How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 36

The gray-haired wildcat that had suddenly appeared grimaced and opened his mouth.

“…Why are you here? Rian is—no, this works out perfectly. Follow me.”

Evan stared at the boy blankly for a moment. What had happened to that snow-white hair? The wildcat’s hair had turned a dull gray, and his clothes were covered in dirt from head to toe.

Nihil was about to enter the bedroom with his filthy shoes on when he abruptly stopped, kicked them off, and scampered over to Evan. He grabbed the knight by the sleeve.

“…What? W-Where are you taking me?!”

Nihil dragged Evan straight out of Rianus’s bedroom and into his own. The king and his escort knights, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, followed in a daze, still carrying their sacks of medicinal herbs.

After opening the terrace window, Nihil handed Evan something.

“This is a tracking scent that only I can identify. There’s an outsider snooping around the first-floor bedrooms. They’re probably looking for me, so spray this on them and chase them away.”

“An outsider? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Evan was bewildered by the incomprehensible situation, but Nihil patted his thigh repeatedly, urging him to hurry downstairs.

“Go on. I have no grounds to kill them, so just chase them away.”

“Argh! Seriously!”

Even as he grumbled in annoyance, Evan knew he couldn’t waste any more time. He immediately jumped off the terrace.

The intruder started fleeing as soon as they spotted him. However, just as the wildcat had asked, Evan merely pretended to chase them, sprayed them with the tracking scent, and returned to the bedroom.

But the wildcat who should have been there was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the room was filled with bundles of medicinal herbs and porters—or rather, the king and his escort knights disguised as porters.

“…Where did he go?”

At Evan’s question, Sedes gestured toward the bathroom with his chin.

“He went in there.”

“…”

Evan wore a complicated expression as he contemplated the wildcat’s behavior. The boy simply went about his business regardless of whether strangers were present.

Of course, staying in that filthy state would have been strange, too. Evan had no idea what he had been doing, but he had been covered in dirt from head to toe.

Don’t tell me he went and buried gold coins in the ground?

Evan wondered if the boy had been hiding emergency funds in case he was ever kicked out. Still, he had apparently allowed the king to witness a rather unsightly scene, so Evan let out a deep sigh and bowed his head toward Sedes.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“What is there to apologize for? You couldn’t have expected the child to look like that either, could you? In any case, his life certainly seems eventful.”

“…”

Evan lowered his head even further without a word. How had things come to this?

Just then, the bathroom door flew open.

Apparently, the boy had hurried through his bath. The snow-white wildcat emerged with water still dripping steadily from his hair.

“…So he really does have white hair. And those eyes are such an unusual color.”

Sedes murmured quietly, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at Nihil. The Shadow Knights disguised as coachmen and porters were equally captivated by the boy’s unexpected beauty.

They had heard rumors calling him a doll, a beastman, or a divine beast, so they had expected him to be rather pretty. But this was beyond their expectations. Rather than merely pretty, beautiful and mysterious were far more fitting descriptions.

However, the words that came out of the beautiful boy’s mouth were anything but beautiful.

“I never expected Your Majesty, the kid’s father, to show up in person so soon.”

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere in the bedroom grew abruptly subdued.

 

***

 

Nihil, the cause of the silence, didn’t even glance at Sedes. He tossed the damp towel into the laundry basket, picked up another dry one, and vigorously rubbed his hair.

Water splattered in every direction, yet no one dared to speak first.

Evan looked at the king and his entourage as if wondering when they had been discovered. But the king and his escort knights were just as dumbfounded, staring at the boy in a daze.

Nihil turned to look directly at Sedes and opened his mouth.

“So, what exactly was so fascinating that you had to make the journey all the way here, Your Majes—Mmph!”

Unable to watch any longer, Evan hurriedly clamped a hand over Nihil’s mouth. At this rate, his heart was going to drop out of his chest.

“If you’ve figured out he’s His Majesty, at least pretend to show some respect!”

“…”

With his mouth covered, Nihil blinked a few times. He looked at Evan, then at Sedes, before lowering his eyes.

Thinking the wildcat had finally quieted down, Evan removed his hand. But the boy immediately resumed his insolence.

