Chapter 75
Chapter 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Bunny in the Shadows
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Nihil took the lead, cradling Lianus—who had been sulking a bit ever since Dan’s drool incident—in his arms.
Jane and Dave stared at Lianus nestled against Nihil with strange expressions, looking a little sullen themselves. When their eyes met, they gave awkward smiles.
Nihil patted Lianus as he spoke up.
“Nerr, how long are you going to stay mad?”
“Nil..., you’re too lenient with kids.”
Nil is my friend!
Lianus clung tightly to Nihil’s nape and buried his face deep.
He didn’t want to share Nihil. His dear friend, whom he cherished so much, and now some kid he’d just met today was drooling all over him! The problem was that his friend was too kind and too pretty. No one could possibly dislike him.
When they got back to the palace, he’d definitely teach him. That he shouldn’t allow just anyone to touch him casually! No doing that right from the first meeting! Good thing Dan was still little—what if it had been some full-grown adult?
And even with younger kids, physical contact should wait until they were closer, and he had to learn to properly refuse if he didn’t like it.
But his friend, whether he understood Lianus’s feelings or not, just let out a chuckle.
Come to think of it, maybe he hadn’t refused because Dan was young and cute? He hadn’t disliked it, so he’d just let it happen! Nihil liked cute things, after all!
Indignation welled up.
Lianus felt a bit wronged, even if he wasn’t sure exactly why.
So he chomped down hard on the top of Nihil’s head.
“Ow, wait—Ri—Nerr, what are you doing?”
“Nom nom nom nom!”
“Don’t put your mouth on the dirty hood.”
Is that the problem right now?!
Lianus jerked his head up and called out to Nihil firmly.
“Nil!”
“Yeah.”
“You need to learn how to say no!”
“Don’t wanna.”
“...”
...Yeah. No need to learn how to refuse, then.
“Nerr, I’m fine, but if you startle the person carrying you, they might drop you—so be careful.”
“...Yeah.”
Lianus deflated a little. Then his eyes met those of the two boys, who were holding back laughter. Embarrassed by his own actions, he ducked his head—only to lock eyes with Bella, the cat at his feet, her gaze sparkling excessively.
“Meow~ Meeeooow, meow!”
Lianus felt like Bella wanted to say something, so he asked Nihil.
“What’s Kitty saying?”
“She wants you to bite her too.”
“...”
“But Nerr, you can’t bite Kitty. It hurts.”
“...”
“Meow meow meow meow!”
The cat let out a protesting yowl, but it didn’t seem like Nihil had misinterpreted. Too embarrassed, Lianus couldn’t lift his head.
Nihil pressed his lips together to stifle a laugh, patted Lianus as if nothing had happened, and turned to the boys.
“No matter what happens, you two absolutely don’t get separated.”
“I-I’ll t-take g-good c-care of them.”
“And if you somehow get separated from us, follow the cat.”
“Meeeow~”
At Nihil’s nod toward her, the cat—who had been following alongside with her tail swishing—let out a soft meow. Dave stared at Nihil’s incredibly clever cat and spoke up.
“We just follow this cat?”
“No. Any cat. Just follow it if you see one.”
“Um..., got it.”
“And if an adult who knows me and my little sibling shows up, it’s fine to follow them too.”
“...? You guys have guardians?”
“Finally—don’t ask about us, don’t try to figure us out, and no matter what, don’t mention us. Forget every conversation we’ve had.”
“...”
Nihil spoke again to the bewildered boys.
“And I’ll protect you as best I can, but my little sibling’s safety comes first. If anything happens to my sibling, I’ll abandon you without mercy—so take care of yourselves.”
“Uh, y-yeah. W-we w-won’t be a b-burden.”
“Good.”
Nihil even gave them some brutal advice—if anything happened to the boys, he’d handle the aftermath, so they shouldn’t hesitate to stab without mercy. Then he called out to Lianus.
“Nerr.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s change your name.”
“Huh..., again? To what?”
“Caution never hurts. Jul, Shul, Shill, Shell, Shuri, Shulle—which do you like?”
“Huh..., what’s the pattern for picking names?”
“Just rearrangements of your name. If you don’t like them, I’ll come up with others.”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s go with Shell.”
“Alright, Shell.”
Lianus’s name changed in a matter of seconds. He worried if he could adapt, but it was simple—just respond whenever Nihil called him, whatever the name. No problem.
As people started appearing one by one, Nihil set Lianus down from his arms and pulled his hood tight.
“Shell, you must be tired, but don’t let your guard down—keep your ears open.”
“Yeah.”
“If you feel bad, tell me right away.”
“Got it.”
“Kitty, go say hi to the other Kitties and link up with Puppy.”
“Meow!”
The cat gave a short reply and vanished somewhere. The boys wondered where this frequently mentioned Puppy was but didn’t dare ask.
How long had they walked? The streets began to grow rowdy. During the day, only a few listless people had been visible, but now at night, there were lots shouting or laughing and carrying on. Gaudy, colorful lights dangled crudely, hurting the eyes.
