The Seventh Prince Runs Away from Awkward Situations Chapter 103

In the middle of the room, stark enough to lack even a single piece of proper furniture, Tollin scrubbed the floor diligently with a rough cloth.

Scraping off unidentified black lumps stuck to the floor and mopping it, Tollin blankly stroked his fingertips, where the fingerprints had worn away and become dark.

He had had calluses before, but getting grime ingrained from such filth was something that had never happened in his life of over 30 years.

Since he couldn't possibly be adept at labor he had never even imagined, naturally, his fingertips became a mess.

A stinging pain shot up every time he brushed the worn areas, but Tollin couldn't quite stop fiddling with his hands.

Because that subtle pain made him realize that this situation of having survived was not a dream.

“Ah! Look at that! Lisa is picking at her fingertips again!”

“Lisa, what if you bleed again. If mopping is that difficult, I will…….”

“Just leave her alone. Bad habits must be fixed by oneself.”

To think that not just alone, but everyone survived together like this.

Feeling somewhat vain and yet overwhelmed anew, Tollin looked down at the three children engaging in a heated debate about him.

Two scruffy vagrants and the Little Duke who had become similarly scruffy.

***

On the night of the ritual that was like a storm, Tollin, who was wandering the capital in search of the Little Duke, suddenly lost consciousness due to a strong impact felt on the back of his head.

Closing his eyes with the thought flowing through his mind that somehow his head seemed to be attacked often recently, when he regained consciousness, what welcomed Tollin was a somewhat burning cheek and three pairs of eyes looking down at him.

-If you have come to your senses, get up and take care of the children.

Among them, the owner of the black eyes spoke in a breathless voice.

In the somewhat familiar situation, Tollin quickly raised his body this time and checked the opponent again.

-7th Prince?

-There is no time. Take the children and get up.

At his somewhat anxious command, Tollin raised his body without thinking further.

There was no need to check the identity of the ‘children’ he referred to.

-Tollin!

A small body with a tearful voice grabbed his waist strongly.

His body staggered backward at the weight rushing in with full force, but Tollin willingly accepted him and hugged the child.

His solar plexus became soaked with the hot tears the Little Duke shed.

Hugging the child's finely trembling body stronger, Tollin also felt a lump in his throat.

It was neither a dream nor an illusion.

Flinn was alive.

-What a relief, what a relief really.

The Little Duke hugged him stronger as he repeated like a prayer.

What threw cold water on their tearful reunion this time was someone's voice catching their breath.

-Didn’t I say there is no time. If you are done, carry that guy collapsed over there on your back too.

Only then did Tollin look alternately at the 7th Prince looking at him from a step away and the remaining two children by his side.

The one collapsed on the floor having lost consciousness was definitely that vagrant who had turned the Piteos Ducal Family upside down.

He didn't know what happened, but the pale face was white enough to make it hard to believe it was that tomboy from back then.

And the small guy standing next to her was struggling to carry the child on his back.

-Mir, wait. I will help.

The child who slipped out of Tollin's embrace hurriedly carried the collapsed child on his back.

Startled, Tollin approached them.

-Little Duke! I will do it. Please give her here.

The child called Mir willingly handed over his friend to Tollin while not letting down his guard.

He couldn't know how things turned out, but he couldn't let Flinn carry something heavy.

-Little Duke, where on earth is this place? Why is the 7th Prince…….

-It is one of the Academy buildings. If you are ready, move. There is no time if we want to go save Duke Piteos too.

Blocking Tollin's words trying to pour out questions while carrying the child, the 7th Prince answered.

As if he would not accept any more questions, he turned around.

The surroundings began to become visible to Tollin's eyes, which belatedly became accustomed to the darkness.

At the end of where small candles lighting the dark building led, there was a narrow and old staircase.

Tollin hesitated for a moment, then readjusted the child on his back and followed behind the 7th Prince.

Circumstantially, it was the 7th Prince who brought him here.

Tollin recalled him from the Piteos Hunting Festival.

As the image of him telling him to confirm Duke Piteos's end overlapped with him provoking Duke Piteos in the forest, one hypothesis became increasingly clear.

The beginning of all this was the 7th Prince, and although the reason was unknown, he had saved him and the Little Duke.

That alone was enough to follow him obediently.

There wasn't any other choice to begin with.

***

-To think there was such a building in the Academy…….

Tollin, who muttered unknowingly, was surprised by his voice echoing louder than expected and hurriedly shut his mouth.

-It is not a place students visit. Since it is a building with an owner.

The 7th Prince, who was climbing the stairs as if running, returned an answer kinder than expected.

Checking the mood for a moment to see if he could continue the questions, Tollin cautiously opened his mouth.

-7th Prince, where are we heading now? Is Duke Piteos still fighting against Prince Dito?

-We are heading to the top of the building, and since Duke Piteos is still facing Dito, his life will be hanging by a thread if we don't move quickly.

With a calm answer as the last, he stopped walking.

Tollin gasped for breath and put down Seya whom he was carrying on his back.

-T, then I will go to Duke now. I have no intention of hiding safely alone.

-I will follow too.

The Little Duke who followed behind said, sticking close to Tollin's side as if he would not be separated from him.

However, the 7th Prince's gaze was cold.

-Are you confident you can survive without other people's help?

At his question, neither of the two could hastily answer yes.

Because both Tollin and the Little Duke had just barely preserved their lives with the help of others.

-The two of you right now will only be a burden if you follow.

At his scathing assessment, Tollin and the Little Duke could not insist any further.

The 7th Prince looked at the two and continued his words.

-Survive. Because an opportunity will come within at least a month.

-What opportunity are you talking about?

-An opportunity where the enemy shows an opening. An opportunity to gather people who share your will.

Tollin thought there was no way such an opportunity would exist when they didn't even know how to avoid people's eyes right here.

