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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Pure White Surprise
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"Nil, Nil, have you always had senses that sharp? I was really surprised."
The meal continued. More precisely, only Nihil's meal continued. He was just in the middle of tearing into a chicken leg with his hands. He'd seemed a bit prickly at first, but with his stomach now full, his demeanor had softened considerably.
On the other hand, Lianus was feeling a bit excited. It was because he felt a spark of curiosity and kinship toward his friend, who possessed even sharper senses than he did as a quarter-elf.
In response to Lianus's question, Nihil paused with the chicken leg halfway to his mouth for a big bite and opened it instead—to show his appreciation to the host who had provided such an abundant "lots of meat" feast.
"I've always been pretty sharp. Part of it's from always staying on guard."
After giving that earnest reply, Nihil took a huge bite out of the chicken leg. He chewed thoughtfully, then wondered if he'd been a bit curt, swallowed what was in his mouth, and continued.
"You're sharp too, aren't you? You've got elf blood in you."
At Nihil's words, the seaweed-like hair flopped dramatically. Sir Evan shot up from his seat, but Lianus quickly restrained his knight, preventing any disaster.
The heterochromatic eyes began to tremble faintly.
As the mood suddenly sank, Nihil thought to himself.
What? Was it a secret? Or does he not even know? Should I not have said that?
Nihil could see the seaweed hair wilting again from his attempt to be polite, so he hurriedly tried to explain.
"You smell like the forest. It's faint, but it's there."
At that, the heterochromatic eyes shook even more violently. Sir Evan, who had twisted his face into a scowl, raised one eyebrow and shot Nihil a look that demanded to know what he meant.
"It's fine. It's not a bad smell."
"...."
Is that not it?
Nihil puzzled over what the problem was, but no answer came. If he said the wrong thing again, the brown guard dog glaring from the side looked ready to grab him by the scruff and toss him out. So he decided to just ask directly.
"Why."
Lianus fidgeted, mumbling and stroking the hem of his clothes with his hands. A voice so mumbled it was barely audible even to Sir Evan sitting right beside him leaked from his lips.
It was because he wished Nihil hadn't understood his words, yet desperately wanted to ask anyway.
Is it okay? With you, is it okay even if I'm mixed?
Whether by Lianus's wish or not, Nihil made out the mumbled words but didn't comprehend them.
"What do you mean 'okay'? The only things that aren't okay for me are getting my head crushed under a horse's hoof or starving with nothing to eat. As long as you don't steal my food while I'm hungry, there's no reason for me not to be okay."
I see. To you, who just struggles to survive, it doesn't matter if I'm mixed or not. It's not an important issue.
Only then did a smile bloom on Lianus's face. A bright, refreshing laugh rang through the bedroom.
"Nil, so if I steal that chicken leg, that's when it stops being okay?"
"Nah. Want it?"
Nihil thrust the half-eaten chicken leg toward Lianus.
Watching that, Lianus burst into laughter again and vowed to always make sure to take good care of his friend's meals from now on.
That way, you'll always be okay by my side.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Nihil finished eating and headed to the bathroom to wash up. All that food had ended up entirely in his stomach, not a scrap left behind.
Lianus fetched one of his own nightshirts and handed it to Nihil. The rags Nihil had been wearing were too filthy to bother washing—they went straight to the trash.
Sir Evan, who hadn't had a moment's rest all day shadowing Lianus, returned to his room for a quick wash and change into comfortable clothes before heading straight back to Lianus's bedroom.
There was an outsider—a lynx—in the room, so he couldn't slack on guard duty.
"Sir Evan, go rest. Nothing's going to happen."
"…The very fact that that grubby gray lynx is here is already something happening."
"Nil's a good guy. No need to worry."
No matter how Sir Evan racked his brain, he couldn't figure out what part of him was "good," so he narrowed his eyes and raised one eyebrow.
Lianus let out a small chuckle at the sight.
"If you'll permit it, I'll sleep on the sofa."
At Sir Evan's words, Lianus glanced at the sofa in his bedroom. It was big and spacious for him, but it looked far too cramped for the tall, burly knight. His legs would definitely stick out if he lay down.
"No, it'll be uncomfortable. Go back to your room and rest properly."
"If you won't lend me the sofa, I'll stand guard all night."
Sir Evan was resolute. No matter how harmless the lynx seemed toward the prince, an outsider was in the bedroom—guard duty was non-negotiable. It was his duty and his loyalty as a knight.
