Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Stalling the Hunt
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The children clung tightly to Lianus, sobbing but refusing to let go. Lianus kept struggling at first, but when he saw the kids trembling in fear, he bit his lip hard.
Pan, who had been lying down, shot to his feet in surprise, but Nihil shook his head as if telling him to stay put, leaving Pan flustered and unsure what to do.
The boy who had tied up Nihil looked down at him, now behaving so obediently, and spoke in a dry voice.
"It'll hurt less if you don't resist and just die quickly."
"……."
With that, the boy hoisted Nihil up and approached the host.
"Today's prey has been decided."
Nihil, now the designated prey, peered up silently at the host from beneath his hood.
He caught a similar scent wafting from both the boy holding him and the gambling den's host.
They were probably father and son.
Nihil's eyes, hidden under the hood, darkened ominously.
How should he punish a trash of a father who throws his own child to the hounds?
"Let go of my brother!"
Lianus tried to struggle again. He knew Nihil would be fine, but being separated still made him anxious. Even someone as amazing as his dear friend could get hurt if bound hand and foot and thrown before those savage hunting dogs. But no matter how hard he twisted his body, it wasn't enough to break free from the children's grip.
The host frowned at Nihil, who hadn't cried or made a fuss since entering the hunting ground, and had even let himself be tied up without resistance.
"He's too docile."
"What do you want me to do about the kid being docile?"
"Maybe the drug hasn't worn off yet."
The spectators, displeased, erupted in jeers. What they wanted was a child begging for mercy through tears, thrashing wildly, only to be torn apart pitifully by the dogs' teeth.
Perhaps because three new, clueless kids had just arrived, the host decided he needed to set an example by running another game first.
The host jerked his chin toward Lianus, who was held by the other children.
"Bring that one too."
"…We agreed on one prey at a time."
"Shut up and bring him."
The boy glared at the host with murderous eyes. The host began threatening him in return, asking if he wanted to be the prey next.
Not liking how the host was trying to drag Lianus into this, Nihil stretched his foot through the bars and kicked the man's shin with a sharp thwack.
"Urk!"
The pain must have been intense, as the host clutched his shin and crumpled to the ground. The spectators cheered wildly, treating even that as entertainment and calling for more.
"Y-You damned brat!"
Unable to hold back any longer, the host grabbed his whip and stormed into the hunting ground. Nihil confirmed the gate locking behind him and glanced at Sir Evan.
Sir Evan subtly flashed a thumbs-up.
'Generously estimating, we need to buy about an hour.'
Meow had taken the children to request backup, and it would still take an hour or so for the royal guard to assemble and arrive.
Saving the kids would be simple—just have Sir Evan smash everything and carry them out. But Nihil wanted to round up every last piece of trash in this place without exception. If he acted even slightly suspicious, their 'funding sources' among the audience would all bolt.
That's why, even though he itched to beat the guy in front of him senseless, Nihil couldn't. The dog could easily handle their escort knights, but scattering fugitives would be impossible to catch.
'Who knew not being able to use magic would be this frustrating.'
If he'd known the remaining children were in such dire straits, he would have been more cautious….
But it was too late now; his actions were far too constrained. His role at the moment was to protect the children until the guards arrived while keeping the audience hooked so they wouldn't slip away.
Pondering how to hold the spectators' attention, Nihil spotted the host swinging his whip and wriggled just enough to slice through the ropes with his dagger before scampering off.
"…Huh?"
The boy stared blankly at Nihil slipping away from his grasp.
"…W-What the hell? He has a knife! Didn't they even check his belongings?!"
"Nil doesn't know anything."
As the host bellowed, Nihil shrugged his shoulders and played the part of an innocent, clueless child.
Nihil dashed toward the kids holding Lianus, waving the dagger and chanting "Daddy, Daddy," scaring them into backing off on their own.
"Pan, stick close to Shell."
"…Who's that?"
"My little brother."
"This kid…?"
"Yeah."
Pan had no idea why Ner was Shell, but he knew for sure that he had to stick by Nil's little brother, so he pressed close to him.
Nihil tucked the dagger away and took the staff from Lianus.
Seeing the 3-vs-3 standoff, Lianus whispered.
"Nil, what’s the plan? Gonna beat 'em up?"
Though they were the younger ones, Lianus figured Nihil could handle kids like these with ease.
But Nihil shook his head and continued.
"I don't hit little kids."
"Then what're you gonna do?"
"But I do hit grown-ups."
"Huh?"
Before Lianus could fully grasp the meaning, Nihil charged forward.
The host, startled by the sudden rush, swung his whip, but Nihil wrapped it around his staff and yanked it away.
"Wh-What?!"
Before the host could recover from losing his whip, Nihil lashed out wildly. The man flailed in panic and started running away.
The whip, flailed haphazardly by a frail child, merely slapped weakly against the ground. But whenever the host tried to step on it or snatch it back, it 'accidentally' always smacked him in the face.
Nihil pointed at the host's whip-reddened face and giggled that his funny face looked even funnier now.
The children watched the scene in stunned silence, at a loss for words. Deciding it would be too hard to reclaim the whip, the host yelled at the burly man outside the bars.
