How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 61

“Your king has arrived!”

Pan shouted loudly as he shoved open the warehouse door. Its twisted hinges let out a loud creak, as though they might break at any moment.

“Pan brother is here! brother! Your nose is bleeding!”

A child who looked no older than five made a fuss about Pan’s nosebleed as soon as he saw him enter.

Annoyed by the remark, Pan vigorously rubbed the area beneath his nose. He had gotten the nosebleed when that suspicious little hooded brat tripped him.

He had wiped it off as best he could, but apparently some blood remained.

“Damn it, you think someone hit me or something?”

“Then what happened?”

Pan couldn’t exactly admit that he had tried to steal a little kid’s bag and tripped over his own feet, so he gave a vague answer.

His stomach, where his father had beaten him earlier, throbbed painfully. Once he grew a little older and stronger, he would definitely get his revenge.

Dan stared intently at Pan’s grimacing face before speaking up.

“Yvonne brother! I think Pan’s brother is hurt!”

“Hey, Dan! Shut up!”

Pan hurriedly covered Dan’s mouth, but the boy called Yvonne had been preparing ingredients. He stopped what he was doing, approached Pan, and frowned at his face, which looked as though he were trying to endure the pain.

“Pan, did that man hit you again?”

“Hmph. There’s no need to make such a fuss. Do you think I’d lose to that old geezer?”

“You didn’t get beaten even worse because you fought back, did you?”

“No. I just… got hit a little. Just a little.”

Yvonne wiped away the remaining blood beneath Pan’s nose and gently urged him to run away next time instead of fighting back.

Looking at the older boy, their leader, who was genuinely worried about him, Pan spoke dejectedly.

“…Brother, I’m sorry. They took all the food I managed to get today.”

“The food’s fine. Lily brought back some meat. But are you all right where you were hit?”

“……Yeah.”

“Pan, don’t worry too much. The kids brought back some bread. Some… bandages and a hood—um, actually, some kids gave them to us. And Jane might bring back food, too.”

“Mm…”

“I was worried because you were taking so long. There have been unsettling rumors lately about children disappearing, too…”

“Hmph, what’s there to worry about? Do you know who I am?”

Pan answered gruffly, feeling guilty about returning empty-handed. His stomach throbbed for no good reason.

 

***

 

Sensing someone approaching, Nihil pulled Rianus along and shifted them slightly to the side.

Soon, a tall, skinny boy entered the warehouse. He was the same boy who had been watching them from the alley when they bought the potatoes.

Judging by the children’s conversation, it seemed the vegetable seller had kindly given them some potatoes.

“I should make sure those people at the market are properly rewarded later.”

Rianus murmured to himself. Apparently, the market vendors were turning a blind eye to the children’s petty thefts to some extent.

They were probably able to survive thanks to those people. He would make sure they were rewarded appropriately.

“Let’s go, Nerr.”

Nihil helped Rianus up. The boy had been squatting nearby, listening to the children’s conversation with great interest.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s almost lunchtime, so we should get something to eat and look around Sharton Street. We can’t spend all our time following these kids.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But… were we that noticeable?”

Rianus glanced at Nihil uncertainly.

The children had repeatedly mentioned a “hooded brat” and a “bandaged brat” during their conversation.

There was nothing good about standing out, so Rianus wondered whether he had been acting too thoughtlessly and felt a little regretful.

He had been the one who wanted to share the bread. He had also been the one who insisted they hadn’t done anything wrong when Nihil quietly warned him that the guards were coming. And in a way, buying the potatoes had also been an exercise meant to help him, since he knew so little about the world.

“Don’t worry, Nerr. What they remember is a couple of clueless kids who seem new to the streets, not a prince and his friend. You can just do whatever you want. More importantly, I’m concerned about the rumors that children are disappearing. After lunch, let’s check out the guards’ headquarters, too.”

“Okay!”

Rianus answered brightly, suppressing his excitement as his heart pounded at the thought that their adventure wasn’t over yet. He hurried after Nihil, who had already started walking ahead.

But Nihil had barely taken a few steps before he knelt on one knee.

Rianus was startled and was about to ask if something was wrong when Nihil spoke first.

“Come on. Get on my back.”

“Oh…”

“Hurry.”

“…Do I really… have to?”

“Would you rather be carried in my arms?”

“……”

“Your legs must be tired. Come on.”

“N-No. They’re not that tired.”

Rianus’s eyes widened as he tried to deny that his legs hurt, but Nihil had no intention of backing down and continued urging him to hurry.

“You won’t be able to do this once we’re out on the streets. We’ll be walking around all day, so you should rest your legs while you can.”

“B-But won’t you get tired, Neil?”

“You’re light, so it’s fine. Besides, I like holding or carrying things.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s true.”

When Rianus still refused to climb onto his back, Nihil gave up and simply picked him up in his arms before setting off.

Rianus had once again ended up being held like a baby. His body was comfortable, but he felt awkward about it, so he kept squirming.

“Nerr, I’m not going to put you down anyway, so stay still.”

“But…”

“I told you. I like it.”

“……!”

The statement was far too easy to misunderstand. Rianus grew flustered, his pupils trembling. Then, seeing Nihil’s shoulders shaking slightly, he started smacking his back.

