How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 215



Only Noblemtl

Episode 215

‘Training… I’ll help you, but please stay away from the lump while you’re assimilating.’

“…….”

“…What are you thinking about?”

As I was absentmindedly staring, a puppy came up to me. As soon as I returned to the Wernus Palace, he had been whining and telling me not to run away, saying that he would train me.

It seems that because he is in a position where he cannot be away from Rianus’ side, he is concerned if he wanders around as he pleases.

Nihil snorted at Evan, who was looking at him with concern, and gave a vague reply.

“I’m thinking of running away from home because the puppy won’t listen.”

“Are you crazy? I’ll tell you again, you can’t run away.”

“The child.”

“Master Karus’s class will be over soon.”

“I see.”

Nihil, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up. Although his body felt lighter because the fairy tale was released, his heart was not light at all.

Above all… … .

“…Soft and fluffy… ”

My grandson was taken away in vain. Nihil felt empty inside his arms and fumbled around in front of him.

“…? Now that I think about it, where did that little devil go?”

“It’s not a demon, it’s an anima. How many times do I have to say this?”

“What’s different?”

“…It’s completely different. I’ll explain, so listen carefully, puppy.”

Nihil didn’t want to bother explaining, but he decided to use up his energy specifically for the puppy, since he might have to deal with the demon someday.

“There are two main types of demon beasts. One is the demon beasts that humans are familiar with, which are created naturally by gathering magical power with a magic stone as the core. The demon race doesn’t treat them as demon beasts. Um, they’re kind of like… moving mana potions.”

“…I see.”

Are humans’ lives threatened by just one mana potion?

“The demon beasts that the demons are talking about are animals or monsters from the demon world. Unlike the first case, their form remains even after they die, so they can be cooked and eaten, or their bones and leather can be processed and used.”

“Then isn’t it not much different from human hunting?”

“Did you think the Demon Race would be so special? They are no different from humans in the Demon World. The only difference is that their range is a bit wider.”

Humans distinguish between similar races, such as elves, dwarves, and beastmen, but these guys were mostly mixed races to begin with, so there was no such thing. So rather than distinguishing them one by one, it is easier to consider all of them as demons if they are intelligent enough to learn to speak.

“What is that? If there are trolls that talk in the Demon World, then they must be demons.”

“That’s right. In the Demon World, even talking cats are demons.”

“…….”

“The Demon World is governed solely by strength. The strong become king and maintain order. It’s a simple structure where even a very, very strong cat can become the Demon King.”

“…Have you ever tried it?”

“Well, the method is a little different, but when you look at it from a distance, it’s not that different from human society. … How did we come to this?

Nihil ignored the difficult question and went back through the conversation to figure out how he ended up explaining things so long ago.

“Ah, I was going to explain about Anima. Anyway, Anima is closer to what humans think of as a demonic beast. The only difference is that its existence is subordinate to the owner of magical power and is intelligent.”

“Is it like a servant horse?”

“It’s different. A servant horse is a kind of master-servant contractual relationship. Unlike anima, its existence itself is independent.”

“…It’s difficult.”

“Well… it’s not that difficult of a concept.”

Nihil decided to give eye-level training to the dumb dog.

“In a word, Anima is…, from the knights’ perspective, like a bunch of Auras gathered together.”

“……?”

Evan’s head tilted to the side. It was because it did not match the Anima he had previously guessed.

“Think of it as a mass of aura so dense that it maintains its form even when separated from its owner.”

“Is that… possible?”

“Of course, it’s usually impossible. But it’s possible because it’s an archduke.”

Even from an objective standpoint, our child is truly amazing. Still, I wish they would give Somnus back.

“So where did that ball of fur go?”

“…was taken away.”

“Who’s going to take the airship away?”

“…Your Highness.”

“…….”

Evan’s pupils trembled slightly as he listened. He never thought that he would meet the Archduke while he was away for a moment.

“I went to borrow a knight from the child’s father, and the Archduke was there. And then… I got scolded.”

“…I see.”

Evan hesitated, not knowing what to say to comfort her, and then patted her on the head.

“I think I’ll be kidnapped again sometime soon.”

“…? Who said that?”

“I.”

“…To whom?”

“To the Grand Duke.”

“…….”

Usually, the warning that you’re being kidnapped is given this nonchalantly.

“It’s difficult to refuse because the mistake is so big.”

“…Is kidnapping something that can be refused…?”

“If you don’t want to, you can avoid being kidnapped, right?”

“…….”

Yeah, you’re great.

Evan opened his eyes slightly and pressed Nihil’s forehead. Then, at the sound of the blatant squeaking coming from outside, he raised the corners of his lips and opened the door.

“Neil, Sir Evan!”

“My dear friend, Sir Evan!”

Evan chuckled at the sight of the priest coming in just the same way. Rianus immediately checked Nihil’s condition.

“Neil, did you get enough rest?”

“huh.”

Nihil jumped down from the sofa and picked up Lianus. It felt good to have his strength back.

“You, Neil…….”

“huh?”

“…I’ve lost height?”

“…….”

‘… I should have pretended to be a little more tired.’

I think the child misunderstood because of my previous excuse.

“I feel so energetic after getting some rest.”

“I see! It definitely feels better. Actually, I’ve been feeling a little strange the past few days.”

“huh……?”

“Somehow, strangely…, um…, I mean, something bothers me….”

“Is it annoying?”

“Uh, no, it’s not that I’m annoyed by you…, something, um, I’m not really sure how to explain it.”

