How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 87

While the children bustled about following Nihil’s instructions, only little Dan remained obliviously cheerful, approaching Nihil with a bright smile.

“Fairy big brother, did you come back to see Dan?”

“I’m not a fairy. Go away.”

The moment Rianus spotted Dan, he immediately went on guard.

“Whyyy? Dan wants to stay with Fairy Big Brother.”

“He’s my big brother. He’s staying with me.”

Rianus answered on Nihil’s behalf and stepped between Dan and his friend, as though protecting Nihil.

Nihil found Rianus’s behavior simply adorable, so he watched with a quiet chuckle.

However, the little kitty didn’t seem to like that reaction. He pouted and turned away with his lips sticking out.

“Big brother!”

“Hmm?”

“You need to be careful!”

“Okay.”

Nihil tapped Rianus’s protruding lips with his index finger, gently pushing them back in, then pulled Rianus into his arms.

Rianus had apparently grown accustomed to being held. He smiled brightly and let his legs dangle.

Dan, standing beside them, begged to be held too. However, Yvonne spotted what was happening from a distance, hurried over, apologized, and scooped Dan up in her arms. Dan could be heard whining, but he soon quieted down.

Nihil pretended not to notice the pair of twins watching them from a distance. Holding Rianus, who was swinging his dangling legs, he surveyed the warehouse.

With the tarpaulin erected and even the campfire’s light blocked out, the warehouse had fallen into complete darkness.

Bella, having finished setting up the covering, hopped down from the roof.

“Were the young masters all right?”

“Nothing in particular happened. If Kitty’s finished with her work, I’d like you to find something to feed the puppy.”

“Oh! Since it’s Mr. Doggy’s baby, we have to feed it well. I’ll find something right away~!”

At Nihil’s request, Bella promptly disappeared.

Evan cursed under his breath behind them, but nobody paid him any attention.

Even as he vented his frustration by kicking a pebble as hard as he could, Evan diligently propped up planks and turned the shabby hideout into something reasonably decent. Afterward, he rummaged through his bag.

“Wildcat, did you happen to bring any oil? The warehouse is too dark.”

“There should be mushrooms in the bag. Check.”

“Mushrooms?”

Evan wondered what on earth Nihil wanted with mushrooms, but he rummaged through the bag anyway. After searching for quite some time without finding anything, he began opening the little cloth pouches one by one. Eventually, he found a glass vial containing a single, very small mushroom.

“Is this what you mean?”

“Yes. It’s poisonous, so make sure the lid is tightly closed. Then shake it hard enough to release plenty of spores.”

Evan felt a little uneasy, but he did as Nihil instructed and shook the vial with all his strength.

Soon, the mushroom spores that had fallen off began to glow.

The children, who had been moving busily around the warehouse, stopped in their tracks and stared blankly at the glowing vial.

“Doggy, if you keep staring at it like that, you’ll ruin your eyes. Put it back in the cloth pouch it came in and hang it from the warehouse ceiling.”

Evan, who had been staring at the glowing mushroom lamp just as blankly as the children, quickly snapped out of it and went inside. The children who had been peeking curiously followed him in a little procession.

They gazed around the brightly illuminated warehouse in wonder. Meanwhile, the twins who had continued keeping an eye on Nihil and Rianus trotted over and tried to pull down Nihil’s hood. But Rianus wrapped both arms tightly around Nihil’s head and waved them away.

“Oh, come on. You’re acting so precious.”

“Seriously. It’s not like you’ll wear out if you show us your face.”

When the twins grumbled, Jane stepped in, apologized on their behalf, and dragged them away by the backs of their necks.

Before long, all the children had gathered inside the warehouse. Yvonne, who had been brewing medicinal tea in the backyard, poked her head in and asked,

“How long should I boil this?”

“It needs to boil for a long time, so just leave it there and come inside.”

After saying that, Nihil set Rianus down and went outside. He didn’t return until much later, carrying an old sack filled with fallen leaves he had apparently gathered from somewhere.

The sack was full of tiny holes, and knots tied to patch it up were visible here and there.

Nihil took out the clean blankets and quilts he had brought from the palace, spread them over the leaves, and pressed them down firmly with his hands to shape them. After checking several times to make sure there were no sharp objects mixed in, he suddenly scooped up Rianus, who had been watching him, and sat him down on top.

“You can sleep here.”

“Huh? By myself? I can just sleep on the floor too…”

Feeling as though he was receiving special treatment, Rianus wriggled off the makeshift bed. Nihil promptly picked him up again, laid him down, covered him with a blanket, and said firmly,

“The cold will seep up from the ground. Don’t be stubborn.”

“Mm…”

Rianus was a little startled by Nihil’s unusually firm tone. He worried that the other children might be jealous of the special treatment he was receiving, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to think much of it.

Nihil got to his feet, surveyed the interior of the warehouse, and went outside again.

The children watched him leave. Even after a long time passed without his return, they hesitated under Evan’s watchful gaze as he stood stiffly to one side. Eventually, they crept over to Rianus and sat down around him.

Dan tried to sneak onto Rianus’s bed of fallen leaves, but Yvonne quickly pulled him down. Glancing at Evan, who was still standing motionless, she leaned toward Rianus and whispered,

“Nerr, um… could you tell us who that person is…?”

At the question, Rianus’s eyes widened as he looked at Jane and Dave.