“…If you’ve finished carrying the luggage, the porters can leave now.”

Unwilling to use honorifics, Nihil pretended not to recognize the king and his escort, or rather, the porters, and attempted to send them away.

“You little—!”

“…It’s fine. They came here as my porters, so I won’t hold it against them for failing to show proper respect. But how did you know? It shouldn’t have been easy to recognize us while we were using magic tools.”

Sedes raised a hand to stop Evan from intervening and deactivated the magic. The tool was designed to blur their presence, but it seemed to have had no effect on the boy.

Freed from Evan’s grasp, Nihil continued drying his hair and answered nonchalantly.

“You smell similar to Rian.”

“…”

“…”

Is he really some kind of beast?

That thought filled everyone’s minds at once.

Nihil continued as if nothing were amiss.

“Besides, you brought four escort knights along in a row. How could I not notice?”

“So you recognized them as escort knights as well. But you should count properly. Sir Evan isn’t my escort knight, so there are only three.”

“Three?”

“Yes.”

Nihil didn’t answer. He draped the towel over his shoulder and stared intently at Sedes for a long moment. It was an exceedingly disrespectful thing to do, but Sedes’s golden eyes gleamed with interest as he returned the boy’s gaze.

Nihil blinked a few times before slowly moving toward the wall. He reached toward the shadow cast upon it and carefully, gently grasped something invisible.

Lifting his gaze slightly, Nihil smiled brightly.

“Hello, big brother! Looks like you’ve been fired as an escort knight. Want to become my escort knight instead?”

At those cheerful words, everyone in the bedroom gaped.

They had known that someone was there, but none of them had known where the Shadow Knight was watching from. Naturally, they were astonished.

Evan frantically rubbed his forearms as goosebumps rose on his skin. The presence of the hidden knight was surprising enough, but the wildcat was smiling brightly and calling him big brother.

That was just too shameless.

A figure gradually materialized, starting from Nihil’s palm. The function of the magic tool that concealed the knight’s presence had been dispelled.

The Shadow Knight, whose hand Nihil was holding, looked helplessly toward his master.

Nihil went a step further and swung their joined hands back and forth.

“Hm? There’s only one puppy in the Second Prince’s Palace, so he has quite a hard time all by himself. Why don’t you become a puppy here, too, big brother?”

“…”

“Big brother, you’ve been fired anyway. It’s sad, but what can you do? You’ll have to find another master.”

“Y-You insane little brat!”

Unable to take it anymore, Evan clutched his head and shouted before swiftly snatching Nihil up.

Still holding the hand of the “big brother who had been fired by his master,” Nihil dangled helplessly from Evan’s grasp.

“W-What is wrong with you today?!”

“Are you jealous? Don’t worry. Even if we get a new puppy, you’ll still be the first.”

“That’s not the problem! And stop calling me that in front of other people!”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have another escort knight? His ability to conceal his presence looks pretty useful. Besides, he’s just been fired from his position. Isn’t that right, big brother?”

Nihil turned to the dismissed escort knight and smiled brightly again. He even remembered to give their joined hands another little wave.

Judging by how rapidly the atmosphere was changing, the boy was clearly mocking the king and his escort knights. At the same time, he was making things difficult for Evan and thoroughly enjoying himself.

Nihil smiled even more brightly, as if the king’s lies and the knights’ powers of perception were beneath his notice.

The Shadow Knight whose hand was being held couldn’t bring himself to pull away. Looking utterly helpless, he continued staring desperately at his master, unable to decide what to do.

Unable to stand it any longer, Evan forcibly pried their hands apart and backed away from the Shadow Knight while holding Nihil in his arms.

Sedes, who had been staring blankly, finally spoke.

“…How did you know?”

“The smell… and a few other things.”

“…Truly remarkable. I can understand why those rumors have been circulating.”

Sedes gave a hollow chuckle, sounding utterly incredulous.

“Could you perhaps really be a beastman?”

“No. So, are you giving me that escort knight or not?”

Nihil pointed at the Shadow Knight with a finger as he asked.

Sedes answered with an awkward expression.