Nihil frowned, sensing gazes especially fixed on him and Lianus. The rumors of missing children had worried him enough to head out recklessly, but this was beyond overt. It would’ve been stranger if they’d remained mere rumors.
They weren’t doing anything—just walking the street—and yet sticky stares followed from all sides. Some were even trying to tail them surreptitiously. Without Jane and Dave bringing up the rear, they might’ve already been snatched.
Of course, they wouldn’t have strutted through the streets like this without those two.
Nihil let his arm hang loose, flashing a subtle hand signal to Puppy. But the curious kitten latched onto his hand with her paw.
“She...”
“Yeah!”
Lianus, who had vowed to respond instantly no matter what his friend called him, answered right away. He wanted to communicate with silent hand signals like his friend, too. It looked so cool, like a secret agent.
He was about to ask if he could learn hand signals when his cool friend spoke first.
“Shell, you keeping your ears open?”
“Y-yeah...”
Lianus answered awkwardly. He was keeping his ears open. The problem was he couldn’t make sense of what he heard. Was it coming in patchy so he couldn’t string sentences together, or was he mishearing?
Most of it was unrelated chatter—who’d lifted how much from where, whose head got bashed in, who’d scammed whose money. But certain words kept repeating from all over: “rabbit,” “sugar,” “eye powder.” Cute, whimsical terms that didn’t fit brutal Sharton at all. He wondered if he was hearing right.
Maybe rabbits actually lived in Sharton. It wasn’t far from the forest, so they could show up sometimes. Or maybe it wasn’t “rabbit” but “axe.” Or perhaps “hunting rabbits” meant hunting with an axe.
And just because someone was grown didn’t mean they hated sugar. Sweet desserts were always delicious!
At that moment, Nihil murmured lowly, as if reading Lianus’s thoughts.
“Shell, I’m telling you ahead of time—the rabbit is you.”
“...Huh?”
Lianus tilted his head. He was a person—a quarter-elf at that. Why a rabbit?
“Feels a bit dangerous..., should we head back?”
“Huh? Already? But...”
Lianus’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. He hadn’t even carried out a proper infiltration mission yet. He’d promised to return right away if it got hard or dangerous, but there hadn’t been any danger, and they’d only just come out.
Lianus’s shoulders sagged.
Nihil was pondering how to cheer up his thoroughly dejected little charge when he spotted Kelvin—who had noticed them from afar—approaching with his gang.
“Shell, over here.”
Nihil immediately pulled Lianus into a shadowy alley. The boys, who hadn’t spotted Kelvin’s group yet, followed in confusion.
Soon, light footsteps approached, and Kelvin and his crew swaggered into the alley.
“What’s scaredy-cat Jane doing out in the night streets? Traitor Dave’s with her too?”
Jane’s face hardened as she quickly shoved Dave behind her. The little kids scurried to hide behind her as well.
“...What. Do you. Want.”
Jane forced the words out slowly to avoid stuttering. She was their protector now—she couldn’t seem weak. But her straining only made it funnier; Kelvin snickered.
“Eww, why so serious? You’re scaring me to death.”
“What’s. Your. Business.”
“Business~? Just curious why a night-hider like you dragged that heavy butt all the way here. Opened a daycare or something?”
Kelvin peeked at the little kids peeking out from behind Jane and sneered. Then he crouched down to their eye level.
“Hi, kiddo. We know each other, right? Nice to see you again... That one next to you a friend?”
He held out a piece of candy.
“Like candy? Here, have this. Wanna come with big bro?”
“Wh-what’s. Your. Scheme.”
Jane blocked Kelvin’s view entirely with her body. Kelvin, who’d tried luring the kids even during the day, was highly suspicious. Not that cheap candy would tempt them anyway.
“Scheme? Just being nice, nice. Sorry I scared you earlier, kiddo. Wanna accept my apology?”
“I’d like to accept that apology too.”
“...!”
The reply came from behind them. The boys whipped around in shock to see the bearish man they’d collided with earlier that day, chewing on something as he swaggered into the alley.
“Hey, pal. You break someone’s arm and just run off like that? Huh?”
The boys’ faces went rigid at the man’s arrival. It had been a dislocated shoulder during the day, but now his arm was broken too, apparently. It still looked thick and sturdy, though—shoulder or forearm.
Jane hadn’t wronged the man or his crew, but she had no idea if he’d make that distinction. She had no choice but to tense up.
I have to protect the kids...!
With that thought, Jane glanced back. But behind her was only Dave, clutching her hem tightly in tension.
“...?”
The kids... where’d they go?
Jane noticed her feet were empty and subtly signaled Dave with her eyes, asking where the little ones were. Dave finally realized they were gone too, his eyes widening as he scanned around.
‘And I’ll protect you as best I can, but my little sibling’s safety comes first. If anything happens to my sibling, I’ll abandon you without mercy—so take care of yourselves.’
Jane’s pupils trembled fiercely. Dave’s face hardened noticeably as the same words dawned on him.
...We got ditched?