How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 77

The boys were startled. Afraid they might accidentally make eye contact with the man, they quickly lowered their heads and whispered to each other.

“W-What is it? Why do we keep running into that guy?”

“M-Maybe he c-couldn’t find the k-kids, so he j-just came back here?”

The man swept his gaze around the restaurant, which had fallen silent at his appearance, then called out to the owner.

“Hey, boss. Are you closed?”

“N-No, we’re still open. Just take any empty seat.”

“Anywhere, huh? Now, where should I sit… Oh, look at that. There are some cute little brats over there. I think I’ll sit at the table next to them. That’s much better than sitting beside those stinky old men. I was in a pretty foul mood after losing a cute little baby rabbit, you see… Hey, fellas. Mind giving up your seats?”

Using the children as an excuse, the man subtly intimidated the customers sitting at the table closest to the boys.

The customers, who looked considerably older than the man, seemed ready to protest when he threatened them. But when he casually crushed the edge of their table with his bare hands, displaying terrifying grip strength, they promptly shut their mouths and hurried to move elsewhere.

“Oh, what kind gentlemen! Boss, bring me a beer and one of your most popular dishes.”

“Y-Yes, of course.”

Even on Sharton Street, a place filled with the most vicious people imaginable, the bear-like man stood out.

The boys wondered how they could escape with the little ones, but surprisingly, the man didn’t even glance in their direction.

Then the food arrived. Spicy chicken skewers, crispy French fries, nicely grilled dried fish, and finally…

BANG!

“If you start acting drunk, I’ll throw you out immediately!”

Two hefty mugs of beer were slammed onto the table.

“Y-Yes, sir…”

“……”

The boys, who had never tried alcohol before, stared blankly at the beer mugs, each one nearly as big as their heads.

They could drink if they were told to, but if they had low alcohol tolerance, the little ones might end up in danger. Besides, they knew that drunk adults were loud, aggressive, and downright disgusting.

Dave whispered.

“Brother Jane, have you ever drunk alcohol?”

“N-No.”

“…What do we do?”

“……”

Watching the boys whisper among themselves, Nihil let out a deep sigh. He had expected beer to be served, but he hadn’t anticipated mugs this enormous.

Nihil put his mind to work.

He could drink one mug, complain that it was too heavy, and spill it. As for the other one… Perhaps he could pretend to get drunk and knock it over.

Having finished his calculations, Nihil lifted the beer mug, which was larger than his head, and immediately brought it to his lips.

He hadn’t particularly enjoyed beer even in the past, so when the smell of fermented barley reached his nose, his eyebrows instinctively furrowed. But rather than hesitate and savor the smell of beer, it was better to get it down his throat as quickly as possible. So he simply gulped it down.

“W-Wait…!”

The startled boys hurriedly reached out to stop him, but the bear-like man was faster. He approached and snatched the mug from Nihil’s hands.

The beer, of which barely any had been consumed, was taken away and slammed back onto the table.

“Oh, you little— Damn it, kid, aren’t you too young to be drinking?”

The man spoke through clenched teeth, looking furious about something.

Startled by his sudden appearance, the boys froze stiffly with their hands still outstretched.

“…It tastes bad.”

“Yeeah, I bet it does.”

Whether he didn’t notice the boys’ tension or simply ignored it, the man dragged his chair over and sat right beside them before calling out to the owner.

“Hey, boss, bring my food over here. And add some soft, fluffy egg dishes that these absolutely adorable little baby rabbits can eat.”

After cheerfully adding more food to the order, the man turned toward the boys.

Jane and Dave were flustered at the thought that he intended to join them properly, yet they trembled under the pressure of his imposing presence.

The other customers, who had been sitting at separate tables, glanced over at the commotion. But they were so intimidated by the man’s presence that they quickly turned away.

Fortunately, perhaps because they had already started drinking, they soon lost interest and resumed their noisy conversations.

“Now, young lads, I understand that you want to grow up quickly, but I’ll drink the beer on your behalf. That’s all right?”

“Y-Yes? Y-Yes…”

Without even waiting for their answer, the man downed one of the mugs in a single gulp and slammed it onto the table.

“Ahhh! Damn that wildcat. I felt like my insides were on fire, but now I’m feeling much better.”

“……”

By this point, the boys were so curious about what that blasted wildcat had done to the man that they almost wanted to ask.

Perhaps it was a monster that took the form of a wildcat. If it was a monster even this bear-like man couldn’t handle, it had to be incredibly powerful.

The boys were thoroughly frightened, silently praying that the man would just leave. Then, all of a sudden, he lowered his voice and quietly called out to the wildcat.

“Wildcat.”

The boys wondered how they were supposed to react to the man’s sudden attempt to summon a wildcat.

Dave had no idea where the damn wildcat was, but if he could, he would gladly catch it and hand it over to the man right now. Maybe then the man would take the wretched creature away and leave.

But, unexpectedly, before the boys could react, the wildcat answered first.

“…What?”

Bewilderment spread across the boys’ faces. With a sinking feeling, they looked back and forth between Nihil and the man.

Without moving his lips much, the man clenched his teeth and muttered under his breath.

“Why the hell are you drinking that?”

“…I can’t exactly make the kids drink it.”

“……”

“I was going to drink just a little and spill the rest…”

“……”

“I swear.”

As Nihil offered what could hardly be called an excuse, Evan sighed and rubbed his face with a dry hand. Meanwhile, their precious little kitten seemed delighted to see Doggy and was beaming happily beside them.

