How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 322



Only Krnovel

Episode 322

‘Please wait a moment. I, I know where the real witch is.’

At those words, something in my head snapped. The reason I didn’t run away from that place right away was simply because there were too many people surrounding the guy. It was obvious that I would be blocked if I rushed in.

The people surrounding him were dressed in white from head to toe or wearing very nice looking armor, and even to me who didn’t know him well, they looked like priests.

‘What do you mean, a real witch?’

‘Well, if you ask the villagers, you’ll know. There’s a cabin in this forest… … .’

At the sound of the word “hut,” Dios immediately turned around and ran. There was only one hut in the forest.

I had to get out of here right now before they came to harm my father.

But Dios couldn’t go straight into the hut.

‘Ugh… , squeak… , squeak… .’

My vision became blurry and a strange sobbing sound began to come out of my throat.

Dios sat down for a long time, not far from the hut, and cried. He couldn’t let his father see him like this.

It was then that Dios realized for the first time that he had trusted and followed that guy more than he had thought.

‘Dia, I’m back, did you cry?’

When I returned to the cabin with swollen eyes, my father greeted me warmly, but then startled me and grabbed my cheek.

‘…father…….’

Dios opened his mouth but then shut it tightly again. He looked at his father, who looked down at him with genuine concern, and he felt like he was going to burst into tears again.

‘Dia, what happened?’

‘… … .’

‘I’ll take care of it. Just say the word.’

‘… … .’

Dios couldn’t answer. The guy had already betrayed him and his relationship with him was over. All he could do right now was to tell him of his betrayal and get out of here with his father.

‘…Father, the boy says he won’t go.’

However, Dios did not inform you of the guy’s betrayal. He did not want to hurt you any more, since you had already been betrayed so many times, and you loved humans and tried to get closer to them.

‘There seems to be a lot to do here.’

Yeah. I’m leaving anyway, so there’s no need to make my father feel this way.

‘I see. It’s a bit… disappointing.’

‘… … .’

Dios froze once again at the words of regret. His father had never expressed regret so directly before.

‘…me too.’

Even though I was with my father, I somehow felt alone.

* * *

‘What do you mean, a real witch?’

‘If you ask the villagers, they’ll tell you. There’s a cabin in this forest… Where is that cabin? … .’

The young man explained the cabin with great enthusiasm. Most of it was lies, but he explained it with great enthusiasm anyway.

Requies sometimes noticed things going on in the village even from within the hut, so if the Inquisitors were prowling the forest, they would be able to detect them right away.

‘… Is all that information true?’

‘Oh, of course. I’ve been watching you for a long time.’

‘Why didn’t you report it first?’

‘That… that’s… that’s… ‘

The young man was speechless for a moment. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them that he had given his heart to them.

‘He asked me why I didn’t report it first.’

At that moment, the sharp blade of the sword was thrust again in front of my neck. The young man opened his mouth, trembling in surprise at the tingling sensation.

‘Oh, how could I report this? I was also being chased. And, witches have the ability to bewitch people. If the nobles are possessed by witches and don’t trust me, wouldn’t that be a serious problem?’

‘… You have the ability to bewitch a witch?’

‘Yes, she is also very beautiful… … .’

‘Shut up. Do you think such sorcery would work on us, servants of God?’

‘Oh, dear. I’m sorry. I didn’t know better… I was scared. Please forgive me.’

Thud. The young man thought, hitting his head on the floor.

Are all my medicines properly hidden? Did I forget anything? What if I get caught? Should I have just thrown everything away and told Reki and Dia first? To be honest, they might have helped me.

But now that it was like this, all he could do was to stall for as much time as possible.

‘Well, you’d better not look down on witches though. Witches can charm anyone regardless of gender or race. They even charmed monsters before… ‘

‘…! You can command monsters? What kind of monsters were they?’

‘Mom, I don’t remember the monster’s name… It was a giant the size of a house, and it swung a bat the size of a person… … .’

‘Is it a troll or something? It wouldn’t be easy if it was a troll. Did you use that monster yourself to attack people?’

‘no!’

‘… … ?’

‘Ah, that’s it, I didn’t attack it, I just sent the monster that was trying to attack it away. Pfft, I’ve never seen it commanding monsters. I’ve never seen monsters roaming the forest… … .’

Of course, the story that the monster was possessed by the witch was a complete lie. The monster simply ran away in fear. It was then that the young man realized for the first time that the monster’s face could turn pale.

Requies is strong. There must be a way. Our hedgehog is still clumsy, but he is learning magic… … .

‘You sent the monster back after appeasing it… You certainly don’t seem like an ordinary human.’

At that moment, one of the heretic inquisitors muttered with a hardened face. Fortunately, my nonsense seemed to have worked a little.

‘Yes, yes. Of course. Would I lie here? Of course, the lords who most closely assist God do not need to worry about witches’ sorcery… But wouldn’t it be troublesome if a witch controlled a monster?’

‘That’s definitely true. We need to deal with it quickly. Right now… … .’

‘Huh? Wait a minute. Isn’t it dangerous to go right away? You should prepare yourself and go! And witches aren’t stupid… If a bunch of people suddenly come rushing in, would you just stay still?’

