Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The Slave Mark's Secret
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When Nihil opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the little prince, face streaked with tears, gently wiping his cheek. He lifted his head a little higher, and there was Evan, cradling him in his arms.
"Nil..."
"...Rian."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Lianus apologized over and over. If he'd known removing the slave mark would hurt this much, he never would have allowed it.
He'd chosen this path to seem more mature, to grow up faster, never imagining it would cause his dear friend such pain.
Was this what it meant to be an adult—enduring agony like this? Or was he still too incompetent to claim that title?
"Rian... your face is a mess."
Nihil blinked a few times with a dazed look, then let out a soft chuckle at Lianus's puffy, swollen face before sitting up.
"Sniff, hic, eung..."
"Rian, let's wash your face. Time to unwrap the bandages."
Nihil unwound the damp bandages clinging to Lianus's face, fetched fresh water, and scrubbed gently until his skin felt clean and fresh.
"Eung, sniff, sorry, Nil..."
"Don't rub your eyes, Rian. Does it itch a lot?"
Nihil caught Lianus's hand just as he was about to rub his face. Lianus shook his head vigorously.
"Eung..."
"Yeah. Next time we go out, we'll cover them with an eyepatch. Or get some magical salve."
"Ung..."
Lianus hung his head low. If they had to go out again, he'd prepare more thoroughly next time.
So his friend wouldn't suffer. So he wouldn't have to bear it alone.
"Rian, lift your head a bit so I can wash your face properly."
"...Nil, you're really okay now, right?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Now quit sniffling, Rian."
"Hic!"
Nihil deftly wiped away Lianus's runny nose, then sucked the tears from the soaked bandages. Lianus, oblivious to the fact that he'd just blown his nose into his friend's hand, simply blinked up at him with wide eyes.
Nihil pulled Lianus's hood down low, hiding those bright, sparkling eyes. He then changed into spare clothes while receiving princely assistance and tugged his own hood deep over his head.
"Your field of vision will be a bit narrow. Might feel uncomfortable."
"Eung, it's fine. Not uncomfortable at all. Are you really okay now, Nil?"
"I'm fine. The pain's completely gone."
"Why... can I ask why you did it?"
Lianus whispered as softly as he could.
Nihil paused, weighing how much he could reveal. He couldn't afford to be 'pinned down' as anything specific. He had to remain ambiguous—fitting neither here nor there, or perhaps both, just... something undefined.
Nihil started by explaining the two methods to remove a brand. One reversed the incantation; the other poured holy water directly onto the core of the spell.
"...So, since hiring a mage or shaman on the spot was impossible, I went with the holy water method. But we couldn't open their chests to pour it straight onto their hearts, so I transferred it to the back of my hand first. Transferring is easier than outright removal."
No. Truth be told, transferring to 'someone else' was impossible. It only worked because of his assimilation ability.
"Is... getting branded normally that painful?"
"No. My pain came from a different realm. Transferring or erasing a brand triggers severe agony. That's why ripping it from the heart usually results in shock death."
"What—mmph!"
Nihil clamped a hand over Lianus's mouth just as he startled and tried to shout at the mention of shock death, then hurried on.
"Calm down, Your Highness. Anyway, a heart-bound brand is incredibly tricky to remove. That's why I transferred it to my hand for easier erasure. And..."
"W-wait a second, can you really tell me all this? I-I'm not curious. You don't have to say anything."
"...You sure you don't want an explanation?"
Lianus had squeezed his eyes shut and plugged his ears with his own hands by now.
He was dying to know what power Nihil had used, but the thought of learning too much might drive his friend away terrified him. He'd happily live in ignorance forever if it meant Nihil stayed by his side.
Nihil stared intently at Lianus, who had his eyes and ears blocked tight, his lips twitching faintly.
If he kept it vague, just a partial truth, maybe it'd be okay. A tiny piece might not leave a mark.
After a moment's more thought, Nihil spoke cautiously.
"I can share some of it. It'll be fine."
"...You can tell me?"
"Mm. Just a little."
Heartened by the reassurance, Lianus peeked cautiously, lowering his hands from his ears and waiting breathlessly. Of course he was curious—it'd be a lie to say otherwise.
"I can't go into detail, but... I can take on someone else's 'fruit' in their place."
Taking another's 'fruit' was just a partial use of his assimilation ability. Nothing impressive.
But Evan and Lianus both clamped their mouths shut, deep in thought upon hearing it.
Maybe he could share because they wouldn't grasp the meaning anyway.
Nihil could read their minds plain as day but flashed a light smile and continued.
