How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 149



Only Noblemtl

Episode 149

Evan fixed his stance and took a stance once more. Deputy Commander Aaron looked at Evan like that and tilted his head slightly to the side and opened his mouth.

“Sir, I won’t let you off easy just because you’re tired.”

“I don’t even wish for it.”

“I may be small, but I’m not that easy.”

“I’m not taking it lightly, Vice-Captain. That guy was worth keeping an eye on.”

“……?”

The vice-captain glanced at Nihil, who Evan had nodded to, wondering what was going on.

Lianus jumped up and spoke on behalf of his dumb friend.

“My friend told me to keep an eye on the vice-captain! He said he’s the strongest among the dual sword users!”

“…So that’s why you were looking at me so creepily, no, so persistently? But…, the prince’s close friend…, how do you know my level…?”

“Because there’s nothing my best friend doesn’t know!”

Rianus puffed out his chest as if he was proud of his friend. Aaron looked at Rianus like that and asked tremblingly.

“…I heard that you can neither speak nor write, so how do you communicate?”

“Ah…, um…, hmm…, communication doesn’t always have to be done through speech or writing.”

As he said that, Lianus rolled his eyes and hid behind Nihil. Still, he smiled proudly, thinking that he had made a good excuse, and whispered, “Good job, huh?”

Nihil found such a cute Lianus cute, patted his head, and held him out to Walter.

“……?”

Walter took the prince in his arms, tilting his head as he was being held by his best friend. He looked like a cat leaving its kitten in his care, so he couldn’t say anything about being rude.

I’ve been thinking about this since I was on guard duty last time, but the little boy the prince picked up seemed very strong.

“You damn cat, don’t be rude to the captain!”

“Very well, Sir Evan. I suppose it is right to keep you in case of danger.”

“…sorry.”

“It’s okay. I hope you don’t have any bad intentions.”

Walter said this and hugged Lianus back so that he could watch the duel comfortably.

Evan is strong, but he won’t be able to defeat the vice-captain. He’s already exhausted, and even he himself acknowledges the vice-captain’s skills.

As expected, not long after the duel began, the young knight was seen to be gradually pushed back.

For his age, he was quite good at dealing with enemies, but he was more accustomed to hunting monsters and beasts than people, and the vice-captain had much more experience dealing with people, so it was only natural.

At that moment, Evan, who was holding the hilt of his sword with both hands, took one hand off and continued to flinch. Walter, who was watching, narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.

‘Now that I’m starting to get used to it, my childhood habits are coming out.’

As a child, Evan would sometimes blindly trust his strong body and make bold attempts, one of which was grabbing a sword blade with his bare hands.

It seemed to be a habit that had developed because he had fought monsters with all his might without learning proper swordsmanship, but it wasn’t a good habit, so one day Walter scolded him severely.

‘Evan! Didn’t I tell you not to grab the blade with your bare hands! If this were a real sharp sword, your fingers would have been cut off already!’

‘…Sorry, I’m sorry.’

‘It won’t work. Starting tomorrow, bring me a heavy sword that can only be wielded with two hands.’

‘Yes, yes!’

That day, I ended up only doing basic training and gave Evan a bag of money and told him to get a sword. I thought about getting the sword for him myself, but I decided that seeing it and choosing a weapon would be a different experience.

But Walter couldn’t help but regret his decision the next day. The boy had chosen a ‘true two-hander’ that was as tall as the black boy.

It was absurd at the time, but it’s the same when I think about it now.

At first, he thought it was just the bravado of a young boy. However, the boy’s eyes were serious, and when he heard that he had swung everything, Walter couldn’t help but put his hand on his forehead.

Even the blacksmith recommended a sword that fit his physique. However, since he had asked for a ‘heavy sword that could only be swung with two hands’, he put everything else aside and prioritized that condition, and brought back a ‘true two-hander’, a failure that was too heavy due to the wrong mix of metals.

Meanwhile, the young boy was happy to have money left over after buying a low-quality sword.

‘under…….’

Thinking back to that time, Walter couldn’t help but laugh.

Now that I think about it, it’s already been 8 years since I first met Evan. That was when I went on a preliminary survey before a monster subjugation and saved a young boy who was being chased by a group of orcs.

The boy was captured by the orcs and was on the verge of being torn to pieces, but unlike his messy appearance, he did not appear to be seriously injured, so he was sent home with only a bag of ointment and a stove.

But the next day, the boy was found in the forest again, and Walter held him and scolded him.

‘What were you thinking, coming into the forest again!’

‘Mom, I have to catch a monster.’

As it turned out, the boy had come into the forest to hunt monsters from the beginning, and he was already a seasoned hunter who had caught many small monsters like goblins.

‘It’s dangerous, so why do you go around hunting monsters?’

‘I have a younger sibling! He’s still this big, but he’s so cute. But raising a child costs a lot of money. So, as the older sibling, I have to earn a lot of money.’

The boy who was smiling brightly said this while holding up his arm. He said that he used to hunt animals and sell their byproducts, but when he heard that monster byproducts were sold for a higher price, he started hunting monsters ever since his younger sibling was inside his mother’s stomach.

