Chapter 61
Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Warehouse Return
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I've arrived!"
Pan bellowed as he flung open the warehouse door with all his might. The twisted hinges screeched loudly, as if they might snap at any moment.
"Brother Pan's here, brother! Nosebleed!"
A kid who looked no older than five years old spotted Pan's face as he entered and made a huge fuss about a nosebleed.
Pan rubbed the spot under his nose in irritation at the mention of it. It was from when that suspicious hooded kid had tripped him. He'd wiped it off, but apparently not all of it was gone.
"Ugh, this isn't from getting hit."
"Then what?"
Pan couldn't exactly say he'd tripped while trying to steal the little brat's bag, so he mumbled vaguely. His stomach, where his dad had punched him earlier, throbbed. Once he grew a bit more and got stronger, he'd pay him back for sure.
Dan, who had been staring intently at Pan's pained grimace, quickly piped up.
"Brother Ivan! Brother Pan looks like he hurts!"
"Hey, Dan! Shut your mouth!"
Pan hurriedly covered Dan's mouth, but the boy called Ivan—who had been prepping ingredients—approached and frowned at Pan's face, which seemed to be enduring pain.
"Pan, did that uncle hit you again?"
"Hmph, no need to make a fuss. You think I'd lose to that old geezer?"
"You didn't get hit more for fighting back, did you?"
"No. Just... a little... got hit a little."
Ivan gently wiped away the remaining blood under Pan's nose and advised him to just run away next time. Pan looked a bit downcast as he gazed at his big brother figure who genuinely worried for him.
"...Sorry, bro. I got all the food I scavenged today taken away."
"Food's fine. Lily brought back some meat. The spot that got hit is okay, right?"
"......Yeah."
"Don't sweat it, Pan. The kids brought back some bread. Bandages and the hood kid... uh, no, some kids shared it. And Jane might bring back food too."
"Yeah......"
"Was getting worried since you were late. With all those rumors about kids disappearing lately..."
"Hmph, what're you worried about? Don't you know who I am?"
Pan snapped back curtly, feeling guilty about showing up empty-handed. His stomach throbbed for no good reason.
Nihil sensed someone approaching and pulled Lianus along, shifting their position slightly. Soon, a tall, skinny boy entered the warehouse. It was the one they'd seen in the alley when buying potatoes. From the conversation, it seemed the vegetable vendor had given the kids the potatoes out of kindness.
"I should reward those market folk separately later."
Lianus muttered. It looked like the market people turned a blind eye to the kids' thieving to some extent. They owed their survival to that. He'd have to make sure to repay them properly.
"Time to go, Ner."
Nihil stood up Lianus, who was still crouched and listening to the kids' talk with interest.
"Where to?"
"Lunchtime's approaching, so let's grab some food and check out Sharton Street. Can't stick around these guys forever."
"Yeah, true. But... were we that noticeable?"
Lianus glanced at Nihil cautiously. The kids kept mentioning the 'hood kid' and 'bandage kid' in passing. Being conspicuous brought nothing good, so he reflected a bit, wondering if he'd acted too thoughtlessly.
It was he who'd wanted to share the bread, he who'd said it was fine since they hadn't done anything wrong even after Nihil's quiet warning about guards, and buying the potatoes could be seen as a lesson for his naive self about the world.
"Don't worry, Ner. What they remember is some clueless kids new to the streets, not a prince and his friend. Just do what you want. More concerned about those rumors of kids vanishing. After lunch, let's check out the guards too."
"Yeah!"
Lianus replied brightly, suppressing his excitement at the adventure still unfolding, and followed after Nihil.
But Nihil hadn't taken more than a few steps before he dropped to one knee on the ground. Lianus, startled and thinking Nihil might be hurt, opened his mouth to speak—but Nihil beat him to it.
"Alright, hop on."
"Oh......"
"Come on."
"......Do I have to?"
"Prefer being carried?"
"......"
"Your legs hurt. Come on."
"Ah, no. They don't hurt much."
Caught that his legs hurt, Lianus blinked wide-eyed and made excuses, but Nihil showed no signs of backing down and kept urging him.
"Can't do this on the street. We'll be walking all day, so rest your legs while you can."
"B-but, Nil, won't it tire you?"
"You're light, so it's fine. And I like carrying or holding stuff anyway."
"Liar."
"It's true."
When Lianus still hesitated to climb on, Nihil opted to just scoop him up and started moving.
Back to being held like a baby, Lianus felt physically comfortable but mentally uneasy, so he wriggled nonstop.
"Ner, I'm not putting you down anyway, so stay still."
"Nooo......"
