How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 122

“……”

The first thing Evan saw when he opened his eyes was two little brats cuddling and playing on top of his prone body. One was absolutely adorable, while the other was not.

No wonder my chest felt so heavy……

Evan tried to recall what had happened just before he passed out.

That wildcat had jumped down… he had chased after him… and when the wildcat saw him jumping down after him, he had reached out.

While letting go of the wire he had been holding, no less.

“Hey! You little—!”

Remembering what had happened, Evan shot upright, unable to contain his rising anger, and was about to shout when he caught sight of the little kitten’s wide, startled eyes. He froze.

He absolutely could not let a vulgar curse slip out in front of their adorable little kitten, who was at an age when he absorbed everything like a sponge. Ever since becoming his escort knight, Evan had worked so hard to cut down on swearing and make his speech more refined.

After all, his own flaws reflected on his master.

Of course, there hadn’t been many occasions to swear in front of their little kitten. His foolish fellow knights weren’t around to provoke him, and how could anyone curse while looking at such an adorable little kitten?!

But lately, that hasn’t been the case.

Evan glared at the wildcat kidnapper, who was hardly a good influence on a child’s emotional development.

He wanted nothing more than to give the wildcat a thorough scolding and smack him on the head, but the prince was right there and didn’t know the circumstances, so Evan held back.

Still, he was too indignant to let it go completely. He subtly raised a hand, intending to give the brat a good pinch on the backside, when the boy crawled over and nestled against his chest.

Why is this little brat acting like this……?

Evan was bewildered, but he wondered if perhaps the boy had been worried about him. His heart softened.

That warm feeling shattered the moment Nihil opened his mouth.

“You’re far too healthy. You could have stayed bedridden a little longer.”

After checking Evan’s pulse, Nihil patted his chest several times, as though satisfied that there was nothing to worry about.

“……”

“Sir Evan! Are you all right? I heard you were suffering from sleep deprivation!”

“Sleep… deprivation……”

Of all the excuses, why did it have to be sleep deprivation? It was true that he hadn’t been getting enough sleep, but it wasn’t as though he was so exhausted that he would collapse from it.

If he was going to make up an excuse, why choose something so ridiculous…?

Evan glared at Nihil. But the brat simply hugged him tightly and smiled sweetly.

Y-You little fox!

Evan was inwardly horrified, but honestly, the boy was a little cute. He pressed a finger into one of those squishy cheeks, which had been flattened against his chest.

It seemed that this brat’s greatest weapon really was his appearance.

“You simpleton.”

“……”

The boy had already stopped smiling and was looking at him as though he were pathetic.

Embarrassed at having fallen for such an obvious trick, Evan mercilessly squished both soft cheeks, ruining that pretty face.

Rianus joined in, absentmindedly fiddling with Nihil’s face, but soon came to his senses and spoke.

“Sir Evan, I’m sorry for making you guard me all by yourself……”

“Not at all, Your Highness. This was simply because I failed to manage my condition properly, so please don’t worry about it.”

“Why don’t you sleep a little longer? There’s still some time before dinner.”

“I’ve rested enough. How long was I lying down?”

“I’m not sure. About thirty minutes after I woke up?”

“About an hour. You woke up sooner than I expected.”

Nihil glanced at the clock, then got up and left. He returned with a bottle of medicine and held it out to Evan.

“Drink this.”

“What is it?”

“Medicine.”

Evan frowned slightly but opened the bottle without another word and gulped it down. His face immediately twisted into a grimace.

It tasted absolutely awful.

“You put so much effort into the prince’s medicine, but mine is… urgh?”

Before Evan could finish complaining, Nihil popped something into his mouth. The sweet yet slightly bitter flavor melted across his tongue, leaving Evan with a complicated expression.

“I’m not a child, you know……”

Nihil chuckled at Evan, who was savoring the chocolate with considerable satisfaction, and unwrapped another piece.

“I’m not supposed to give chocolate to puppies, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

“……”

Evan pouted at those words, but when Nihil repeatedly pressed the chocolate against his lips, he eventually gave in and ate it.

Apparently finding the sight quite amusing, Rianus also unwrapped a piece of chocolate and fed it to Evan.

Just as Rianus was about to open a third piece, Nihil stopped him.

“Rian, you shouldn’t give him too many snacks before a meal.”

“Mmm. Okay.”

“……Ahem.”

The puppy, who had been grinning foolishly as he accepted chocolate from his adorable little kitten, finally came to his senses and wiped the silly smile off his face.

Come to think of it, what had happened to Sir Frederick? Since Evan had passed out, someone must have carried him here, but he couldn’t sense another knight nearby.

Or perhaps he simply couldn’t detect him because he was still weaker than Frederick.

Evan tried to release his mana and search for the knight’s presence, but Nihil spoke first.

“That guy went out on an errand.”

“You mean Sir Frederick?”

“Yes. He forgot to bring the doll. He’ll be back soon.”

“Ah……”

Evan pictured the pure white rabbit doll sitting all alone in the middle of the office, looking completely out of place. He wondered whether the situation had been properly handled.

Well, His Majesty probably took care of it.

Evan’s lips curled into a faint smirk as he secretly hoped the king had been put in an awkward position.

After all, the king had simply stood there and watched as one brat jumped from the fifth floor while carrying another brat, without doing a thing.

Remembering that scene made Evan’s anger flare up all over again, and he stretched Nihil’s cheeks sideways.

The brat had smiled as though he’d been waiting for Evan to jump after him, then let go of the wire that was practically his lifeline. From beginning to end, Evan had felt like he was dancing in the palm of the boy’s hand.

“You little brat. If you pull something like that again, I won’t let you get away with it.”