Walter supervised Evan’s swordsmanship training for about three years from that day. At the time, he was the vice-captain, so he didn’t have much free time, and he only trained once or twice a month, but since he was such a practice bug, he was able to keep up with it.

When Evan was 15, Walter recommended that he take the royal apprenticeship exam. The royal exam was particularly difficult and had a high passing score, so there was a high chance that he would fail, but even if he failed, Walter planned to take him into his family and keep him as a squire.

And you have to teach them properly and raise them. From then on, you will be able to clearly call them teacher and student, not this ambiguous relationship.

‘Yes! Vice President! I will definitely pass and live up to your expectations!’

The young boy responded to his own suggestion with shining eyes.

Walter got busy and couldn’t see Evan for a while, but he wasn’t worried. He was a boy who followed him that well.

But perhaps it was a mistake, Evan didn’t show up for the apprentice exam. No, when I checked later, I found out he wasn’t even on the list of applicants in the first place.

Walter watched Evan until the last day of the exam, wondering if he had written his name wrong since he was still not good at writing, but he was never able to see Evan again.

‘… … .’

‘Why, Vice-Captain?’

‘… Ah, Captain. No, it’s nothing.’

‘It’s not like it’s nothing.’

‘… The child you are looking for is not on the applicant list. Is this the end of the list? Are there any absentees?’

‘The application fee alone is a whopping 50 gold. Most of the applicants are descendants of fallen nobles who cannot afford to raise a knight. Who would pay that amount of money to not participate? What is the name of the person you are looking for? Let’s find out together.’

‘No. I’ve been busy lately and haven’t been able to take care of you… I guess you forgot.’

Walter smiled bitterly. It was impossible for a commoner like Evan to have 50 gold coins, and of course he had paid the application fee himself. Perhaps he had changed his mind after receiving 50 gold coins.

Walter consoled himself that it was possible. Fifty gold coins was not a large sum for a nobleman like him.

I was just a little disappointed because he was a child who had followed me well.

Walter didn’t go to see Evan after that day. Even if he did, it would be Evan who would be uncomfortable. Maybe he had already moved to a better place with his family.

‘Vice-Chief, when do I use my monthly leave this month? It would be inconvenient if it overlaps with my monthly leave.’

‘Oh, I don’t have to go far anymore, so you don’t have to worry about it.’

‘Really? … Ahem, but I have a favor to ask.’

‘Please speak comfortably, Captain.’

‘Can you attend this official exam for me? Since you’ll be the captain soon anyway, why don’t you just do it yourself? … ?’

‘Just say it’s annoying. By the way, if it’s a full-time knight exam… you mean the promotion exam for apprentice knights?’

‘No, not that one, the official employment test.’

‘You guys… there’s no need to judge it, right?’

The knighthood examination was designed to enable children of noble families who did not want to be treated in the lowly position of apprentice knights to obtain the title of knight.

The conditions were also very simple. Just be an ‘Auror user’.

Even if we called it a review, all it did was weed out those who didn’t meet the criteria.

‘Well, that’s right. You just have to weed out the guys who applied with bribes despite not being qualified, or the guys who don’t seem like they’d fit in with the organization’s life.’

‘All right.’

Walter nodded willingly to the captain’s request. It wasn’t difficult now that he had nothing to do and was free.

And on the day of the exam, Walter was trying to get rid of some servants who were trying to bribe him, when he noticed a boy standing alone in shabby clothes among the noble children… who looked familiar.

‘… Evan?’

‘Vice-captain?’

The boy came running towards her with a bright smile as soon as he found her.

‘Vice-captain!’

Walter asked nervously, not expecting to see Evan in the formal knight exam.

‘How come… you’re here?’

‘Didn’t the vice-captain tell you to take the knight exam? That’s why I came to take it!’

Those words made me feel like something that had been weighing on my heart was gone. On the other hand, I felt very sorry that I couldn’t believe him until the end and had made my own judgment.

Still, he was happy, so Walter laughed out loud without realizing it and patted the back of the boy who had now grown to be as tall as him.

‘I see. I’m glad you came. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.’

Walter didn’t bother to point out that Evan had made a mistake in applying for the test. He was just glad that the kid hadn’t betrayed him. Well, he must have misread the word.

I couldn’t figure out how a guy who didn’t even have the ability to give bribes could have applied, but I just assumed that the manager didn’t check properly and did it carelessly.

Evan didn’t know how to use Aura yet, so he would naturally be eliminated, but it didn’t matter because I was going to take him to my family.

Since he was a talented child, I thought that if I taught him carefully, he would soon be able to become a user. I went into the evaluation process with that in mind.

But who knew that Evan would become an Aura user in the two months he wasn’t looking.

He even beat up the children of noble families who had grown up well and achieved the best grades.

But Walter couldn’t just give him a pass. He was so talented… and that’s why he was even more so.

If a 15-year-old commoner child who has not even completed an apprenticeship suddenly becomes a full-fledged knight, and even beats all the other noble children to take first place, would the child’s life as a knight really be smooth?

No, it can’t be flat.

Walter answered himself and bit his lip.