How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 177



Only Noblemtl

Episode 177

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“…….”

“It wasn’t intentional.”

“Is that so……”

“Honestly, isn’t it the kidnapper’s fault?”

“yes…….”

Yes, that’s exactly right. I’m glad you came back safely… No, I wish you had avoided the kidnapping in the first place…

Sedes sighed deeply as he looked at the letter in front of him. It wasn’t just any letter. It was a letter from the Holy Empire.

That would be the case, since the Magic Tower was owned by the Empire.

“…I didn’t want to say this to you…….”

The Empire demanded a huge amount of compensation. To be honest, it was so huge that it was hard to believe that even one tower had collapsed.

It even included a threat to withdraw all magicians and magicians if compensation was not paid.

I don’t know what will happen if we all withdraw, given the lack of talented magicians.

Harpens was in a very precarious position. It was a small country, but it was able to hold on thanks to the presence of the Archduke.

Because he is a demon.

If there had been no Grand Duke, the empire would have been reduced to a vassal state long ago. The surrounding kingdoms would not even be able to use the title of ‘Your Majesty.’

“…Hey, please give me some money.”

“Father, I didn’t see it like that, but you’re trying to take my money…….”

“…….”

What about the money you made with your nose? We all know how much you made with the patent for the hot stone product.

The empire also imported hot stone supplies at a huge cost. Of course, unlike the supplies produced in Harpens, these were items that only nobles in other countries could see.

Of course, counterfeit products were also rampant, but since there was no substitute for the ‘hot stone’ itself, even the counterfeit products were expensive.

Moreover, counterfeit products made without understanding the principles of hot stone often malfunction. Defective products that malfunction are imported at a low price, fixed, and then resold at a high price.

Perhaps the Empire is dissatisfied with its monopoly on the stones in Harpens.

“This is money for buying herbs for my child.”

My son’s friend said that, narrowed his eyes and glared at me, then looked at my face and his expression soon relaxed.

“Tsk tsk, you’ve aged so much in the past few days. Let me hear your story.”

“You’re going too far……”

Sedes continued his explanation, grumbling. The existence of the Archduke and the Kingdom’s position because of his existence, its relationship with the Empire, and the compensation bill that had arrived.

“…so I’m asking for help.”

“So, the Empire is making a fuss over something trivial because they don’t want to see the kingdom, a thorn in their side that they haven’t been able to absorb before, rise to prominence.”

Sedes’ eyes widened slightly at the precise point. To understand it at once, it seems that his son’s friend is smarter than he thought.

“And my father hates it so much that he wants to ask for compensation, but the price is not cheap, so there will be talk among his subordinates.”

“yes.”

“So, I guess you want to reduce the opposing voices a little by adding some money, even if it’s just your own pocket money.”

“…….”

“under…….”

My son’s friend sneered, crossed his arms, and tapped his lips with his finger. Then he brought out a pen and paper, drew something, and called Abel.

“Your Majesty.”

“Huh? Do I need it too?”

Abel, who was writing his resignation letter, raised his head.

“Look at this.”

“hmm?”

Abel scanned the paper that was handed out. There was a magic circle drawn on it, and it was a very unpleasant magic circle because it was so wavy.

“how is it?”

“What do you think……”

“What did you feel when you first saw it?”

“I feel a little…offended.”

“little?”

“many.”

“Okay then.”

Nihil handed the painting to Sedes.

“Father.”

“anything?”

“The collapse of the magic tower was the work of a fallen wizard.”

“……?”

There was doubt in Sedes’ eyes. He had come to apologize for suddenly destroying the magic tower, but now he was shifting the blame to some wizard.

“My name is Galdino. I am a 5th circle wizard who came to the kingdom on purpose to study demons.”

“…….”

“He has a laboratory on the 14th floor of the tower… What does he do? Write it down.”

At the ensuing blow, Sedes instinctively picked up his fountain pen. His son’s friend continued his explanation.

“I have collected sacrifices to summon the demons.”

“A sacrifice?”

“He collected ‘eyes’ as a sacrifice. And this magic circle is a summoning circle to summon the ‘devil’……”

“…I’m sure you’re not talking about the ‘snow’ that falls from the sky.”

“yes.”

“Okay, okay, wait a minute! Neil, is this summoning circle real?”

Abel was startled, but Nihil simply waved his hand and continued speaking.

