How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 89

After making sure Rianus was completely asleep, Nihil quietly tried to sit up. Evan pressed down on his head, forcing him to lie back down.

“You’re going to sleep quietly, too.”

“If I fall asleep now, I won’t wake up until morning.”

“…Then why the hell did you drink all that sleeping potion?”

“I drank it in moderation. I even poured some into your beer.”

“……”

Evan remembered how his beer had turned cloudy because of the milk and sighed.

“What about the antidote?”

“It wasn’t a matter of sleeping potion to begin with.”

“Then just go to sleep. Don’t worry. I’m not going to abandon you.”

“Were you planning to?”

“I said I’m not going to! Just go to sleep before I force you to.”

“I’m too scared of being abandoned to sleep.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re the kind of brat who wouldn’t get abandoned even if someone tried.”

“Pfft…!”

Dave, who had been pretending to sleep, couldn’t hold back his laughter at Nihil and Evan’s banter and finally let out a sound.

Evan turned toward the children who were still awake and growled at them to hurry up and sleep before continuing the conversation.

“Besides, wouldn’t you be able to eat well and live comfortably wherever you went?”

“I don’t want to work, though.”

“…Damn wildcat.”

Evan frowned, understanding that Nihil’s refusal to work meant he intended to live off the little prince.

At the same time, however, he wondered whether the boy’s body would even hold up if he started working, too.

After all, how could anyone expect a little kid who barely reached Evan’s thigh to work? Perhaps Evan really was at fault here.

“…Fine. It’s probably better if you don’t work.”

“Why?”

“You said you didn’t want to work!”

“What does that have to do with you?”

“……Kitty, put him to sleep.”

Evan could no longer tolerate the wildcat’s endless, snappy retorts, so he called Bella over.

He would have liked to smack Nihil on the back of the head himself and knock him out, but if a bump appeared there, their adorable little kitten would surely jump in fright. So, just this once, Evan decided to restrain himself.

Bella seemed to agree that Nihil needed to sleep, too. She let out a small meow, handed the puppy to Evan, and leaped onto Nihil.

“Kitty, get down.”

“Meow.”

“No. Go away.”

“Meeoow.”

“…Fine.”

“Meow?”

“Yeah. I’ll just sleep.”

“Meow, mrrp.”

“If you’re not going to believe me, why did you even ask?”

“Meow, mrrp, meeeow.”

“I’m telling the teacher about you. I’ll tell him how terribly disobedient you are.”

“Meeehahahahahahow~!”

The cat seemed to laugh before gently rubbing her muzzle against Nihil’s cheek.

Perhaps Nihil really had been exhausted after all. His small body, which had been slightly propped up, couldn’t withstand the sleeping fragrance and promptly collapsed.

“…Did he fall asleep? He’s not… dead, is he?”

“Meow, mrrp, meow-meow-meow.”

“I’m not a wildcat, so I can’t understand cat language.”

“……”

The cat narrowed her eyes as though thinking he was utterly useless, then abruptly turned her head away and subtly curled up on the leaf bed.

But Evan showed no mercy. He lifted her off the bed, placed her on the floor, and put the puppy back in her arms.

Bella protested with a series of meows, but Evan, who had never learned cat language, ignored her. He carefully laid Nihil down beside Rianus, who was sprawled out in his sleep.

When Nihil’s cold body touched him, Rianus let out a soft groan and frowned slightly, causing Nihil to pause. But their adorable little kitten recognized that the newcomer was none other than the wildcat. He wriggled closer, pulled the blanket over Nihil, and hugged him tightly, sharing his body heat.

And silence returned.

It was several hours later when that silence was broken. Rianus mumbled in his sleep, calling for Nihil.

Evan’s hand twitched. He raised an eyebrow as he watched Nihil slowly open his eyes.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t wake up until morning?”

Nihil didn’t answer immediately. He slowly blinked several times, quietly gazing at Rianus in front of him before finally speaking in a sluggish voice.

“…He called me.”

With that, Nihil slowly sat up.

“Go back to sleep. Sunrise is still a long way off. I’ll wake you later.”

“…No. It’s fine.”

Still looking half-asleep, Nihil stared blankly around the warehouse. When he spotted Rianus sleeping curled up, he reheated the canteen that had already gone cold and placed it in the boy’s arms.

Then he noticed the twins shivering in their sleep. He took off his own robe and spread it over them, too.

The twins stirred and opened their eyes slightly, but Nihil calmly placed a hand over their eyes and gently closed them again. They soon fell back asleep.

Evan frowned as he watched Nihil carefully look after even the twins, who had continued being mischievous despite his kindness.

“You really do have a good personality.”

If it had been Evan, he would have left those little troublemakers to shiver all they wanted after they had thrown his kindness back in his face.

Thinking back, aside from being a little ill-mannered and fond of playing tricks, the wildcat had behaved like a saint without getting angry even once, except for being a bit prickly during his first meeting with the prince. And considering the circumstances from Nihil’s perspective, wasn’t that first encounter more than enough reason to get angry?

The boy seemed almost as though he were standing one step away from everything, looking down on it all with impartial eyes.

“Did you know they threw away the medicinal tea?”

“…Yes.”

“Then why do you keep taking care of them?”

“These children… are simply suspicious of others and have trouble accepting kindness.”

At that, Evan crooked the corner of his mouth.

“Hah. Have they spent their whole lives being deceived?”

“Apparently.”

“……I see.”

Evan groaned, realizing that might genuinely be the case. Come to think of it, being wary of strangers was only natural.

