How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 97

The two boys who had been pointed out squeezed their eyes shut. They couldn’t very well let themselves be dragged straight to prison, so it looked like they would have to break their promise to the little ones.

If they’d had time to discuss things in secret, they could have coordinated their stories. But if they were dragged away like this, they had no idea how they would be interrogated. One wrong answer, and everything might come spilling out.

Even so, the innkeeper rubbed his palms together fervently in front of the knight.

“Sir Knight, I only got involved a little bit, just a tiny bit! If I help you catch those scoundrels who sold the children, could you perhaps do something for me…?”

“You’re making too much noise. Anyone who aids and abets human trafficking will receive the same punishment as the perpetrators. And you’re also suspected of using drugs, aren’t you? Do you two acknowledge the charges?”

The knight directed the question at Jane and Dave. Their faces had stiffened from nervousness. After exchanging glances, the two slowly stepped forward.

“W-Wait! You say we sold children? What are you talking about?!”

Yvonne, who knew nothing about the circumstances, was startled. She grabbed Jane’s forearm to stop him as he stepped forward.

“There must be some kind of misunderstanding!”

“Is that so? These fellows seem to know exactly what we’re talking about.”

Walter narrowed his eyes at the two boys, whose expressions had grown tense. They didn’t seem inclined to deny everything or run away, so he planned to take them to the guard station without restraining them.

“W-Wait, Jane! Explain what’s going on before you leave!”

“…I-I’ll explain when I-I get back.”

“Hah! You were always pretending to be such a good person, and look at you now. You’re just the same as everyone else.”

Kelvin sneered, hovering nearby. He was already old enough and had committed so many crimes that he was unlikely to get out of prison for another decade or more. That was why he was thoroughly enjoying the first and last act of rebellion these boys would ever get to have.

The guards approached the stiff-faced boys. Pan, who had stubbornly insisted at the guard station that he knew nothing, fidgeted anxiously, unsure what to do about the situation. In the end, he opened his mouth.

“W-Wait, Sir Knight! I-I…”

“Enough.”

At the quiet voice of a child, Pan turned toward the sound in surprise. The other children’s eyes widened, too.

Standing there was Nihil, who had said goodbye earlier. His hood was pulled low over his face, and he was alone.

Still as composed as ever, Nihil addressed Walter.

“Sir Ernest, let those boys go.”

“…Who are you…?”

Walter felt a little tense as he looked at the little boy who had addressed him so naturally.

Although Walter was the second son of a viscount and would never inherit his family’s title, he held the position of captain of the Royal Knights. Not just anyone could address him so casually.

“If I intended to reveal my identity, I wouldn’t have shown up looking like this. Those children sold me at my request, so they’ve done nothing wrong.”

“What does that mean…?”

“They had no choice if they wanted to protect the captured children with so few people available. Those boys were also the ones who sent a secret letter to the royal family asking for help on my behalf. I’ll submit a letter directly to His Majesty and explain the circumstances, so leave them alone.”

“That’s not something you can just decide…”

Walter couldn’t figure out who the little boy was. He hesitated over whether to address him formally or casually, and eventually let his sentence trail off.

Seeing that Walter wasn’t likely to back down so easily, Nihil sighed as though the whole matter were terribly tiresome.

“Sir, you’re making this difficult. The reason I sent a secret letter instead of having my own family handle the matter was to give the royal family the credit. Besides, didn’t you find the hidden drugs thanks to me?”

“Are you the one who uncovered all of this?”

Walter sensed that the little boy was no ordinary child and finally chose to speak formally. He judged that it would be better to show respect than to risk offending someone who might later use his words against him.

Realizing Walter had taken the bait, Nihil gave a casual nod before answering.

“That’s right. The bear-like fellow you’re looking for is also one of my people, so I’d appreciate it if you pretended not to know about him.”

“…I heard that two children were taken away from the gambling den by a mercenary—or rather, a knight.”

“One of them is my cousin. He’s a child I keep as a page for my amusement.”

