"……"
Eddie stared down at the man who had buried his face into his shoulder. He glanced at Ketron’s ear—still cold from being outside—and reached up to gently touch it.
Ketron flinched.
“Your ears are freezing.”
Probably from being out in the cold too long. Eddie cupped both of Ketron’s ears with his hands and rubbed them carefully. That finally made Ketron lift his head.
The tears had stopped, but his face was completely blank. Eddie looked at him for a moment, then asked the same question he’d already asked more than once.
“Ket, are you okay?”
Ketron didn’t respond. He simply leaned his cheek against Eddie’s shoulder. At least the tears had stopped, which was something.
Eddie watched him quietly.
“Why did you suddenly spar with him?”
“……”
“Never mind, don’t answer that.”
Why he fought wasn’t important. What mattered was that Ketron had gotten hurt again—when Eddie wasn’t there.
Anger flared up in his chest, but Eddie forced it back down. This wasn’t the time to get petty or lose his temper.
"……"
Eddie kept his eyes on the face right in front of him.
His lashes were still damp. His ears were red, his cheeks flushed…
Only then did Eddie realize just how close they were. He could count the droplets clinging to Ketron’s lashes. He could feel the breath hitting his face.
Panicking slightly, Eddie hurried to stand up.
Thankfully, this time Ketron let him go without resistance.
“I brought you something,” Eddie said, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction as naturally as possible.
He reached for the plate he had set on the nightstand.
Thankfully, the food was still warm. A round, deep-purple bun.
Sweet potato steamed bun.
It was Eddie’s favorite of all the different types, and he was sure Ketron—who had a sweet tooth—would like it too.
Normally, Eddie would’ve gone on about what it was, how sweet and delicious it was, and how his “kid” Ketron would definitely love it, but… something about today made that kind of fuss feel harder than usual.
Instead, he just looked at Ketron, who sat quietly on the bed, watching him.
That was when Eddie realized: there was nowhere for him to sit.
Need to bring in a table and chair for this room too.
A random but useful observation.
Eddie ignored the spot he’d been sitting on just a minute ago and focused on the food. He split the bun in half.
“Damn, I was saving this for winter.”
It wasn’t quite winter yet, but here he was, already bringing it out.
Red bean buns, vegetable buns, milk buns, pizza buns… and this—sweet potato bun. The variety was ridiculous.
If there was one thing Eddie had learned from this, it was that the convenience store even updated its seasonal items automatically.
Maybe in summer it’d start stocking cold noodles?
Chuckling to himself, Eddie handed half of the bun to Ketron and crouched down in front of him.
Ketron took it reflexively.
The warm, toasty sweet scent filled the room. It wasn’t bad.
“Feeling any better?”
Ketron nodded.
At least he was responsive. That reassured Eddie—at least it wasn’t a full regression back to his silent first-day self.
Eddie finally let out a small sigh of relief and smiled.
“Eat that, then get some rest.”
Another small nod.
“Take a nap if you want.”
With that, Eddie popped his half of the sweet potato bun into his mouth. The familiar sweetness filled his tongue—heavenly.
The only problem was that sweet potato-based foods had a tendency to get stuck in your throat.
Eddie glanced over. Ketron still looked emotionally drained, but he was definitely calming down.
Time to get something to drink.
“I’ll go grab some milk. Just wait here.”
Eddie put his hand on Ketron’s thigh to help himself stand—and immediately yanked it back like he’d touched a hot stove.
The heavy sensation he’d felt earlier under his butt came rushing back to mind.
He’d almost touched that.
…Yeah, no. That size—he’s definitely not a kid.
For the first time, Eddie had to admit that Ketron might’ve had a point all along.
Choosing a safe spot, Eddie pushed himself up by his own knees and left the room.
“Whew.”
His heart was racing like he’d just run a 100-meter sprint.
Of course, that wasn’t just because of what he’d almost touched. It was everything else that had just happened in the last five minutes.
Eddie paused in the hallway, pressing a hand to his chest to steady himself.
The fact that it had been Augustine—that Augustine—who came here was still sinking in.
In the original novel, Augustine was Ketron’s only real friend. And now he was closely aligned with Arthur and Boram, the traitors.
Of all people… Eddie had never expected him to show up.
