How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 74

“You’re weak when it comes to little kids, aren’t you, Neil?”

Rianus murmured, thinking about Nihil’s behavior so far. He had even given a little girl named Brie some chocolate when handing over her medicine.

“That’s why I became friends with you.”

“……?”

Rianus tilted his head, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

Nihil deliberately curled his lips into a wide grin before continuing.

“If you’d been a grown adult, there’s no way I would’ve gone along with you.”

“……!”

“You were cute, so I just obediently followed you around.”

“H-how could you…!”

Nihil’s explanation seemed to shock Rianus so much that he looked as though he’d been struck. Then his eyes began to fill with tears.

“T-then, are you going to abandon me when I grow up?”

“…What?”

“D-don’t abandon me. I’ll try to stay cute even when I’m grown up.”

“What are you even…?”

Nihil stared blankly at Rianus, who was tearfully promising to try to stay cute. Then his shoulders began to shake as he broke into laughter.

“Pfft… R-Rian… you really… Pfft, h-hahaha! Ahahahahahaha!”

Rianus’s eyes widened as Nihil burst into laughter. It wasn’t as though Nihil was completely incapable of laughing, but this was the first time he had laughed so heartily.

The other children also turned to stare at Nihil, startled by the sudden burst of laughter.

Even as he heard the children whispering among themselves, Nihil continued laughing for quite some time before finally calming down.

“Haa…”

Wiping away the tears that had gathered from laughing so hard, Nihil raised the corners of his mouth languidly.

“…Are you done laughing?”

“Hmm, for now.”

“You’re going to laugh about it again later?”

“I think I’ll be laughing about this for a long, long time.”

“…Well… as long as you’re happy.”

Rianus had a bad feeling that he would be teased about this for years to come. Still, seeing Nihil laugh so heartily made the sacrifice feel worthwhile, so he simply smiled sheepishly and let it go.

…Of course, in the distant future, he would regret having let it go so easily.

 

***

 

“Hyunggg!”

Dan, whose happiness had reached its peak after receiving the meat, ran straight toward Yvonne, waving the piece in his hand.

“Dan, how could you actually accept that?!”

“Hyung gave it to me because I took my medicine properly. Dan ate yucky medicine to get it, so Dan didn’t do anything wrong. I was gonna eat it all by myself, but hyung works hard taking care of Dan, so I’ll give him a special bite. Here, say ah~”

“H-huh?”

Yvonne stared in bewilderment at the piece of meat being held up to his mouth. But when the irresistible aroma reached him, he eventually took a bite.

“……!”

“How is it? Yummy, right?”

Yvonne completely forgot that he was supposed to scold Dan and savored the juices and spices spreading through his mouth. Now he understood why Nerr had looked so serious while dumping seasonings into their pot.

Dan watched Yvonne eat, then took a big bite of his own and began bouncing on his feet, repeatedly exclaiming how delicious it was.

Just then, laughter suddenly rang out from the direction of Nerr’s campfire. The children were startled by the laughter, then even more surprised when they realized it was Neil laughing.

“W-why is he laughing?”

“So he can laugh like that, too.”

“He must be laughing because he heard Pan’s story.”

“Why does it always have to be me?! And Dan, stop sucking on that and throw it away already!”

Pan glared at Dan, who had finished eating the meat and was now sucking on the leg bone as though he intended to dissolve it with his saliva.

He was starving, delicious smells were wafting through the air, and the brat who had gotten him put on a fast was laughing merrily. He hated the whole situation.

Yvonne coaxed Dan while prying the bone from his tightly clenched hand, then gave him a bowl of stew.

Dan took a sip, his eyes sparkling, and began chattering excitedly that it was the best stew he had ever tasted.

It would still have tasted bland to Rianus, but for children who normally cooked without seasonings or spices, it was an entirely new world.

While eating his stew, Dave seemed to remember something. He gently rolled the stones he had tossed into the campfire with a twig. However, some of the stones crumbled apart, as though they had been clumps of compacted dirt.

“Why did we put stones in there? We can’t even eat them!”

“Dunno. Neil did it, so I copied him. There are stones in their campfire, too.”

“You’re reading meaning into every little thing they do!”