“……”

Walter frowned slightly. Judging from the little boy’s manner of speaking and demeanor, he was certain the child was a noble. However, he couldn’t recall anyone of such a young age among the higher-ranking nobles above him, leaving him confused.

Nihil spoke again before Walter could think too deeply about it.

“The silver coins I received as my ransom were given to the children as a reward for their help, so don’t confiscate them unnecessarily. They also deserve some consideration for sending that secret letter, so if possible, see that they receive a little extra assistance.”

With that, Nihil gestured into the air. Bella appeared, her face covering pulled up to just beneath her eyes, and carefully lifted Nihil into her arms.

Walter hurriedly called out to Nihil as he prepared to leave.

“W-Wait! Are you actually one of the victims?”

“Sir, I’m a busy person. I have a rab—no, a little kitten-like younger brother waiting for me at home.”

“……”

“……”

A brief silence followed. Nihil continued as though nothing had happened.

“The innkeeper gave me milk laced with sleeping drugs, and my page and I were each sold for eighty silver coins. There were four other children held captive there, including that boy, besides the two of us.”

Nihil gestured toward Pan with his chin. Then he asked him,

“Did you see me or not?”

“…I-I did! …Sir! That’s definitely him!”

After hearing Pan’s answer, Nihil turned toward Kelvin and continued.

“That fellow enlisted his gang to capture me and sell me. So I had my knight threaten him. There were four other boys besides that Kelvin fellow, so ask them. See if they filed a claim for damages because the bear-like man broke someone’s arm.”

“…Why did you go to such lengths?”

“I invested some money in the upcoming relief project and redevelopment, but look at how filthy this street is. I went out personally to do a little cleaning. Perhaps I’m a bit late, but if I’d delayed any longer, things might have become irreversible. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“……”

Since Nihil was right, Walter once again found himself at a loss for words. If the incident had occurred after the relief project began, both the relief and redevelopment efforts would have been suspended, and the street would have descended into even greater chaos.

Nihil studied Walter’s expression, then arrogantly jerked his chin toward Bella. She gave Walter, the captain of the Royal Knights, a slight bow before disappearing with Nihil in her arms.

Walter stared blankly at the spot where the little boy had suddenly appeared and just as suddenly vanished. Only when one of his subordinate knights cautiously addressed him as “Captain” did Walter come back to his senses and turn toward the children.

“Children, would you mind answering a few more questions…?”

Fortunately, the knight who had been addressed as captain wasn’t forceful with the children. Since Jane stammered too much to explain properly, Dave stepped forward and briefly described what they had experienced.

“So, to sum it up, you sold the children at the inn at that little boy’s request, and someone introduced as your big brother followed along to protect you?”

“Yes. After we received the money, we followed the female knight from earlier to deliver a letter. So we don’t know exactly what happened at the gambling den.”

“Did you see the children’s faces?”

“They kept their hoods on the whole time, so we couldn’t see them.”

“What about the contents of the letter?”

“We can’t read. Oh, but we drew the map ourselves. The cat pictures on it were drawn by that lady knight from earlier.”

“I see…”

Walter recalled the cute little cat drawings on the map and rubbed his mouth awkwardly. The boys even knew exactly what had been drawn on it, so there was no doubt they had been the ones who sent the secret letter.

After piecing together the situation as best he could, Walter thanked the children for answering his questions and left with the other knights and soldiers.

Kelvin continued shouting and cursing as he was dragged away, but his crimes were far too obvious for anyone to let him off the hook.

As Kelvin’s irritating voice gradually faded into the distance, the children who had hidden inside the warehouse cautiously emerged.

Jane let out a sigh of relief.

“I-I was s-so nervous.”

“Jane, why didn’t you tell us? You really scared us!”

“W-We p-promised to k-keep the s-secret, so I-I had no c-choice.”

“What would we have done if Neil hadn’t shown up in time? Still, I had a feeling this was the case, but… I can’t believe he really is a noble.”

“I’m not a noble, though.”

