Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: How a Prince Makes Friends
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The chattering children's attention suddenly snapped toward the door. The guards had never caused such a commotion before, so tension began to creep across the kids' faces.
"Ha..."
Unlike the other children, Nihil—who had quickly grasped the situation—let out a deep sigh. Lianus tilted his head and asked him,
"What's going on?"
"...Dinner."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Let's go out."
"W-Wait? We can go out?"
Nihil opened the door without further delay. The curious children trailed after him like ducklings.
The guards' area was in utter chaos.
"Grab it, grab it!"
"Wh-What is that? Don't come this way!"
"It's heading that way!"
"We can't let it get away!"
Pigeon's feathers were scattering everywhere inside the guards' quarters.
Nihil turned toward the guard he'd entrusted the pigeon to. The man flinched upon meeting his eyes.
"H-Haha, sorry about that. I didn't know it was still alive... Whoa!"
The guard started making excuses but shrieked and flailed his arms wildly as the pigeon flew straight at him.
"......"
Nihil narrowed his eyes in disdain.
The clueless children watched from a safe distance, eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination as the pigeon darted about erratically.
"Guard bro."
A low, composed voice from one of the children rang out clearly amid the guards' noisy clamor. Even in the chaos, it drew everyone's focus.
"Uh, y-yeah?"
"I told you not to lose dinner."
"I-I haven't lost it yet! I'll catch it right away..."
The guard was sweating bullets. The hood hid the child's eyes, but it felt like a scolding for failing to catch a single pigeon. And this was precious food the kid had worked hard to obtain—losing it like this was unforgivable.
"Dinner?"
Lianus tilted his head at the mention of dinner.
No way—that bird flapping wildly across the guards' ceiling was tonight's meal?
"Did Nil bring that?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"The dog fetched it."
"......"
Lianus felt a twinge of pity for Sir Evan, who was being treated like a dog. But since Sir Evan called Nihil a feral cat, he couldn't exactly take the knight's side.
"Watch out!"
Just then, the rampaging pigeon dove straight at Lianus.
Bella swiftly leaped from Lianus's arms and sprang forward. This was her big moment to finally perform a proper knightly duty.
"Meow!"
But the bold cat ended up plastered to the back of a small, hooded head. Nihil had blocked Lianus faster than she could.
With the cat clinging to the back of his head, Nihil spoke softly.
"Kitty."
"Mrrrow?"
"I put you there to guard him, so being this slow is a problem."
"Meeeooowwww~"
The cat wriggled and gnawed futilely, still stuck to Nihil's head.
Kitty felt utterly wronged. She wasn't slow—the pretty young master was just too fast. It was a perfect chance to shine, and he'd ruined it.
"Meeeooow, mrrowww!"
"No excuses. Go to the wall and reflect."
"Meeeowww..."
The cat slid down Nihil's back with a pathetic slither. Her claws nearly yanked off his hood, but Lianus quickly pulled it back into place.
"Meow!"
Fearing more scolding, Bella scampered to the wall and pretended to reflect.
The children and guards stared, dumbfounded, at Nihil seemingly holding a real conversation with the cat.
In truth, all eyes had been on him since he'd snatched the incoming pigeon barehanded.
In the ensuing silence, only the pigeon—gripped by the scruff in Nihil's hand—flapped noisily, shedding feathers everywhere.
Nihil frowned at the unyielding bird and tightened his grip.
With a gruesome crunch, true silence fell.
"......"
"......"
"...D-Did it die?"
At Lianus's hesitant question, Nihil inwardly winced and discreetly hid the pigeon's corpse behind his back. He had planned to kill it anyway, but slaughtering it in front of kids wasn't great for their delicate sensibilities.
"Sorry."
"N-No? It's fine. I'm used to seeing animal carcasses already..."
"......"
Nihil's expression darkened at those words. Lianus was still too young to hunt, so being "used to" dead animals likely stemmed from something far uglier.
Oblivious to his friend's silent cursing, Lianus approached the cat headbutting the wall in reflection and gently scooped her up.
"Big bro, Kitty tried her best, so forgive her."
"Fine. Let's go, Ner."
"Okay!"
Lianus eagerly grabbed his friend's hand. Nihil turned to the guards who'd struggled to contain the pigeon.
"Thanks for watching the pigeon, guys."
"...Uh, y-yeah."
"But maybe don't get complacent at your level—train harder."
"......"
"If the higher-ups saw you panicking over one pigeon, you'd get chewed out."
"......"
The guards felt unjustly scolded but couldn't deny it, hanging their heads a bit.
