How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 324



Only Noblemtl

Episode 324

It’s hot. It’s cold. Is it hot…?

The young man became puzzled. The burning sensation that had been engulfing his entire body, as if it were swallowing up his sanity, had suddenly disappeared.

But the doubt didn’t last long. I don’t know if the pain disappeared because my sense of pain had completely burned out or because I was already dead, but the important thing was that I wasn’t in pain. I hated being in pain.

‘… It happened!’

‘… … ?’

But the young man couldn’t help but feel puzzled again by the faint noise he heard.

As I was having strange thoughts like, “Is this the cry of the soul?”, this time a voice came a little more clearly.

‘She’s a real witch!’

‘… …!?’

The young man opened his eyes reflexively. No, he thought he opened them, but his senses were vague and he couldn’t tell.

I couldn’t see ahead. There was only darkness.

The young man thought, perhaps the heat had damaged his cornea. Or perhaps his eyelids had melted and stuck together.

The young man felt a little uneasy. He felt that there was a commotion around him. His ears were blocked as if he was drowning in water, so he couldn’t make out the exact details…

‘… Lian.’

The witch’s voice, which was clearly quieter than the cries of others, strangely sounded clearer than anything else, as if it were a revelation from God.

Why did you come? It’s dangerous here. Run away quickly. The young man was about to say that, but then changed his mind.

‘I actually approached you because I thought you were a witch.’

‘… … .’

‘I was being chased. Because I was called the witch’s child… ‘

‘… … .’

‘I thought I could live if I sold you.’

‘… … .’

‘therefore…….’

Don’t feel guilty, he tried to say, but he felt a salty taste. The young man was very surprised that his sense of taste was still alive in the midst of all this.

Even witches cry, he thought, but he couldn’t be happier that he knew that he was special to her.

But, because he did not want to face his parting with him in such a damp manner, the young man opened his mouth again with difficulty.

‘Reki, I can’t see, so I’m saying this… Isn’t this a runny nose or something?’

‘… … .’

‘I’m joking. I’ll use that to tease Dia later.’

‘… … .’

The witch didn’t answer. Maybe my joke was too cold.

‘father!’

At that moment, the hedgehog’s voice was heard. I wonder how he ended up back here.

The young man felt a pang in his heart. This incident will make you even more sharp. You will be hurt by others and become even more withdrawn.

‘… Is it Lian?’

The boy’s trembling question could be heard. It was a very human voice, different from the calm voice of the witch.

‘What the hell is this!’

Then came a cry filled with anger and sorrow. There seemed to be more people around, but there was no response.

‘It’s the same person! Why is it like this!’

‘Dia.’

The young man barely managed to hold onto his increasingly clouded mind and called out to the boy. He didn’t want his presence to remain as a terrible memory for the boy.

‘Dia, play with me instead of those guys.’

‘No, what are you playing for! Do you know what you look like right now? Why on earth…! … No, don’t answer. Father will fix everything.’

‘… … .’

‘I, I almost died, but my father… … .’

‘Yes, Dia.’

The young man cut the boy off, for he sensed that his life was running out.

‘I think I was a little lonely before I met you guys.’

‘… … .’

‘I wonder if she thought that if she was a witch, she would be able to accept me as her child.’

If there’s one thing I’ve realized from spending time with them… it’s that in a world of lies, you can somehow survive as long as you have just one person on your side to share the truth with.

‘Dia, promise.’

‘… … .’

‘I will not deny you, Reki.’

Then the witch can endure, even if this world is not for her.

‘Don’t state the obvious as advice.’

The young man laughed in vain at the sudden reply.

‘Thank you for being my friend.’

The young man thought as he spoke. Now, he will ask who is his friend.

‘… … .’

But contrary to expectations, there was no answer for a long time.

Just when I was thinking that maybe he had gotten tired and gone, I heard a faint voice.

‘Thank you…, bro.’

‘… … !’

‘First…, please come to me.’

‘huh!’

The young man smiled brightly. I want to tell my mother that at least my death was not lonely at all, and was even quite romantic.

‘If there is a next life…, if we meet again like that… ….’

‘… … .’

‘I’ll approach you first then too.’

Somehow, it doesn’t seem like he’d be the one to talk to me first.

‘So even if you recognize me, you don’t have to feel burdened by having to talk to me first.’

‘… I won’t… say anything.’

‘And by the way, next time, a little more… … .’

I like it to be bustling.

* * *

Click.

“…! Your, Your Highness.”

As I returned, barely able to shake off the small rexes that refused to let me go, a wolf cub, clearly exhausted, stood up in surprise. And with someone who shouldn’t be here.

“Ah, baby…, no, Archduke…, hello…?”

“…….”

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t come here to dig up anything, I was just curious where my secret friend was vacationing, so I asked Sylphy to find Evan……”

“…….”

