Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Sharton Street Field Trip
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Sir Evan watched the two boys' retreating figures before giving a wry smile and speaking up.
"Sir, how long do you plan to stay?"
The question cut through the empty air, and the king's shadow guard, who had been concealed in the darkness, slowly revealed himself.
"I should probably head back to make my report first. I thought his first impression was quite unique, but this... this is beyond even my expectations. I never imagined things would resolve like this."
"Do you believe what he said?"
"I don't think he had any reason to lie, but I'm just reporting what I saw and heard. The judgment is ultimately up to our lord. And here, take this."
The shadow guard extended something toward Sir Evan and continued.
"It's a low-grade potion. His Majesty said to treat the boy's arm."
Sir Evan recalled Nihil's arm, ragged like a tattered rag, and accepted the potion without refusal, tucking it away.
"Thank you."
"Very well."
The shadow guard gave a light nod and vanished once more. Sensing the presence disappear in an instant, Sir Evan couldn't help but think that Nihil's coveted knights were indeed different—yet amusingly, a twinge of jealousy stirred within him.
Could I earn his recognition too?
He remembered the shadow guards who had pestered Nihil—who had never even trained with a sword—asking things like what he thought of their skills or who might win in a fight.
'It's a bit childish, but maybe I should ask too...'
Not that the little rascal might look at him with pitiful eyes.
Sir Evan resolved to carefully ask once His Highness was asleep that night.
As soon as the afternoon violin lesson began, Nihil fully embraced his role as a human straw mat. When Lianus played a gentle melody, he even dozed off for a brief moment, but he tried his best to listen attentively as an audience member.
Whenever Lianus missed a note or rhythm and grew embarrassed, Nihil clapped as if oblivious, lifting the mood and making the time pass enjoyably.
The following fiscal studies lesson proceeded like simple arithmetic practice. Unlike other classes, it uniquely lacked a fixed teacher; instead, administrators from the Finance Department's main palace handled it.
Whoever had lighter duties that day took the lesson, bringing stacks of actual planning documents and budget proposals that had been submitted.
The class involved filling in blanks in budget proposals with calculations first, then showing only the front of the planning documents to guess where and how the budget would be used. They discussed whether these documents would be approved, and if so, whether they'd achieve their goals or fail; if rejected, why, and how to improve them. It was remarkably detailed and specific.
For a mere seven-year-old, the difficulty was absurdly high. Nihil inwardly stuck out his tongue, thinking the prince must be truly exhausted.
Lianus had no trouble with the calculations but struggled to cross-reference planning and budgets to analyze failure causes. To a child's eyes, the administrators' documents appeared flawless.
The fiscal studies teacher handed over one set of planning and budget documents, assigned homework to contemplate the reasons for its failure, and departed.
"Haa..."
Lianus let out a deep, uncharacteristic sigh and slumped over. Watching him, Nihil relayed a request through Sir Evan for the maid to prepare a light snack.
Lianus glanced once more at the thick report titled 'Sharton Street Redevelopment and Relief Project Plan' before slumping further across the desk and calling out.
"Niiil..."
Lianus's still-plump baby fat cheeks squished and wobbled against the desk. Nihil felt a small urge to poke them but held back, responding indifferently.
"Yeah."
"What's the problem with this planning and budget? It seems perfectly fine to meee..."
Lianus dragged out his words wearily. Unable to resist any longer, Nihil poked his cheek firmly as he replied.
"Rian."
"Eung."
"The homework isn't to find problems in the plan."
"Ueng?"
Lianus's head perked up at Nihil's nonchalant words.
The cheek that had been smooshed against the desk popped free with a smack, regaining its round shape.
Though the pale glutinous rice cake had turned into a strawberry one.
Nihil glanced at the faintly marked, dough-like cheek and continued.
"It's to find the causes of failure."
"...Ah."
"And failure causes don't always come from flawed plans."
"......"
"The homework's a bit tricky."
The reasons plans fail—especially large-scale ones—often stem from unforeseen trivial details or complex interactions of multiple factors.
If this had been a real implemented plan, the failure causes would be in the records. But that wouldn't be efficient studying, and it would miss the teacher's intent.