And if they'd actually lost the kid's precious dinner? The shame would've been unbearable.
Lianus giggled watching Nihil lecture even the guards.
"Big bro, ease up. No one got hurt, and the pigeon is... well, safe now that it's caught."
Lianus glanced at the pigeon's limp corpse dangling from Nihil's hand, neck snapped.
Dinner, huh. He hadn't expected Nihil to procure ingredients himself. It was probably just something Sir Evan caught to avoid calling him a liar...
"He's following us."
"Huh? Who?"
Nihil clicked his tongue lightly, sensing Dave's persistent presence. He didn't really care if the boy followed, but wandering the slums late at night could be risky. Better to shake him off completely and make him give up.
"Ner, come here."
Nihil gave Lianus a quick rundown of the situation and led him into an alley. At the corner, he scooped Lianus up in one swift motion.
"Whoa, mmpf!"
Lianus yelped instinctively but clamped a hand over his mouth. Nihil bounded up a wall with him in his arms, landing lightly on a rooftop.
"......!"
As Lianus calmed his racing heart and looked up, he nearly cried out again. Sir Evan was right there.
The knight looked just as shocked, staring wide-eyed—not at him, but at Nihil.
Yeah, it was shocking. Leaping rooftops one-handed while carrying a kid? Not reacting would be weirder.
Bella panted up after them, meowing in protest.
Down below, Dave rushed into the empty alley. Lianus clung tightly to his friend, tense about getting spotted.
Dave scanned the deserted alley, disappointment washing over him as he slumped and turned to leave. That's when a group of familiar-faced boys sauntered up.
"What're you doing here, Dave? Isn't today your guard shift?"
"N-No. I, uh, had something to do... so I stepped out."
"Something? What, besides begging?"
The apparent leader smirked and flicked Dave's forehead repeatedly. Dave backed away awkwardly, but the group encircled him, leaving no escape.
"Who said you could wander off without permission? Huh?"
"S-Sorry..."
"You pulling some scheme?"
"Sch-Scheme? No, nothing like that."
"Then why'd you come out?"
"I had business..."
"What business?"
Dave stammered that he'd just gone looking for someone, only to get smacked on the head.
"You fraternizing with another gang?"
"N-No! Not another gang—just some outsiders. Th-Thought they might be useful, so I was gonna recruit 'em."
Dave hadn't planned any recruiting, but he mumbled excuses anyway. Kelvin scoffed at his audacity and smacked him again.
Dave shook his throbbing head, cursing his miserable life. Why had he even followed? What did he think he'd do?
Then another boy's voice rang out.
"Kelvin! Bullying kids again?!"
"Oh, look who it is. Nosy Ivan, huh? And the stutterer Jane too?"
Kelvin sneered and nodded to his crew, who surrounded the pair.
"Just pass by quietly—why butt in?"
"Ease up on tormenting the little ones."
"You ease up on the nosiness. This is our business."
Kelvin narrowed his eyes in irritation, lips pursing.
They outnumbered the pair anyway—maybe teach that busybody a lesson. But then he spotted the bulge at Ivan's waist.
"...Fuck."
Kelvin's face twisted. That psycho had a kitchen knife again. The long scar on his arm throbbed at the memory. Ivan without a knife was one thing; with it, he was dangerous. And the stutterer wouldn't just take it lying down.
Kelvin glanced at Jane—who towered a head above him—clicked his tongue, and changed tack.
"Think we don't know you're poaching our kids one by one? What, taking this one too?"
"Don't make me laugh. They run because their leader's a mess like you."
"Fuck off. I fed and sheltered those ungrateful brats, and this is how they repay me? Right, Dave?"
Kelvin prodded Dave's swollen head threateningly, as if daring him not to agree.
As Dave timidly nodded, he spotted Nil—whom he'd thought vanished with his precious little brother—watching from afar, alone.
Something told Dave Kelvin couldn't see him. He urgently mouthed for Nil to run. But the fearless kid approached instead.
"Who's the brat? Never seen him before."
Kelvin eyed Nil suspiciously, then grinned wickedly. Muttering something about fresh rabbit hunting, he advanced.
Sensing trouble, Ivan blocked his path.
"What're you gonna do to that little kid?"
"Fuck, Ivan, quit the nosiness and piss off. I ain't hitting kids. If you hadn't stolen ours, this wouldn't happen. Right, kiddo? Wanna come with big bro? Want this?"
Kelvin shoved past Ivan and dangled a candy from his pocket, shaking it enticingly as he neared Nil.
Dave's unease spiked. He lunged, grabbing Kelvin's waist tightly, and yelled,
"Nil! Run!"