Chapter 112: The Confession

A monster like Mochi, whose size could change freely and who was obedient, would be ideal. But taking care of a much larger monster would probably make both feeding and managing it quite difficult.

"I wonder if I could really take care of a tamed monster like that..."

"There’s no way to know whether you can or can’t until you try. For now, why don’t you just go and take a look?"

Persuaded by Igor, Qiu Nuoya nodded. If there was something he could do to help the two of them, then he wanted to do whatever he could.

Still, a Wyvern...

Even here in Oraria, Qiu Nuoya occasionally saw Wyverns being used for transportation. He had also heard that the royal capital even had a Wyvern Cavalry Corps, so they were probably monsters that could be handled relatively easily.

Put simply, perhaps they were like horses?

But if they were anything like horses, then they would need stables, as well as a place where they could exercise.

Thinking about it that way, a Wyvern did not seem like the kind of monster someone could simply decide to keep and then easily take care of.

Qiu Nuoya wanted to be useful to the two of them, but he could not completely shake off his uneasiness.

Would this really be okay?

That night, just as Qiu Nuoya was about to go to bed after returning to his room, he tilted his head in confusion when he heard a faint knock on the door. He was fairly certain someone had knocked, but the sound had been so timid that he could not even hear anyone moving outside.

"Who is it?"

"It’s me. Can I come in for a bit?"

The voice belonged to Warren, whose room was directly across from Qiu Nuoya’s. Viktor’s room was next to his.

The house was not particularly large, but having a private room for each person felt incredibly luxurious to Qiu Nuoya, especially after having experienced shared housing in his previous life.

When Qiu Nuoya opened the door, Warren looked somewhat restless. He kept glancing toward Viktor’s room. Well, if Viktor happened to witness a secret meeting like this, there was no telling what he might say.

"What happened? Is something wrong?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something..." Warren still looked uneasy, so Qiu Nuoya tilted his head and invited him inside.

The moment Warren entered, Qiu Nuoya faintly sensed a prickling trace of magical power against his skin. However, he deliberately ignored it.

Warren had not noticed it at all, and whoever was responsible probably did not realize that Qiu Nuoya had detected them either. But Qiu Nuoya already knew exactly where that magical power came from.

Viktor is probably spying on us.

Still, there was nothing suspicious going on, so there was no reason for Qiu Nuoya to feel guilty or act nervous.

Honestly, Viktor has been getting a little stalker-like lately. I’m going to have to warn him about this again.

Warren remained restless even after entering the room and avoided making eye contact with Qiu Nuoya.

Qiu Nuoya gestured toward the chair in front of the desk and invited Warren to sit there. He then sat down on the edge of his bed.

He wondered what Warren could possibly want to talk about. Then he remembered that Warren had said he had something he wanted to tell him before Igor and Viktor returned.

"Didn’t you say there was something you wanted to tell me, Warren?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess I did." Despite saying that he had something to say, Warren’s response was strangely hesitant. Perhaps it was something difficult for him to talk about.

"Did I do something to upset you?"

"What!? No, that’s not it!" Even as Warren denied it, he still seemed reluctant to speak. The tips of his ears were slightly flushed as he said, "I decided I should tell you properly!"

"Hm? Tell me what?"

"I... I like you!"

Huh?

"I know I’m not even on your radar, and I fully understand that. Besides, with Viktor and Igor as my rivals, I know I’m practically guaranteed to lose. Even so, I thought it would be wrong to give up without actually telling you how I feel..."

Wait. Did Warren just confess his feelings to him?

This was definitely an unexpected turn of events.

"Wait. When you say you like me, you mean as a companion, right...?"

"No."

In this world, homosexuality was generally accepted, and Qiu Nuoya had heard that there were quite a few adventurers with same sex preferences. Apparently, spending years sharing hardships and joys on adventures often brought party members closer together, and sometimes the circumstances even led to romantic relationships.

Heterosexuality was still the majority, of course. However, in an industry where some adventurers spent decades together as partners and lived almost like married couples, discrimination was practically nonexistent.

In fact, Igor had once jokingly told Qiu Nuoya that, because of his wife, he had no intention of getting into another relationship. Before meeting Qiu Nuoya, he had even used Viktor as an excuse to turn down confessions several times.

Well, it was certainly a convenient excuse. If Viktor was the one Igor was supposedly interested in, it would be difficult for anyone, regardless of gender, to pursue him. Still, Qiu Nuoya had never imagined that Warren had feelings like that.

As Qiu Nuoya stood there in confusion, Warren lowered his eyes. "Is it a bother?"

"It’s not that. I’m just surprised. I always thought you saw me more like a little brother..."

"At first, I was confused too. Viktor clearly treated me as an enemy from the moment we met, and Igor initially seemed amused by the whole thing and even encouraged me. Then, for some reason, he suddenly changed his attitude. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, so I thought about it over and over. In the end, this was the conclusion I came to."

Wait a second.