How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 86

After struggling for quite a while, Evan eventually gave up and began tearing away the roof around the entrance with his bare hands, bit by bit.

“You shouldn’t just tear apart someone else’s roof like that.”

“Shut up.”

“It looks like the knights are trying to climb up through the ventilation duct, so hurry up and get out.”

At the mention of the knights, Evan’s face twisted into a scowl, and his irritation flared again. Even if he was going to get caught, he didn’t want to be caught looking like this.

“Damn it! You should’ve told me something like that earlier!”

“Well, it would take them a while to crawl through that passage while wearing their armor, wouldn’t it?”

“Ugh! I swear, I shouldn’t even bother talking to you!”

Evan finally gave up arguing, tore away more of the roof, and climbed out.

Looking down, he saw the Royal Knights spread out all over the place.

No matter how talented Evan was, escaping without being spotted by that many knights was absolutely impossible.

A rather chilly gust of wind swept past, blowing the children’s hoods off their heads.

For some reason, Nihil had his eyes closed. Rianus watched him, and when another strong gust of wind blew by, he hurriedly pulled Nihil’s hood back over his head.

Nihil quietly opened his eyes and spoke.

“It’s chilly.”

Hearing Nihil complain about the cold, Evan gathered both children into his arms, wrapped them in his clothes, and sneered.

“Why didn’t you eat that disgusting medicinal herb, then?”

“If I ate it, it would be harder to predict the weather. Shel, it’s going to rain as planned. What do you want to do?”

“Hmm…”

Rianus thought back over the incredibly long day he had just experienced. He had woken up at dawn, explored the market, and talked with many children his own age at the guard station and their hideout.

He had eaten potatoes and meat roasted over a campfire, been sold to a gambling den, and finally managed to escape.

It had been a day without a single moment to rest.

He wanted to stay overnight as originally planned and spend more time talking with the other children. However, he knew that Nihil and Sir Evan would inevitably have to go through a lot of trouble cleaning up after him, so he couldn’t bring himself to answer hastily.

But Nihil once again noticed what Rianus was worrying about and spoke first.

“Shel, do whatever you want.”

“But it really would be a hassle for you.”

“I don’t mind. I’ve already prepared everything we need to stay the night anyway. Still, Doggy’s opinion matters too, so if Doggy says he’s too tired and can’t do it, we’ll go back.”

“……”

Nihil pretended to give Evan the deciding vote, neatly ending the discussion. There was no way Evan could voice his own opinion after hearing that.

Unable to bring himself to disregard the wishes of the little kitty, Doggy let out a deep sigh. He avoided the knights’ eyes and leaped from roof to roof, escaping the area.

“First, I’ll take you to the hideout where the children are staying.”

“Thank you, Sir Evan! The children in the underground room are all right, aren’t they?”

“The children have been safely handed over. You don’t need to worry.”

“Th-Then… What about the mother dog?”

“…Even after giving birth, she was forcibly fed stimulants and other awakening drugs, which had already weakened her body. Even if she hadn’t been killed, she wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.”

“I see…”

Realizing that the hunting dog had ultimately been put down, Rianus looked down at the puppy sleeping in his arms. It hadn’t even opened its eyes yet and was so weak that all it could do was squirm.

Nihil gazed at the sleeping puppy for a while before slowly speaking.

“Actually, I was the one who killed its mother.”

“……Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“I gave her the candy.”

“……?”

Rianus remembered the candy Nihil had casually thrown away.

Had he given it to the dog rather than thrown it away? Did dogs die if they ate candy?

Rianus tilted his head in confusion, but Nihil didn’t properly answer. He simply pulled his hood farther down over his face.

Thinking that his friend didn’t seem to be in a very good mood, Rianus gently nudged the puppy toward him.

Nihil had said he liked cute things, so surely seeing this tiny, adorable puppy would cheer him up.

Perhaps awakened by the cold wind, the sleeping puppy began to squirm and burrow into Nihil’s arms. Nihil watched it snuggle against him and smiled bitterly.

Evan deliberately ignored the subdued atmosphere and continued leaping from roof to roof.

Nihil stared at the wriggling puppy, gently stroking it. Only after a long while did he speak again.

“Actually, that candy was an awakening drug containing stimulants.”

“……?”

Evan wondered what Nihil was talking about. It took him a moment to understand, and then he opened his mouth in shock.

“You gave a dog an awakening drug?”

“Yeah. It was my fault that she went berserk.”

“……”

Evan hesitated, unsure what to say. Normally, he would have brushed it off with a casual You crazy bastard. But there was something strangely drained about Nihil’s voice, and Evan couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Even so, Nihil continued speaking.

“Her body was already so weak that eating it would kill her, but I gave it to her anyway.”

“……”

“Even though I knew she would die.”

“……”

“I killed her.”

“Neil.”

Rianus called out to his friend, who was muttering as though talking to himself.

Nihil remained silent for a moment before slowly answering.

“…Yeah?”

Rianus turned toward his seemingly dejected friend and spoke firmly.

“If you’re going to be so softhearted, how are you supposed to survive in this harsh world?!”

“…Huh?”

“…Pardon?”

Evan and Nihil were equally bewildered. But Rianus paid no attention to their reactions and continued insisting on his point.

“That hunting dog bit the children to death, whether she wanted to or not! Even if she had survived, she would eventually have been put down anyway.”

