A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 146: Advice for a Prince

"Hmm... Cari likes the white one," Cari answered.

White? What did he mean by white?

Brat had already given up hoping the argument would stop, since Qiong Xing seemed far too calm about the whole situation.

Instead, he listened to their conversation as he tilting his head in confusion.

"Ah, you mean Alice, the one we read the other day. You were happy because there was a rabbit with the same hair color as you, right?" Qiong Xing said with a smile.

So that was it.

Cari meant the white rabbit.

Watching Qiong Xing gently smile while stroking Cari’s head made Brat feel strangely jealous.

But there was no way he could ask someone to pat his head like that, so he stayed silent.

"Like I said, do you have a death wish? Are you looking down on me because you think I’m a slave? Don’t worry, hiding a body so no one finds out would be easy," Albe growled nearby.

That was terrifying.

Truly terrifying.

Brat wondered if that counted as a threat, but he decided it was better not to get involved.

On one side of the shop was hell itself and on the other side was heaven.

Anyone would choose heaven.

So Brat simply sat there quietly and listening to Qiong Xing’s calm storytelling until the argument finally ended.

In the end, the battle between the shopkeeper and Albe ended with Albe’s victory.

The shopkeeper looked pale and exhausted.

When Qiong Xing gently said, "That’s what happens when you try to do something dishonest," the man finally seemed to reflect on his behavior and apologized sincerely.

Qiong Xing simply smiled and forgave him.

"We have ring types, bracelet types, earrings, necklaces, and even hand mirrors. Which would you prefer?" the shopkeeper asked.

"There are more options than I expected," Qiong Xing murmured.

A hand mirror... that sounds like some kind of transformation tool.

The shopkeeper tilted his head in confusion at Qiong Xing’s quiet muttering, but Qiong Xing quickly said it was nothing and asked Brat to choose what he liked.

"Please choose something you can keep with you at all times," Qiong Xing added. "It would be dangerous if it ended up in someone else’s hands."

Magic tools themselves were already expensive.

But if one fell into the wrong hands and caused trouble for the people at the hideout, it would be a serious problem.

"Then... something for the arm or the ear would be good. After that, please choose the rest, Qiong Xing," Brat said.

"Then let’s go with an earring. With this design, it won’t look strange even on a man. As for the bracelet... the size doesn’t fit," Qiong Xing replied.

The bracelets already came in fixed sizes.

When Qiong Xing tried one on, it slipped right off his wrist with just a small movement of his hand.

"Then we’ll take three of these," Qiong Xing said.

Brat quickly tried to stop him when he saw Qiong Xing naturally reaching for his money.

"N-no, I’ll pay for it. This happened because of my selfish request..." Brat said hurriedly.

"It’s really not a problem," Qiong Xing replied calmly. "And besides, that money isn’t truly yours, is it? It belongs to the country. It’s money that the people earned through hard work. I don’t think it’s right to spend it here."

For someone like Brat,who was a prince, it might be easy to use such money.

But that would only make sense if he were fulfilling his duties as a prince.

Using money collected from the people just because he personally wanted something would not be right.

"...Then maybe we should just cancel—" Brat started to say.

"If you truly think that’s fine, then I won’t stop you," Qiong Xing said gently. "But that’s not what you really want, is it? If you’re worried about the cost, then you can repay me someday when you’re able to earn money yourself."

"Earn it... myself?" Brat repeated.

"You registered at the guild, didn’t you?" Qiong Xing continued. "Right now you’re taking low-rank jobs together with us, but once you grow stronger you’ll be able to accept higher-ranked requests. If that doesn’t interest you, then you could try working harder at your duties as a prince. So what if your parents doubt you? Show them that you have talent, and they’ll come running to you on their own. When that happens, you can laugh at them proudly."

It was fine to decide what he wanted to do even from now on.

He could continue raising his rank as an adventurer or he could devote himself to serving the country as a prince and create real benefits for the kingdom.

Whenever someone begins something new, some kind of effort is always required.

Whether Brat chose to walk the path of an adventurer or the path of a prince, trying his best at either one would not be a bad thing.

"...Do you think I can really do it?" Brat asked quietly.

"Who knows? I have no idea," Qiong Xing replied simply.

"Huh?" Brat blinked his eyes in surprise.

Even though Qiong Xing had been the one giving advice, the truth was that the answer was not something he could know.

How Brat would try and how far he could go, it’s depends entirely on Brat himself.

"You won’t know the result unless you try," Qiong Xing said with a small smile. "I’m not a prophet. I don’t know which path you’ll choose or how far you’ll go."

"..."

Brat lowered his head and thought quietly.

Qiong Xing stepped closer and gently patted his head again.

"But you don’t need to think about it in such a complicated way," Qiong Xing continued softly. "No matter which path you choose, you’ll have to work hard. But it’s not something you need to torment yourself over. If one path feels impossible, then you can simply walk a different one."

When people have no way to escape, they are pushed into a corner.

Some manage to achieve great results, while others break down and can never recover.