“Of course it’s fake. I just drew it to make it look bad. Anyway, ah-, what if Father writes that down too!”

Slap! Nihil slapped Sedes’ hand in annoyance.

“Anyway, he tried to summon a demon, but the summoning circle was a failure, and as a side effect, his mana heart was broken. Oh, and the magic tower was also broken……”

“It’s a good scenario, but….”

Sedes took down the rest and raised his head.

“Is that Gildano a real person?”

“It’s Galdino.”

“Hmm, I misspelled it.”

The name of the Holy Empire is still awkward. Sedes made an excuse and changed the name.

“That guy is a real person. He’s a kidnapper, to be exact. The reason he kidnapped me was because he wanted my eyes. The search party hasn’t gone down to the 14th floor of the Magic Tower yet, though… ”

Nihil continued speaking, tapping the summoning circle he had drawn on his own.

“This is a plausible version of the teleportation magic circle that guy drew. He kept carving it into the ground in an attempt to escape from me. Of course, it failed because I kept scattering my mana, but the traces of the magic power will remain. From now on, this is the demon summoning circle that I found in that wizard’s laboratory.”

“Would you believe it?”

“I guess I can’t help but believe it. If it’s a lab with dozens of rolling eyes, wouldn’t it be plausible?”

“I see.”

Sedes summoned the Shadow Knight and handed him the fake summoning circle.

“Take steps to ensure that it is discovered as naturally as possible.”

“yes.”

The article disappeared immediately and Sedes picked up his fountain pen again.

“So, the empire’s wizard came to the kingdom to summon a demon, collected its eyeballs as sacrifices, and with a faulty summoning circle, he destroyed not only his own mana heart but also the magic tower.”

“yes.”

“Well, looking at it this way, it seems like we should be the ones to claim the compensation.”

“You’re smart, Father.”

Sedes chuckled at his son’s friend’s compliment. He never thought he could feed the empire like this.

“Just a moment, Sadie.”

Abel, who had just thrown the resignation letter he was writing into the fireplace, opened his mouth cautiously.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to file a claim for compensation?”

“Whatever. If they come out strong, we can block the export of hot stone products, right?”

“No, Father. I can’t sit down.”

Nihil intervened again.

“Hmm? Why?”

“We have a monopoly on the technology now, but it won’t take long for them to figure out how to use the stone. That’s why I limited the monopoly on the upper part of Allie to two years. The stone mines are concentrated in Harpens, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t available throughout the Empire. In fact, it would be better to make as much foreign currency as possible while you can.”

“That’s certainly the case… Then what should we do?”

“Is the Empire’s representative tool of intimidation the human resource called ‘magician’?”

“To be exact, wizards and magical knowledge.”

In fact, the greatest power of the Holy Empire is the ‘temple’, but due to the nature of the Harpens Kingdom where the Archduke is located, there are not many temples, so they do not have much influence.

After hearing the situation, my son’s friend thought deeply about something, then took out a communication device from his bosom. Then, he immediately connected to somewhere.

The image soon turned to Baron Allier. Baron Allier seemed quite bewildered by the unexpected figure seen beyond the communication port.

-…your majesty?

“Hmm? No, it wasn’t me.”

“Top stock.”

Nihil, seeing that Maurice was alone, turned the screen so that it reflected himself.

-… Partner? What’s going on?

“I’m talking about the magical tools that were handed over this time.”

-Why those?

“I wish you would sell it in front of me instead of behind me.”

-Suddenly? But… wasn’t that something you robbed from the magic tower?

“I’ve touched it, so tracking it will be impossible. Instead, I’d like you to sell it under the name of the ‘Magic Engineering Guild’.”

-So… is there a guild?

“It’ll happen soon. Um…, the prime minister will notarize it.”

“Uh, uh? Wait, Neil. Shouldn’t you discuss that with me first?”

Abel, who had been sitting quietly, was dragged out again and timidly protested, but Nihil simply ignored him.

“The logo…, Your Majesty, what is the Marquis Brigid’s crest?”

“Huh…? There’s an olive branch and a bluebird drawn on it, but….”

“Then let’s go with the slightly plump canary and the seaweed.”

-…brown seaweed?

“Then please.”

Abel and Maurice, who were listening, widened their eyes in bewilderment, but Nihil ended the communication and looked back at Sedes.

