Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Bunny Deal
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Evan felt a little relieved as he watched the civet now looking perfectly fine.
"He gets drunk fast and sobers up just as quick."
"It wasn't even enough to get me drunk in the first place."
Nihil shot back dismissively and rummaged through his bag for some medicine, handing it to Dave. Evan clicked his tongue, thinking the guy had brought every kind of remedy under the sun.
Dave clearly didn't want to take the medicine, but Nihil threatened that if he threw up again and got dehydrated, it'd be even worse, so he reluctantly swallowed it down.
Watching Nihil's excessive nonchalance, Evan began to wonder if the teary-eyed drunk from earlier had been someone else entirely.
He was tempted to crack open that little head and see what was inside, but since bringing it up again would be awkward, he decided to play dumb.
Still, it irked him that Nihil was acting so cool after causing all that commotion, so he deliberately taunted him.
"You chugged it so confidently, I thought it was some kind of strong liquor."
"……."
"Ha, who would've thought a few sips of beer would knock you out……."
"……."
"Even the youngest wouldn't get drunk off that."
"…Last time I had some…, it was fine."
"Sure it was."
"……."
Once the situation turned against him, Nihil clamped his mouth shut and turned to Lianus.
"Shell, the puppy's bullying me."
"Don't bully Nil!"
"……."
Smack, smack.
The baby kitten promptly chased off the puppy.
Dave, who had been watching all this and giggling, suddenly remembered something and asked,
"Oh, I thought there must be some super-smart dog hiding around since Nil kept looking for 'woof-woof' like it was a cat."
"M-Me too……."
"……."
Evan silently downed his beer. It tasted bitter, perhaps because he couldn't smack the civet petting his own hand.
Then Dave, mistaking "woof-woof" for some kind of codename or nickname, asked curiously,
"Big bro's 'woof-woof' and Nil's 'civet', so what about Ner—no, Shell?"
As Lianus started to shake his head, saying he didn't have one, a low voice came from above his head.
"Baby kitten."
"……Huh?"
"……?"
"What'd you say?"
"…He's lost it."
Ah, this damn mouth of mine.
Evan quickly shut his mouth and played innocent as everyone muttered something, but he couldn't escape Nihil's piercing glare.
He mentally slapped his own mouth over and over, but what was said was said.
At least it was a relief that their oblivious baby kitten didn't catch on.
Lianus tilted his head and whispered softly,
"Is that the setting?"
Evan groaned inwardly at the innocent question, and he heard the civet mutter lowly, "Blasphemous brat."
Deciding denial was the best policy, Evan nodded, only for the civet to shoot him a contemptuous look for daring to call his master "baby kitten."
"But 'baby kitten' is kinda long, isn't it?"
"……."
"Ah, no, wait—with a real cat around, 'baby kitten' fits perfectly! It suits Ner—no, Shell—great!"
Dave started to nitpick but quickly changed his tune under Evan's murderous glare. Jane, who had been quietly watching without joining in, timidly spoke up, feeling bad for Nihil getting picked on by his big brother.
"N-Nil could be a b-baby c-civet……."
"……."
"……."
"…N-No, forget it."
Jane snapped her mouth shut as Nihil and Evan's faces crumpled mercilessly. They all forgot their purpose amid the bickering until Evan realized he hadn't reported yet and pulled the two kids close, quietly reciting,
"No missing persons reports. The guard captain was replaced about three months ago. Looks like someone shuffled the personnel on purpose. Doesn't seem directly tied to trafficking, but they're probably turning a blind eye. They exploit the patrols' reluctance for Sharton Street by cleverly skipping assignments every ten days or so—and today just happened to be one of those days. Probably when the drugs come in."
"…No point asking the local guards for help, then."
"Seems they're targeting kids with no connections. That Kelvin guy probably had a hand in it. Should've broken at least one finger……."
As Evan ground his teeth and the boys struggled to pretend they weren't listening, the owner brought over some warmly heated milk.
"It's milk for the kids, loaded with 'sugar,' so don't even think about stealing sips…… Sir."
The owner started handing it to the boys but, noticing Evan holding the little ones, subtly offered it to him instead.
The boys tensed up at the wooden cups placed on the table, sensing what was coming.
The owner handed them over and left promptly, but he kept eyeing their table, probably to check if the kids actually drank.
To avoid suspicion, Nihil deliberately slurped the milk loudly.
The boys and Evan panicked inwardly, but remembering Nihil's assurance that he'd brought stimulants and antidotes just in case, they barely held back.