“AAAAAAAH!”

Everyone jumped in fright at Nihil’s sudden reappearance. Pan let out a strange noise and toppled over.

The cat in Nihil’s arms seemed to mock Pan, letting out a long, “Nya-ha-ha-ha-haang~!” But Nihil simply reached down and helped the fallen boy to his feet.

“W-Weren’t you gone? What about Nerr and Big Brother?”

“They’re waiting a little farther away. The Royal Knights are all aura users, so they’re very sensitive to the presence of others.”

“I-I see. Th-Thank you. But… I-I’m sorry. I c-couldn’t k-keep the s-secret properly.”

“It’s fine. I expected something like this, and the knights ultimately didn’t discover anything. Besides, I’m not a noble, so even if they searched every noble household, they wouldn’t find me.”

“…You really aren’t a noble?”

Dave asked, narrowing his eyes. Nihil’s refined speech and demeanor made him seem like a noble no matter how Dave looked at it. He could even write well, speak Imperial, and rattle off details about noble families, couldn’t he?

“I’m not a noble. Thanks to you, I’ve now acquired an additional charge of impersonating one.”

“…Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m leaving.”

“H-Huh?”

After saying that, Nihil turned around and walked away at an unhurried pace. The children didn’t try to stop him, though he wasn’t walking particularly fast.

“W-Well, I guess everything’s settled now?”

“…Probably.”

Yvonne decided not to think about it any further. There was no way she’d figure it out no matter how much she thought about it.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back!”

As soon as Nihil flung open the carriage door, his younger brother—who was like a rabbit, no, a little kitten—greeted him.

When Nihil returned, Evan let out a sigh of relief before he even realized what he was doing. He’d been tense the whole time, worrying that the captain might discover the truth.

He felt a little guilty about deceiving the captain, who was practically his mentor and benefactor. Still, he rationalized that this was better than getting caught himself and bringing dishonor upon the Royal Knights.

On the way back, Evan suddenly remembered something and called out to Nihil.

“Wildcat.”

“What?”

“Could you occasionally check my aura for me, like you did early this morning?”

“Sure.”

Nihil agreed so readily that Evan wasn’t entirely convinced, so he quickly added,

“…If looking at it puts a strain on your eyes, don’t hide it. Just tell me.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Didn’t you say before that looking at it for too long would tire you out?”

“Wouldn’t looking at something colorful for too long tire you out, too?”

“Colorful?”

“Natural mana tends to be transparent, but the mana possessed by living beings has its own distinct color. Yours is golden, so it stands out more.”

“I see…”

Hearing their conversation, Bella, who had been playing with the puppy, giggled and asked Nihil,

“Young master, young master! Then what color is my aura?”

“Light purple.”

“Wow! How did you know?”

Bella’s eyes widened at the immediate answer. She had never released her aura in front of Nihil, so she was amazed and made a fuss about how incredible he was.

“The more strongly mana is condensed, the more transparent it becomes. Train until you can produce a clear, transparent aura.”

“So, I should make the color paler?”

“No. It’s different from the color becoming lighter. Hmm, to use an analogy, the aura of someone who has only just learned to use it resembles mist, while Doggy’s aura is like a flame that spreads outward at the tip. That gives it destructive power, but its cutting power is weak. You can think of the next level as being similar to water.”

“So you mean I should condense it while keeping its density uniform throughout.”

Evan nodded as he murmured to himself, appreciating Nihil’s apt analogy. It was true that his aura was closer to making a boulder explode than cutting through it.

Since Evan had never received advice like this before, he thought it might not be a bad idea to have the wildcat sit beside him occasionally during his early-morning training. After all, the little brat had been the only one nagging him during training that morning. Surely, he could observe something and offer useful advice.

With that in mind, Evan imagined himself grabbing the sleeping wildcat by the scruff of his neck at the crack of dawn and dragging him along to training.

In his imagination, the wildcat nodded off repeatedly before finally flopping down on the ground.

“…Uh, hmm.”