"What are you waiting for? Open the gate!"
The burly man gave the beleaguered host a pitiful look before pulling out his keyring.
Nihil didn't miss it and 'wildly' whipped the man's hand, knocking the keys flying. He snatched them up with a beaming smile.
"I got the keys!"
"……."
The arena fell silent. Sir Evan's involuntary mutter of "madman" echoed faintly.
Nihil scanned the hushed crowd, then tilted his head like a clueless toddler.
"Why?"
"Y-You little shit! Hand them over right now!"
"What? No way! I got them fair and square! If the mister wants to escape, get your own!"
"Who the hell sold us this retard?!"
"Nil's not a retard!"
Hands on hips, head snapped away in a huff—he was the picture of a sulky dimwit child.
As if never upset, the dimwit little Nihil grinned brightly and tugged at the host's collar.
"Wh-What kid has this strength…?!"
"Mister! Play with Nil!"
"Get lost!"
The host, dragged along in bewilderment, lashed out with a kick in anger, but Nihil 'tripped' and dodged it perfectly.
"Ow, I f-fell… Huh? Why'd you do that, mister?"
Nihil innocently asked the host, who was panting with a flushed face from his missed swing. Desperate to grab Nihil somehow, the host lunged, but Nihil giggled and darted away, shouting things like "Ugly mister's it!"
The audience started with mocking laughs but soon turned to jeers as the host kept getting toyed with, showing signs of fatigue. They demanded he get serious.
"When the hell does this start?!"
"Can't you catch one kid?!"
"Grab another one then!"
"Do it right!"
Realizing he couldn't stall with the host much longer, Nihil pondered a new game.
"The other missuses must be bored."
"D-Damned…."
"Wanna play something else?"
With that, Nihil pulled a fairy tale book from his pocket.
"Ta-da!"
"Wh-Where'd you get money…?!"
"Let's play coin flip! If mister guesses right, I'll give you one of my things. If you lose, you give me one of yours!"
"You think this is a joke…?!"
"Flip!"
Ignoring the host completely, Nihil flicked the coin lightly. The jeering gamblers fell silent despite themselves, eyes glued to it as addicts do.
Catching it on his hand, Nihil smiled sweetly.
"Heads or tails?"
"Heads."
The answer came not from the host but elsewhere. Sir Evan, watching, chimed in to play along as a shill.
"That's heads, right?"
"Nil doesn't know. What're you picking, mister?"
"Tails, looks like tails."
"Nonsense! Heads, it's heads!"
The arena grew rowdy again. Caught up in the mood, the host forgot his anger and shouted.
"Heads!"
"Heads? Not changing?"
"No!"
Nihil peeked at the coin on his hand and flinched dramatically.
"Can't change?"
"No changes."
The host smirked triumphantly, sure he'd won.
"Aw, man. It's that mister's fault."
Nihil grumbled, blaming Sir Evan, then deliberately raised his palm to show the coin to him and the crowd.
Sir Evan spoke up after checking.
"It's tails."
"What?"
Stunned at the call of tails instead of heads, the host rushed over to verify. The coin lay with the lettering visible.
The kingdom's founding king's face and famous quote were engraved on each side—a common mistake for kids was thinking the quote side was heads.
Nihil tilted his head innocently and double-checked.
"This is tails?"
"That's tails."
"Yay! So mister lost?"
"He did."
Beaming, Nihil extended his hand to the baffled host.
"You lost, so give me something."
"……."
Already swept into Nihil's rhythm and forgetting he needed to catch the kid, the host rummaged through his pockets. But he had nothing worthwhile to give. All he had was an arousal enhancer doubling as a stimulant to rile up the dogs.
Figuring it worked out, the host handed Nihil one of the two pills wrapped in paper.
"Here, candy."
"Candy? Yay!"
Nihil bounced happily upon receiving it but caught the suspicious smell and pocketed it without eating.
"…Not eating?"
"Later. Gonna flip again, so shoo."
After shooing the host away, Nihil himself dashed back to create distance before flipping the coin.
"Heads or tails?"
"If I win this time, give me the keys."
"And if you lose again?"
"……."
The host considered giving the last pill but recalled the hunting dog had just whelped days ago and wouldn't rampage properly without it. Then he remembered a scrawny pup about to die anyway.
"I'll give you a puppy."
"A puppy? You have one?"
"Of course. A super cute one the hunting dog just birthed."
"Yay! Pick quick!"
"Heads."
"Hmm……."
Nihil peeked at his palm again before speaking.
"Not changing?"
"Nope."
"Hmm, wasn't the lettered side tails? It's lettered again……."
"……."
Nihil trailed off ambiguously, tilting his head. The host grimaced, sensing defeat.
"Really not changing?"
"No!"
The host grinned. The dumb kid had spilled the answer and given him a chance to switch.
"Switch to tails."
"Okay, got it. Check it out, missuses."
Clutching his hand tight, Nihil ran back to the crowd and slyly revealed the coin on his palm.
"Pfft, heads it is."
One spectator snickered at the duped host after checking. The host stared in disbelief at the child, but the hood hid his expression.
"Puppy time!"
Ecstatic at the thought of a puppy, the little one beamed with pure innocence.