Nihil had told them not to reveal anything about themselves, but Rianus hadn’t expected him to leave out absolutely every explanation. Even Evan raised an eyebrow, looking rather surprised.

“Hmm… He’s my big brother. Say hello to him.”

“…Your big brother?”

All the children turned to look up at Evan at once. Their gazes made him so uncomfortable that he unconsciously turned his head away.

“You don’t have to be afraid of him.”

“……”

“He’s really kind.”

“……”

“I mean it…”

“……”

Evan was so embarrassed by Rianus’s awkward introduction that he began wishing he could leave the warehouse. Just then, the door swung open, and someone came inside.

“I’m baaack~!”

Bella, unaware of what was going on, cheerfully greeted everyone.

“Huh? What happened? Where’s the pretty young master?”

“Big brother went out for a bit. Um… why did you bring a cat?”

Rianus asked, looking at the cat Bella had brought with her.

“I went looking for milk for Mr. Doggy’s baby, but it’s so late at night that finding some wasn’t easy. So I brought a mother cat who gave birth recently!”

“Uh… is it okay to feed a puppy cat’s milk?”

“Isn’t that better than letting it starve? I’ve already persuaded the mother cat, so don’t worry!”

As she spoke, Bella carefully set the cat down. Perhaps she really had persuaded it as she claimed, because although the cat made a strange mraow sound, it didn’t run away and remained obediently where it was.

Hesitantly, Rianus held the puppy out toward the mother cat.

The cat looked a little thin, perhaps because it hadn’t been eating well, so Rianus worried whether it would have any milk. However, it seemed there was enough, because the puppy wriggled and suckled eagerly.

“So cuuute…”

The children couldn’t take their eyes off the puppy. Bella watched them with a satisfied smile, then poked Evan in the side with her elbow.

“It’s such a relief that it doesn’t look like you, Mr. Doggy.”

“Shu— Shut up.”

Since the children were there, Evan couldn’t bring himself to curse properly and settled for a milder response. Bella found teasing him so entertaining that she giggled before turning to have a frank conversation with the cat.

“Mother Cat, how did you end up nursing Mr. Doggy’s baby? You never know what life—or cat life—has in store for you, do you?”

“Mraow.”

“Of course, I was the one who brought you here, but… I had no choice~”

“Rrraow, meow.”

“How could you say something like, ‘You should try being in my position for once’…?!”

“Mraaaaaow~!”

“Oh, I suppose you have a point. Mr. Doggy, do you have anything the mother cat can eat?”

“Hah… You really are something else.”

Bella turned away from her conversation with the cat and asked Evan for food.

Grumbling all the while, Evan rummaged through his belongings and took out the few remaining pieces of beef jerky, tossing them to the cat.

The cloth pouch containing dried fruit, however, was handed to their adorable little prince.

The cat looked at the beef jerky that had fallen onto its head, turned around, pulled it close to its body, and chewed on it before giving Evan a long, steady stare.

“…What are you looking at?”

For a cat, it had an awfully insolent gaze.

The “mother cat” stared at Evan for a long time before turning away and resuming its chewing.

At that small movement, the puppy lost its place while suckling and began wriggling around on the floor. Evan carefully picked it up and nudged it back toward the cat.

“I gave you food, so make sure you feed it properly.”

Bella watched the scene, slapped Evan on the back a few times, and laughed.

“Oh my, look at you taking care of it just because it’s your baby!”

“It’s NOT my baby!”

“Mr. Doggy, you don’t have to be embarrassed. By the way, where’s the mother? Imagine giving birth thinking it was going to be a human baby, only to find out it’s a puppy! She must’ve been so shocked~ Still, love that transcends species is so romantic~!”

“Aaagh, seriously! You damn cat…!”

As Bella continued teasing him, Evan finally snapped and sprang to his feet. But when he noticed the children watching him, he could only clutch at his own hair in frustration before plopping back down.

The children burst into giggles at Evan’s behavior. Rianus had said he was Nerr’s big brother, but Evan was so huge and intimidating that they hadn’t known how to approach him. Now, however, they felt much more at ease, realizing he was actually a funny and rather straightforward person.

Rianus laughed along with them, then distributed the dried fruit Evan had given him to the children sitting around him, popping a piece into his own mouth as well. He saved the largest piece for Nihil.

A fragrant, sweet-and-sour flavor filled his mouth.

The children’s eyes sparkled as they tasted sugar-preserved dried fruit for the first time. Little Dan whined that he wanted more, but Yvonne quickly soothed him.

Before long, Nihil returned to the warehouse carrying the kettle of medicinal tea. Seeing the cat nursing the puppy, he examined the animal.

“Big brother, where did you go?”

Rianus trotted over to Nihil and asked, placing a piece of candied dried orange into his mouth. Nihil obediently accepted it, then broke off half and put it into Rianus’s mouth before answering.

“I went to look around the area. Everyone, bring me a cup or bowl.”

Nihil gestured toward the children. He then gently stroked the cat, which had cleverly settled down to nurse the puppy while chewing on its beef jerky, before making everyone except Dan drink the tea.

Most of the children drank it despite grimacing at the taste, but the twins set down their chipped bowls and complained.

“This tastes awful.”

“Do we really have to drink this? I’m not drinking it!”

“You don’t have to force yourselves to drink it. Just don’t throw it away. Leave it there.”

The moment they heard they didn’t have to drink it, the twins gave up. They whispered something to each other, then secretly dumped out the medicinal tea while Nihil was busy looking after Rianus.