Nihil chugged the milk, mustache and all, then beamed brightly.
"Tasty!"
"…Tasty?"
Lianus felt a bit relieved at the word. They'd agreed "tasty" for regular sleeping pills, "sweet" for something like narcotics.
Nihil used the burly Evan to block the watchful eyes, then slyly swapped his empty cup with Lianus's full one, saying,
"Yeah, super tasty. Shell, you try it quick."
"Mm……."
Lianus awkwardly stared at the now-empty cup in front of him before pretending to drink.
No milk came out no matter how he tilted it, but once he set it down like he'd finished, Nihil casually wiped his mouth, claiming it had milk on it.
Nihil's own milk mustache remained, so Lianus pulled up his sleeve and wiped it off for him.
Even after the kids "drank," the stares lingered. They wouldn't relax until the "rabbits" were asleep.
Nihil downed Lianus's share too, emptying half, then poured the rest into Evan's beer mug.
Evan stared blankly at his now milky beer and muttered,
"…Why pour that in here?"
"Big bro's had tons of the gross stuff, so I'll share a bit of mine special!"
"……."
"Grateful, right?"
"…Makes me wanna cry."
"Knew you would!"
"……."
Evan let out a hollow chuckle at Nihil's utterly innocent reply.
After that, Nihil started chattering away to himself. To convince them he was asleep, he needed a clear behavioral shift.
Occasional drunk patrons passed by, glancing at the empty milk cups, the quiet Lianus once, and the babbling Nihil once.
Lianus wasn't good at acting, so per Nihil's instructions, he pulled his hood low, bowed his head slightly, and sat still.
They'd assume both kids were out once Nihil quieted down.
"…So then En gave flowers, but Matthew…, ah, that's when Laura got mad and……."
Nihil's chatter grew disjointed toward the end, out of order and incoherent. He got a bit irritable when words wouldn't come—like a sleepy kid whining.
It was aimless babble expecting no response, but Lianus's little body twitched every time a new kid's name popped up.
"Mm…, and sooo…, they fought……."
Nihil's pronunciation stretched and slurred until the table fell silent, filled only with his murmurs moments ago.
The act was so convincing that Evan, worried Nihil had actually dozed off from the sedative, cautiously nudged his finger. Thankfully, Nihil subtly wiggled his own three times in response.
A short while later, the owner, who'd been watching the kids, sidled up to the table.
Evan spoke first, before the man could.
"Owner, these cute little bunnies fell asleep, but the kids say they got no home."
"Is that… so?"
"We met by fate, right? Can't leave the poor things out in the cold. Mind giving the cute bunnies a room to crash?"
"A-hem. Follow me."
Caught off-script and awkward, the owner quickly led them.
Evan figured they'd get any empty room since the inn was upstairs, but the owner went out the back door instead, handing them off to a waiting man in an alley before hurrying back inside.
The man eyed the hulking Evan warily and spoke cautiously.
"Ahem. How much you want?"
"What's your max?"
"60 per kid?"
"60 gold?"
"You mad?"
"Hah……."
Evan smirked incredulously.
Fine, the unruly civet aside—but their cute, adorable prince worth a measly 60 silver? Absurd.
Evan subtly unleashed his presence to pressure the man.
"Hey, pal. You trying to bribe someone with pocket change? Huh?"
"S-Sixty's generous. Bigger kids go for 50."
"Nah, see, I gotta split with these young ones here. Think about it: two bunnies is 120. Split three ways? That's 40 each. I end up with zilch—barely covers my daily booze. Get me?"
200 mugs of beer equivalent, but the man wilted under Evan's aura, unable to argue.
"Th-Then 65 each?"
"Man, you drive a hard bargain. These are prime 'baby bunnies.' Don't you know how rare they are? Ugh, forget it."
"W-Wait. 70 max."
"90. No less."
"B-Be reasonable!"
"Take it or leave it."
"75?"
"85."
"80! Final offer."
"Hmm……."
Evan pretended to mull it over before replying slowly.
"Deal at 80. Handle 'em gentle—these are 80-silver kids. Scratches ain't acceptable."
"We'll manage. Butt out."
Worried the man might rough up the kids, Evan added that, but the guy was in a rush. He handed Evan a coin pouch without even checking under their hoods, then loosely tied the boys with rope, shoved them into a small cage, and covered it with cloth.
Evan pretended to leave while passing the pouch to the boys and telling them to follow the cat, then tailed the man.