Without realizing it, Evan pursed his lips. Whenever he was around that wildcat, he somehow felt like a petty, childish little boy himself.

Just then, Nihil opened the warehouse door. He only opened it enough for his small body to squeeze through, in case the cold wind blew inside.

“Where are you going?”

“Just getting some fresh air. Keep a close eye on the children.”

“It’s still pitch-black outside. Where do you think you’re going?”

“If you have nothing else to do, get a fire going. The children will start waking up one by one as the medicine wears off.”

With that, Nihil slipped outside before Evan could stop him.

Evan sat there blankly for a moment, then rubbed his face with both hands and got up to head into the backyard. Since he had nothing else to do, he might as well start a fire, just as Nihil had suggested.

However, starting a fire took longer than expected. The rain had soaked every piece of wood that could have been used for firewood, and even when Evan finally managed to get a flame going, it quickly went out again.

“……”

After thinking it over for a while, Evan quietly pulled some dry leaves from the leaf bed where his master was sleeping. The leaves caught fire beautifully.

Evan was feeling rather pleased with himself after successfully starting a fire when Nihil returned, holding a handful of grass roots in each hand. He stared quietly at the campfire before speaking.

“Did you take those from the child’s bed?”

“……”

Caught stealing the leaves, Evan pressed his lips together. The leaves had already burned away, and yet somehow this boy, who hadn’t even entered the warehouse, knew exactly what he had done.

As though reading Evan’s thoughts, Nihil pointed his chin toward a corner of the warehouse and continued.

“I’d set aside firewood separately.”

“……”

Where Nihil pointed, neatly stacked branches lay beneath a tent. Evan was certain they hadn’t been there just a few minutes earlier. But now, with dawn approaching and the surroundings growing brighter, the pile of firewood was clearly visible.

Feeling strangely dejected, Evan sighed.

“…Tell me before you leave next time.”

“I will.”

Nihil roughly washed the dirt from his hands and the grass roots in a puddle of rainwater. Then he went inside, retrieved the robe he had draped over the twins, put it back on, and came outside again.

“What are those roots you dug up?”

“These are medicinal herbs that grow easily around here. They’re not particularly effective, but I thought they’d be better than nothing.”

“You certainly put a lot of effort into this.”

“I also caught a wild boar.”

“…What did you catch?”

Evan asked again, wondering if he had heard incorrectly.

“A wild boar.”

“……”

“What?”

“The wild boar you caught… where is it?”

Evan asked reluctantly. Nihil had clearly returned with nothing but grass roots in his hands. So where was the boar?

“It was heavy, and I wanted to let the blood drain, so I left it there. Go get it in a little while.”

“How the hell did you catch it? No, why were you the one catching it in the first place?”

“I wasn’t planning to hunt anything. But the boar spotted me and charged.”

“And then?”

“I climbed a tree, but it kept ramming its head into the trunk to knock me down. So I dropped a rock on its head.”

“……”

“And while it was unconscious, I stabbed it.”

“Stabbed… it?”

Nihil nodded.

Apparently, that was exactly what had happened.

Evan laughed hollowly.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever met who can catch a wild boar that easily.”

Wild boars were by no means easy prey. Knights who could use aura might have little trouble hunting one, but ordinary people would need at least three or four men armed with axes to take one down.

“It was a small one.”

“Of course. Was it smaller than you?”

“Not quite, but… once Kitty wakes up, have her guard the children while you go retrieve it.”

“Fine.”

A few minutes later, the children who had woken up began gathering around the campfire to warm themselves against the early morning chill.

Bella was the last of them to get up. In truth, she hadn’t been the last to wake up. She had simply pretended to be asleep because she didn’t feel like moving.

“Why don’t you just sleep all day?”

“Oh, honestly, Mr. Doggy! It’s still the crack of dawn! These young ladies and gentlemen are the ones who got up too early!”

“I’m leaving for a while. Keep watch over them.”

“What? Huh? Mr. Doggy, where are you going? Mr. Doggy!”

After saying his piece, Evan ignored Bella’s calls and headed straight into the forest.

About five hundred meters northwest. He covered quite a distance in such a short time. I wonder if I’ll be able to find it properly.

Evan worried that he might not be able to locate the boar, but that concern was quickly resolved.

The boar was impossible to miss, no matter where he looked. Its hind legs were tied with a sturdy leather whip, and its body hung limply from a tree branch. The sight was downright gruesome. Perhaps because of the cold weather, faint wisps of steam rose from the pool of blood beneath it.

When the hell did he even get that whip?

Evan let out a deep sigh at the wildcat’s habit of making sure to collect evidence from crime scenes, then drove away a pack of stray dogs approaching stealthily by releasing a murderous aura.

When he untied the whip binding the boar’s hind legs, its heavy body dropped to the ground with a wet slap, splattering blood all over his clothes and face.

“Damn it, seriously.”

Grumbling, Evan roughly wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and drew his dagger.

If he thought it was too heavy to carry, how the hell did he hang it from a tree in the first place?

Thinking this, Evan slit open the boar’s belly. He tossed the foul-smelling intestines to the stray dogs, then hoisted the boar’s body over one shoulder.

The kids will be happy.

The wildcat had claimed he only caught it because the boar attacked him, but Evan knew that if it hadn’t been for the need for food, Nihil probably wouldn’t have hunted it at all.

He might even have patted the boar on the head and let it go.

Thinking that, despite all his denials, the wildcat was the only one who truly looked after the children, Evan crooked the corner of his mouth.

But when Evan returned to the children’s hideout carrying such precious food, what greeted him was…

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

A piercing scream.