How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 78

Evan let out a hollow laugh of disbelief, and Nihil mumbled again.

“Don’t like me.”

“You were the one who asked me to like you!”

What the hell was he supposed to do?!

Evan couldn’t help but reasonably suspect that Nihil was only pretending to be drunk and playing another prank on him. The boy was unpredictable even when sober, but now that he was drunk, he was absolutely impossible to handle.

As Evan resolved never to let alcohol anywhere near the boy again, Nihil snuggled into his arms and mumbled.

“…Ni…ya… uh… forget…”

“Haah… You’re not a baby babbling, you know.”

“Not… a baby.”

“You… You’re going to regret this when you sober up. I’ll tease you about it for the rest of your life. I’ll whisper that I like you right beside you every single day.”

“It’s… okay… if you don’t like me… Just… Don’t hate me.”

“……”

At Nihil’s words, which made him sound as though his self-esteem had hit rock bottom, Evan cursed his own big mouth. He should have just left the boy alone to babble in peace.

Where had the arrogant, insolent wildcat gone? Why was all that remained of this miserable little thing?!

Act like you usually do! Just like you always do! Say something like, As if you could help but like me!

Alcohol was the devil.

Unable to bear the atmosphere any longer, Evan pulled the little kitten, who had been staring intently at Nihil the whole time, closer and held him too.

He was already beyond saving, but perhaps their adorable, lovable, magnificent little kitten could somehow turn this situation around.

Rianus wiped Nihil’s tears with his tiny hands, then hugged him tightly as if he were a teddy bear, whispering over and over that he liked him. Fortunately, the little kitten’s healing powers seemed to work, and Nihil’s tears gradually subsided.

“Fire… don’t like it.”

“That’s right, that’s right. You don’t like fire.”

Evan patted Nihil and decided to humor his renewed babbling with vague responses.

What was going to happen to their precious little kitten’s perilous field trip now? Could he just sling the boy over his shoulder and return to the palace?

Just as Evan began to wonder whether ending the field trip early might actually be a good thing, the owner arrived with their food and noticed Nihil’s slightly displaced hood. He let out a low whistle.

“……”

CRACK.

Evan tore off a corner of the table and tossed it onto the empty tray as payment for the meal. He was already in a foul mood, and having some criminal run his mouth on top of everything else was infuriating.

The faint killing intent that Evan unconsciously let slip sent the owner scurrying away. Rianus and Jane, who were sitting right beside him, flinched, but the drunken wildcat didn’t seem affected in the slightest. He continued mumbling.

“Fire hurts too much.”

“Of couuurse. Getting burned hurts.”

“Don’t like pain.”

“That’s right. Our little wildcat doesn’t like being hurt, does he?”

“So…”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“Kill me without hurting me.”

…What?

Evan’s hand, which had been absentmindedly patting Nihil, suddenly stopped.

For a moment, he wondered if he had heard wrong. But apparently not, because Rianus and Jane were staring at Nihil, frozen in place as well.

Dave had been watching Evan nervously while sneaking a few chicken skewers. Either he hadn’t heard anything or hadn’t understood it, because he merely tilted his head with a skewer in his mouth.

“You… What kind of drunken nonsense is this…?”

“Without hurting me…”

“W-Wait! Stop, stop that! I’m sorry. I was wrong! Why the hell would I kill you?!”

Horrified, Evan clapped a hand over Nihil’s mouth. It was the first time in his life that he had ever resented the person who invented beer.

The wildcat tilted his head, seemingly unaware of Doggy’s distress.

“…You’re not going to kill me?”

“I’m not!”

“…Thank you.”

“……”

With those words, the wildcat promptly fell into a deep sleep. Evan rubbed his face, now feeling as though he might cry himself.

After staring quietly at the sleeping Nihil, Rianus spoke.

“Big brother.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Have you ever threatened Neil when I wasn’t around?”

“Wha—? No, no, no! Wh-Why would you think that?”

