How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 187



Only Noblemtl

Episode 187

Nihil watched the nobles while munching on the meatball skewers the upper class had brought him.

Someone invested somewhere and lost it, the third daughter of a certain count is getting engaged, your child is throwing a tantrum these days, demanding to be bought an expensive magic tool toy… … .

‘hmm…….’

Nihil, who had been eavesdropping on information here and there, became a little worried.

I heard that the pre-orders for the magic tools have already closed until the second half of this year, so it seems like the side job has become too grandiose.

‘You shouldn’t neglect your main job.’

Of course, his main job was growing seaweed. Nihil was secretly proud to see that the seaweed was growing well these days.

As I was munching on the last meatball on the skewer, a plate was thrust in. This time, it was meat pies.

Nihil glanced up at Karus, who was smiling brightly, and took the plate.

Maybe because my child asked me to eat a lot of meat, all the food I brought had meat in it. It was delicious, but I was starting to want to eat dessert too.

Well, yeah. Like… a tasteless strawberry cake without strawberries.

“His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Lepne is entering!”

But there was no way such a cake could exist, and the chance to eat dessert was lost due to the appearance of the unruly demon tribe.

Mana fluctuated a little, then space distorted and a passage opened. I expected that the power would be considerable, but it seems to be stronger than I thought.

‘If I rush in with my current physical condition, I won’t be able to even break a bone.’

Immediately after, a man walked out of the gap in space with an enormous amount of magic energy.

Bam-

The meat pie slid down the plate.

“Friend, where are you going?”

Nihil unconsciously took a step forward at the sight of a familiar profile, but stopped in his tracks when Karus grabbed his wrist.

Karus motioned for the servant who was waiting to clear the floor, then picked up Nihil. He held him close and whispered so that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

“If you get into an accident, the Demon Brother will come after you?”

“…….”

It remains to be seen whether that Demon Brother will haunt him or the teacher.

Nihil swallowed what he wanted to say and pushed Karus’ face away, turning his gaze back to the man. His heartbeat was getting faster.

‘…Dia.’

I barely managed to hold back what I wanted to say.

Of course, my little one had brown hair, not black, regular brown eyes, not reverse bangs, and she didn’t have that unkempt, long hair.

And it wasn’t a demon tribe either.

Yes, even though Dia had transcended human powers, she was definitely not a demon. And that man was definitely a demon.

‘But… we are clearly the same soul.’

Nihil opened his purple eyes, then quickly closed them again.

Have you already ended your previous life and been reincarnated?

If that’s the case, then it’s better, but there’s no way those guys would let a child who had escaped causality go that easily.

What happened in the meantime?

Nihil twisted his body to escape from Karus’s embrace, suppressing the anxiety that was rising in his stomach. However, he could not help but stop in his tracks when he heard a pleading whisper.

“My dear friend, you promised not to cause any trouble. If anything happens, the prince will definitely be worried.”

“…….”

Yes, you shouldn’t worry the child. The anxiety of the guardian is directly transmitted to the child and has a negative emotional impact. The guardian should be positive so that the child can lean on him/her with confidence…

Nihil took a deep breath as he recalled the contents of a parenting book he had once read. His head was growing cold.

Yes, even if that demon man is that child, it is not right for me to blindly chase after him.

‘Forgetfulness’ may have already taken control of him, or if not, he may have been naturally forgotten over the course of 500 years.

‘The great translator.’

The voice of the little boy who was slightly sobbing, and fragments of memories that are now too old, pass through my head.

* * *

‘Why are you crying?’

The little boy who had been sent on an errand to the village to interact with humans returned sobbing.

‘Sniff, the great hero.’

‘Did someone harm you?’

But the answer I got back was unexpected.

‘I got scolded for being rude by a wrinkled person.’

‘……?’

Although I couldn’t understand English, ‘I’ quickly held the sobbing little boy in my arms and kissed his eyes.

‘Don’t cry.’

The little boy continued mumbling.

‘I spoke clearly and concisely.’

‘That’s what it was.’

‘Bring me the potatoes.’

‘… … ?’

The head tilted slightly. As I was wondering what it meant, the little girl looked up at me with tearful eyes and continued speaking.

‘Sniff, sniff, did I say it wrong?’

‘… … .’

From that day on, I decided to change the way I spoke.

But it wasn’t long before problems continued to surface.

My little boy had a difficult pronunciation, limited vocabulary, and poor physical abilities compared to his peers.

I was quite shocked to learn that it was all because I was too quiet and always carried the little one in my arms.

After that, I looked for books that would help me raise a baby and studied them.

Of course, things didn’t go well from the beginning. I started feeding solid food to my 5-year-old child late.

‘Your Majesty, what is my name? The little boy said it wasn’t his name.’

A little boy who had come back from running an errand in the village after a long time asked for my name.

However, since there was no mention in parenting books of giving a ‘name’, I was quite confused.

‘Every child in the village had a name.’

‘I’ looked up the dictionary meaning of the name.

-Attached to a person, object, phenomenon, etc. to distinguish it from other objects… … .

But I couldn’t help but tilt my head again. Isn’t ‘Little One’ already sufficiently distinct from others?

Because there was only ‘Little One’ by my side.

But I decided to change my mind. Now, I know that I shouldn’t hold the little boy to my standards. ‘Humans’ are social animals, and the little boy had to live among ‘humans’ at some point.

So I gave the little boy the word I thought was best.

‘Dios? Is that my name now?’

The little boy kept his new name on his lips for a while, as if he was trying to memorize it.

A few days later, the little boy asked again.

‘Then, what is your name, sir?’

