How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 206



Only Noblemtl

Episode 206

“You came at a good time.”

“…I don’t know what to do with myself when you welcome me like this.”

Nihil stood awkwardly with his arms crossed. He suddenly thought the Shadow Knight was approaching him, and he heard him. He was so flustered that he forgot to brag about his baby’s first babble.

Of course, there was no problem since I was walking around avoiding the palace maids’ eyes, but I felt a little sorry for the old man who was left alone.

“Haha, sorry. I have something to ask you…….”

Sedes awkwardly apologized to his son’s friend, who looked a little sullen. He had been feeling awkward because his son’s friend had not visited him at all, but he had seen a flash of white hair outside the window and had ordered him to pick it up, so he had no excuses.

“I’m talking about the magic tool you gave me.”

Sedes held out his hand, which had a magic circle engraved on it. I heard that it clearly had defensive magic engraved on it, but I didn’t know how to activate it.

Nihil looked at his father blankly, then sat down on the sofa and gestured for him to continue.

“Is there any way I can take this off your hands?”

“It is possible to destroy it.”

“…If it’s destroyed, it’ll be impossible to restore it, right?”

“I’ll have to make a new one then. Should I erase it?”

“No, that’s fine. Just tell me how to use it.”

Sedes shook his head. No matter what, it would be shameless to ask for a new one. But his son’s friend responded indifferently.

“It’s annoying.”

“…Do you know that destroying the palace flower garden is a grave sin?”

“Ah, our baby is finally talking. Honey, do you want to talk?”

“coup…….”

“At least pretend to be aware of it…….”

Sedes glanced at the black fur ball dozing on top of his son’s friend’s head and opened his mouth as if sighing.

“I asked several wizards, but they all said they had no idea what kind of magic was engraved on it or how to activate it. Please tell me the ignition key before you go.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“then…….”

How on earth am I supposed to use it?

“The magic tool has already been activated.”

“……?”

“Let me show you an example.”

As if it was a demonstration, Sedes felt uneasy, wondering if he would have to take a strange stance instead of using the starting word. However, contrary to expectations, his son’s friend naturally took out a dagger from his bosom.

… I became more anxious.

“What… are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to stab my father with this.”

“Are you trying to assassinate me now?”

“It’s not assassination if you stab them openly from the front.”

“…….”

That’s true, but I’m not sure if it’s true.

It wasn’t just him who was confused, the knights also approached him slowly, hesitating whether to block him or not, with their hands on their scabbards.

“Okay, step back.”

Despite the order, the knights continued to watch out for my son’s friend. My son’s friend continued talking regardless.

“The magical tool I created has the ability to detect danger on its own.”

“…Are you saying there is an ego?”

“That’s not it. I just engraved specific and detailed instructions. Father, would you please give me your hand?”

“…My lord.”

“It’s okay though.”

The knights tried to stop him, but Sedes ignored them and held out his hand. My son’s friend turned over my palm and clicked his tongue when he saw the wound on the paper that morning.

“It’s a bit much.”

“…….”

“This magical tool only blocks damage exceeding the amount I set. It does not block paper cuts or light bruises.”

“then?”

“It prevents fatal injuries. For example……”

My son’s friend kept his words short, stared at me intently, and smiled suspiciously. Then,

“……!”

“My lord!!!”

Before I knew it, the dagger had dug into my neck.

Kik, bang! Woozik, thump!

The study was instantly turned into chaos due to the surprise attack by my son’s friend.

“My lord, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Sedes turned his head to Ainz, who was hastily checking his physical condition, and to his son’s friend who was being pushed into the bookshelf by the knights.

“…Are you okay?”

The son’s friend who had flown away was buried under the fallen books, but the knights were still keeping their guard up and aiming their swords.

“Colok, I’m fine…, Somnus!”

My son’s friend, who had been coughing continuously as if he was in shock, suddenly began to hastily clean up the pile of books that had collapsed. It seemed that he had belatedly remembered the curse that had been placed on his head.

“Ku-ya!”

Fortunately, the little devil appeared as if nothing had happened and crawled out from between the piles of books.

