How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 69

All the children who had been chattering turned their attention toward the door. The guards’ headquarters had never been the scene of such a commotion before, so tension spread across their faces.

“Haah……”

Unlike the other children, Nihil immediately understood what was happening and let out a deep sigh.

Rianus tilted his head and asked him, “Did something happen?”

“…Dinner.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Let’s go.”

“W-wait, we can leave?”

Without further delay, Nihil opened the door. The curious children promptly followed him outside.

The guards’ headquarters was in complete disarray.

“Catch it! Catch it!”

“W-what is that?! Don’t come this way!”

“It’s going over there!”

“Don’t let it get away!”

Pigeon feathers were flying everywhere inside the building.

When Nihil turned toward the guard he had entrusted with the bird, the man flinched upon meeting his gaze.

“H-ha ha… Sorry, kid. I didn’t know it was still alive— Aaaagh!”

The guard hurriedly tried to explain himself, only to shriek in horror as the pigeon swooped at him. He frantically waved his hands to fend it off.

“……”

Nihil narrowed his eyes in exasperation. The children, who had no idea what was going on, watched from a short distance away, following the pigeon with a mixture of fear and fascination as it darted around wildly.

“Hey, guard.”

A low, composed voice for a child rang through the noisy headquarters, bringing a moment of silence. Even amid all the commotion, the boy’s voice drew everyone’s attention.

“Y-yes?”

“I told you not to lose it because it’s our dinner.”

“W-well, I haven’t lost it yet, have I? I’ll catch it right away……”

The guard broke out in a cold sweat. The hood obscured the child’s eyes, but he couldn’t help feeling as though the boy were scolding him for being unable to catch a single pigeon.

Besides, the bird was probably precious food that the child had gone to considerable trouble to obtain. Losing it like this was simply unacceptable.

“Dinner?”

Rianus tilted his head at the mention of dinner.

Could that bird, which was frantically flying all over the guards’ headquarters, really be their dinner tonight?

“Did you bring that, Neil?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“The doggy caught it.”

“……”

Rianus felt a little sorry for Sir Evan, who had been treated like an actual dog without the slightest hesitation. However, Sir Evan called Nihil a wildcat, too, so Rianus couldn’t exactly take his side.

“Look out!”

Just then, the panicked pigeon charged straight at Rianus.

Bella quickly sprang out of Rianus’s arms and leaped forward. At last, she had a chance to carry out her duties as an escort knight properly. What a glorious moment!

“Myaaaack!”

However, the valiant cat ended up clinging to the back of a small head covered by a hood. Nihil had moved in front of Rianus even faster than Bella.

With the cat stuck to the back of his head, Nihil spoke in a low voice.

“Kitty.”

“Myaow?”

“I assigned you to protect him, but you’re far too slow. This won’t do.”

“Myaaaaaaang~!”

The cat continued clinging to Nihil’s head, scratching at him and wriggling in protest.

Bella felt terribly wronged. She wasn’t slow! The pretty young master was simply too fast. She’d finally had a chance to show off, and the pretty young master had ruined everything!

“Myaaaaaang! Myaaaow!”

“Don’t make excuses. Go stand facing the wall and reflect on your actions.”

“Myaaaang……”

The cat slid down Nihil’s head.

Bella’s claws nearly pulled Nihil’s hood off, but Rianus quickly caught it and pulled it back into place.

“Myaack!”

Afraid of being scolded even more, Bella hurried over to the wall and pretended to reflect on her behavior.

The children and guards stared at Nihil, speechless at the sight of him seemingly having a real conversation with a cat.

Actually, everyone’s attention had already been fixed on Nihil the moment he caught the flying pigeon with his bare hands.

In the ensuing silence, the only sound came from the pigeon dangling by the scruff of its neck in Nihil’s grasp, flapping frantically and scattering feathers everywhere.

Nihil frowned slightly at the bird, which simply refused to settle down, and tightened his grip.

Then came a chilling crunch, and true silence finally descended.

“……”

“……”

“…Is it dead?”

At Rianus’s cautious question, Nihil realized his mistake and quickly hid the pigeon’s body behind his back.

He had intended to kill it anyway, but slaughtering something in front of a young child like this probably wasn’t good for the child’s emotional well-being.

“Sorry.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay. I’m already used to seeing animal carcasses……”

“……”

Nihil scowled at those words. Rianus was still too young to have gone hunting, so it wasn’t hard to guess that he had become accustomed to seeing dead animals because someone had mistreated him.

Unaware that his friend was silently cursing whoever had done such a thing to him, Rianus approached the cat, who was still pretending to reflect by banging her head against the wall, and carefully picked her up.

“Big brother, Kitty tried really hard, too. Please forgive her.”

“Fine. Let’s go, Nerr.”

“Okay!”

Rianus promptly took his friend’s hand.

Nihil turned toward the guards, who had struggled to catch the pigeon, and spoke.

“You guys worked hard looking after the pigeon. Thanks.”

“…O-oh. Sure.”

“Still, why don’t you train a little harder instead of settling for your current level?”

“……”

The guards felt terribly aggrieved, but since the boy had a point, their shoulders slumped a little.

Besides, if they had actually lost the child’s precious dinner, they would have been too embarrassed and apologetic to hold their heads up.

Rianus giggled as he watched Nihil lecture even the guards.

“Big brother, don’t be too hard on them. Nobody got hurt, and the pigeon is safe—well, not exactly safe, but at least they caught it.”