"The twins didn't die from shock because I took on their 'fruit' of pain. Three of us split the pain meant for two—that's why the kids survived."
"Hmm... I think I get it a little. Wouldn't it hurt less if more people shared it?"
"Only I can receive the 'fruit.' Can't pass it to anyone else."
Lianus's face fell a bit at that. He didn't fully understand what 'fruit' meant, but if others could share the pain, his friend wouldn't have been drenched in cold sweat, body wracked with agony.
"Nil, you had no choice this time, but don't use that ability again from now on."
"Okay."
"You're not hurting anywhere now, right?"
"No pain. It's our secret, got it?"
"Yeah. As long as you're not hurting, that's what matters."
"...It doesn't look finished yet, though."
"Huh?"
Evan stared fixedly at the back of Nihil's hand.
"From the context, that shimmering silver pattern is the slave brand, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And there are two of them."
"...Yep."
Evan and Lianus fixed Nihil with stares. What now with those marks?
"Erasing these is easy. Just pour holy water directly on the core. Divine power hates mingling with other mana—it's got a nasty temper."
"Mm, where's the core?"
"In the palm."
"Don't you dare tell me I have to slice open that hand you just healed, cat."
"..."
Nihil shut his mouth and averted his gaze from Evan's. The implication was so obvious that Lianus yelped and jumped back in horror.
"No way! Absolutely not! Why'd you transfer it to your hand anyway? Couldn't you have put it on their hands?"
Lianus pointed blatantly at the twins. His voice was so loud it reached them inevitably. The twins caught on immediately and started glancing around nervously.
Nihil scooped up the agitated Lianus, patting his back as he spoke.
"Can't pierce the kids' palms."
"P-pierce? Not cut, but pierce?"
"...Ah."
Nihil realized his slip and clamped his mouth shut, but Lianus's face had already drained to blue.
Too late to take it back. Nihil quickly changed the subject.
"Rian, you don't want me to be a slave, right?"
"Of course not! But let's just find a mage or a temple... I-I'm a prince, after all..."
Lianus sniffled, clutching Nihil's head tightly. He started persuading him that he could summon mages or priests anytime.
But Nihil shook his head and pressed on.
"I hate other people's mana entering my body. Feels unpleasant."
Large amounts of foreign mana invading directly might trigger assimilation. He was already suppressing the mana from the slave mark trying to merge with him. Assimilation itself wasn't an issue, but undoing it took time—highly inconvenient.
"And... more importantly, rumors of a prince picking up a commoner who turns out to be a slave would be trouble. Plus, I don't get along with temples."
At Nihil's mention of not getting along with temples, the kitten and puppy exchanged wary glances. Nihil could tell exactly what they were thinking but didn't bother correcting them.
Evan asked carefully.
"Using holy water... that's fine?"
"As long as you don't fill a tub with it and dunk me in repeatedly."
Assimilating divine power would be irreversible.
But at that explanation, Evan's eyes began to tremble faintly.
So dunking in holy water isn't okay...!
Evan inwardly agonized, replaying how casually Nihil had used holy water before. While he pondered the cat's true nature, the little kitten kept urging not to hurt his friend anymore, identity be damned.
"Sorry, Rian. But it's really no big deal. You can watch if you want."
"...For real?"
"You want His Highness watching your hand get pierced?"
"If you wanna watch, go ahead."
Nihil flapped the hand Evan had healed, as if it were nothing. Still perched on Nihil's arm, Lianus hugged his head, thinking hard, then nodded as if he'd figured it out.
"But why'd you ask Sir Evan for help earlier?"
"My focus was slipping, so I was gonna have him pierce it instead."
Evan exploded at the ridiculous request, but Nihil led them back into the storeroom, neatly arranging vials and bandages, then cleaned a dagger spotless.
Each motion was so natural that neither could muster the will to stop him, wondering if this was really okay.
The wound Nihil had made to drain the blood was superficially healed by Evan. Unwrapping it revealed how liberally he'd applied the ointment—the palm was sticky.
"Why'd you slather on so much ointment? Use it sparingly."
"...Just don't get hurt again."
Nihil said no more nagging. He'd seen the looks on Evan and Lianus's faces as they wiped his body clean.
Nihil began uncapping every vial one by one. In the process, he accidentally knocked one over—it rolled away with a clatter.
"Ah, I'll get it!"
Lianus scampered after the rolling vial.
"But Nil, this one's empty... huh?"
By the time Lianus picked up the vial and returned, Nihil had already bound one hand in fresh bandages.