Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: A Faint Scent of Dog
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Karus scratched his head awkwardly and spoke up for Bella instead.
"Dear friend, Bella is older than me. She's already an adult. She must be twenty-eight this year."
"Teacher, you can't judge cat beastkin by human standards. They have much longer lifespans to begin with. At twenty-eight... that's like the late teens in human years, so she'll awaken in a year or two."
"Meow?"
The cat's head shot up at the mention of her powers awakening in just one or two years. She leaped straight into Nihil's arms. Nihil scratched under her chin and added an explanation.
"From the looks of it, there aren't any other beastkin around you. If possible, find another cat beastkin who can help her learn to control her abilities. She won't go berserk like a wolf beastkin when she awakens, but if she can't control her sleep powers in time, she'll knock out everyone around her."
"Meooow~"
The big housecat Bella acted all cutesy, as if Nihil's warning didn't faze her one bit. She just seemed thrilled at the idea that she still had a chance to awaken.
Evan let out a disbelieving chuckle at the big cat's shameless shift in attitude. Just minutes ago, she'd been bristling with feral hostility like a wild lynx.
Then Nihil, who had been absently scratching the cat's chin, suddenly looked up and met Evan's eyes.
"What're you staring at, lynx?"
Caught off guard by the sudden eye contact, Evan snapped back without thinking. Nihil stared blankly at the curt retort for a moment before turning back to the cat and muttering softly to himself.
"The blood's so faint I didn't think much of it before, but I guess our house doggy might awaken someday too."
"...?"
Everyone's faces showed a flicker of confusion at Nihil's mutter.
Only Evan, who knew the "doggy" Nihil meant was him, furrowed his brow and pondered the words.
The doggy he mentioned is me, right? But what's that about faint blood, and what does awakening even mean?
They'd just been talking about beastkin awakenings, so that part made sense. Faint blood, though...
Evan had half-risen from his seat when he felt the slight weight of the little kitten on his thigh and settled back down obediently.
"No way I'm mixed?"
Lianus, who had been happily watching the kitten, blinked in surprise at the word "mixed" and looked up at his knight with round eyes.
Evan shook his head in disbelief even as he answered himself.
"No, my adoptive parents were completely ordinary humans. They passed when I was young, but they were definitely my birth parents. There's no way I'd be..."
"'Mixed' is a bit vague."
Nihil cut off Evan's flustered outburst mid-sentence.
Evan waited quietly, assuming an explanation would follow, but Nihil said nothing more and just picked up a cookie, crunching it noisily.
A few crumbs fell onto the cat's head on his lap.
Nihil knew all four pairs of eyes were on him but ignored it, finishing his cookie before gently brushing the crumbs off the cat's head and handing her back to her original owner.
In the end, curiosity got the better of Karus. He took the cat and asked,
"Dear friend, I'm curious about Sir Evan's true nature. Could you explain more?"
"Why are you curious about it, teacher?"
"Because Sir Evan is my precious secret friend of the same age! Isn't sharing fun... er, unspeakable circumstances how friends bond?"
"It's nothing much. Just that one of his ancestors was probably a beastkin. The blood's so diluted it's basically human. He's just lucky the traits came out strong, so he's got a good build, more strength, and a bit tougher body, that's all."
Evan's lip twisted. Sure, he had some natural gifts, but he'd worked hard to join the knight order, and he still trained diligently. Nihil's words made it sound like his physique and strength came purely from that mixed blood, which soured his mood.
"I may be bigger than a commoner, but you can find plenty of knights with similar builds among the trained ones. How can you be so sure it's because I'm mixed just from that?"
"You smell like a dog."
"...."
"...."
...This guy?
A heavy silence fell over the room at Nihil's dog-smell remark. Even the purring from the cat in Karus's arms stopped dead. No one dared speak first, all stealing glances at Evan—except Nihil, who leisurely sipped his tea.
Lianus peeked up at Evan. Then, gauging his reaction, he gave in to his curiosity, lunged forward, hugged Evan tight, and started sniffing him.
"Wah! Your Highness, please don't sniff me!"
Evan panicked and tried to pull away, but Lianus clung on stubbornly, shaking his head. Evan couldn't bring himself to use force on the prince and fidgeted helplessly before finally going limp in resignation.
Unimpeded, Lianus sniffed to his heart's content. After a long while, he pulled back, tilted his head, then widened his eyes as if realizing something and turned to Nihil.
"Come to think of it, I don't really know what dog smell is like. Hmm, Sir Evan smells... soft and warm and fluffy, but a bit heavy and dry... Yeah, I can't put it into words. Is this the smell Nil was talking about?"
