How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 146

Evan opened his eyes.

The ceiling of his bedroom came into view.

…When did I get back to the palace?

He was relieved to have made it back safely and tried to sit up to get some water. But he couldn’t. Something was weighing down both his arms.

“……?”

He lowered his head slightly and saw two small, adorable heads.

“…….”

Was this a dream?

Looking at the two little children sleeping with their heads resting on his arms, Evan closed his eyes again, desperately hoping that it was.

But their soft breathing was far too clear. When he flexed his fingers, even the faint weight he’d barely noticed before became all too real.

Tap.

Just then, a tiny, insignificant, adorable foot landed on his body.

Evan finally had no choice but to face reality and open his eyes again.

This was definitely his bedroom. The wall he’d scratched when he was fifteen, newly appointed as the prince’s escort knight, after drawing his sword out of youthful excitement upon receiving his own room, was still there. So was the gold ornament bearing the unmistakable marks of his teeth.

He could overlook the wildcat brat, but how on earth had their precious baby kitty ended up sleeping in a place like this?

The stench of alcohol was so strong that he could almost believe the air was filled with it instead of water vapor.

“…Damn it.”

Unable to leave their adorable, beloved prince in a garbage dump that reeked of alcohol, Evan finally forced himself to sit up.

He hurriedly opened the window to air out the room, then picked up the two children. Just then, Sir Frederick appeared and let out a snort of laughter.

Evan turned to him with an expression of betrayal and complained.

“Sir, that’s too much. How could you let His Highness sleep here?”

“You’re the one who’s too much, junior. You wouldn’t let go of your precious baby kitty, no matter what I said…”

“…….”

“Not only that, you made the young master sleep on the floor. And even then, the young master had to spread out a blanket on the floor himself…”

At those words, Evan’s gaze dropped.

Sure enough, there was a blanket spread out in one corner of the floor.

“It was an absolute disaster.”

“…….”

Pretending he hadn’t heard a thing, Evan hurried out of the bedroom. The air in the hallway had never felt so fresh.

When he reached the prince’s bedroom and laid the children down on the bed, Frederick handed him something.

“…What’s this?”

“I don’t know. The young master gave it to me. Apparently, it’s good for a hangover.”

“…….”

Evan squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the potion, thinking that even if it were poison made by the wildcat brat to get revenge on him for nearly being forced to sleep on the floor, there was nothing he could do about it.

But apparently, the medicine wasn’t the end of it. Frederick suddenly held something else out to him.

Chocolate.

“He also said you absolutely had to eat this.”

“…….”

“Apparently, chocolate is surprisingly effective at breaking down alcohol. He said you could have as much as you wanted, especially since you seem to like it.”

“…….”

Evan unwrapped several chocolates at once and stuffed them into his mouth.

His hangover wasn’t particularly bad, but he felt as though the smell of alcohol rose every time he breathed.

At the very least, it would be better for his breath to smell of chocolate rather than alcohol when he spoke to someone.

Evan asked again, feeling a little uneasy.

“…Was there anything else?”

“Oh, the young master suddenly went out. The junior, who had just been about to fall asleep, staggered to his feet muttering that he had to catch the wildcat brat, and followed him.”

At those words, Evan’s body stiffened.

“Did I… do something to him?”

Evan looked anxiously at the wildcat brat, who was sleeping peacefully.

Perhaps because the weather had turned chilly, he was wearing an adorable set of pajamas with frills reaching all the way up to his neck, rather than the simple sleepwear he usually wore.

“Haa… Junior, do you know you nearly killed the young master?”

“D-Did I threaten him?”

“Seriously, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it gets. Haa… Junior, listen to me. I found some bear sprawled out in the hallway, so I struggled to carry him all the way here, right?”

“…….”

“But guess what? That bear was holding a wildcat in his arms!”

“……?”

“Do you understand now? You nearly crushed the young master to death!”

“Haa…”

The strength drained from Evan’s legs.

Never again. I’m never drinking again.

 

***

 

Evan thought that even if the wildcat brat took revenge on him, he would have no right to complain.

After all, not only had he been kicked out onto the floor, but he’d nearly crushed the little one to death.

Aside from accepting whatever revenge came his way, Evan had also resolved to take especially good care of the wildcat brat for at least half a day.

But he would have preferred it if that revenge had simply been poison.

“Uwaaaah, Commander! I kept calling him a wildcat, a wildcat, and now he’s actually turned into a wildcat…”

“AAAH! PLEASE, STOP!”

“He grew fluffy white fur and everything!!”

“I admit I was wrong, so stop playing that recording, you lunatic!”

“Pfft…!”

The damn wildcat brat was already playing a recording Evan had no idea when he’d made for the fifth time.

He seemed to discover something new every time he watched it, because he kept chuckling to himself. Even that fluffy tail, which had once looked nothing but adorable, was swishing back and forth to tease him.

In the recording, Evan looked like some perverted old man, hugging the prince tightly while crying and shouting, behaving like a complete lunatic.

He wanted nothing more than to smash that crystal ball to pieces.

“How on earth did you record that?! Wasn’t that just a communication orb?!”

“I modified it in a hurry. Do you like it?”

“I HATE IT!”

How was the brat even capable of modifying magical tools?! Could he really just whip something like that up so easily?!

And the fact that he’d modified it in a hurry just to record Evan made it even more infuriating!

“Y-You little…!”

“What?”

“…I… I was wrong. I won’t drink again.”

In the end, Evan was the one who backed down.

He had no idea how many times he’d apologized by now, but he was undeniably the one at fault. The moment he’d seen the recording, he’d been so horrified that he’d even gone to the commander and bowed his head in apology.

