything, why was a man who was the Emperor calling Eddie so affectionately and looking so worried?
Ketron looked around to understand the situation.
He saw two other men in his sight. One was Gerold, and the other was a face he had never seen before, but he looked exactly like Gerold.
At least a relative.
The man was stuck right next to Gerold and was protesting something.
“Bizarre Sorcery? That’s really disappointing.”
“Is bizarre Sorcery bizarre Sorcery or noble Sorcery? You must have improved it on your own again.”
“The end is near. To think that I would hear such a thing about Sorcery improvement from you, the great Demon King of improvement.”
The two men’s attitudes were unnecessarily friendly, and considering their overly similar faces and the title of Gerold’s ‘brother,’ it seemed that the two were brothers.
“Huh?”
At that moment, Ebon, who had excitedly stopped by the bakery with Gerold’s wallet, belatedly arrived at the inn and widened his eyes at the noisy interior.
He saw the man presumed to be Gerold’s brother and greeted him, saying, “Simon, Brother!” and then belatedly greeted the Emperor behind him, saying, “Your Majesty! You’ve arrived!”
Simon.
Ketron knew who that name belonged to as soon as he heard it. Marquis Simon Rivalt, the head of the Emperor’s faction, famous as the Emperor’s confidant.
The Rivalt Marquis family was a representative Emperor’s faction family, and it was famous for the fact that the heirs of that family had been the Emperor’s close aides for generations and that they were all great Magicians.
Then Gerold…
Ketron seemed to have heard rumors that Simon Rivalt had an eccentric younger brother who only made Artifacts day and night in his room. No one knew what he looked like because he didn’t do any social activities.
The relationship between these people began to be organized in Ketron’s head one by one.
The fact that Gerold regarded and followed Eddie as his master, and the fact that the Emperor had come to see Eddie now, all pointed to one thing.
But no matter what Eddie’s status was, it wasn’t important to Ketron. He approached Eddie, who had a pale face and was staring intently at the Emperor’s face.
“Eddie, are you alright?”
Eddie’s gaze finally turned to Ketron. His somewhat stiff expression softened a little when he met Ketron’s gaze.
Eddie was relieved to see Ketron.
For some reason, Ketron felt a tickling sensation in his chest just from that fact.
Eddie, having confirmed Ketron’s presence and taken a deep breath, no longer had a weak face. As if he had been waiting for this moment, he called the Emperor with a more determined face.
“Brother.”
“Yes, Paki.”
Eddie made a sullen face at the name, but he tried to continue.
“…Shall we talk separately?”
“Yes.”
The Emperor immediately accepted Eddie’s request for a private meeting.
“That’s why I came.”
It was a refreshing attitude that would have caused the nobles who had to wait weeks to have an audience with the Emperor to foam at the mouth at the natural special treatment.
omgggg my predictions were right!! tho I’m not super crazy about eddie’s “real” name :/