Pan snapped irritably and kicked away the stone Dave had been about to pick up, sending it flying. Dave merely shrugged and tossed another stone into the fire.

A little while later, the children had nearly finished their stew. With their stomachs full, they rubbed their bellies and chatted excitedly.

“Hyung, let’s ask him to catch pigeons for us every day!”

“Hmm, that’ll be difficult. Those two said they’re leaving Sharton tomorrow.”

“What? Then tell them to stay here!”

“Right! Let’s convince them not to leave!”

Before long, the children had gathered together and begun whispering about how to persuade Rianus and Nihil to stay. Unfortunately, there was hardly anything a bunch of beggars could offer to entice them.

“Let’s tell them we’ll treat them nicely…”

“But I’m a little scared of the one wearing the hood. Maybe we can persuade the one with the bandages instead?”

“I wonder why he wears his hood like that. He must not be able to see anything! I couldn’t stand it if I were him!”

“Maybe he has scars on his face that he doesn’t want anyone to see. His younger brother is covered in bandages, too.”

“Hmph. They must be incredibly ugly.”

Pan, who still disliked Nihil, joined the conversation and grumbled.

Dave, who knew what Nihil’s face looked like, snorted.

“They wear those things for a reason.”

Misunderstanding Dave’s words, Pan thought he had discovered Nihil’s weakness and sprang to his feet.

“What? Where are you going, Pan?”

“Wait here! I’m going to see just how pockmarked his face is!”

“What? Pan! Don’t do something you’ll regret! Get back here!”

Dave tried to stop him, but Pan had already dashed off. And while everyone was distracted for a moment, Dan toddled away after him.

“Dan, where are you going now?!”

Yvonne called out urgently, but it was no use.

As soon as Pan reached Nihil, who was sitting quietly, he roughly flipped back his hood.

The children held their breath, worried that Nihil would get angry after having his supposed flaw exposed. Fortunately, no shouting followed. Instead, they saw Pan freeze stiffly in place.

Dan, who had caught up with Pan, also paused for a moment before clinging to Nihil, just as he had when he went to ask for meat.

A little while later, Nerr suddenly shouted and pulled Dan away.

“…He’s not trying to steal the leftover meat, is he?”

Yvonne muttered anxiously.

Just then, Dan returned holding Pan’s hand. Pan seemed to have been practically dragged back by the little boy.

Dave clicked his tongue and shook his head at Pan, who looked somewhat dazed.

Unable to contain their curiosity, the children crowded around Dan.

“Dan, what did you do?”

“Did you see his face? What was he like?”

“I put my spit on hyung.”

“…Huh?”

“Why… would you do that?”

“The big sisters said whoever puts their spit on someone first gets to keep them!”

“……?”

The children looked perplexed, unable to understand what Dan meant.

Realizing what had happened, Dave muttered a sympathetic prayer for Nerr, who was probably thoroughly bewildered by now.

“…Poor Nerr. His hyung’s chastity has been stolen by little Dan.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“D-Dan, d-did you… k-kiss him or s-something?”

Jane stuttered even more than usual, apparently deeply shocked.

“Not a kiss. I licked him. He tasted like meat.”

He even licked his lips?!

“When Dan grows up, I’m gonna marry that hyung. I put my spit on him, so now he’s mine.”

“My goodness…”

Just then, Pan, who had been standing there in a daze, suddenly turned around and started toward Nihil.

“Pan, where are you going now?!”

“I wanna… do it too.”

“Do WHAT?!”

“P-Pan! N-no, y-you can’t!”

Pan muttered something outrageous in a dazed voice, and Yvonne grabbed him in horror.

Everyone except Yvonne and Jane burst into laughter, rolling around on the ground. Dan, who couldn’t understand why the older boys and girls were acting so strangely, just looked bewildered while holding Jane’s hand.

“Why are the big kids acting weird?”

At Dan’s question, Jane, who rarely spoke much because of his speech impediment, answered firmly.

“Dan, n-next time, d-don’t j-just k-kiss s-someone without p-permission.”

“But I didn’t kiss him.”

“A-anyway, d-don’t do a-anything like that. P-physical contact m-must always be done w-with permission.”