“It might be nice if you drank once in a while. After all, you could only get drunk because there’s no mana in your body right now. Who knows when we’ll get another opportunity like this?”

As he spoke, the brat played the recording again.

“Uwaaaah, Commander! I kept calling him a wildcat, a wildcat, and now he’s actually turned into a wildcat…”

“…….”

That was definitely a demonic wildcat. There was no other explanation for how something could be this wicked.

Knock, knock.

Evan had nearly reached a state of resignation and was staring at Nihil with half-lidded eyes when a knock sounded at the door.

“Your Highness, it’s Butler Paul.”

“Come in!”

Their adorable baby kitty had such a bright, lively voice.

The butler seemed to share Evan’s sentiment, because he entered with a pleased smile.

He glanced at the wildcat brat, who was holding the or—no, the crystal ball, against his chest, then let out a small sigh for some reason.

Perhaps even the butler thought the wildcat brat was beyond help.

“What’s the matter, Butler?”

“Ah… Well, Your Highness, while sorting the medicinal herbs, this old man accidentally broke a precious potion.”

“What? Are you hurt?”

Their precious baby kitty jumped in alarm.

And even in that moment, he was worried about the butler first.

His master was not only adorable and charming, but kindhearted, too.

“No, I’m unharmed, but the precious potion…”

“It’s fine! We still have plenty left, so don’t worry about it. Still, it’s quite something for you to make a mistake, Butler.”

“Haha. I suppose it’s inevitable now that I’m getting old.”

“……!”

At those words, their baby kitty’s expression suddenly stiffened.

Then he reached over and firmly grabbed the shoulder of the wildcat, who was beside him, busy rubbing the crystal ball with his sleeve.

“Neil! Make some tonic medicine for the butler!”

“Your Highness, I’m still in perfect health.”

“Stay still, Butler.”

Their baby kitty grabbed the butler’s hand and thrust it toward Nihil.

The wildcat brat set the crystal ball aside, took the butler’s wrist, and checked his pulse.

Evan seized the opportunity and swiftly snatched the brat’s or—no, crystal ball.

Hah! Take that, damn wildcat! You can’t even protect your own egg! Now all I have to do is erase the recording…!

His joy at having stolen the crystal ball was short-lived. Evan soon found himself wondering how on earth he was supposed to operate the magical tool.

He rolled it around in his hands, examining it from every angle.

But no matter how much he turned it over, all he could see was an ordinary crystal ball.

He narrowed his eyes and continued inspecting it when the wildcat brat, who had finished checking the butler’s pulse, looked at him as though he were something utterly insignificant.

His gaze was unbearably arrogant.

“What?”

“…I’ll erase it for you.”

The brat held out his hand as he spoke.

But Evan couldn’t trust that demon wildcat.

“I’ll erase it myself! Just tell me how to—!”

Suddenly, the crystal ball began to glow.

Evan was startled, wondering whether he’d accidentally touched something. He fumbled with it like a hot potato, then hurriedly tossed it back to Nihil.

“W-What’s wrong with this thing?!”

“The communication connection has simply been established.”

Nihil chuckled at Evan’s bewildered reaction, then skillfully operated the communication orb.

Soon, Morris’s face appeared.

However, he seemed to be looking around for something. Before long, his expression filled with confusion.

“Is the connection… not working?”

“President.”

“…Ah, I can hear you. But I can’t see your face. Is something broken?”

“I made a few adjustments on this end. I can’t know who might be with you.”

“…You can do that, too?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Straight to business? How cold.”

“I have a lesson soon.”

“…….”

At the mention of a lesson, Morris’s expression turned peculiar.

Apparently, it still hadn’t quite sunk in that the person he was speaking to was even younger than he’d expected.

“Th-Then… Be sure to listen to your teacher…”

“Your business.”

“Ahem. About the date we arranged to meet. Would ten days from now work for you?”

“You must be very busy.”

“At the moment… His Majesty has entrusted me with a task, so I think I’ll have to travel to another region.”

“If it’s the matter His Majesty entrusted you with… the plaza?”

“…Don’t tell me you were involved in that, too?”

When Morris asked with an uneasy expression, Nihil chuckled lightly and changed the subject.

“It would be difficult for me to make time on weekdays, so let’s meet over the weekend that week.”

“All right.”

After discussing the time and location, Nihil briefly ended the conversation and disconnected.

“…Is it over?”

Their baby kitty, who had been standing stiffly in awe of this unfamiliar marvel, cautiously approached and peered at the orb.

Nihil handed the communication orb to him, then turned toward the butler, who was still watching him intently despite having finished his business.

“Old man, is there something else you want to say?”

“Excuse me…? Ah, no. Nothing at all. I was just admiring how well your clothes suit you.”

At those words, Evan also examined Nihil’s outfit.

On days without lessons, the brat usually wore pajamas all day. Even on lesson days, he rarely wore anything beyond a plain, neutral-colored shirt or blouse.

But for some reason, today he was dressed properly, even wearing a cravat around his neck.

“I’ll be dressing properly until the quarterly assessment. Keep that in mind.”

“Ah, so that’s what it is. Understood.”

“Good. You can go now.”

“…Yes.”

The butler hesitated uncharacteristically before finally leaving the bedroom.

Nihil checked once more to make sure his cravat wasn’t crooked, then hopped down from the bed.

“Rian, we should head downstairs soon.”

“Okay!”

“Hey, hey! Delete my recording before you leave!”

“Let’s go.”

“Ah! You said you’d erase it!”

The pitiful cries of a puppy rang out behind them, but Nihil didn’t tell Evan that the recording had already been deleted the moment the communication connection was established.

“YOU DAMNED A LITTLE DEMON WILDCAT!”

The puppy howled.