Evan lifted the adorable little kitten onto his lap and stroked his head. Then, unable to withstand the kitten’s unwavering gaze as he silently asked why his dear friend wasn’t being held too, Evan finally pulled the damned wildcat onto his lap as well.

The boys watched in a daze. Jane opened and closed his mouth for a long moment before finally managing to speak.

“…N-Neil, c-could I ask w-who you are?”

At Jane’s hesitant question, Nihil stared at Evan. Then, without giving it much thought, he casually opened his mouth.

“Doggy.”

“……”

“……”

Veins bulged on Evan’s hand. Just before he could smack Nihil on the back of the head, Rianus hurriedly stepped in to correct him.

“N-No, he’s my big brother.”

“……”

Evan slowly lowered the hand he had raised. Since he had become the big brother of the cutest, most adorable prince in the world, he decided to exercise patience one more time.

Then he met Nihil’s eyes, and his face twisted again.

Seeing Evan’s sour expression, Nihil added another remark.

“He doesn’t like me much.”

“Ah…”

The boys sighed in unison. After seeing how the man had acted as though he had a personal grudge against the wildcat, they concluded that Neil and his big brother probably weren’t on very good terms.

Dave hurriedly took back his earlier wish to catch the wildcat and hand it over. There was no way he could let them capture Neil. Not that he could catch him in the first place.

Evan, noticing the boys’ peculiar gazes, panicked and found himself making excuses.

“Y-You! Why would you put it like that…? When did I ever say I didn’t like you?!”

“Then do you like me?”

“Are you crazy?”

“……”

At that cold reply, Nihil lowered his head.

When the children looked at Nihil with pity, Evan grumbled.

“Haah, you damned wildcat. Quit messing around. And you kids, don’t fall for it either. He’s just messing with people. You have no idea how much this guy loves to play pranks… Huh?”

Evan was in the middle of exposing the truth about the mischievous wildcat when he felt something lukewarm splatter onto the back of his hand. Startled, he looked down.

Drops of liquid, presumably tears, were falling onto his rough hand.

“Y-You… Are you crying?”

Evan was confused. What if it wasn’t tears, but saliva? Surely the angry wildcat hadn’t just spat all over him…

“Why… won’t you like me?”

The wildcat mumbled so quietly that Evan could barely hear him.

Evan had to rack his brain to figure out whether this was yet another one of Nihil’s tricks.

He had no idea why the boy was suddenly acting like this, but he needed to defuse the situation. So he waved a hand at the boys, who were staring intently at him and the wildcat, and told them to eat their food.

Then he sensed other people’s gazes. As if threatening him, he dragged Jane’s chair over and pulled the boy close beside him. To anyone who didn’t know them, it would look as though the man were threatening the boys and trying to steal their little “rabbits.”

Using Jane’s thin frame to block the view of others, Evan discreetly lifted the wildcat’s hood.

Tears were streaming from those large, clear eyes.

Jane, who had never seen Nihil’s face before, flinched and drew in a sharp breath. Then he hurriedly pressed himself closer to Evan, helping conceal Nihil’s face from everyone else.

Overwhelmed by confusion, Evan wondered whether these were genuine tears or some kind of eye-generated saliva. Then, cautiously, he called out to the boy.

“Wildcat…?”

The ash powder Nihil had smeared over his eyelashes to make them look dirty was gradually dissolving.

If things continued like this, he would end up looking even messier, and the powder might get into his eyes. Evan quickly dampened a handkerchief with water and wiped the boy’s face.

Under the night sky, where a pure-white crescent moon seemed to have descended, Nihil gazed up at Evan with tear-filled eyes.

His face was warm, too. Surely he couldn’t be…

“…Are you… drunk?”

“……”

No, seriously? Since when? How much had he even drunk?

“Like me too…”

“Haah, I’m going insane.”

Evan genuinely felt like he was about to lose his mind at the wildcat’s whining.

He had no idea why someone who was immune to most medicines wasn’t immune to alcohol. Then again, perhaps Nihil himself hadn’t known. If he had, he wouldn’t have drunk it.

Evan was rubbing his face, wondering what on earth to do with this troublesome brat, when he suddenly felt a light thump against his abdomen.

Thinking the wildcat was hitting him out of anger, he looked down. But it was their precious little kitten, tearfully delivering a soft little punch with his tiny paw.

“Big brother made Neil cry!”

“Ah…”

“Big brother is mean! Apologize right now!”

“I’m s-sorry— No, I mean, I’m sorry. D-Don’t cry…”

“Don’t apologize to me! Apologize to Neil! Tell him you like him, right now!”

As the little paws pounded against him, Evan broke out in a cold sweat. He had absolutely no idea how to comfort a crying cat.

How on earth had things come to this?!

It was all his fault for not stopping the wildcat from drinking sooner.

Evan figured that he had to comfort the wildcat first if he wanted the little kitten to stop crying. So he carefully lifted Nihil and held him close.

The wildcat sat in his arms without resisting, staring blankly ahead. He didn’t sniffle or scrunch up his face. He simply continued shedding endless tears, his expression completely blank.

Now his eyes had even begun to lose focus, making it impossible to tell what he was looking at.

He looked as though he had already given up, or perhaps like a doll devoid of emotion. The sight stirred up an indescribable feeling in Evan’s chest.

Patting Nihil gently, Evan spoke.

“Wildcat, I like you, so stop crying.”

“I don’t need it.”

“……”

You little brat…!