Rianus glanced at the pigeon’s limp body dangling from Nihil’s hand, its neck bent at an unnatural angle.

So that was their dinner. He hadn’t expected Nihil to procure ingredients himself while they were out. Perhaps he had only brought back the bird Sir Evan caught so he wouldn’t be exposed as a liar, but……

 

***

 

“He’s following us.”

“Hm? Who is?”

Nihil clicked his tongue softly, sensing Dave trailing them while trying to keep his presence hidden.

Honestly, it didn’t matter whether Dave followed them or not, but wandering around the slums late at night could be dangerous. It seemed he would have to lose the boy completely and persuade him to give up and go home.

“Nerr, come here.”

After briefly explaining the situation to Rianus, Nihil headed into an alley. The moment they rounded a corner, he scooped Rianus up in one arm, stepped on something, and bounced upward several times before landing on the roof of a nearby house.

“Waaah—Mmph!”

Rianus let out a startled cry before clapping a hand over his own mouth. Then he looked up, only to nearly scream again in surprise.

Sir Evan was standing right in front of him.

The knight seemed equally shocked. He stared at Rianus—or rather, at Nihil—with an expression of utter disbelief.

Well, it was understandable. Anyone would be surprised to see a child hopping around with another child tucked under one arm. It would have been stranger if Evan hadn’t been startled.

Bella the cat came scrambling after them and let out an indignant cry.

Below, Dave hurried into the alley, having secretly followed them. Worried that they might be discovered, Rianus clung tightly to his friend.

Dave looked around the now-empty alley. When he confirmed that the two little boys were nowhere to be seen, he lowered his head in disappointment.

He was trudging back when a familiar group of boys swaggered toward him.

“What’s this, Dave? What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be at the guards’ headquarters today?”

“N-no. I, um, h-had something to do, so I came out……”

“Something to do? What could you possibly do besides beg for a living?”

The boy who appeared to be the group’s leader snickered and flicked Dave’s forehead with his finger.

Dave stumbled backward, but the other boys surrounded him, leaving him nowhere else to go.

“Who said you could wander around wherever you pleased without permission, huh?”

“S-sorry……”

“You’re not up to something, are you?”

“U-up to something? No, nothing like that.”

“Then why did you come out?”

“I had something to do……”

“I’m asking what that something is!”

Dave stammered that he had come out to look for someone, but the moment he offered his excuse, someone smacked him hard on the head.

“You’re not hanging around with kids from other gangs, are you?”

“N-no! Not another gang. They’re just kids from outside. I-I thought they might be useful, so I was going to recruit them into our gang.”

Dave had never even considered recruiting them, but he fumbled through the excuse anyway.

Kelvin, however, called him insolent and smacked him on the head again.

Dave shook his head, which was still ringing from the blow, and cursed his miserable life. Why had he followed those boys in the first place? What had he hoped to accomplish by doing so?

Just then, another boy’s voice rang out.

“Kelvin! Are you bullying kids again?!”

“Oh, look who it is! The busybody Yvonne! And stuttering Jane is here, too?”

Kelvin sneered at them, then jerked his chin at his gang, ordering them to surround the pair.

“Why don’t you just mind your own business instead of butting in and picking a fight?”

“Stop bullying the kids so much.”

“You’re the one who needs to stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. This is our gang’s business.”

Kelvin narrowed his eyes in irritation and curled his lip.

His group outnumbered them, so he considered giving that damn busybody a lesson. But then he noticed a bulge at Yvonne’s waist.

“…Damn it.”

Kelvin scowled and instinctively covered the long scar on his forearm. That crazy bastard had brought a kitchen knife again. No wonder the old scar suddenly seemed to ache.

Yvonne was dangerous enough with a kitchen knife. And the stuttering bastard wouldn’t just stand there and take a beating, either.

Kelvin glanced at Jane, who was a full head taller than him, clicked his tongue, and changed the subject.

“You think I don’t know you’ve been stealing my kids one by one? What, planning to take this bastard, too?”

“Don’t make me laugh. They run away because you’re such a lousy leader.”

“Run away? Seriously? I feed and house those little brats when they’d otherwise starve to death, and they don’t even know how to be grateful. Isn’t that right?”

Kelvin patted Dave’s head, which was bowed in fear, as if warning him that he’d better answer correctly if he knew what was good for him.

Dave was just about to nod timidly, having no other choice, when he spotted Neil, who had disappeared somewhere earlier.

Neil had apparently left behind the little brother he supposedly cared for so much and was standing alone a short distance away, watching them.

For some reason, Dave felt that Neil must not be allowed to catch Kelvin’s attention. He hurriedly mouthed a warning, telling the boy to run away.

But the fearless little brat simply walked toward them.

“Who’s that little kid? Never seen him before.”

Kelvin noticed Nihil and voiced his curiosity, then broke into a sly grin. Muttering something incomprehensible about finally getting to hunt a rabbit for the first time in a while, he approached the boy.

Sensing something was wrong, Yvonne quickly stepped in front of Kelvin.

“What are you planning to do to that little kid?”

“Damn it, Yvonne! Quit sticking your nose into everything and get lost. I’m not going to hit the brat. Besides, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been stealing our kids in the first place! …Hey, little guy. Aren’t you a good boy? Want to come with me? How about I give you this?”

Kelvin shoved Yvonne out of his way and pulled a piece of candy from his pocket. Waving it enticingly, he approached Nihil.

Feeling a sudden surge of unease, Dave hurriedly grabbed Kelvin around the waist and shouted,

“Neil! Run!”