Lianus realized no amount of persuasion would budge him. If he forced the knight away, Sir Evan would just stand alone outside the door all night.
Concluding that giving up the bedroom sofa would let him rest more comfortably, Lianus let out a deep sigh and reluctantly yielded it.
The sigh was short-lived. Soon, Lianus was lost in happy thoughts of what to do with his friend.
Sir Evan gazed fondly at his mewling baby kitten and thought.
So what if that gray lynx is a bit rough around the edges? My baby kitten likes him that much. He's just a lynx anyway.
Sure, he's the dangerous sort who blows up pirate ships, but once he gets used to being fed, he'll tame right down. Soon enough, he'll fall for my baby kitten's charm and turn into a proper pet on his own.
But what emerged from the bathroom was no gray lynx.
Water dripped from his snow-white hair like melting snow, droplets falling unchecked since he hadn't bothered drying it properly. The white lynx, annoyed by the two pairs of eyes staring at him in shock for entirely different reasons, furrowed his brow and spoke.
"What're you staring at."
The casual remark snapped the two pairs of eyes back to attention. Lianus, who had been gaping like he might drool, quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Forgetting all about what to chat with his friend before bed, he jumped up and rushed over to Nihil.
"Nil, was there bleach in the bathroom or something? Couldn't find the shampoo? Is your scalp okay? Sorry! I should've helped you wash!"
Sir Evan, forgetting his own shock at how filthy that white hair must have been to look gray before, was stunned once more by his baby kitten's wildly creative interpretation.
Why the hell is bleach coming up here!
The fearless baby kitten's offer to help wash the beggar was so absurd it didn't even register.
Dashing over, he began rummaging through the wild lynx's hair.
"How did this happen! Your hair's gone pure white! Did you age in the meantime? Does losing too much blood make your hair color fade too?"
Nihil, enduring the enthusiastic hair-ruffling in silence, was momentarily speechless, unsure where to even start correcting him. He shot the knight a sidelong glance that said, 'Is your master really okay like this?' The knight wore a complicated expression, glanced at his prince, then quickly looked away as if he knew nothing.
At first, Nihil thought it was a joke, but seeing the genuine worry, he sighed deeply and grabbed the small, bustling hand messing with his hair.
He paused briefly at the unusually warm temperature of Lianus's hand but kept his face blank as he pulled him to the bed and sat him down.
"It's always been this color."
"So your scalp's fine?"
Nihil stared at the eyes rolling around worriedly inspecting his head, pondering if the kid's cluelessness was due to his bloodline or just his age.
If it's from some external shock, should I track down whoever caused it and make them pay?
Thinking that far, Nihil finally let out a chuckle.
So what if his head's a bit empty? He's cute. That's what matters.
The boy with his wildly creative and unique mindset gazed intently at Nihil's head, his heterochromatic eyes sparkling.
Nihil smirked and gently took the flailing little hand, linking their pinkies.
"I'm fine."
Lianus, who had fretted solely over the scalp beneath the rare white hair without questioning the color itself, nodded vigorously in relief at the reassurance. He hopped up, fetched a fresh fluffy towel, and started vigorously rubbing the snowy locks.
"Nil, if you don't dry your hair properly, you'll catch a cold for sure."
Unaware or uncaring of the knight grinding his teeth and glaring at the sight of the prince naturally tending to a beggar, Lianus kept chattering away.
"Nil, I heard friends invite each other to their homes for these things called pajama parties. They play games in the bedroom, share snacks, talk all night, and fall asleep! I've always wanted to have a pajama party once I made a friend! Oh, should I get some snacks?"
"Snacks tomorrow."
Nihil barely managed to calm the babbling Lianus, who was about to dash off for snacks, and dragged him back to the bed.
Lianus pouted a little at the suggestion to save the pajama party for later since he was tired, but when Nihil promised they'd be together from now on and could do it anytime he wanted, his face flushed bright and he beamed with a flower-like smile.
After that, Lianus went on for a good while about lending his favorite bear doll, how well the nightshirt suited him, delicious snacks tomorrow, arranging a meeting with His Majesty soon so he could roam the palace freely, and more. Eventually, his drowsy words slurred into soft snores.
Nihil quietly watched until he was sure Lianus was fast asleep, then turned to the guard dog still silently standing watch.
He called out to Sir Evan in the tiniest whisper, barely audible lest it wake Lianus.
"Hey, puppy."
"…You don't mean me, do you?"
"Get some medicine."
The once cool, damp seaweed hair was now parched and fever-dry.