Lianus seemed to grasp something from Nihil's words, propping his chin and staring blankly into space, lost in thought. Nihil fetched a blank sheet of paper and held it out.
"......?"
Lianus snapped from his reverie at the sudden white paper before him, tilting his head. Nihil set it on the desk and explained.
"Rian, I know you're smart, but the longer you think without structure, the easier it is to miss contradictions. Jot down notes simply—no need for perfection—to mull it over."
"Ah, thanks!"
Lianus beamed at his friend's consideration, quickly pulling out his fountain pen and scribbling away.
Sir Evan gaped at the brazen little rascal who had sat blankly like a straw mat throughout the lesson yet pinpointed the core issues. Maybe he was just too smart to bother studying.
As he stared, their eyes met.
"What're you looking at."
"......"
What was so pretty about that face that he even fed him dinner?
Sir Evan brainwashed himself that he, as the adult, must endure, calming his fist that itched to fly.
Ignoring Sir Evan's reddened knuckles, Nihil picked up the plate of cookies the maid brought and sat carefully beside Lianus so as not to disturb him.
Lianus tapped the paper with his pen while organizing his thoughts. The once-white sheet soon filled with irregular words and ink smudges.
After chewing and swallowing the chocolate cookie in his mouth, Lianus pondered longer—another cookie slipped between his slightly parted lips. Oatmeal this time.
Startled by the sudden change in taste and texture, Lianus jerked his head up.
'Since when have I been eating cookies?'
Turning to the source, he saw Nihil munching a cookie, holding the next one and watching him expectantly.
Nihil's cheeks bulged unevenly around the cookie as he tilted his head.
"Don't like oatmeal?"
Nihil had noticed Lianus eat the chocolate ones without fuss but react immediately to the oatmeal, wondering if he disliked them.
Lianus hurriedly chewed and swallowed the oatmeal cookie, shaking his head.
"No!"
"Progress on the notes?"
"Too vague. Nothing solid yet."
"Hmm."
Seeing Lianus make no headway despite deep thought, Nihil felt a twinge of doubt and picked up the planning document.
Pages flipped.
Lianus, full of anticipation, fed Nihil a cookie.
The reception room filled only with rustling paper and crunching cookies until Nihil finished skimming and set the budget down with a firm thud.
"That's weird."
"Huh? What? Found the issue?"
"No, not that. It's too polished."
The budget was flawless—ready to implement tomorrow without issue.
For Nihil, this was the first class, but the earlier examples had felt slightly lacking, like drafts or revisions. Challenging for a seven-year-old, but solvable.
Yet this homework one, demanding failure analysis, was insulting in its perfection, as if repeatedly reviewed.
"Rian, what's Sharton Street like?"
"It started as a settlement of refugees from abroad. Now it's degenerated—full of fugitives and criminals. Diverse races, mixed cultures, lots of illegal immigrants, sky-high crime."
"Even after redevelopment?"
"Huh? No, it hasn't been redeveloped yet."
Nihil furrowed his brows and toyed with his lower lip at the new info.
That figures. It felt off.
If Lianus was right, this wasn't a past proposal but a current one in preparation.
Thus, a near-final version after reviews—the teacher likely assigned it casually for another perspective. No need to obsess over "failure." But with class assignments fresh, distancing from the 1st Prince was a prime opportunity.
Nihil tapped the thick document with his fingertips and stated his deductions flatly.
"Rian, this is probably an actively prepared plan, maybe imminent. Analyzing failure from it is tough—it's already been reviewed multiple times to prevent that."
"Then what about the homework?"
"Teacher probably didn't expect much, just tacked it on. But if you want to do it, focus on supplementing gaps, not revisions."
"Uh..."
"Rian, been to Sharton Street?"
"No."
"How far?"
"About an hour by carriage."
"Then, field trip?"
Nihil recalled his hidden gold coins, postponing treasure hunts, and stood.
Lianus followed his movement, tilting his head quizzically.
"Field trip? Where?"
"Sharton Street."
"When?"
"Next class when?"
"Five days."
"No time. Let's go—get ready."
"Wha...? Now?"
"Just grab the summary."
"Uh, huh?"
Caught off guard, Lianus found himself being dragged along by Nihil's hand.