Do Arthur and Boram know?
Probably not. If Augustine were being used by them, it would've been obvious. That meant Ketron’s identity was still safe.
Augustine might’ve seemed like a cheerful, carefree guy, but he was a tactician. A strategist, hidden behind a smile.
A man whose true thoughts were impossible to read.
If he started getting interested in this place, then Arthur and Boram might catch wind of it, too. Eddie shuddered, imagining all three of them showing up at the inn together like some kind of twisted reunion episode.
He shook his head violently, as if to banish the cursed image.
“Haa…”
It was worrying, but what could Eddie do? He was just an innkeeper. And it wasn’t like that kind of nightmare scene would happen easily.
Sure, the convenience store was a crazy cheat skill—but couldn’t he have gotten something else to go with it? Even a noble title would’ve made this whole situation feel less overwhelming.
"……"
Eddie pushed back his bangs.
Then again, didn’t this body look noble enough already? With a face like this, calling him a commoner felt weird. In a world like this, where status ruled all, someone with Eddie’s looks would’ve drawn attention regardless.
But right now, none of that mattered.
Eddie let out a deep breath, slapped his own shoulders, and started heading downstairs.
Or tried to.
He stopped mid-step, coming face-to-face with Gerold.
It was almost like Gerold had been waiting for him.
Eddie reflexively smiled.
“Hey, Gerold. Sorry for the sudden request earlier—thanks for bringing the towel right away.”
He smiled politely, but Gerold didn’t just nod it off like usual.
“…?”
Something felt… off. Eddie frowned slightly as Gerold stepped closer.
His face was as cold and blank as ever, but the air around him was different.
Eddie assumed he was about to get chewed out for the chaos outside. But then Gerold leaned in and whispered quietly into Eddie’s ear.
What he said was something Eddie never could’ve anticipated.
“There’s a message from E.”
Eddie froze.
E?
That wasn’t a name. Or at least, not a real one. More like a codename.
It must’ve arrived while Eddie was busy dragging Ketron inside and calming him down.
Everything was happening too fast. Eddie swallowed hard.
“…What’s the message?”
He kept his voice level, trying not to show how shaken he was. Last time he got a secret note, it had been a complete surprise—and acting clueless now could make him seem suspicious.
But the words Gerold spoke next made him wonder if ignorance might’ve been easier.
“They’re planning to bring down the sky.”
“……”
Eddie’s face went pale. He understood what that meant.
Gerold pulled back, gave a short nod, and turned on his heel—heading back to the kitchen like nothing had happened.
Like his only job had been to deliver that message.
Eddie stood frozen in place.
Milk. He needed to get milk. Ketron was waiting.
That thought crossed his mind, but his body wouldn’t move.
Because that wasn’t something you could just shrug off.
They’re planning to bring down the sky.
“They”… who?
But one thing was certain—Eddie knew what the sky meant.
This was a fantasy world. A world of dragons, magic, and empires. A world ruled by an emperor.
And in the Reneba Empire, the Emperor was called—
The sky.
Which meant the message was:
“They’re targeting the Emperor.”
“……”
Everyone knew the Emperor was supreme. Untouchable. The sky itself.
So the real questions were—who were they?
And why was Eddie getting secret intel about it?
Why him?
Eddie’s face twisted in confusion.
Augustine. Arthur. Boram. Ketron. Gerold… Every one of them was already too much to deal with. And now something massive was being dumped in his lap.
He stood there, mouth slightly open, then shut again. Thoughts collided and overlapped behind his eyes.
The Emperor. Them. Augustine. Gerold…
[Eight, complete.]
And then he remembered that letter.
The one he’d tucked away in his drawer. The one he’d tried to forget. The one that had whispered something strange and ominous.
Back then, he’d brushed it off. Maybe this “Eddie” guy had some secret backstory or hidden trait, who knew? But now… now it felt impossible to ignore.
“Ha…”
What even was this day?
No. It hadn’t even been a full day—just half of one.
So much had happened in just a few hours, Eddie couldn’t make sense of it all.
His stomach churned. He clutched his jaw instinctively, as if that could calm it.
It didn’t.
Under his breath, he muttered,
“‘Eddie’… just what the hell kind of guy were you?”
A question with no answer.