“……”

“And that host gave you a stimulant disguised as candy? I’ll never forgive him! What if you had eaten it?!”

“Even if I had eaten it, nothing much would have happened. In fact… I’d even considered eating it and pretending to go berserk if something happened.”

“…What would you do if you pretended to go berserk?”

Evan, who had been listening to their conversation, grew curious about what a rampaging wildcat would look like. Nihil was so rarely excited that Evan couldn’t even imagine it.

Rianus also tilted his head curiously, but Nihil merely gave a low chuckle at the sight of the two of them.

“I wish Neil wouldn’t hold back his anger.”

Rianus wanted his friend to stop holding back and get properly angry whenever someone insulted him. Of course, Nihil’s composed, mature demeanor was a little cool, too, but sometimes it made Rianus feel as though his insides were going to burst.

Nihil, however, replied as though he had no idea what Rianus meant.

“Rian, I think you’ve misunderstood something. I’m not particularly patient, nor do I see any reason to be. The only reason I don’t get angry is that I simply don’t feel angry. Though, I did feel like giving that host a beating.”

“But Neil… you’re too kind.”

“…Rian, I’m not as kind as you think I am. I simply don’t waste my emotions on people who have no value to me.”

Rianus knew that despite Nihil’s cold words, his friend was actually very affectionate. After all, even now, if Rianus reached out his hand, Nihil would take it without hesitation.

“Then when do you get angry, Neil?”

“Angry…”

Nihil seemed to debate whether he should answer before finally speaking.

“I don’t like seeing the things around me get broken.”

“I see. I’ll take good care of your belongings so they don’t get broken. What else? Is there anything you dislike? You can tell me what you like, too.”

Thinking this was a good opportunity to learn more about his friend, Rianus eagerly continued asking questions.

Nihil’s idea of the “things around him” had nothing to do with ownership or material possessions. However, he didn’t bother correcting Rianus’s misunderstanding.

The boy probably wouldn’t understand unless he experienced it himself.

“As for things I dislike… Well, milk tea with too much sugar might be a little difficult for me to handle.”

At those words, Rianus’s eyes rolled from side to side. He usually dropped six or seven sugar cubes into his milk tea, but he quickly shut his mouth.

Just as he resolved to reduce the number of sugar cubes to five, a decision that required considerable determination, they arrived at the children’s hideout.

The children were sitting in a circle around a campfire in the backyard, chatting among themselves.

Bella, in her human form, was the first to spot Rianus and the others. She jumped to her feet and waved enthusiastically to welcome them.

“Mr. Doggy, you actually made it here safely without getting caught by the knights! When I saw that the Royal Knights had arrived instead of the guards, I nearly had a heart attack! I was so startled that I ran away immediately, too! The royal authorities must be really sensitive about drugs and human trafficking. Oh, what’s this puppy? Did you and Mr. Doggy have a baby together…?”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!”

Evan had no desire to explain the lengths he had gone to in order to avoid being caught by the knights. He had been keeping quiet, but the moment Bella suggested he had given birth to a puppy, he finally let out a curse.

Seeing Evan’s face contort with rage, Nihil chuckled under his breath and rubbed the puppy against Evan’s face. The puppy squeaked repeatedly as it squirmed against his cheek.

Evan’s expression turned icy at Nihil’s teasing, but perhaps he liked the warm, soft sensation of the puppy, because his face gradually relaxed.

Nihil chuckled softly before turning to Bella.

“Report.”

“Ah, yes! We successfully raided the guard station, the drug warehouse, the inn that sells rabbits, and the gambling den simultaneously. The guard captain was immediately stripped of his position and detained for questioning. Most of the other guards, except for two or three, weren’t heavily involved. And since the children there spoke up in their defense, we don’t expect the ordinary guards to suffer much. As for the relief supplies, we’ll probably receive additional goods tomorrow.”

“What about the children at the guard station?”

“Ah… Well, they seem to have gathered a few relief supplies for the children. But the knights were assembled in a hurry, and they may have only been thinking about the child trafficking victims. The supplies were nowhere near enough, so the children have been placed under temporary protection at the guard station for now. Additional donated goods should arrive tomorrow.”

“Good work. We’ll be staying here tonight, so make the necessary preparations.”

“Yes! What should I do? Shall I start setting up temporary tents?”

The children stared in bewilderment at Nihil, who had suddenly appeared, received a report, and begun issuing orders. But Nihil paid them no mind as he surveyed the half-collapsed warehouse and its surroundings before continuing.

“The temporary tents probably won’t be large enough for all the children. Set up a tarp over the roof, starting from the side where the warehouse collapsed, and secure it with ropes so the wind and rain can’t get in. For the places where the roof leaks, just lay some planks over them. The wood is completely rotten, so any impact might cause the whole thing to collapse. Let Kitty climb onto the roof instead.”

“Okaaay~!”

Bella chirped cheerfully and began rummaging through her belongings. Evan set the two children down and started looking for usable planks.

Nihil watched the two of them get to work for a moment before turning toward the children.

“What about the tea leaves I gave you?”

“Uh, ah, we still have them…”

Yvonne, who had received the tea leaves, awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

“Bring me the tea leaves and some water. A storm is coming, so don’t leave any empty bowls outside. Fill them with a little water before setting them out.”

“Uh…”

“What are you waiting for? Move.”

Nihil jerked his chin toward them.

The children, who had been standing around awkwardly, hurriedly scattered in every direction.