-For the time being, you will be able to stay here doing odd jobs. Wait and don't move first until the door opens. Don't catch people's eyes.

Answering quickly as if reading his mind, the 7th Prince jumped lightly onto the window sill.

-It is dangerous!

Startled, Tollin shouted.

Because the height he climbed up was easily over the 4th floor.

There was no way the 7th Prince, who had no abilities, would survive jumping off.

However, as if he couldn't hear the worry, the 7th Prince threw himself out the window without hesitation.

For a moment, thinking he might have ended his life just like that, Tollin leaned half his body out the window.

But the terrible sight he imagined did not unfold.

There was nothing that looked like a corpse on the ground far below.

A single black feather, carried by the wind chilling his eyes, brushed past his eyes and flew into the tower.

***

It was around the time when Seya regained consciousness, the four people exchanged information they had, and they realized they hadn't eaten anything all evening, that the door to the top floor opened.

That is to say, it means no one looked for the room at the top of the tower until the sun rose high in the sky and the door opened.

Clunk.

What came out from inside the door, opened without friction, was a man draped in a robe smeared with something messy.

He looked around at Tollin and the three children without much word, then soon gestured with his body to come inside.

Tollin, who was hiding the three children behind him with a nervous look, couldn't help but pause at the man's attitude, which was docile enough to make him lose steam.

Then, annoyance surfaced on the man's face.

“I don't know how you lived until now, but I won't tolerate such dawdling from now on. Act quickly.”

Embarrassment and slight displeasure surfaced on Tollin and the Little Duke's faces.

Because for both, it was the first time in their lives hearing not to dawdle.

They lived diligently if anything, but were never pointed out as being sluggish or slow.

Of course, Tollin heard a few times that his movements were slow, but that strictly meant his physical abilities were inferior to his brothers.

It was the first time receiving a scolding directed at a person who couldn't understand speech like this.

But unfortunately, as the man said, Tollin and the Little Duke were slow and clumsy.

It didn't take a long time to realize that they were dawdling as the man said.

“I apologize. I will do better from now on.”

“I am really sorry.”

Unlike Tollin and the Little Duke standing blankly, Mir and Seya quickly bowed their heads deeply.

Watching the two, Tollin and the Little Duke also bowed their heads belatedly.

“……I apologize.”

Tollin bowed his head, feeling his teeth grinding.

The man looked down at the four heads bowed toward him, then soon sighed and turned his body.

“Follow me. Don't even make a breathing sound.”

Entering the room following him, Tollin furrowed his brow slightly at the appearance of the room, dirtier than he thought.

What bothered him more than the paper scraps scattered here and there were the bones of unknown origin rolling around everywhere.

Since it was inside the Academy where killing was prohibited, he probably didn't kill them directly at least, but it wasn't a very pleasant scenery to look at.

Taking the messy scenery into their eyes, the four crossed the room following the man and soon arrived in front of another door connected inside the room.

The man took a deep breath for a moment, then carefully brought his hand to the door.

Knock knock knock.

The door rang exactly three times.

“Come in.”

A voice mixed with a metallic sound flowed out from inside.

It was a voice that had a strangely neurotic corner even though it was definitely speaking softly.

Thinking it would be related to the man opening the door carefully so as not to make a sound, the four checked the name written on the doorplate.

[Mia Iera]

The man urged with his eyes, and the four entered the room with nervous faces.

The appearance of the inside was very…… very dirty.

To the extent that it couldn't be compared with the outside.

Leaving aside the clothes and glass vials scattered here and there, the appearance of long and bizarre tools of unknown use gathered and tangled like a knotted skein left no way to know what the tools were for on earth.

The only clean place in the large room where all sorts of junk were scattered like that was exactly the center of the room.

Mir thought that if looked from above, it would look like there was a hole only in the middle.

In the center of that mess, there was a person.

To be precise, it was something that looked like a person.

Because the shape wearing something like a black sack over the head was a strange creature no matter how favorably one looked at it.

He was observing something with what appeared to be his face pressed right against a large water tank in the center of the room.

The four narrowed their brows to see in detail something squirming inside the water tank.

Although they failed due to the man blocking their front.

“Lord Mia, these are the children who will be in charge of odd jobs from today.”

As the man spoke carefully, the person called Mia slowly raised his body.

“…….”

And there were no words.

“We have come to serve Lord Mia from today. We look forward to working with you.”

To show courtesy, and to eliminate awkwardness, the Little Duke greeted first.

Fortunately, eye holes were pierced in the black sack, so they could check which direction the opponent's gaze was flowing.

His eyes scanned the Little Duke who opened his mouth first, then Seya, and Mir in turn.

Before long, his mouth opened.

It seemed so, probably.

Because a voice like a metallic sound was heard even though the face wasn't visible.

“Why are you standing stupidly? If you are going to receive money, you have to work.”

Tollin and the Little Duke were shocked by his character lacking even a basic greeting, but Mir and Seya rather felt at ease.

Because this kind of treatment was rather familiar.

Is there any word as simple and clear as work if you want to get paid.

As long as it wasn't a guy who would stiff them later, such cool commands were better.

“Then what should we do first?”

At Mir's crooked question, the man who guided them here glared.

However, a fist didn't fly hastily.

Is hitting kids prohibited since it's the Academy anyway?

Thinking the environment was better than expected, Mir twisted the corners of his mouth.

“Can't you tell by looking at the state of this room. Of course, you have to clean first. Keep movements that interfere with my work to a minimum, clean quietly.”

Having finished speaking like that, Mia turned his body with a 'pak' sound again and walked to the center of the room.

At his appearance attaching his face to the water tank again, the minds of Seya and Mir, Tollin and Flinn gathered in one place.

That this month would never be easy.