“Okay. Got it.”

After laughing for quite some time, the children grew curious about Nihil’s appearance and began asking questions.

“Was he really that pretty? Prettier than Marie?”

“Big Sis Marie is a person, though.”

“Uh… well, that’s true.”

“That hyung is a fairy.”

“…That pretty?”

“His eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky. He was really, really pretty.”

“Really?”

“He’s that beautiful? I want to go see him, too!”

“Me too! Me too!”

The children rushed over, eager to see Neil’s face. However, they failed to get past his younger brother’s impenetrable defenses and had to return empty-handed.

While the children grumbled about being unable to satisfy their curiosity, they noticed Nerr approaching.

“Why is he coming over? Is he angry?”

“That’s why you should’ve kept your voices down!”

“But we were curious!”

“Right! Pan was the one who messed up!”

“……”

Yvonne sighed at the bickering children before approaching Nerr.

“I’m sorry. The kids are immature.”

“It’s fine. My hyung doesn’t seem to care much, either… We’re leaving now, so I came to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving?”

“What?”

“Why are you leaving already?”

“At this hour?”

“Hyung, are you going?”

“W-where are y-you going?”

“It’s dangerous to walk around now!”

The children were startled by Nerr’s announcement and began speaking over one another.

Nerr shrugged and explained that they had only planned to stay for dinner. Then he placed a handkerchief wrapped around some heated stones and a bundle of tea leaves into Yvonne’s hands.

“These tea leaves help maintain body temperature. They taste… absolutely awful, but it gets cold at night, so drink them before bed. These are just heated stones. Dan has a fever, so don’t give him the tea leaves. Use these to keep him warm instead. And tell Dave… not to just pick up any random stones and put them in the fire. It might rain before dawn, so make sure everyone sleeps inside the warehouse. Pan shouldn’t go home tonight, either.”

“Don’t order me around!”

“Take care of yourselves. We’ll be going now.”

“W-wait. It’s dangerous to be out at this hour. Why don’t you rest here and leave tomorrow morning?”

“I appreciate the thought, but we have things to do, so we have to go.”

“T-then I’ll come with you.”

Dave, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke urgently.

“I came out here because I was planning to follow you in the first place. Let me come along, too. You’ve never been to Sharton before. I can show you the way.”

Rianus looked troubled by Dave’s insistence on accompanying them. He gathered his belongings and glanced toward Nihil, who was standing a little farther away.

Nihil, who had been listening to the conversation even from a distance, approached and spoke.

“Don’t follow us.”

“What? Why not?!”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

“It’s just as dangerous for you!”

“We’re not in danger.”

“W-well, maybe that’s true, but…”

“If something happens, protecting you on top of everything else would be a burden.”

“You don’t have to protect me!”

“……”

Nihil fell silent in thought. Even if he told Dave not to follow, the boy would probably sneak after them again.

He considered simply picking Rianus up and running off, but if Dave went wandering through the streets looking for them and something happened to him, that would only create more trouble.

“Then I’ll let you come if one of the bigger kids accompanies you as your guardian.”

“……”

Yvonne and Jane, who were relatively the “bigger kids,” exchanged uncertain glances. Could Nihil really have meant them?

Still, since they were the biggest ones the children could think of, everyone’s gaze eventually settled on Yvonne and Jane.

Jane was the first to speak.

“W-would it b-be okay if I c-came along?”

“Sure.”

“Wow! Thanks, Jane hyung!”

“N-no, it’s f-fine. I-I was w-worried, too.”

“If you have any weapons you can conceal, bring them. If not, bring a razor blade or something.”

The children grew a little tense when Nihil immediately told them to gather weapons, but they knew how dangerous Sharton Street could be at night. Without complaining, they collected whatever tools they could find.

Dave had a small pocketknife, but Jane didn’t have anything suitable. Yvonne handed him a kitchen knife he had been hiding at his waist, but Jane didn’t have the courage to use it, so he rummaged through the warehouse and found a small awl instead.

“…So make sure you come straight back as soon as you’re done!”

“…Haa…”

Even after they had finished preparing, Yvonne kept them there for quite some time, lecturing them. Nihil let out a deep sigh.