“…I admit that I lied to you. I’m sorry, but that fellow is the strongest among my Shadow Knights, so I can’t give him to you. What about one of the others?”

The other knights flinched.

At this rate, they might end up in the hands of that cunning little brat.

Fortunately, the cunning little brat, Nihil, shook his head.

“I don’t need anyone weaker than him.”

“How merciless.”

“I never intended to take him in the first place. Now put me down, puppy.”

Nihil tapped Evan’s forearm as he spoke. Evan felt vaguely uneasy, but carefully lowered the wildcat to the floor.

Nihil looked up at him and continued.

“And you. Put the gold coins you picked up back where you found them. I hid those to play treasure hunt with Rian.”

“So the gold coins were for a treasure hunt?”

Sedes’s eyes sparkled with interest. The boy was certainly peculiar, but he seemed to make a sincere effort to play with the prince.

Evan sighed. So that was why the wildcat had been scurrying all over the palace. He had been preparing a treasure hunt for the prince.

Now Evan couldn’t even scold him for it.

Ignoring the gazes fixed on him, Nihil turned toward Sedes and gestured at the sofa with his eyes.

“Have a seat, Your Majesty. I can’t serve you tea when you’ve come dressed like that. Still, since you’ve come all this way, you should at least satisfy your curiosity before you leave.”

Sedes regarded the boy with fascination. Here was a child who called the king of an entire kingdom “Your Majesty” while speaking like an old man.

Evan wanted nothing more than to grab Nihil and shut that cursed mouth of his. But Sedes had already settled onto the sofa and gestured toward the seat opposite him, inviting Nihil to sit. Evan couldn’t intervene.

And naturally, Nihil didn’t refuse. He hopped onto the sofa.

The escort knights lined up behind Sedes. The pressure of facing so many formidable figures should have been overwhelming, yet the white-haired boy sat there calmly, swinging his legs.

“I find this treasure hunt rather interesting. Do you usually play with the Second Prince like this? You seem to have wandered throughout the entire palace. Isn’t that an excessively large area for a treasure hunt?”

“Isn’t a large area better? That way, Rian can find treasure wherever he goes.”

“…That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered.”

Sedes nodded thoughtfully, impressed by the idea of a treasure hunt that was inefficient yet remarkably efficient.

“But what do you intend to do about the gold coins that aren’t found?”

“I’ll collect them later. If some still go missing, then so be it. What else can I do?”

“I heard you were an orphan who wandered from place to place, but you certainly spend money quite freely.”

“I don’t hesitate to spend when something is necessary.”

Evan grimaced as he listened. He wanted to point out that it was the prince’s money, not Nihil’s, but he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt a conversation with the king. Instead, he glared at the back of Nihil’s white head.

“You should have hidden jewels instead. Jewels are easy to track, so even if the servants found them, they would have brought them to you. But if they found gold coins, they might simply pocket them. You didn’t think that through.”

“I deliberately hid them where the servants could see me. They’ll bring them back on their own.”

“That’s rather naive. There aren’t many honest people in this world, contrary to what you seem to believe.”

Looking at the boy before him, who was exceptionally clever for his age yet still retained his characteristic innocence, Sedes felt a faint pang of pity.

Nihil received that look with a crooked smile. Then he gestured toward Evan with his chin and asked,

“Aren’t you curious how I knew he’d picked up the gold coins?”

“…”

Sedes raised one eyebrow slightly.

Come to think of it, how did the boy know? When they had first met, Nihil had asked why he was there, suggesting he hadn’t known about Sedes’s visit beforehand…

Sedes thought it over for a long time, but couldn’t find an answer.

At that moment, the Second Prince’s escort knight cautiously spoke up.

“…The scent.”

Nihil smiled at Evan.

“At least you have decent instincts.”

“…Your smile makes me nervous. Stop smiling.”

Nihil shrugged as though Evan were worrying about something pointless, then turned his attention back to Sedes.

“As you heard, I put a scent on the gold coins. If someone has been filling their own pockets with their master’s money, all you have to do is dismiss them. Those coins will make a nice severance package.”

At those words, Sedes’s expression stiffened.

“…So the treasure hunt was just an excuse from the very beginning.”