As Evan stretched Nihil’s cheeks and scolded him, he sensed someone approaching rapidly within his range of detection.

He assumed it was Sir Frederick, but still got up and stepped in front of the children.

The presence stopped just short of the terrace, as though its owner were observing the situation.

“……Sir Frederick?”

Evan asked cautiously.

After a brief silence, a rabbit doll suddenly popped into view and rubbed its face against the terrace window.

The rabbit’s face was squashed against the glass.

Or rather, Sir Frederick opened his mouth.

“Your adorable and lovable bunny has arrived~!”

“……Please come in, Sir.”

“The door is locked~!”

“……”

With a sigh, Evan approached the terrace window and unlocked it.

“Haha! Actually, I was planning to sneak in and make the rabbit appear with a grand ta-da! But thanks to Sir Evan, my plan failed.”

“Why is that my fault? You should blame the brat who locked the door.”

“But Sir Evan detected my presence and went on guard before I could do anything. Even when we first met today, while I was dressed as a maid, I was clearly one step ahead of you……”

Frederick narrowed his eyes at Evan, then curled his lips into a smile.

“I never expected you to reach the same level as me in just a few hours.”

Although his lips were curved upward, his narrowed eyes weren’t smiling at all. The sight sent a chill down Evan’s spine.

Evan frowned, unable to understand why Frederick was so wary of him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Haha… I simply meant that I came here while concealing my presence, despite appearances. Well, I’m jealous, but congratulations are still in order, aren’t they? Sir Evan, congratulations on overcoming another wall. Such an impressive achievement at such a young age.”

“……?”

Evan tilted his head slightly, wondering what on earth the man meant.

“Are you… not happy?”

“Are you saying I’ve overcome a wall……?”

Despite Frederick’s congratulations, Evan remained bewildered as he examined his own mana.

Then his expression stiffened.

“I can’t… feel anything.”

Evan looked at Nihil with trembling eyes.

Nihil responded indifferently as he watched the large dog cowering in front of him.

“You used it all up. It would be strange if there were anything left to feel.”

“But I can’t sense Sir Frederick’s mana either.”

“You can only sense someone else’s mana when you have mana of your own. The principle is that you feel the difference when your mana comes into contact with another person’s. But you have no mana right now.”

“But… I’ve been in a state of mana depletion before, and this has never happened.”

“The state you people call mana depletion usually means that about ten percent of your mana remains in your body. You call it ‘depletion,’ but strictly speaking, it’s closer to a state of ‘insufficiency.’ The reason you use the term depletion is that your body instinctively prevents you from using it any more.”

“Prevents me from using any more? But I……”

“Exactly. You rejected that instinct and squeezed out every last bit of mana you had left. So right now, your body is completely empty. Well, you did break through another level in the process, so isn’t that worth it?”

“……That’s certainly good, but how am I supposed to guard His Highness like this?”

Evan still looked troubled, as though he hadn’t quite grasped the fact that he had advanced another level.

Rianus, on the other hand, was overjoyed that his knight had become stronger and was hopping up and down excitedly.

Evan smiled faintly and picked up the little kitten who was bouncing around.

“Don’t worry. Your five senses should be considerably sharper now. Besides, didn’t we borrow a puppy from next door?”

As he spoke, Nihil jerked his chin toward Frederick, who was standing there looking bewildered.

That was the moment the main palace became the neighboring house, and His Majesty’s escort knight was demoted to a puppy.

Evan glanced at Frederick, wondering if he might be offended by Nihil’s brazen way of speaking. But Frederick seemed to have no particular reaction. He was simply observing the wildcat with fascination.

Nihil continued explaining without seeming to notice Frederick’s persistent stare.

“It’ll take a little while for your mana to replenish.”

“How long?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t take more than fifteen days.”

“…That long?”

Then who’s going to protect our precious little kitten in the meantime?

Evan looked at the little, adorable, fluffy head with trembling eyes, and Nihil continued.

“It varies from person to person, but… I estimate about a week for you. Since your mana heart and channels have been completely emptied, you’ll need to go through a process to remove all the impurities. Until your mana replenishes on its own, avoid circulating it. Otherwise, impurities could easily mix in.”

“Understood.”

“And… no, never mind.”

Nihil trailed off and closed his mouth.

“Why did you stop halfway?”

His Majesty had once told him that stopping halfway through a sentence was a bad habit.

“No, it’s just that I’m not certain yet… Rian, I’d like to visit the royal library.”

“Oh, the library? Then shall we go together tomorrow?”

“You only need to tell me where it is. I’ll go while you’re having swordsmanship lessons.”

“Okay! I’ll show you the way tomorrow!”

At that moment, Frederick politely raised his hand and joined the conversation.

“Um, young master. May I speak?”

Nihil lifted his chin, signaling him to go ahead.

“Would you perhaps examine my aura as well?”

“Remember that you’re currently being punished. Even while you’re on escort duty for the next fifteen days, don’t come out of the shadows unless something happens.”

“That’s too harsh! You dote on Sir Evan so much!”

“Is someone else’s pup the same as our own?”

“Then I want to be one of your household’s pups too!”

“I have no need for you.”

“That’s so cruel!”

Watching Nihil and Frederick bicker, Evan frowned slightly.

Nihil hadn’t denied it. He had naturally referred to Evan as our own pup, and that left Evan feeling strangely unsettled.

He wondered whether this was something he ought to be happy about, when Frederick suddenly made an outrageous remark.

“I went to all that trouble carrying your sturdy, heavy body here, only for you to scold me endlessly because I handled you a little roughly! Meanwhile, you treat Sir Evan like he’s precious, practically pampering him to pieces……”

……Pardon?