“Are you okay?”

“Kui.”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness……”

At that moment, the air changed. I was nervous, wondering what was going on this time, when Masu, who had just started babbling, looked around and quietly opened his mouth.

-Requies.

“……!”

Everyone froze and stared at the unexpected voice of the Archduke, and my son’s friend began to stammer an excuse.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. Som-Som wasn’t seriously hurt, so there’s no need to worry….”

-What could possibly hurt a lump of magic?

“That’s true, but….”

-Take care of your body properly.

“…yes.”

After a short conversation, he stared at his son’s friend with a fur ball, then moved his body up again and climbed onto his son’s friend’s head. The aura that had been subtly pressuring him had disappeared again.

“Soft and fluffy.”

“Koo?”

“Don’t come early next time.”

“Kui.”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

“…….”

Sedes stared blankly at the sight, then stuttered as he looked at Nihil stroking the fur ball.

“No way… Was that the Archduke just now?”

“This guy is an anima created from the Archduke’s magic, so he is connected to the Archduke.”

“…Is Anima…different from Demon King?”

“…….”

“Don’t look at me like I’m pathetic.”

Sedes glared at his son’s friend who was looking at him disrespectfully, but then averted his gaze, thinking that he might tell the Archduke.

“Anima are like moving dolls made of pure magical energy. They usually take on the personality of their owner.”

It follows the personality of its owner… … ?

“…But that….”

My gaze naturally turned to the fur ball, which was fluttering on my son’s friend’s head.

‘Isn’t it ridiculous to say that it resembles the personality of the Archduke?’

“Father, where’s your neck?”

“ah.”

Sedes was dazed for a moment, then suddenly felt startled and brushed his neck. He definitely felt something touch him, but there was not a single wound on his neck.

Now that I think about it, when the dagger touched, I think I heard a sound like metal hitting metal… … .

“…Could this be the power of a magic tool?”

“There’s no detoxification function. Since it can’t be unequipped, I couldn’t just put it in. It would be a problem if the medicine doesn’t work when you need it.”

“…….”

Detox doesn’t seem to be a problem right now.

Sedes had never heard of such a magical tool. A magical tool that protects its owner on its own… … .

“…Can you make such a magical tool for the prince? I’ll provide as much money as you need.”

“I already gave you something similar…….”

Nihil shook his head as he recalled the bracelet he had made from his own hair. After all, there was a big difference in the performance of magical tools that were directly connected to the user’s mana circuits and those that were not.

“Lian…, the mana vessel was broken, so she couldn’t bind the magical tools.”

“Do I really have to belong to it?”

“If you want to keep it running all the time, that’s good.”

“I see……”

Sedes licked his lips in regret and took out his beloved sword. His son’s friend’s surprise attack was so sudden that he wanted to check the function of the magic tool himself once more.

I felt a little empty without the golden tassel that was always there, but soon I pretended not to care and pulled out my sword. My son’s friend shook his head and opened his mouth again.

“Father, if you’re going to hurt yourself, then stop.”

“…Why is that?”

“It doesn’t block most attacks. I made it so that it activates at a minimum, using up the user’s mana. If you want to check its function, you’ll have to really make up your mind to stab it.”

“You’re using my mana?”

“Then how can a magical tool be activated without a magic stone?”

“But… that elf neck, you said you used that?”

“That’s what I used to increase my mana. My father’s mana is as small as rat poop.”

“…….”

Isn’t the handling too harsh?

Cedes became gloomy for no reason. He was an auror user who also possessed mana hearts, but he was being treated like this… … .

“…Then how much mana do my knights have?”

“A little bigger rat poop.”

“…….”

Nihil continued speaking, ignoring the rat poops who were looking at him with resentment.

“Anyway, this type of always-on magic tool requires constant circulation of mana. In the process, mana leaks occur. If it wasn’t connected to the user’s mana circuit in this way, the precious magic stone would have to be replaced every two days.”

The rat poops nodded at Nihil’s explanation. They didn’t know much about magic, but they could roughly understand that mana was greatly wasted.