"Rian, that's not a scent you can pick up. It's way fainter than the forest smell coming off you. If you're a quarter mixed, your knight is like one or two drops at most. Aside from his sturdy body and a few physical gifts, he's no different from a human."
Evan bristled rebelliously at Nihil's words and grumbled.
"My physical abilities come from my own efforts. Don't downplay my hard work with that one-or-two-drops nonsense."
"Didn't I say 'mixed' is ambiguous? It's more like a lingering echo. I just mentioned it because he's so exceptionally gifted compared to that echo—you might go through an awakening process someday. No need to worry about it."
"It's from my efforts, I tell you!"
Evan burst out indignantly.
Nihil shrugged at him once, then stepped closer and flipped over Evan's rough, pot-lid-sized palm. It was tough overall, covered in scars large and small—from beast bites, or grabbing sword blades and incoming arrows barehanded.
Seeing his glorious scars made Evan feel a bit better, like proof his efforts weren't in vain.
Nihil examined the palm and spoke lowly.
"Ever been seriously ill?"
"A few mild colds as a kid."
"Were your parents tall?"
"My mother was on the small side, and my father was average for an adult man. I'm a bit taller than them, sure."
It wasn't just a bit. Evan was over 190 centimeters and still growing a little. Even among well-built knights, his size stood out.
Nihil nodded impassively and pressed on with questions. Evan felt like he was under interrogation and grew uneasy, but he answered honestly.
"When did you first pick up a sword?"
"Around ten... I think."
"When did you join the knight order?"
"Fifteen."
"Who was your master?"
"I spied on mercenaries training for about a year and copied them. Then I nearly died to a monster, and the current Royal Knight Commander saved me. We kept in touch after that, and he taught me a few times. Mostly I trained alone or hunted monsters."
"You think it's normal for a commoner kid with no proper master to hunt monsters solo and join a knight order—no, the Royal Knight Order—in just five years of swordplay? And you're the youngest, to boot?"
"I've always had good stamina from rolling around as a kid. I'll admit I was born with some talent, but it's got nothing to do with beastkin blood. And how long are you going to keep grilling me like this?"
Uncharacteristically, Nihil narrowed his eyes and stared at Evan before posing the final question.
"...Has your palm ever split open during sword practice?"
"Why would my palm split from sword practice?"
"...."
A second silence descended on the room. Lianus, who had been nestled quietly in Evan's lap, wriggled free, stuck to Nihil's back, and peered at Evan with the exact same narrowed eyes.
Evan flinched at the wary kitten's unfamiliar glare.
"Whoa, Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sir Evan, I feel betrayed somehow."
"W-what did I do?"
"Man, to think my secret friend is a total talent freak."
Karus, who had been sitting quietly across from them listening, clapped and laughed hollowly.
"Talent freak? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's academy slang. A new term kids use to jealously describe prodigies who get way better results than their effort warrants. Don't go telling anyone how you joined the knight order. You'd get beaten up."
"Even you, Marquis? I put in real effort, you know."
"Of course, of course. Who am I to dismiss your hard work? I'm just thrilled to learn my secret friend is such an amazing prodigy."
"Mm, I like Sir Evan even if he's a talent freak."
"Rian, don't pick up weird words."
"Meooow~"
With everyone chiming in one after another, Evan's head spun.
Was he really a talent freak? Were all his hard-earned skills just thanks to a few drops of beastkin blood?
Meanwhile, Lianus kept muttering "talent freak, talent freak" as he mulled over the new term until Nihil scolded him.
Nihil pinched Lianus's cheeks and stretched them out.
"Rian, I said don't use that word."
"Why nooot?"
"Bad habits are hard to break. And your knight is just so tough he could push himself with brutal methods for rapid growth. His palms don't split swinging a sword, and beast bites don't pierce him, so he could swing more, hunt more than others. It's not a lack of effort. Unlike normal people, he survives near-death situations and racks up more experience as a result. That's all it is."
"Oh! Sir Evan, I see you in a new light!"
Lianus looked up at his bodyguard with shining eyes.
Evan coughed awkwardly at the indirect praise, embarrassed, then changed the subject to shift the mood.
"A-anyway. What exactly is this awakening thing?"
"Most beastkin go through an awakening process. You should be fine since you're basically human, but..."
"But?"
"Like I said, compared to how little blood you inherited, it's influencing you a lot. Now that I look closer, it's not impossible, which is why I brought it up."
Evan imagined himself awakening and frowned.
No way he'd turn into a dog or something... right?