How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 121

Nihil added, “Of course, he’ll have to keep his mouth shut. He’s extraordinarily noisy.”

“……I don’t mind lending him to you, but is Sir Evan having a little trouble handling the escort duties alone?”

Sedes wondered whether he should take this opportunity to assign more guards to the Second Prince. However, he couldn’t appoint just anyone. Since escort knights served at the royal family’s side, mutual trust was essential.

Normally, the person being guarded personally appointed one of the candidates who volunteered for the position. But that hadn’t been possible in the Second Prince’s case. No one had volunteered to become his escort knight.

And then Sir Evan came along.

The youngest knight ever to join the order, and the first commoner to do so. It had been surprising when he volunteered to guard the Second Prince, but the two-year-old prince had smiled at him so brightly back then.

Though he doesn’t exactly have the sort of face children would like……

Just as Sedes’s thoughts began drifting in a strange direction, Nihil spoke.

“Our household puppy has no trouble handling the escort duties alone. It’s just that the puppy is going to be a little sick.”

“……Why would I be sick?”

Evan raised one eyebrow, taken aback by being suddenly treated as a puppy who was about to fall ill. More than anything, he had never been sick before, so it was a little insulting to his pride.

Ignoring Evan, who was frowning in displeasure, Nihil continued.

“You’re curious about how to develop manpower and how I plan to supervise the puppy’s training. I can show you now. But only on the condition that you lend me that knight for fifteen days.”

“There’s a way to develop manpower?”

“I can do it. Because I can see.”

“…….”

“Make your decision. Will you lend him to me?”

“I’d prefer that to being confined to my quarters!”

Frederick chimed in with a sly grin. He probably liked the idea because it would give him more opportunities to see his older sister.

“……Fine. Fifteen days. Shall we move to my private training grounds? That’s the only place we can avoid the servants’ eyes.”

“No. We’ll do it here. I don’t need a large space, and it’ll be over quickly.”

“……?”

Confusion spread across Sedes’s face. What kind of training could possibly be conducted in the office? It wasn’t particularly small, but it was certainly cramped for sword practice.

Nihil said he would demonstrate immediately and tugged Evan by the hand. Evan followed him, looking utterly bewildered as he wondered what on earth was happening.

“The puppy will need to draw his sword. Do I have your permission?”

“You have it.”

Once Sedes gave his approval, Nihil jerked his chin at Evan, signaling him to draw his sword.

As Evan placed his hand on the hilt, the other knights all moved closer to Sedes, taking up defensive positions so they could respond immediately if anything happened.

“What are you planning to do?”

Evan muttered as he drew his sword, feeling equal parts unease and anticipation.

“First, coat your sword in aura. Compress it as much as possible.”

With that, Nihil left Evan standing alone in the center of the office with his sword drawn and approached the unlit fireplace. He picked up the poker hanging beside it and brought it back.

Evan frowned as he watched Nihil trudging toward him with the poker in hand.

“What are you planning to do with that?”

“Your aura is dispersing. Do it properly.”

“I’m warning you in advance. Don’t try to hit an aura-coated sword with that thing. You’ll get hurt.”

“If you keep coating your sword in such a messy aura, you’ll get hurt. Stop talking and concentrate.”

“…….”

Evan’s pride was needlessly wounded by the remark about his aura being messy, so he pressed his lips together and focused on compressing it.

The dense, golden aura that had been swirling flamboyantly around the blade gradually shrank in size until it became clear and still.

While Evan concentrated, Nihil picked up the rabbit doll lying sprawled on the sofa and untied the green ribbon around its neck. He used it to cover his eyes, then stood before Evan’s aura-coated sword.

“I’ll strike your sword with this. All you have to do is maintain your aura in its current state.”

“……Maintain it?”

“You won’t be able to. Try your best to keep it that way.”

“…And that’s all?”

“We’ll do ten minutes, nice and easy. You need to have enough strength left to return to Rian’s palace.”

“Ten minutes? What do you take me f—”

Before Evan could finish speaking, the poker swung toward him.

“Cough, cough! Ugh, bleegh!”

Exactly ten minutes later, Evan was crawling across the office floor, retching.

It was none other than mana depletion.

Nihil untied the green ribbon that had covered his eyes, rubbed the corners of them, and muttered, “Hmm. About nine times, I suppose.”

“Bleegh! I-I couldn’t even, urgh, withstand ten strikes?”

“You lost nearly half your mana on the first strike. Your performance wasn’t bad.”

“T-That’s, urgh, not comforting at all……”

“Then the puppy can rest for a while beside the little kitten taking a nap……”

Nihil turned around and addressed the spectators, who were still staring blankly.

“Any questions?”

At once, hands shot into the air. Even Sedes, who had been trying to maintain his dignity, tentatively raised his hand.

“I’ll let Father speak first.”

Sedes wondered whether he should be grateful that Nihil had thought to give him priority, even in the middle of all this.

“What exactly… Did you do it?”

All the child had done was swing a poker at a sword. And he had only done so nine times. Yet Sir Evan was crawling across the floor and retching.

“I simply stimulated his aura and encouraged it to disperse more forcefully. I exploited the gaps and induced resonance. But let me make this clear: it’s only possible because I can see it.”

“Then, if there were someone else with those special eyes, they might be able to do it too?”

“No.”

In theory, it might be possible. However, aura differed entirely from one user to another in size, density, and speed. It also varied enormously depending on the user’s condition and concentration on any given day. Simply being able to see aura wouldn’t be enough to locate its gaps and points of resonance. And if the opponent were moving, the difficulty would increase even further.

