Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: The Seaweed Plant's Antics
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Poke, poke.
Lianus poked at the vine that was still wrapped around the boy. For a plant, it felt surprisingly fluffy. Did it have cotton stuffed inside or something?
The texture was so unique that he kept fiddling with it, and suddenly a very thin vine slithered over from somewhere, lightly coiling around Lianus's finger.
Sir Evan, standing nearby, freaked out and flailed his hand wildly, but the vine gently grasped his hand as well, its tip swaying playfully.
The small leaves, resembling a baby's hand, looked rather cute.
"L-let go of me."
Lianus glanced up at Sergio, who was wriggling desperately while entangled in the vine. He was the heir to a count's family, after all—was it really okay to treat him like this?
"You wicked thing, you filthy demon! Return to where you belong!"
Correction. It seemed fine to leave him dangling a little longer. Just where was he trying to send his dear friend, anyway?
Nihil belonged right here. Sending him anywhere else was absurd.
"Wh-what is this?! D-don't come near me! Get away!"
Smack, smack.
"Naughty mouth."
"Eek! Stop that!"
The vine smacked Sergio's mouth repeatedly. Nihil grinned wickedly, clearly amused. He really enjoyed teasing people.
His dear friend had even turned the count's eldest son into a puppet show. Bound by the vines, Sergio jerked his limbs this way and that like a marionette. He even spun around in midair.
"Dancing nicely."
"I-I said stop!"
"Ahahaha, good, good, very goo—urk!"
The Prime Minister clapped along, enjoying the spectacle, until his sister the countess smacked him on the back.
"Are you laughing right now?!"
"Sister, this is your nephew's fault. Why did he have to say such naughty things? Hurry up and apologize to Nil."
"Uncle, snap out of it! That thing has you bewitched!"
At those words, Lianus spitefully smacked Sergio's dangling leg in midair.
Calling his dear friend a wicked thing just for controlling some vines? What a bad boy.
Unaware or perhaps fully aware of Lianus's feelings, his friend manipulated the vine to rub against his cheek affectionately.
Sir Evan waved his hand warily, but the vines swarmed even closer around Lianus instead.
"Rian, it seems to like you."
"Huh...? Isn't this you controlling it?"
"Nope."
"What the—?!"
Sir Evan panicked and tore at the vines. But they refused to back off, wrapping around him instead.
"You damn feral weed!"
"Why curse at it?"
"Get it off me before I hack it all to pieces!"
"It's not a vine, it's 'Seaweed'."
"'Seaweed'? What kind of stupid name is th—that—argh! It won't go away!"
Evan struck at the approaching vine with all his might. A portion of 'Seaweed' slammed into the floor and slumped away limply.
Nihil watched 'Seaweed' slink behind Lianus, then muttered with feigned pity.
"Why cower like that?"
"Shut up and get rid of it! And change that name!"
"What's wrong with 'Seaweed'?"
Nihil grumbled that he'd named it 'Seaweed' because it was cute.
Lianus felt an odd sense of kinship with 'Seaweed' and gently stroked it.
It nuzzled playfully, just like a pet. Was there such a thing as a pet plant?
'Seaweed' gently set Sergio down on a chair and retreated obediently. But then a tiny vine crept up behind Sir Evan, smacked the back of his head, and scampered off.
"Argh! That little bastard!"
"Don't get so mad. It's just seeking attention. It has to pretend to be a normal plant most of the time, so it must get bored."
"It acts just like you, that's why it's annoying!"
"Probably because I feed it my blood."
"What?!"
Pirana!
Lianus shot to his feet. He snatched 'Seaweed', which had been secretly nuzzling at his feet, refusing to retreat.
He'd been ignoring it because it was cute, but now betrayal surged through him.
"I thought you were good! How could you do this? Spit it out!"
As he shook 'Seaweed' vigorously, Nihil chuckled softly.
"Rian, this is a Demon Realm plant. It can't survive in the Middle Realm without blood."
"Why grow something like this?!"
At his words, 'Seaweed' wilted pathetically. Lianus felt a twinge of guilt, but thinking of it drinking his friend's blood made forgiveness impossible.
"Because it's great medicine. Nothing like the half-baked herbs here in the Middle Realm. Besides, I pulled it from the Demon Realm myself. It's not at fault."
"...Wait, Nil. We can't just gloss over that."
Abel, who had been observing 'Seaweed' with interest, hardened his expression.
"Don't tell me you can... cross dimensions?"
"Ah......"
Nihil tapped his teaspoon awkwardly at the question.
"No way... really?"
Abel pressed seriously. Opening passages between dimensions was the ultimate taboo.
Three hundred years ago, someone had torn open a path to the Demon Realm to summon the Demon King, shattering the balance and spawning 'rifts' everywhere.
Without the human-friendly Grand Duke, the Middle Realm would have been engulfed in a human-demon war.
"No, no, Prime Minister. I just reached through the rift."
"Rift?"
"Hmm... this is tricky."
As Nihil hesitated, Abel spoke coaxingly.
"Nil, we'll accommodate you as much as possible, so explain properly."
"Fine... I guess I need your cooperation anyway."
Nihil shrugged after a moment's thought, replying casually.
"A rift opened recently."
"Mm... and?"
"I closed it."
I see. Abel nodded, then looked up when no further explanation came.
"...That's it?"
"Keep it secret from the Grand Duke."