“…I see.”

Although Rianus told Nihil not to worry, saying that it wasn’t like that at all now, Nihil realized that Rianus was offended by his assimilation.

‘Do we really have to stay apart while training?’

Worries began to creep in.

* * *

If I think about it, my little one wasn’t all that patient.

“Come in, baby!”

“…….”

Lianus welcomed the baby warmly, not having any idea that the kidnapper was the one who would kidnap Nihil.

“[Have you thought about it?]”

“[…Isn’t that too hasty, Dia.]”

“[You’re being hasty.]

It’s already been 6 hours and 37 minutes. I think that’s enough time to come to a conclusion. But the indifferent face that says that is really annoying.

“[I haven’t even discussed it with the child yet.]”

“[What is there to discuss?]”

“[But…, I’ve never been away from a child for that long before…]”

Dios’ face crumpled at that poor excuse.

“[If someone saw us, they’d think we were months apart! At most, it’s only been a week!]”

“[Who knows if it will take longer.]”

“[You must be doing such a great job leaving the child behind!]”

Dios shouted in frustration. It’s not like the lump of blood has no place to stay, nor is it alone, but there is no polarity like this.

“Kuya!”

At that moment, the thing I had in my arms started to move and suddenly showed its face.

“Soft and fluffy!”

“Kuiku!”

“her.”

Dios laughed in vain at the sight of a family reunion that could not be seen without tears. If someone saw it, they would think they had been separated for several years.

“Oh, there was no cotton?”

Lianus came crawling closer to Nihil. Somsom, who always slept in Nihil’s arms, thought he was still there.

“Yeah. The Archduke took it away.”

“Then did Som-Som bring the baby here without the Grand Duke knowing?”

“Yeah… yeah. Similar.”

“But Som-Som-yi, it seems like it’s gotten a little smaller…….”

At those words, Somnus slumped down and pretended to be pitiful.

“Kui……”

“Dia, did SomSom bother you?”

“What are you harassing me for?!”

Dios couldn’t stand his anima’s vixen behavior and finally screamed.

“That guy did it himself. Do you know how loudly he cried with magic dripping from his eyes!”

It was truly disgusting that he was using up his own magic power to create fake tears when he didn’t even have tear ducts.

“Wow, you act just like my father.”

“…….”

“Isn’t that obvious since I’m not an anima?”

Dios felt a sense of self-loathing for a moment. Did that abomination really resemble him? Of course, since it was his anima, it couldn’t help but resemble him… … .

“…It is clear that it has been transformed by magic.”

Nihil chuckled as he looked at Dios, who refused to acknowledge it until the end with a sullen face.

Anima is a being that is created by condensing power, and in the process, the desires of the caster are bound to naturally seep into it. If there is one thing that makes Anima different from its master, it is that it has low intelligence and is pure, so it expresses its desires as they are.

“…father.”

“Dia, please give me some time.”

In fact, Nihil had already made up his mind. He just hadn’t decided how to persuade Lianus.

At that moment, something grabbed the hem of my clothes. I lowered my head and met eyes with a little boy who was staring up at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“Do you really hate being with me for a week?”

“…Dia, I don’t understand why you don’t acknowledge Somsom.”

It’s exactly the same.

Nihil quickly picked up the little boy and patted him. For some reason, he felt like he had become a real child.

‘… You must be tired.’

He must have been very surprised to see himself become one with Lianus.

‘… give me rest.’

At the conversation that suddenly passed by, Nihil tightly closed his eyes and then opened them.

“…Rian, I have something to say.”

“huh?”

“Can we empty the palace for a bit?”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“Your Majesty.”

“…Are you going to take successor training by any chance?”

“……?”

Nihil looked back at the boy, wondering what he was talking about. But the boy turned his head away, not wanting to respond.

“Carus said so. There are rumors going around among the nobles right now… that the Grand Duke has chosen you as his successor.”

“…There are rumors like that going around?”

“Yeah. But Karus and I thought that if the Archduke had a successor, it would be your baby.”

As he spoke, Lianus glanced at the baby in Nihil’s arms. The baby remained motionless, face buried in his friend’s arms.

‘You really look like the Grand Duke… … .’

Lianus, who did not know that the baby in front of him was the Archduke himself, rolled his eyes as he thought about that before continuing.

“Well… Actually, there have been rumors that you were related to the Archduke. The Archduke never spoke to anyone other than royalty. There were even jokes that if you spoke to the Archduke, you would be treated like royalty.”

“Well… Dia, you should be selective about who you date, but I think that’s a bit too biased. What do you think?”

“…It’s noisy.”

“Well, anyway, so what?”

“You were suddenly kidnapped by the Grand Duke in front of the nobles, and then you returned safely, and there was even a rumor that the Grand Duke gave you Som-Som… no, Anima as a gift… ”

Nihil swallowed his saliva.

“I guess I had to hide Som-Som.”

“…Do you really think that’s the problem…?”

“Of course, there were other complex factors at play… but didn’t SomSom deliver the final blow?”

“Kuya!”

“…….”

Dios was speechless and buried his face again. It was all my fault for creating Anima.

Now that I think about it, thanks to the threats… no, the strange gifts that came through Anima, my subordinates seemed to have misunderstood that I had a successor…

“…How about you just come in as successor?”

“Dia, have you ever wanted to subjugate me before……”

“…….”

“I’m joking. Lighten your expression.”

“under.”

If it weren’t for my father, I would have hit him in the face.