"Told you, I like it."
"......!"
Lianus's eyes quivered at the easily misinterpreted words, then he smacked Nihil's back as his shoulders began to tremble.
"Nil! Don't tease!"
"Kuh, uh, yeah......"
Sir Evan, who'd been watching, finally couldn't hold back and stepped in front of the little ones. He glared at Nihil with the eyes one gives a thief, then held out his hand as if demanding he hand Lianus over.
But Nihil, with no intention of yielding peacefully, hugged Lianus tighter and walked right past Evan.
"Nil, why that..., huh? Sir Evan, when did you get here?"
"Just now. Hand him over, wildcat."
"No."
"What."
Evan raised one corner of his mouth in disbelief at Nihil's firm refusal.
Thus began the tug-of-war between the one trying to snatch and the one refusing to let go. Nihil dodged Evan's hands without a care for his hood slipping off, running around playfully.
Bella, who appeared following them, giggled at the spectacle between Nihil and Evan, while the clueless Lianus just looked baffled in Nihil's arms.
"Why be so stubborn."
"......"
"Surely it'd be more comfortable being carried by me than this punk."
"......"
No matter how steadily Nihil held the prince, their similar builds made it uncomfortable for both holder and holde.
Wouldn't their baby kitten prefer being carried by a big dog over being dragged around by a wildcat of similar size?
Nihil knew that too, so in the end, victory went to Evan.
As the warmth filling his arms vanished, Nihil felt a slight emptiness and stared down at his empty hands.
Evan, about to stride off triumphantly with Lianus snatched away, paused upon seeing Nihil like that—his mood suddenly complicated.
It felt like he'd gone all out against a kid in a game, won, and taken their only toy. A sour taste crept in.
Thinking about it, there'd been no real need to wrestle for the prince. He could've just carried both. His failure to think of that from the start was surely because the wildcat had teased him.
Evan glanced back at Nihil following behind. The guy was hard to read at the best of times, and with the hood on, even more so.
Unlike the brooding Evan, Bella—who'd merely watched—grinned mischievously, unable to hide her excitement at teasing the cute loser.
"Pretty young master, what'll you do now that the adorable young master's been taken~ Want to hold the world's cutest, most charming meow at least?"
"......Yeah."
"Ah, of course you would..., what?"
Bella, expecting a 'no need' or 'pass,' was mid-rebuttal when the unexpected reply made her gape in surprise.
Of course, she'd teased precisely to see the aloof, graceful Nihil pout or get annoyed—good intentions were nil from the start, let alone anticipating this.
Evan was just as flustered, realizing then that Nihil's claim of liking to carry or hold things wasn't just empty words to placate the prince.
As Evan shook his head with guilt like he'd stolen a kid's toy, Nihil tilted his head slightly at blankly standing Bella and spoke slowly.
"Just testing?"
"Y-yes? No! Not at all!"
Startled back to her senses by Nihil's prompting, Bella quickly shifted to cat form and leaped into his arms. Nihil smiled faintly, satisfied by the small warmth and the thumping heartbeat against him.
Watching that, Evan couldn't overcome his guilt and scooped up Nihil with his free arm, asking in a deliberately mocking tone.
"If you like holding so much, want me to fetch you a teddy bear?"
"Ah, Nil, you like bear dolls?"
"Meooow~"
All three tossed in their two cents, wondering if they should get Nihil a stuffed toy. But Nihil's response was lukewarm.
"Not interested in dead things."
"......?"
"But a bear doll with a heartbeat? I'd like that."
"Where would you even find..."
"The body heat of the living is like a drug."
That's why he kept coming back even knowing it'd cool off.
Nihil murmured as he gently stroked the forehead of the cat in his arms. The cat's upward-gazing eyes began to flicker wildly.
Evan wanted to shift the stagnant mood quickly, but Nihil's usual blank expression somehow looked melancholic, sticking the words in his throat. He hoped the oblivious prince would say something, but even he stayed quiet.
The cat Bella in Nihil's arms rolled her eyes around before giving up and meowing like any normal cat.
Nihil muttered.
"That kid used to run right into my arms whenever I opened them..."
'Do kids these days not like being held?'
As Nihil thought that with a smack of his lips in mild regret, the other two—feeling unnecessarily guilty and misreading the mood—started peeking at him nervously.
The free-spirited Bella couldn't stand the suffocating atmosphere any longer and decided to stir things up.
"Meow."
The adorable cat, who'd been rubbing against him to mark her scent, lightly kissed the soft cheek of the small child in his arms.
The deep, beautiful black eyes stared at the cat for a moment before losing their light and fading away.