"No, that's... a bit too brief, isn't it?"
"I cleaned up after perfectly."
Yeah, sure. Got it. Why did this suddenly feel like talking to His Majesty?
Nihil smirked at the pondering Abel and continued.
"Exactly as I said. I needed mana stones for the Mage Tower on the sly, and a rift happened to open, so I went to close it and grab some stones while I was at it. Leaving them be makes them grow."
"Mm, fair enough."
"And right by the rift was 'Seaweed'. So I snuck it out."
"......"
"It's a secret. Got it?"
Nihil said with a childlike innocent smile. 'Seaweed' reappeared, swaying happily behind him like a mischievous tail.
Abel stared at the tail—no, 'Seaweed'—deep in thought before speaking.
"Fine, the rift aside, but raising a demon beast in the palace..."
"It's just a normal vine plant."
At that, 'Seaweed' flopped over dramatically, pretending to be an ordinary vine. The speed of its act was impressive.
Abel eyed it dubiously, then grasped for an excuse.
"Well... doesn't 'Seaweed' want to go back home?"
"You want me to go into the rift?"
"Er... um......"
"Sure, say I do. While I'm digging a hole to replant 'Seaweed' and saying goodbye, you'll guard me, Prime Minister?"
"...Shall we think of another way?"
Abel quickly shifted gears. What could a 3rd-circle mage do to protect anyone?
"What nonsense is this?!"
The Countess of Tarandrus, who had been stiff with vigilance toward 'Seaweed', finally lost her patience and smacked her younger brother's back repeatedly.
"Ow, S-Sister! W-Wait! There's your nephew here too...!"
"You knew you had a nephew?! Do you know what kind of influence that thing could have? Hiding it like this—what disaster will come when it's found out? I oppose it!"
After berating Abel, Amanda whipped her head around to glare at Nihil.
"I have no intention of covering for this."
"Even if I heal its leg?"
"...What?"
Nihil nodded toward Sergio, who sat like a ragdoll, then snapped his fingers.
"U-Uwaaak!"
Sergio thrashed again as 'Seaweed' rebound him.
"I'm not asking you to keep the secret for nothing. I'll treat its leg in exchange."
"...You can heal it?"
"Who knows. But didn't you bring me here to see it? There's a hint of demonic energy."
"Haha... well, not just for that..."
Abel laughed awkwardly and averted his eyes. The countess, thinking a cure for her son had appeared, poured out words urgently.
"Y-yes, a rift once opened in the county. He injured his leg on a demon beast then...!"
"His leg?"
"Yes. Blood was gushing everywhere...!"
"Mother... it was just a scrape from a fall."
Sergio, listening, facepalmed at his mother's exaggeration.
"No, dear. You were too young to remember properly!"
"I wasn't a baby—I was ten. And I never even touched a demon beast."
"Then how do you explain the demonic energy?!"
Nihil closed his eyes. The mother-son bickering continued for a while.
"...That's why the holy water..."
"Mm......"
As Nihil let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes, Amanda asked anxiously.
"What's wrong?"
"...It's dying soon."
"What...?!"
"About a month left. With ongoing holy water, maybe half a year."
"What?!"
Amanda staggered, clutching her forehead at the unexpected diagnosis. Abel quickly supported her.
"The treatment..."
"Prime Minister, don't pile more work on me."
"Just take a look."
Abel pondered briefly, then untied the ribbon from his staff and tied it around the boy's head.
His messy hair stuck up like a pineapple. The boy gaped incredulously at his uncle, but Abel ignored it.
"Nil, Sergio here's pretty smart. He'd be useful to have around."
"That's between you and the Prime Minister, isn't it?"
Nihil replied, looking up at Sergio.
"Want to be my servant?"
"No."
Sergio refused instantly. A prince, maybe—but serving that demon? Never.
"Our Seaweed is adorable. Servant satisfaction rate is top-notch. You'd like it too."
"You want me to attend to that demon beast?"
"That's not Seaweed, it's 'Seaweed'. The seaweed I'm talking about now is this."
Nihil patted the small head beside him. Confused, Lianus tilted his head to make it easier for his friend.
"Y-you irreverent—urgh...!"
Sergio flailed but clamped his mouth shut as throbbing pain started from his knee.
Nihil pressed on his leg as he continued.
"At least he has basic loyalty to royalty. That's good."
"And you're the epitome of irreverence."
"Friends are supposed to be casual with each other."
"Exactly!"
Seaweed nodded vigorously. Nihil petted it even more enthusiastically. It felt even softer lately—probably eating and sleeping well.
"Wicked demon beast! How did you bewitch His Highness?!"
"Fairies and angels first, now demon beasts? Why can't it just be a human?"
Nihil muttered genuinely puzzled, tilting his head. He was clearly in a state of harmony with 'humans'.
"Fine... I'll treat you, so come back tomorrow."
"You can heal it? Really?!"
Bang!
Having recovered somewhat from the shock thanks to Nihil's nonchalant banter, Amanda slammed the table and stood.
Tea splashed up from the impact.
"How? Can you definitely heal him?"
"......"
"I'll give you anything. Ah, not the family—not fully mine, and decisions take too long. Please, ask for something else."
Nihil soothed the frantic Amanda while mourning the cookies soaking up the spilled tea in real time.
"Sit down. Why act so violently when it's not urgent?"
"...Why are you talking like that?"
"......"