Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Free Citizens of Harpen
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The sight of him tying off the bandage with his remaining hand and his teeth looked all too familiar. Lianus, who had paused to take in the situation, asked cautiously.
"What did you do?"
In the brief moment Lianus had turned to pick up the glass vial, Nihil had stabbed his own hand with the dagger, poured holy water to erase the brand in a flash, applied a hemostatic agent and ointment, and now spoke nonchalantly.
"Erased the brand. Just one more to go."
He had said it was fine to watch, but piercing his hand through like that couldn't be good for the children's sensibilities. So Nihil had deliberately rolled the glass vial to distract Lianus.
"Uh... I didn't see it."
"There's still one left."
"......"
Lianus subtly glanced up at Sir Evan.
Sir Evan had been too busy watching the adorable kitten scamper after the vial to notice the hand piercing, but he had caught the moment Nihil twisted the dagger in his palm to widen the wound and pour in the holy water. His mouth hung open as he glared at Nihil's profile.
There hadn't even been time to stop him or shout in shock. The piercing had been instantaneous, and so was the treatment. The bandaging was flawless, without a single wasted motion. Even battle-hardened soldiers fresh from the front lines couldn't treat wounds that quickly.
And to think he'd rolled the vial pretending it was an accident just to divert attention... What irked him even more was Nihil's arrogant attitude afterward, as if it didn't matter if they figured it out now. No matter how oblivious the prince might be, he couldn't miss the intent at this point.
"I... got tricked?"
The shocked Lianus stared blankly down at the vial he'd brought back. And to top it off, the one he'd retrieved was a useless empty glass bottle.
Nihil offered no excuses. Instead, he casually held out the dagger to Lianus, who was still staring vacantly at the empty vial.
"...Want to try treating one side yourself?"
"...You want me to stab your hand?"
Lianus glanced at the bloodstained dagger.
Sensing the gaze, Nihil quickly wiped it clean with disinfectant and held it out again. Lianus took it hesitantly on reflex, but there was no way he could actually do it.
"Come closer. I'll help you see the core."
Lianus rolled his eyes but approached Nihil anyway. Sir Evan fumed about what kind of nonsense this was, but Lianus figured Nihil might just stab himself if he looked away, so he meekly sat beside him.
Just as Lianus was about to suggest hiring a mage for the remaining hand, Nihil pulled off his hood and thrust his pretty face right up close.
Lianus flinched at the piercing gaze, tensing up rigidly.
"H-Hey, Nil, you're too close..."
As the distance shrank to the point of imminent contact, Lianus protested timidly. But Nihil smiled prettily, crinkling the corners of his eyes like a seductress.
Lianus hesitated and tried to pull his head back slightly, but Nihil wrapped a hand around the back of his head, preventing escape.
'It's... touching...!'
Thinking that, Lianus squeezed his eyes shut without realizing it. Then something touched his lips—soft and moist, with ticklish whiskers... Whiskers?
Something... felt off?
"......!"
Lianus's eyes flew open. Bella the cat, who had snuck in unnoticed, meowed softly right in front of his nose.
"Mrrrow~"
Sudden drowsiness crashed over him. Bella's sleep scent had spread.
Nihil had said it was just a mild drowsiness, but this was anything but. Betrayal surged through Lianus as he glared at Nihil, who was still smiling prettily. Or at least, he thought he glared—his eyes were already half-closed.
'No wonder Sir Evan didn't try to stop it...'
He belatedly realized why Sir Evan, who would normally grab Nihil by the scruff and demand to know what he was doing, had stayed silent.
They were all in on it. The three of them had conspired to fool him!
"Niiil...!"
Lianus mustered his strength just before sleep claimed him and called out to Nihil.
Nihil chuckled softly and pressed a light kiss to Lianus's forehead, as if he were utterly endearing.
"I'm right here, Rian."
"Mmm..."
"Sleep well."
Darkness descended.
"What a schemer."
Sir Evan muttered his honest feelings. The cat meowed softly in response.
Bella had handed the puppies off to the children and snuck closer in cat form, unable to resist her curiosity about the scent of blood. Nihil had spotted her and seized the moment to put Lianus to sleep.
Nihil carefully lifted the sleeping Lianus and handed him to Sir Evan before gripping the dagger again. Bella's sleep scent was temporary—they couldn't dawdle. He positioned himself even more precisely for the piercing.
Even a knight didn't witness hand piercings often, so Sir Evan grimaced as he watched and spoke up.
"You stabbed it right through without hesitation before. Why so slow now? Hurry up and finish—it looks bad."
"I rushed last time and missed the core a bit."
"...You have to pierce it again?"
"No. But twisting the blade while it's pierced hurts... And I don't like pain much."
"You twisted it to pour the holy water, not— Urk."
