Chapter 145: Registering Long

It had been several days since Qiu Nuoya had last visited the Adventurer’s Guild.

As soon as they stepped inside, the adventurers there began glancing in their direction for some reason.

Qiu Nuoya had never been treated like this before, so he tilted his head in confusion. "Somehow, I feel like we’re getting stared at a lot today..."

"Not us. It’s Long."

"Huh?" Qiu Nuoya tilted his head even further, unable to understand what Igor meant.

"Not ’huh’! Long stands out, obviously. Demi-humans are already noticeable enough, and he’s even more conspicuous."

Long was currently walking beside Qiu Nuoya in his demi-human form. It was true that Long had a pair of impressive horns and a large, sturdy tail.

Still, in a world where beastfolk casually walked around in public, Qiu Nuoya couldn’t quite understand why Long was considered so conspicuous.

His demi-human form might be a little unusual, but he’s still a handsome guy. What’s so strange about him?

"Does he really stand out that much?"

"He isn’t wearing a collar, either. Of course people are going to notice."

A collar! Now that Long was Qiu Nuoya’s contracted monster, he really did need to wear some kind of identifying equipment to prove it. Come to think of it, Qiu Nuoya had completely forgotten about that.

[ Why the hell should I have to wear a collar?! I’m absolutely not wearing something like that! ]

"Hehe, yeah, I figured you’d hate that. Long doesn’t like things like that, after all."

But if a collar was out of the question, what could they use instead as an identifying mark? Just like with Mochi, Qiu Nuoya supposed he would have to let Long choose something for himself.

"Come to think of it, Nuoya, haven’t you registered Long as your contracted monster with the Adventurer’s Guild yet?"

"Huh... Ah! That’s right!"

A Tamer was required to report and register any monster they contracted with the guild. This was necessary so that responsibility could be clearly established if one of their contracted monsters ever caused trouble.

Qiu Nuoya had registered Mochi as his contracted monster three years ago, but since he had not added another contracted monster since then, he had completely forgotten about the procedure.

Igor and Viktor were supposed to report the Dungeon Castle investigation directly to the Guild Master, so they went to the reception desk and requested a meeting with him. While they waited for the Guild Master to arrive, Qiu Nuoya decided to register Long as his contracted monster.

"Excuse me, I’d like to register a contracted monster!"

"Certainly. Please fill in the contracted monster’s name and species here. Once you’ve completed the form, present your Adventurer’s Guild card and submit any required documents along with it."

Qiu Nuoya filled in the necessary information on the form he was given and submitted it along with his Adventurer’s Guild card.

However, after taking one glance at the documents, the receptionist admonished him.

"Now, now. You shouldn’t make false declarations. There are penalties for that."

"Huh? I didn’t make a false declaration."

"The demi-human standing behind you is your contracted monster, right? Did your parents buy him for you? Are you sure you’ve actually formed a contracted monster agreement with him? Isn’t he a slave? And as for his species being a dragon, surely you don’t expect me to believe that."

The receptionist spoke to Qiu Nuoya with an amused smile.

But Qiu Nuoya had not written a single false statement.

"It’s true that Long and I have a one-year contract, but I didn’t lie! Please register him!"

"A one-year contract with a contracted monster... This isn’t a playground for children. If you want to play adventurer, you should do it at home, okay, kid?"

He doesn’t believe me at all! And now he thinks I’m just playing pretend!

Qiu Nuoya’s Adventurer’s Guild card clearly stated that he was a Rank D adventurer. This was beyond rude!

"Nuoya, you seem to be having quite a bit of trouble. What happened?" Viktor had been watching Qiu Nuoya register his contracted monster from a short distance away, but apparently could no longer bear to watch him argue with the receptionist. He came over to see what was going on.

"Are you this child’s guardian? I’ve already told him that making a false declaration will result in a penalty, but he refuses to listen and insists that I register him anyway."

The receptionist said this as he held Qiu Nuoya’s registration form out to Viktor.

Viktor examined the form and then said, "There are no false statements or even any errors in it."

Once again, the receptionist gave an amused smile.

"If you insist, then fine. However, surely you know that registering a large monster requires a certificate from the Tamer’s Guild, don’t you? Your paperwork is incomplete. Either way, I cannot register it."

The way this guy talks is really starting to get on my nerves!

Qiu Nuoya had never even heard about such a requirement before.

People had occasionally laughed at him for having Mochi as his contracted monster, but this was the first time someone had openly treated him like an idiot right to his face.

"All right, I understand. I just need to bring the required documents, right? I’ll go get them!"

Qiu Nuoya snatched his documents and Guild card back, stuffed them into his bag, and returned to the others with a deep furrow between his brows.

"What happened, Nuoya? Are you unusually angry about something?"

"They wouldn’t let me register Long as my contracted monster! They said my paperwork was incomplete, so I’m going to the Tamer’s Guild!"

Just as Qiu Nuoya was about to leave, the Adventurer’s Guild Master, Rogue, happened to appear.

"Oh, everyone is here. You’re here to give your progress report, aren’t you? How is the dungeon exploration going? Have you made any progress?"

The Guild Master looked over at them with an expression that seemed almost eager to please. Then his eyes suddenly stopped on Long.