Evan was so taken aback by the question that he almost slipped into formal speech before managing to correct himself. It wasn’t easy to speak casually to his own master.

Of course, when he’d first met the boy, he’d made a very slight attempt at threatening him. And really, who wouldn’t? The brat had been incredibly disrespectful despite having a prince right in front of him.

But rather than threatening Nihil—or even managing to intimidate him in the slightest—Evan had ended up being the one toyed with.

Besides, this was the sort of boy who wouldn’t bat an eye even if the king of an entire nation were sitting right in front of him. He’d probably call the man “Father” without a second thought. What chance did a knight—or rather, some mere Doggy—have of intimidating him?

“You know he wouldn’t be the sort to listen to threats, righ— Ah.”

“That’s true.”

Rianus nodded in agreement. It was true that his dear friend wouldn’t be swayed by threats, and it was equally unlikely that Sir Evan would have threatened him with death. At most, he might have said something like, I’ll throw you out if you keep being rude.

Rianus decided not to ask any more questions. There were probably things he was better off not knowing. For his own sake, and for his dear friend’s, it was best to leave the matter alone.

“Is Neil asleep?”

Ever since learning that the bear-like man was Neil and Shel’s big brother, Dave had felt a little more at ease. While picking up a French fry, he asked the question.

When Neil had suddenly gulped down the beer, when his “big brother” had appeared, and when Neil had started crying because his big brother said he didn’t like him, Dave had genuinely thought something terrible was about to happen.

But unexpectedly, the big brother had tried hard to comfort Neil.

Though, in the end, it seemed to have been his little brother, Shel, who actually managed to soothe him.

Brother Jane still looked tense, but the chicken skewers were really delicious.

Evan looked at Dave, who had French fries in his mouth and chicken sauce smeared across his face, and replied with a troubled expression.

“He’s just a little drunk, so don’t worry about it. You can order more food if there’s anything else you want, but… are you sure you should?”

“Huh? Sure about what?”

“…There’s probably a reason this brat has been limiting how much meat you can eat.”

“Oh…”

“If you end up with stomach trouble and shit yourself from both ends, don’t come crying to me.”

At Evan’s brutally blunt warning, Dave hesitantly lowered his French fry. But perhaps he thought it was already too late, or perhaps he simply couldn’t give up. Either way, he soon sneaked another one into his mouth.

Evan emptied another mug of the very beer that had caused all this trouble. Then he pushed a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes toward Jane, who hadn’t touched a thing.

“Are you not going to eat?”

“I-I’m f-fine.”

“Eat while you can. I know you’ve ended up going through a lot of trouble because of that wildcat.”

“I-I was the one who v-volunteered to c-come. A-And I know t-that what these k-kids are trying to do is h-help the children h-here. I-I want to help, too.”

“Is that so?”

Evan gave a noncommittal reply, then smiled contentedly as he spoon-fed scrambled eggs to Rianus, who was fiddling with Nihil’s hand.

Rianus obediently accepted each bite, but perhaps he was bored, because he kept poking and pestering Nihil.

Dave turned toward Rianus, who seemed oddly anxious.

“Shel, Neil will be fine.”

“Mm.”

“But aren’t you bothering him too much?”

“I want him to wake up…”

“But if he’s not waking up even after all that…”

“No… If I wake him up, he’ll get up.”

At Dave’s words, Rianus pouted, looking upset about something.

Since his master came first, Evan decided to try waking Nihil himself. He stretched the boy’s cheek out to the side.

As expected, there was no reaction whatsoever.

The boys watching him each had something to say.

“Big brother, aren’t you being too harsh on Neil?”

“Y-Yeah. D-Don’t bother him while he’s s-sleeping.”

“……”

Evan had somehow become the sort of big brother who bullied sleeping children. He considered whether he should defend himself, then quietly lowered his hand.

Meanwhile, Rianus seemed disappointed that Nihil wouldn’t wake up. After thinking for a moment, he whispered softly.

“Nei-il, I’m bo-o-red…”

“Haha, Shel, if you call him that quietly, he’ll wake up— Yes, sir.”