The little boy’s speech had become a little more natural. It seemed that being able to socialize with peers had helped.

But I shook my head because I had no name. No, to be exact, my name had to be ’empty’.

Because you had to be able to fit anything in it.

But the little boy, Dios, who didn’t know the circumstances, seemed to think that I had intentionally not told him my name, so he became sullen and locked himself in his hideout made of blankets.

In order to get rid of the Dios that had been torn apart, I had to come up with a temporary name. However, since I still didn’t know exactly what the criteria for a ‘name’ were, I ended up going to a relatively experienced human.

‘Name? You can just make up a random name for it. This one is black, so he’s called Nigga. This one is yellow, so he’s called Nyung-Ryung. Oh, and this one barks loudly, so he’s called Kang-Kang.’

I nodded at the words of the man with wrinkles on his face. It seemed that he had named him according to his characteristics.

So I attached to myself the emotions I often feel.

‘Nihil? What does that mean?’

‘nothingness.’

When I told her what it meant, her small face, which had been full of anticipation, suddenly crumpled.

‘I don’t like that. If you don’t have another name, I’ll give you a pretty one.’

The little thing flipped through a dictionary the size of my body for a while, trying to give ‘me’ a name.

‘Please read this.’

Of course, since I was never taught how to write in earnest, reading was my responsibility.

‘Requies.’

‘What does it mean?’

‘home.’

‘I like this!’

Somehow, the pronunciation is cool! That’s how the ‘name’ came to be attached to me.

But the name I had worked so hard to give myself over the course of several days was meaningless, because there was only the little one by my side, and only the little one called me by that name.

‘Lord Requies, please give me a nickname too.’

‘Dios, is the name not enough?’

‘They say that family and close friends call you by your nickname.’

Dios interacted with humans often and learned many strange things, and I tried to adapt to that.

It wasn’t a difficult task, since the human lifespan isn’t that long.

‘Whew, Lady Requies, these are girls’ clothes. Boys don’t wear clothes like this.’

There were days when I bought her the most expensive and fancy clothes and she cried, but even so, I quickly adapted to human society.

‘I wish my hair grew faster.’

One day, while I was trimming Dia’s hair like usual, I heard something like that.

‘How come?’

‘Because I like it when Lady Requies touches my head!’

The little boy who was talking like that actually combed my hair even harder.

‘Lord Requies.’

One day, a little boy approached me, timidly, and took a look at me while pushing me a piece of white dough with red berries on top.

‘This is a strawberry cake I made. There are no strawberries though… Since Lady Requies doesn’t celebrate birthdays or anything… ‘

Maybe the cake was a kind of protest to celebrate her birthday too. But even that was welcome.

‘Requies’ felt joy and satisfaction watching the little one growing up day by day.

[Fulfill your duty, O great servant.]

And at the same time, I felt uneasy.

‘Can I call you father?’

‘Do as you please.’

‘Will you continue to stay with me?’

‘… … .’

[The duty of the ambassador… … .]

‘yes?’

‘… I will do so, Dia.’

Because I don’t want to forget the feeling of those short hands combing my hair diligently, and the taste of strawberry cake without strawberries.

That was the first time I refused to ‘forget’.

* * *

Nihil looked down at the piece of cloth in his hand. It was, to be exact, the hem of the dog’s cloak.

‘… Again.’

A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth. Nihil unconsciously folded the hem of Evan’s cloak repeatedly.

“Please look at me nicely.”

That’s when the ridicule turned into a smile. The innocent kitten, the puppy with its face buried in its palm with its ears red, and the teacher teasing the puppy by poking its sides were all very funny.

‘It’s peaceful.’

Yeah, just knowing that the child is alive like this is something. It’s something that’s happened several times already. So it’s okay.

As time goes by, this too will become dull.

It’ll take longer for you to become numb to Guinea than to other guys, but that’s okay.

Nihil unconsciously gathered the piece of Evan’s cloak, which he had been tearing at, into his bosom. Then he realized that there was something hard in his bosom.

It was a music box.

I made it with the intention of having a simple funeral, but… it is now useless.

“…sheet music…, no, no. I’m going back now.”

At that time, the little boy showed interest in the music score. I don’t remember, but I wonder if he liked the lullaby.

‘Music box… Should I give it to you?’

But I wonder if my greed will cause unnecessary side effects. If the child harbors hostility here, the future of the banquet hall, no, this country, may be in jeopardy.

‘If you ask Lian to pass it on… … .’

At that moment, Mana shook violently and a passage opened. It was the passage that the child had opened.

‘Is it too late to tell you?’

I followed the boy’s figure as he gave up and disappeared into the passage. His tangled hair followed him, sweeping the floor.

My little one always had short hair… … .

‘Dia, isn’t it time you took care of your own hair?’

‘I don’t know how to do it.’

‘That’s not what I meant. I was just saying that if you’re uncomfortable, do you really need to wait for me to cut it for you?’

‘Father, don’t abandon me.’

‘…I’m sorry.’

A kind little boy who was the only one who stayed by my side when I was struggling with a sense of loss and pulled me back to reality.

‘If you don’t want to see me sweeping the floor with my head, you better come to your senses.’

no way.

My heart sank at the memory of the moment when it bloomed and then withered.

No, that won’t happen. It must be a coincidence.

But Nihil’s body, unlike reason, had already leapt forward.

By the time I finally caught hold of the black truck that was about to disappear into the passage, there was no turning back.

‘It was too hasty… …!’

At that moment, I began to feel regret for my actions without thinking about the consequences.

Phew-!

“Ugh…!”

Something penetrated my body.