“Neil! Stop teasing me!”

“Pfft—y-yeah…”

Evan, who had been watching them, finally couldn’t take it anymore and stepped in front of the children.

He glared at Nihil as though he were looking at a thief, then held out his hand expectantly, demanding that Nihil hand the prince over.

But Nihil had no intention of surrendering Rianus so easily. Instead, he tightened his hold on the prince and walked right past Evan, who was blocking the way.

“Neil, why are you—huh? Sir Evan, when did you get here?”

“I just arrived. Hand him over, you wildcat.”

“No.”

“Hah.”

At Nihil’s firm refusal, Evan raised one corner of his mouth in disbelief.

And so began a battle of wills between the one trying to take Rianus and the one refusing to give him up. Nihil dodged Evan’s hands and darted away without even caring that his hood had slipped off.

Bella, who appeared behind them, giggled as she watched their little contest. Only Rianus, still nestled in Nihil’s arms, looked utterly bewildered.

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for our young master if I carried him instead of you?”

“……”

No matter how securely Nihil held the prince, they were too similar in size. It would be uncomfortable for both the person carrying him and the one being carried.

Wouldn’t our little kitten be more comfortable riding on a big dog’s back than being bitten by a wildcat of roughly the same size and dragged around?

Nihil wasn’t unaware of that fact, either. In the end, Evan emerged victorious.

As the warmth that had filled his arms disappeared, Nihil looked down at his empty hands, feeling a faint sense of loss.

Evan had taken Rianus away and was about to stride off triumphantly when he noticed Nihil’s expression and stopped.

For some reason, he felt as though he had gone all out to win a game against a little kid, only to steal the child’s sole toy afterward. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

Come to think of it, there had been no reason to fight so hard over the prince in the first place. They could simply carry both children.

The only reason he hadn’t thought of that from the start was undoubtedly that the wildcat had provoked him.

Evan glanced down at Nihil following behind him. He had never been able to tell what the boy was thinking, even under normal circumstances, but with his hood on, he was even more inscrutable.

Unlike Evan, who was feeling increasingly guilty, Bella had simply watched the whole thing unfold. Unable to contain her excitement at the prospect of teasing the adorable loser, she spoke playfully.

“Oh, beautiful young master, what will you do now that someone’s stolen your adorable young master from you~? Would you like to carry the cutest, most precious little kitty in the whole world instead?”

“……Yeah.”

“Ah, of course you would—wait, what?”

Bella had expected him to say something like I don’t need one or Forget it. She had been about to respond accordingly when his completely unexpected answer left her gaping.

Naturally, she had never had good intentions. She had started teasing him precisely because she wanted to see the usually proud and unflappable Nihil sulk or get irritated. But she certainly hadn’t intended for things to turn out this way.

Evan was equally taken aback. Only then did he realize that Nihil’s earlier claim about liking to hold or carry things hadn’t merely been something he’d said to humor the prince.

While Evan’s eyes trembled in dismay at the feeling that he had stolen a child’s toy, Nihil tilted his head slightly at Bella, who stood frozen and speechless, and slowly opened his mouth.

“…Were you just saying that?”

“W-What? No! Of course not!”

Prompted by Nihil’s not-quite-a-prompt, Bella snapped out of her daze, quickly transformed into a cat, and leaped straight into his arms.

Nihil seemed somewhat satisfied by the little warmth against his chest and the rhythmic thumping of a tiny heart. A faint smile touched his lips.

Watching this, Evan finally gave in to his guilt. He picked Nihil up with his remaining arm and asked in a deliberately sarcastic tone,

“If you like carrying things so much, should I get you a teddy bear or something?”

“Oh! Neil, do you like teddy bears?”

“Meeeeow~”

All three of them offered suggestions, thinking about whether they should give Nihil a stuffed animal as a present. But Nihil’s response was indifferent.

“I’m not interested in dead things.”

“……?”

“But I’d like a teddy bear with a beating heart.”

“Where would you even find something like that…?”

“The warmth of living things is like a drug.”

That was why he kept craving it, even though he knew it would eventually grow cold.

As he spoke, Nihil gently stroked the forehead of the cat in his arms. The cat looked up at him, its pupils trembling violently.

Evan wanted to break the heavy silence, but Nihil’s expressionless face was no different from usual, and yet somehow it looked terribly sad. Evan simply couldn’t bring himself to speak.

He hoped the oblivious prince would say something, anything, but strangely enough, even Rianus was quiet.

Bella, the cat in Nihil’s arms, darted her eyes around before finally giving up and meowing like an ordinary cat.

Nihil murmured,

“That child used to run straight into my arms whenever I held them out…”

Do children these days not like being held as much?

Nihil thought to himself, clicking his tongue regretfully. The other two, feeling strangely guilty and misinterpreting the atmosphere, watched him anxiously.

Bella was a free spirit who couldn’t stand the suffocating silence. In the end, she decided to do something about it.

“Mrrrow.”

The adorable cat, who had been rubbing against him and marking him with her scent, gently kissed the cheek of the small, soft child.

The beautiful black eyes gazed at the cat for a moment before their light faded and disappeared.