Chapter 146: Monster Encounter

"A demi-human?" He narrowed his eyes.

Rogue had persistently tried to buy Mochi from Qiu Nuoya in the past, so Qiu Nuoya immediately stepped in front of Long and glared at him.

"He’s my contracted monster."

It seemed that this country was not particularly welcoming toward demi-humans, and the practice of buying and selling them as slaves appeared to be well established. Qiu Nuoya decided it was better to make his position clear from the start.

"Oh? He’s quite large. What species is he? Judging by those horns, is he a Minotaur? No, he has a tail too, so perhaps a Chimera? Or maybe a Griffin?"

Rogue listed several monster species, but apparently he still could not imagine that Long was a dragon. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Long is a dragon. Apparently, they won’t let me register him as a contracted monster without a certificate, so I’m going to the Tamer’s Guild to get one. Long, let’s go!"

[ You’re in such a hurry. Fine, fine. ]

Rogue stared at Long with a dumbfounded expression.

Perhaps Long noticed him staring, because he bared his fangs at the Guild Master in a threatening manner. Rogue’s entire body stiffened in surprise.

That was rather amusing.

Unlike that rude receptionist, the Guild Master apparently did not think Qiu Nuoya was lying when he said Long was a dragon.

Qiu Nuoya felt a little better about the whole situation.

"Nuoya, wait. I’m coming with you."

As soon as they left the Adventurer’s Guild, Warren came after Qiu Nuoya. Igor and Viktor had stayed behind because they still had to report their progress in conquering the dungeon.

"You could have just waited for me at the Adventurer’s Guild."

"There wouldn’t have been any point in me staying there. Besides, I’d be worried about you going alone."

As usual, Warren was treating Qiu Nuoya like a child.

"You really do treat me like a kid no matter how much time passes, don’t you? I have Long and Mochi with me now, so I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m a Rank D adventurer too, so you don’t have to worry about me that much."

"I know that, but..." Warren looked slightly sulky and averted his eyes. "Besides, do you have any idea how I felt when I confessed my feelings to you!? I thought you’d at least become a little more conscious of me, but you haven’t changed your attitude toward me in the slightest! Do I really have to spell everything out for you? I followed you because I wanted to be with you! How can you not understand something that obvious?!"

For some reason, Warren suddenly launched into a furious tirade.

So, Qiu Nuoya instinctively apologized. "Ah, yes. I’m sorry."

"Don’t apologize! Something like that makes me feel like you’re indirectly telling me that you don’t see me that way at all. It really hurts, you know!"

The heart of an adolescent boy is a delicate thing. If Qiu Nuoya had hurt him, then he genuinely felt sorry. Still, even though Warren had confessed his feelings, Qiu Nuoya could not exactly change his attitude so openly in front of the others, could he? Besides, it was also true that he had deliberately tried not to pay too much attention to that side of things.

"I know. I’m just taking my frustration out on you. You’re really calm for someone younger than me. Haaaaaah... It’s not like I wanted to say all that either. Ah, damn it. I look so pathetic." Warren had managed to bring himself down with his own words. He was still at that sensitive age where emotions could get the better of him.

Seeing him like that, Qiu Nuoya quietly held out his hand. "How about we hold hands again, just like old times, big brother?"

"What’s with ’big brother’? You’ve never called me that before."

"If you don’t like it, then never mind."

"Who said I didn’t like it?!" Warren immediately grabbed Qiu Nuoya’s hand and started walking.

Come to think of it, it had been quite a long time since they had walked hand in hand like this. Qiu Nuoya remembered when he had first met them three years ago. Back then, everyone had treated him completely like a child. He was either being carried around or having his hand held wherever they went. But lately, neither happened anymore.

He had grown quite a bit, after all.

[ What, you two are in that kind of relationship? ]

Long who had been walking nearby without getting too close or too far away suddenly asked the question.

"What do you mean by ’that kind of relationship’?" Qiu Nuoya ended up answering a question with another question.

[ Is this guy Master’s potential mate? ]

Mate?!

Qiu Nuoya was left speechless by Long’s unexpected choice of words.

[ Which one is going to impregnate the other, and which one is going to get pregnant? ]

Watch your wording! And why does the way you’re saying it sound so incredibly graphic? Stop it!

[ Will Master be laying eggs? ]

"Humans aren’t oviparous, so they don’t lay eggs!"

[ Not eggs? Then how? ]

The rapid fire questions left Qiu Nuoya completely at a loss for how to respond. Just then, a stone suddenly flew at him from somewhere.

Warren instinctively stepped in front of Qiu Nuoya, shielding him. The stone did not hit Qiu Nuoya, but if it had, he could have been seriously hurt. That was dangerous.

"It’s a monster! A monster is coming! Run!"

At the shout, several young children came running past. They looked to be around preschool age. Still, surely they were old enough to understand that throwing a stone at someone could hurt them. Where were their parents?

"Hey! If you do something dangerous like that, you apologize!"

"Shut up! People who bring monsters aren’t allowed around here!"

With that, the young children started throwing stones at Qiu Nuoya and the others again. Qiu Nuoya was shocked when he realized that the stones had not hit them by accident. The children had deliberately thrown them.