“My secret friend is in danger, right? That’s why I came running…, I think Sylphy misunderstood Evan who was half asleep. I’m still not good at communicating with Sylphy…….”

“…….”

Dios stared at the half-spirited man fidgeting and making excuses, then turned his gaze to the wolf cub.

“…sorry.”

Evan lowered his head in embarrassment. He had never thought he would fall asleep. If only Karus had come, but if another guy had come in the meantime to harm the lynx, it would have been a disaster.

“I’m not asleep.”

“…yes?”

“He collapsed because he overworked himself.”

Dios looked at Evan and clicked his tongue. He must have been mentally exhausted from being on edge all day trying not to lose his mana.

“You fool.”

Why did he wipe away those tears so diligently? Dios shook his head and expressed his gratitude to Carus.

“If you hadn’t come, I might have cleaned up a body.”

When a person loses consciousness, the control of mana naturally loosens. It is unlikely that the body was actually removed, but if the young Marquis had not come, the wolf cub’s mana heart might have been broken.

“Both of you, come here. I’ll wipe out your memories cleanly.”

“yes?!”

Whether Karus was terrified or not, Dios gathered his magical power at his fingertips. It seemed like it would be difficult to leave his father to the wolf cub any longer. Even the young marquis, who had a small mana vessel, had already emptied his mana even though he had only been here for a short time.

“Don’t worry, there will be no side effects.”

He had previously said that he was clumsy with wolf cubs, but in fact, the magic he was most confident in was none other than mind manipulation magic. It was the reason he decided to learn magic in the first place, so he couldn’t be clumsy.

Of course, if my father found out, he wouldn’t like it. Maybe it was because he had been having his memories stolen continuously before meeting me, but he was particularly sensitive to mental magic.

Although he tried to restrain himself from using it for the sake of his father, he still found himself using mind control magic more and more often, and his proficiency in it also increased against his will.

‘Come to think of it, I think I once protected a spirit master who was accused of being a witch… … .’

Dios stared at Carus intently. The thought that this guy too… was creeping into his head.

After ‘that guy’ died, my father became more active in showing up in front of people. He didn’t say why directly, but it was probably because he wanted to make people think he was a witch.

…if you were accused of being a witch, the other witches were safe.

“…! Please wait a moment, Your Highness!”

At that moment, the young marquis fell flat on the floor in terror.

“Please hold off on erasing my memories for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“therefore…….”

The young marquis rolled his eyes and glanced at the bed. Dios’s gaze also naturally turned to the bed. He saw a pale face with tear stains still visible.

“…I think my friend is having a nightmare….”

“What does that have to do with you?”

“I think there must be a reason why you didn’t wake me up by force. That’s why……”

“I can’t wake you up.”

“…yes?”

“Once Father falls into a deep sleep, he is not very aware of external interference. It is extremely rare for him to have lucid dreams. That is why he wakes up late.”

“ah…….”

Karus’s pupils fluttered slightly. Now that I think about it, once my friend fell asleep, he wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I shook him.

“…Then, how about…, using some kind of magic to enter the dream and let you know that it’s a dream?”

“Father is not affected by magic. Especially if you come into too close contact with him….”

Dios tried to explain, but then closed his mouth. His sleeping father couldn’t control his ability to assimilate. That was also the reason why he, a demon, didn’t bother to make close contact.

“If it’s not magic… is that okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“There is a cat-man among the knights of my family……”

“…Are you talking about the water people who made cat ears for my father?”

“That, how could that be…!”

Karus looked back at his secret friend in surprise. Judging by his awkward smile, he knew it was the culprit.

Dios sighed deeply as he looked at Carus like that.

“So what about those water people?”

“So, do you know about the unique abilities of the cat people?”

“I know. Because of their unique abilities, cat-like creatures are often used as witches’ servants……”

Dios closed his mouth and stopped talking. When he thought about the past, he kept linking it together in a strange way.

“…So what are you trying to say?”

“Bella…, ah, I’m talking about the cat-tribe knight. Anyway, I don’t know if Bella has properly awakened her ability…, or if she’s just now properly awakening her ability….”

“……?”

“It is said that Bella started appearing in Kara’s dreams recently.”

“…in a dream?”

“Yes. But when I asked Bella separately, she said she also had the same dream as Kara. I’m guessing that this is… Bella’s real ability.”

“What were your abilities before awakening?”

“It was about spreading a sleeping scent to anyone who came into contact with it. It wasn’t that powerful… and was only somewhat effective on children.”

“…It’s not unrelated.”

“Is that so? Of course, I don’t know if the ability to invade dreams… is a useful ability….”

At those words, Dios raised the corners of his lips.

“You don’t know. Dreams have more power than you think. It’s the perfect ability to brainwash someone.”

“Three, brainwashing! Our Bella may be a bit stubborn, but she’s not that bad.”

“Bring it.”

“…! Is that true?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to check it out.”