“Father.”

“Hmm? I think seaweed is okay. It’s said to be good for the body. It’s not a well-known plant in the Western Continent, though… ”

Nihil narrowed his eyes as he watched Sedes talking nonsense. Perhaps it was hereditary for kittens to sometimes get lost in strange places.

“Seek reparations from the Empire.”

“Oh, you there.”

“If you take away the wizards…, there’s nothing we can do. Please set up a guild and have a guild leader….”

Nihil looked at the only wizard he knew. Sedes followed his gaze, glanced at Abel, and opened his mouth.

“Can I just put that guy’s name on it?”

“If there’s a wizard I can trust, then that’s fine too.”

“Still, he’s the best.”

Sedes, who had roughly grasped the situation, scribbled something more on the paper. Although the work had piled up, he felt somehow relieved.

“I’ll organize it and contact you.”

“okay.”

My son’s friend also added with a lazy smile, as if he was relieved.

“I will make you a magical powerhouse.”

* * *

“…….”

“…….”

A heavy silence hung over the small bedroom. The man with the dark expression finally spoke first.

“master.”

Nod.

“Honestly, I don’t trust you, my lord.”

“you……!”

“No. Marilyn, wait.”

Jonathan stopped Marilyn from coming forward and continued speaking with difficulty.

“I know it was just a rumor. The butler and the maid both said it wasn’t true.”

Nod.

“But even so, I really wanted to check with you directly. After the child was born, Marilyn had a hard time, and Anna and the child also blamed themselves a lot after hearing the rumor. I…, without any suspicion, without checking anything, I just let it go….”

That’s… , that’s a little regrettable… … .

Jonathan’s voice gradually faded away. He knew it himself. He just needed someone to blame.

I thought I was fully prepared, but I wasn’t. When I thought about a child who would never see the light of day, I was worried first.

Could there be other obstacles that we don’t know about? Will we be able to take responsibility for this child and raise him well? Will we be able to love him without feeling resentful even when things are difficult?

“I… feel like I’m going to be disrespectful to you, Young Master….”

Jonathan lowered his head without saying a word. The calm gaze, like the night sky, seemed to be constantly scolding him. At the same time, a sense of emptiness washed over him.

What on earth are you talking about to an innocent child… … .

“If it was me who made the child like that…….”

“……!?”

But Jonathan’s head snapped up at the voice he heard immediately afterwards.

“Would you feel a little better?”

“Mom, can you speak up…!”

Nihil continued speaking, ignoring his embarrassment.

“What would I do if I swallowed that child’s eyes and gained his voice?”

“…That, that kind of thing!”

“If you kill me and that child can see the light.”

Nihil walked closer to Jonathan and looked up at him blankly.

“If I could kill that child and have a healthy, strong child… then what would I do?”

Jonathan opened his mouth without answering the gentle but cruel question.

Nihil turned away from the man and approached Marilyn. The baby had already started crying, perhaps sensing her parents’ anxiety.

“Can’t you raise it?”

One step.

“Do you regret giving birth to me?”

Two steps.

“Do you want to turn back the clock?”

The last three steps.

Nihil slowly reached out to the child.

“Then give me that child….”

Bam, bang!

“Neil!”

I flinched, the white back of my head trembled slightly.

“Wow, Prince?”

The servant couple was startled by their master’s appearance and panicked, but Rianus grabbed Nihil.

“No matter how much the baby likes it, you can’t take it away from him!”

“…Oh, Lian. I didn’t try to steal it….”

“I heard everything! And I saw you secretly making toys!”

“I was just going to give it to you as a gift…….”

Nihil made excuses, then glanced back at the still crying baby and took the rattle out of his arms.

Ding-, ding-

The baby stopped crying at the sound of the rattle and started waving his hands in the air.

Nihil took this opportunity to approach the baby and put a rattle in his hand.

“…I did intend to raise the child if I had to give it up, but I didn’t intend to take it away.”

“So you were teasing me?”

“It’s not that I’m being picky… ”

“I can’t live like this!”

Nihil became a little gloomy. The plan had fallen through like this.

“Let’s go quickly. Class will be here soon.”

“Can’t you stay a little longer?”

“If you fall again, Karus might cry.”

“okay…….”

Nihil took a few more toys out of his arms and handed them to Marilyn.

“Come quickly!”

“huh…….”