Before Sir Evan could finish, Nihil plunged the dagger into his palm. Sir Evan recoiled in disgust, frowning again. Maintaining a blank expression while stabbing one's own hand? No one else could pull that off.
This time, he must have hit the core dead-on, because Nihil poured the remaining holy water without twisting the blade. He sprinkled hemostatic agent over it, pulled out the blade, confirmed the bleeding had stopped, slathered on ointment, and wrapped it with bandages to finish.
"...The brand's definitely gone, right?"
Sir Evan had seen the silver pattern fade away with his own eyes but asked to confirm.
As Nihil packed away the vials and empty bottles neatly into his bag, he replied vaguely that it was and stretched out both arms to take Lianus back from Sir Evan. But Sir Evan misunderstood and scooped Nihil into his arms instead.
"......"
"What?"
"Nothing."
Sir Evan thought the wildcat seemed a bit miffed but couldn't figure out why, so he just pulled the hood over Nihil's head and headed out of the warehouse.
The children, sitting in a circle around the puppies, all looked up as the warehouse door opened and stared at Sir Evan emerging.
"Uh... Um, all done?"
Ibong asked cautiously, and the twins crept closer. Pretending not to notice, they stole glances at Nihil's bandage-wrapped hands.
"All done. No need to worry."
"Uh... Good."
"The money?"
"Ah, here."
Ibong quickly handed over the coin pouch. But since it had been meant for Ibong from the start, Nihil shook his head.
"Like I said, that's your thank-you and hush money. Buy some food... but don't spend all fifty. Save it for when you really need it."
"...When's 'really need it'?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
With that, Nihil rummaged in his pocket and pulled out one more gold coin, handing it over.
"Wh-What's this?"
"A gold coin."
"I know it's a gold coin... Why are you giving it?"
"Teach the kids to read."
"...Read? But... I don't know enough to teach anyone."
"Practice by reading newspapers."
"But newspapers are hard to get in Sharton."
In Sharton, everything discarded was a necessity. Newspapers cost money, and discarded ones became blankets or kindling.
"I gave you money. Buy them."
"Buy... newspapers?"
"Help Wanted Gazette is the cheapest."
Nihil said it casually, but to the children, buying newspapers with money sounded like a tale from another world.
They could barely afford a meal every few days—who'd buy something inedible like that? If they luckily found a discarded one, it made perfect kindling, burning better than wood.
"You planning to study letters with fairy tales, given your situation? Newspapers are the cheapest way."
"...Got it."
Then Ellen, who had been watching cautiously, rummaged in his pocket and offered Nihil a small stone no bigger than a finger joint.
"Um, this... won't be much use, but... it's all we have to give. We got tricked into buying it before, but it's valuable..."
"That wasn't my condition."
"Oh, no misunderstanding. We haven't forgotten your request for a performance... We don't need it anymore, and we have nothing else to give, so... please take it."
Nihil hopped down from Sir Evan's arms and accepted the translucent, turquoise-gleaming stone. It was rough—almost like a shard of broken glass at a glance.
"It, uh, it's supposed to be a mana stone..."
Ella added timidly. Even they thought it looked too crude to be useful.
Nihil held the small stone up to the sunlight and stated flatly without hesitation.
"Don't take back gifts."
"No, we won't! It's really yours. And... thank you."
"Th-Thank you too."
The twins expressed their timid gratitude, apologizing for their earlier rudeness as well.
Nihil rolled the sparkling stone in his hand a few times before calling out to Bella.
"Meowster."
"Yesss~ handsome young master."
"Take it."
"Y-Yes? Oh my..."
Bella caught the carelessly tossed stone in both paws. It was pretty but seemed utterly useless. Still, she hadn't expected the handsome young master to pass on a gift from the twins right in front of them, so she rolled her eyes and glanced at them nervously.
Nihil continued.
"Tell your owner it's payment for borrowing Meowster."
"Y-You want me to give this to my owner?"
"Yes. Tell her to keep it on her at all times—it'll help. It's already too weak, so no further processing."
"If it's a mana stone... we could get one ourselves."
"It's not a mana stone. She'll understand once you deliver it."
"Alright... I'll do that."
Bella was a bit dubious but tucked the stone into a small glass vial and slipped it into her bosom to deliver safely.
"Uh... It's not a mana stone?"
Ellen, who had overheard Bella and Nihil, asked cautiously. Nihil replied a touch firmly.
"No take-backs."
"No, no! Wasn't trying to take it back. So... it's useful?"
"Yes."
"Useful... That's a relief."
The twins exchanged looks and beamed at Nihil. Their wariness had softened, the venom gone, leaving gentle smiles.
"Hey, can I ask one more favor?"
"What."
"Help us... pick names. We want to start fresh."
As free Harpen citizens, not slaves of the Empire.