Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: The Hooded Savior
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The two singled out squeezed their eyes shut tight. They couldn't just let themselves be hauled off to prison, but it looked like they'd have no choice but to break their promise to the little ones.
If they'd had even a moment to huddle and get their stories straight, they could've synced up their alibis. But getting dragged away like this, who knew what the interrogation would be like? One wrong word, and everything might come spilling out.
Even amid the chaos, the innkeeper rubbed his palms together furiously as he pleaded with the knight.
"Sir Knight, I was only barely involved—just a tiny bit in the middle. If I help you catch those bastards who sold the kids, then maybe, uh, you could see your way to...?"
"Quiet. Human trafficking gets the same punishment for accomplices. And there's the matter of using drugs too, isn't there? Do you admit to the charges?"
The knight directed his question at Jane and Dave. Their faces frozen stiff from tension, the pair exchanged glances before stepping forward slowly.
"W-wait, sold the kids? What are you talking about?!"
Yvon, completely in the dark, grabbed Jane's arm in shock as she surged forward, holding her back.
"There has to be some misunderstanding!"
"Is that so? But these friends of yours seem to know exactly what we're talking about."
Walter narrowed his eyes at the two boys with their faces set like stone. They showed no signs of denial or bolting, so he figured he'd just escort them to the guard post without binding them.
"H-hold on, Jane—explain before you go!"
"...I-I'll ex-explain when I g-get back."
"Hmph, always pretending to be such good kids. Nice look for you now. You're all the same in the end."
Kelvin chimed in from the side with a mocking snort. Already of age with a long rap sheet, he was looking at least a decade or two behind bars, so he relished what he saw as their first—and probably last—act of rebellion.
The guards approached the grim-faced boys. Pan, who'd been yelling to the guards that he knew nothing, fidgeted anxiously over how to handle this mess before finally opening his mouth.
"W-wait a sec, Mister Knight! I-I..."
"Enough."
"...?"
A child's low voice resonated softly, startling Pan into whipping around toward the sound. The other kids' eyes went wide at the familiar tone.
There stood Nihil, who had bid them farewell earlier, hood pulled low over his face, standing alone.
Nihil opened his mouth toward Walter with his usual air of leisure.
"Sir Earnest, let those boys go."
"...Who...?"
Walter tensed slightly at the small child's natural use of his title. Though born the second son of a viscount and not set to inherit, his position as captain of the royal knights meant no one addressed him casually.
"If I were going to reveal who I am, I wouldn't have shown up like this. Those kids sold me at my request—they've done nothing wrong."
"What...?"
"It couldn't be helped to protect the captured kids with so few of us. Those boys even delivered the secret missive to the palace asking for aid on my behalf. I'll write directly to His Majesty to explain everything, so just let them be."
"That's not something you can just decide..."
Walter trailed off, unsure whether to use formal or informal speech with this child whose status he couldn't quite place.
Nihil let out a sigh like this was all a massive hassle when Walter didn't back down easily.
"Sir, this is problematic. I went out of my way not to handle it through my family and sent the missive instead to give the credit to the palace. And thanks to me, you uncovered that hidden drug, didn't you?"
"You... figured all that out yourself?"
Sensing the child was no ordinary kid, Walter opted for respect. Better safe than sorry if it came back to bite him later.
Convinced Walter was hooked, Nihil nodded carelessly and replied.
"Yes. The bear-like guy you're after is one of mine too, so I'd appreciate if you looked the other way."
"...I heard a mercenary—no, a knight—took two kids from the gambling den."
"One's my cousin. I keep him as my play attendant."
"... "
Walter's brow furrowed slightly. The child's speech and demeanor screamed nobility, but he couldn't recall any high-ranking noble with a kid this young, leaving him puzzled.
To keep Walter's thoughts from wandering too far, Nihil spoke up again.
"I gave the silver coins from my ransom to the kids as thanks for their help, so don't take it from them. And for delivering the missive, give them something extra if you can."
With that, Nihil gestured into the air. Bella appeared, her mask pulled up to just below her eyes, and carefully scooped him up.
Walter quickly called after the departing Nihil.
"Wait! Are you the victim?"
"Sir, I'm a busy man. I've got a kitten of a little brother waiting at home."
"... "
"... "
A brief silence fell. Nihil continued nonchalantly.
"That innkeeper gave me milk laced with sleeping pills, and he sold me and my attendant for 80 silver each. Besides us, there were four kids held there, including that one."
Nihil nodded toward Pan, then asked him directly.
"Did you see me or not?"
"I-I saw him! Y-yeah! That's definitely him!"
Hearing Pan's reply, Nihil turned to Kelvin and went on.
"That one's gang tried to grab and sell me too, so I had my knight threaten them. Ask the other four boys besides Kelvin. Tell them the bear guy broke his arm and is demanding compensation."
"...Why go to such lengths?"
"I invested in the upcoming relief efforts and redevelopment, but the streets are filthy, aren't they? I stepped in to clean house. A bit late, but any later and it might've been irreversible. Right?"