The young man quickly grabbed the hem of the inquisitor’s trousers. He had to buy time. Until Requiesna Dia noticed the change.

‘Witches start their day in the late afternoon. And they are most active at night. They should be active by now, so wait and catch them when the night passes and dawn rises… … .’

puck-!

‘Ugh, gulp… … .’

‘You have a long tongue, and it’s really suspicious that you know so many details.’

‘No, gulp, no, gulp gulp.’

‘Do you think we can’t catch just one witch?’

‘Cough, cough… … ‘

You will never catch the witch. I wanted to tell him that, but the young man was so worried about his own life that he just kept coughing.

‘Tie him up, he might run away.’

‘yes.’

‘… … .’

As if they had no intention of just letting me go, one of the heretic inquisitors started tying me up with a rope.

‘How did the witch bewitch people?’

‘… Perhaps if we made eye contact… No, was it the voice…? I think it smelled like a sweet scent… … .’

The young man babbled on and on. Half of him was just going to let things be, but he also thought that maybe he had already been possessed the moment he first saw the witch family.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so worried about that pointy hedgehog guy.

At first, I didn’t like that sharp tone of speech, but now I know that it was the only defense he had to protect his family.

I’m sure they must have lived with that kind of vigilance in other places too.

‘If all of this is a lie, you will be executed here and now.’

‘…You’re not even going to hold a trial?’

‘Knock her out.’

‘… … .’

I guess they won’t do it.

After a strong impact, I lost consciousness.

* * *

Requies stopped walking as he watched Dios’s footsteps gradually slowing down.

‘Dia, why are you like that? If you’re tired, should we take a rest?’

‘…father.’

‘Tell me.’

‘Can I go out for a moment? I think I left something behind.’

‘Then shall we go together?’

‘…no.’

Dios shook his head at the affectionate answer. His father’s appearance was visible wherever he looked now. He had left behind all the wigs and clothes that the boy had given him. If he went back to that village now, he would definitely be treated as a witch.

Moreover, he didn’t want to tell his father that he was going to find the traitor. He didn’t even know why he was suddenly doing this…

Maybe it’s because I couldn’t hit that traitor’s head on his ass.

‘Dia.’

At that moment, a soft hand came and touched my cheek.

‘I always respect your opinion. I can now understand that there may be things you want to keep from me. However… I don’t want you to be in danger. The village seems a little noisy right now, so I’m cautious.’

As he spoke, his father looked back at the path he had taken. Dios also turned his head. Before he knew it, the ground was slowly falling. He had come over a small hill, so he couldn’t see the village, but it wasn’t that far away.

‘Don’t worry, father. I won’t come near people. If it seems dangerous, I’ll call you right away. … I’ll be back.’

Dios turned back the way he had come, leaving his father looking down at him with concern.

Just ask him why he did that. If he had a reason, I’ll hit him once, but if he’s just a bad guy, I’ll beat him to death.

However, the house of the guy I went to with great effort was empty. Only a long bloodstain remained.

Dios ran quickly along the trail of blood. In just a few minutes, darkness fell and the trail of blood became difficult to see, but it was not long before he could easily see where the guy was.

Because a light appeared in a corner of the forest, as if asking to be found.

Dios entered the forest. It was dark and he could not see the path well, but the flames that were growing bigger and bigger were clearer than anything else.

‘Ugh, thud… …!’

As I ran without stopping, the acrid smoke carried by the wind scratched my throat and the smell of carbon monoxide stopped my thinking.

‘The real witch has appeared!’

At the end of that cruel and splendid light, there was a father who had arrived at some unknown time, and people surrounding him holding torches.

* * *

‘Walk on all fours!’

puck-!

Something hit his head. Only then did the young man realize that he was being dragged by someone’s hand.

The young man got up from the floor, his eyes swollen shut, as if he had been hit in the eye area, and he couldn’t see clearly.

‘You dare to deceive us?’

‘… Me… , what… … .’

‘There’s no such thing as a hut!’

‘That cabin appears and disappears from view. It’s the witch’s… cabin, isn’t it?’

The young man replied, but felt relieved inside. He thought that he hadn’t found it yet.

But my words offended him, and the violence continued again, and the young man lost consciousness again.

And when I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was a cabin on fire. And a cabin with its entrances completely blocked.

‘…! Reki! Dia!’

The young man jumped to his feet. He had no idea where he got the strength, but he picked up an axe from the yard and began to tear down the hut.

‘Reki, Dia, where are you! Come out quickly!’

But no matter how much he called, he couldn’t find them, and the young man felt relieved inside.

…you noticed and ran away. That’s a relief.

‘It’s so quiet, I guess the witch ran away.’

But the relief was short-lived. As the heretic inquisitor spoke, he looked around at the villagers. They were all trembling, as if they had been threatened in some way.

‘Or maybe you hid it.’

‘Oh, my goodness, how could that be! We, we don’t know much about this… … .’

‘Then where on earth did the witch go?’

At those words, the villagers looked at me. No one said anything, but the young man could tell.

That the next target is himself.