“Sure…, it would be useless if the magic stone’s mana is empty when it really matters.”

“That’s right. That’s why I carved the magic circle directly into my father’s body to prevent mana leakage. The mana circuit is always circulating.”

“So, to what extent does it block it?”

“Any attack will do, as long as you have mana.”

“…Tell me based on my shitty mana.”

“hmm…….”

Nihil stammered as he estimated the amount of Sedeth’s mana and amplification.

“Assuming there is no consumption of mana at all… I guess I should be able to block the sword energy fired by the Duke two or three times.”

“…It’s possible to block the Sword Master’s sword energy with a meager amount of mana…?”

Nihil frowned as he looked at Sedes, who was holding the kingdom’s only sword master as his standard.

“It’s not the Sword Master’s standard, but the Duke’s. There are plenty of people in the world who are better than him.”

“…I see.”

Sedes glanced at his fingers. The faint letters engraved on the ring seemed to move at first glance.

“If you’re really curious, go to the Duke and ask him to shoot you a sword spirit just once.”

“…Okay.”

Why would you hand over the throne to a 7 year old kid?

But my desire to try again did not disappear, and I was wondering what to do, when my son’s friend opened his mouth as if he had read my thoughts.

“I guess you want to check again.”

“…I guess so.”

Wasn’t it just a moment? As I made that excuse, my son’s friend nodded.

“Then let’s check again.”

“huh?”

“Lima.”

“……?”

The moment I was about to express my doubts, someone jumped out in front of me and swung a sword over my head.

“What the…!? Ugh!”

At the same time, the Shadow Knights also moved, but for a split second, they were crushed by some force and stopped.

Ki-kick, ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-kick!

“……!”

By the time the knights were able to move again, they were already overwhelmed by the sight and could only watch in a daze. And the same was true for Sedes, the one who had been attacked.

Sedes muttered as he looked at the boy who was still holding down the blade with all his might in front of him.

“…The performance is certain.”

The boy’s sword blade was blocked by some kind of barrier and did not reach me. The boy’s expression seemed calm, but the hand holding the dagger was shaking and turning white, as if he was exerting too much force.

I felt the mana in my body draining away in real time, so I looked down at my finger engraved with the magic circle and saw that the faint letters had turned a dark blue color. It was my own mana color.

Kik, kkung-!

The boy retreated only after the dagger he was holding broke. The knights immediately surrounded the boy, but as they watched the boy with his hands trembling, an indescribable feeling ran down their spine.

“It was my order, so if you’re going to punish the child, you should punish me first.”

“Okay. Don’t worry, I won’t punish you.”

At the warning of his son’s friend, Sedes repelled the knights. However, the one who was most shaken by the situation was none other than Lima himself.

“…did you know I was here?”

“Did inspiration send you?”

“yes.”

Lima was asked by the butler to follow and watch over the young master, as his condition was not good. He may be a little weak in terms of physical strength, but he was confident in his stealth, so he thought he could just watch and come back, so he followed him without much thought… … .

‘I never thought I’d be caught hiding.’

Lima looked down at her hands, which were still shaking.

“…Does the magic tool have the ability to disrupt the opponent’s aura?”

“It has the ability to absorb some and increase the strength of the curtain.”

“…….”

“…….”

Silence fell over the study. Sedes felt he could now understand why the Archduke had told him not to treat his son’s friend’s magical tools like mere magical tools.

“…Can you make something like this?”

“I will never make magical tools of that level again.”

“Why…?”

“Because the balance is broken.”

“……?”

“That was also close.”

Sedes didn’t understand, but soon nodded. It seemed pointless to ask more. Then, his son’s friend called the boy assassin.

“Lima.”

“Yes, your highness.”

“There will be a flower pot in the third room on the right from the central staircase on the lower floor. Bring it.”

“yes.”

At Nihil’s command, Lima immediately disappeared. Sedes stared blankly at the empty spot left by the assassin he had personally hired, lost in thought.

‘… Did I ask the Assassin’s Guild for nothing… …?’