"... "
Walter had no retort—it made perfect sense. If this had blown up after relief started, the whole program and redevelopment would've stalled, leaving the streets in even worse chaos.
Nihil eyed Walter's expression, then haughtily nodded at Bella. She gave a light bow to the royal knight captain before vanishing with Nihil in her arms.
Walter stared blankly at the spot where the child had abruptly appeared and disappeared, snapping out of it only when a subordinate cautiously called, "Captain." He turned back to the kids.
"Kids, mind if I ask a few more questions...?"
Thankfully, the captain wasn't harsh with them. Jane stammered, so Dave stepped up and briefly explained what had happened.
"So to sum up, that little kid asked us to sell the kids to the inn, and a guy introduced as his big brother shadowed us for protection?"
"Yes. After we got the money, we followed that lady knight to deliver the letter. So we don't know what went down at the gambling den."
"Did you see their faces?"
"They kept hoods on the whole time."
"What about the letter's contents?"
"We can't read. Oh, but we drew the map. The cute cat doodle on it? That was the big sis."
"I see..."
Walter stroked his chin thoughtfully, recalling the whimsical cat sketch on the map. Knowing even that detail confirmed these boys had sent the missive.
Having pieced it together, Walter thanked the kids for their answers and led his knights and soldiers away.
Kelvin ranted as he was dragged off, but his guilt was crystal clear—no mercy there. As his whining faded into the distance, the kids who'd hidden in the warehouse peeked out hesitantly.
Jane let out a huge sigh of relief.
"I-I was r-really, really t-terrified."
"Jane, why didn't you tell us? We were scared out of our minds."
"W-we p-promised to k-keep it s-secret, s-so I c-couldn't."
"What if Nil hadn't shown up in time? I figured as much, but... a real noble, huh."
"I'm not a noble."
"Gyaaah!"
Nihil's sudden reappearance startled everyone into jumping back. Pan let out a weird yelp and toppled over. The cat in Nihil's arms meowed what sounded like mocking laughter—"Nyahahahaha~"—but Nihil helped the fallen boy to his feet.
"D-didn't you l-leave? What about N-Ner and big bro?"
"They're waiting a bit further away. Royal knights are all aura users—they pick up on presences sharply."
"R-right. Th-thanks. S-sorry I c-couldn't k-keep the s-secret properly."
"It's fine. I expected this much, and the knights didn't learn anything useful in the end. I'm not a noble anyway, so they won't find me even if they search every noble house."
"...You're really not a noble?"
Dave eyed him suspiciously. The refined speech and demeanor screamed nobility. He could even write well, spoke the imperial tongue, and rattled off noble pedigrees like nothing.
"I'm not. Now you've added impersonating a noble to my charges."
"...You okay with that?"
"I'm off."
"H-huh?"
With that, Nihil turned and trudged away. Not fast, but the kids didn't even think to chase him.
"E-everything's settled now, right?"
"...Probably."
Yvon decided not to dwell on it. No amount of thinking would yield answers.
"I'm back."
"Welcome home!"
Nihil flung open the carriage door to be greeted by his rabbit—no, kitten of a little brother.
Sir Evan let out an unconscious sigh of relief as Nihil returned. He'd been on pins and needles, terrified the captain—his mentor and savior—might catch on. Fooling the man weighed on him a bit, but he rationalized it as better than getting caught himself and tarnishing the royal knights' honor.
On the way back, something occurred to Evan, and he called out to Nihil.
"Wildcat."
"What."
"Could you check my aura sometimes, like you did at dawn today?"
"Sure."
Evan, wary of the too-easy agreement, quickly added,
"...If it's a strain on your eyes, tell me—don't hide it."
"No strain."
"Didn't you say before that staring too long tires you out?"
"Wouldn't staring at something all flashy tire you out too?"
"Flashy?"
"Natural mana is transparent-ish, but human mana has unique colors per person. Yours is golden, so it stands out more."
"I see..."
Bella, fiddling with the puppy nearby, giggled and asked Nihil,
"Young master, young master—what color's my aura?"
"Pale purple."
"Whoa, how'd you know?"
Bella's eyes went wide at the instant reply. She'd never manifested aura in front of him, so she fawned over how amazing it was.
"Mana gets clearer the more you condense it. Train to produce aura that's pure and transparent."
"Make it a lighter color?"
"No, different from fading the color. Think of it like this: new aura users have a misty haze. Puppy's is like flames fanning out at the tips—destructive power but weak cutting edge. Higher levels are more like water."
"Uniform density throughout, fully condensed."
Evan nodded at the apt analogy, murmuring to himself. His own aura was more about shattering rocks than slicing them.
It was his first time getting advice like this, so Evan thought having the wildcat sit nearby for dawn training now and then wouldn't hurt. He'd been the only one nagging him this morning, so he'd spot something and report back, right?
Thus imagining, Evan pictured grabbing the sleeping wildcat by the scruff at the crack of dawn for training.
The imagined wildcat nodded off, then flopped flat on the floor.
"...Mm, ngh."
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