Dave hurriedly changed his words when he saw Nihil’s fingers twitch.

Evan let out a hollow laugh of disbelief. At this point, it almost seemed as though the boy had been pretending to sleep from the very beginning.

“Neil!”

“…Mm.”

Nihil straightened up from where he had been leaning. He sat dazedly for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“Was I… asleep?”

“U-Um, I guess the beer didn’t agree with you.”

“How lo-ong?”

“Not long. About five to ten minutes…?”

“I’m sorry…”

“H-Huh? Why are you sorry, Neil?”

“I… didn’t know I’d get drunk.”

Even as Nihil spoke, he seemed somewhat confused, as though he had simply assumed that getting drunk was impossible for him.

Rianus smiled brightly and assured him that it was fine because he had woken up so quickly.

Jane, who had been quietly watching, handed Nihil a glass of water and spoke.

“N-Next time, you sh-should be more c-careful.”

“Haha, exactly. What gave you such confidence that you could drink that much when you’re so tiny?”

After gulping down the water, Nihil seemed to regain some of his composure. He lightly wiped his face and asked in his usual calm voice, as though he had never been drunk at all.

“Sorry. I must have misjudged my body’s condition. Did I get violent or anything?”

“Vio-lent? Ahahaha! You cried.”

“…I cried?”

At the mention of crying, Nihil’s expression stiffened. He had never been drunk before, so it had never occurred to him that his drunken behavior might involve crying. He was thoroughly bewildered. Worse, even though it had only been a brief period, there was a gap in his memory.

It was probably largely because his body hadn’t fully recovered and he hadn’t been getting enough deep sleep.

When he’d been wandering around, there had been nothing he needed to protect, so he could simply sleep whenever he was tired. But ever since entering the palace, he hadn’t been able to sleep deeply because he was adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. On top of that, he had been terribly busy taking care of a child.

Nihil sighed inwardly, finding it difficult to adjust to his pathetically weak body. But Dave, who knew nothing of his complicated feelings, giggled and continued.

“Yeah, you curled up in Big Brother’s arms and cried.”

“……”

At that, Nihil gazed silently up at Evan.

Uncomfortable beneath that stare, Evan pressed down on Nihil’s head with one thick finger.

“Neil, don’t worry. You only cried for a little while, then fell asleep right away. Oh, want to eat this?”

Rianus hurriedly moved the glass Nihil had been drinking from aside, pulled the plate of scrambled eggs closer, scooped up a spoonful, and fed it to him.

Nihil obediently accepted the food while observing the others. He couldn’t detect any significant change in Dave, but Doggy was unusually quiet, Jane seemed a little stiff, and Rianus was obviously trying to avoid the subject.

“I must have said something ridiculous.”

“Hm? What?”

“Never mind. Does your head hurt at all?”

“Why would my head hurt? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Have you noticed any gaps in your memory, or felt some inexplicable discomfort…?”

“Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Neil.”

“I see. Then… I suppose it wasn’t anything important.”

“…It wasn’t important?”

Rianus’s face stiffened before he quickly forced a bright smile.

“Um, I guess not. You were mumbling, so I couldn’t really hear you. Neil, are you hungry? You barely ate anything.”

“I’m fine. But who ate all the snacks?”

“Dave ate almost everything by himself!”

Rianus immediately tattled on him.

In the short time Nihil had been drunk and asleep, Dave had devoured nearly all the food. Feeling guilty for no particular reason, he nervously watched Nihil’s reaction.

Nihil gave Dave, who had sauce smeared around his mouth, a look of utter disbelief. Then he let out a deep sigh, turned around, and rummaged through Evan’s bag.

Evan held the bag open to make it easier for Nihil to search. At the same time, he discreetly lifted the boy’s hood, took hold of his face with one hand, and turned it from side to side.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“You certainly look at it.”

Evan stared into Nihil’s clear, focused eyes for a moment before letting go of his face.

It was the same old wildcat as always: expressionless, arrogant, and insolent.