“That’s everything there is to my manpower training.”

Silence briefly filled the office. Everyone looked as though they had plenty of questions, but they couldn’t decide what to ask first.

Nihil, however, had no intention of revealing any more of his cards. He didn’t wait for them to collect their thoughts, instead turning around and heading toward Rianus.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“W-wait, little one! If you just leave like this……”

Abel, who had been busily taking notes, abruptly raised his head at the announcement. He hadn’t even managed to ask a proper question yet. He couldn’t let the boy leave like this!

“Prime Minister, make sure you keep your mana channels empty. The treatment won’t be cheap, so prepare yourself mentally.”

“W-wait a moment!”

Abel sprang to his feet. The chair nearly toppled backward from the force, but a nearby knight hurriedly caught it.

Leaving the flustered Abel behind, Nihil approached Rianus, who was still sleeping peacefully, and addressed Frederick.

“You. Take care of our household puppy.”

“Pardon? Y-yes, sir!”

Frederick helped Evan up from where he lay sprawled on the floor beneath the sofa where Rianus had been resting. However, Evan was so much taller than him that the attempt to support him looked rather awkward.

Staggering, Evan barely managed to stand on his own.

“Ugh, I’m fine, Sir Frederick. I can walk.”

“Walking isn’t enough. Carry him on your back or sling him over your shoulder.”

“That’s what the young master says, sir! Please, let me carry you!”

“Ugh……!”

Evan’s face flushed red with humiliation. Who would have thought that just ten minutes of training could render him this useless?

“W-wait, then who’s going to escort His Highness? Wildcat, put him down.”

“……”

Thinking this was his chance, Evan snapped at Nihil, who was holding Rianus in his arms.

Naturally, Nihil ignored him completely. He picked Rianus up and scampered toward the terrace.

“Mmmm……? Niiil……?”

The slight jostling made Rianus rub his eyes and open them.

When Nihil patted his back, Rianus buried his face in the nape of Nihil’s neck. He seemed likely to fall asleep again at any moment. Perhaps that was a sign that his body was recovering properly.

Nihil briefly changed direction toward Sedes. Surprised by how suddenly the distance between them had closed, Sedes rose from his seat, but he didn’t retreat.

Nihil quietly called out to Rianus, who was half asleep.

“Rian.”

“Mmm……”

“Say goodbye to Daddy.”

“Mmm……”

“Come on, repeat after me. ‘Bye-bye, Daddy.’”

“Mmm, bye-bye, Daddyyy……”

“……”

“Good job. Now go back to sleep.”

“Mmmm… snore……”

“……”

Everyone present wore a foolish grin at Rianus’s adorable farewell.

Sedes alone couldn’t quite manage to smile. He cautiously reached out toward Rianus, then withdrew his hand again.

Without a second thought, Nihil grabbed that rough hand, which was filled with hesitation, and placed it firmly on top of Rianus’s curly hair.

Sedes flinched in surprise, but soon began gently stroking his son’s head.

“……It’s soft.”

“What a poor choice of words.”

“…….”

“I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow, Father.”

“…Did you know I’d be attending lunch?”

“We’re holding it in the main palace. Surely no one would hold a luncheon without the master of the palace present?”

“…I see.”

“I heard Rian likes shrimp. And I want strawberry cake for dessert, so keep that in mind too.”

Sedes responded with an amused smile.

“I’ll make a note about the shrimp. The cake, though… I’ll mention it if I remember.”

“If old age is making you forgetful… I suppose it can’t be helped. I, being young, will be understanding.”

“…….”

Sedes pressed his lips together, having tried to tease the boy only to lose the exchange completely. In truth, Nihil was much older than he appeared, but teasing children was always enjoyable. He smiled faintly and waved goodbye.

“I’ll be leaving first. My legs are short, so it takes me a long time to walk. The First Prince is almost here, so do keep that in mind.”

As he spoke, Nihil shifted Rianus into one arm, wrapped a blanket around them, and secured the sleeping prince firmly against his own body.

“Y-you crazy little bastard! What are you doing?! Put His Highness down—ugh!”

Evan tried to rush over in alarm, only for his legs to give way and send him back to the floor.

Nihil pulled a wire from inside his clothes and addressed Frederick.

“Take good care of the puppy. I’ll be counting on you for the next fifteen days.”

“Haha! Of course! Leave it to me!”

“What do you mean, leave it to you?! Sir, catch that bastard! We’re on the fifth floor! Damn wildcat, why do you even carry a wire around?! Your Majesty, why are you just watching?! He’s running off with the prince!”

“…….”

“Your Majesty! Arrest him for carrying a weapon! And there are plenty of other charges you can throw at him! Insulting royalty, kidnapping a child, abduction, contempt of court—anything!”

Evan ranted passionately, completely forgetting that he was speaking to the king. Being unable to make his own body move as he wished only made him more furious.

“……He’s going back to the Second Prince’s palace anyway, isn’t he?”

Sedes saw no need to intervene. Nihil had turned an escort knight into that sorry state in just ten minutes, and somehow, Sedes felt he could trust the boy with Rianus.

In fact… wasn’t Nihil better than the other escort knights?

Perhaps we don’t need to recruit any additional escort knights after all.

Leaving the puppy ranting about how he ought to be arrested for contempt of court, Nihil strolled past the knights who stood awkwardly with their arms half-extended, unable to decide whether they should stop him or let him go.

He reached the terrace railing, flashed a wide grin at the furious Evan, and bowed playfully.

“I’m claiming the little kitten.”

The wildcat leaped down.

“AAAAAH! YOU CRAZY BASTAAAAARD!”