Chapter 182: Putting others first instead of yourself

"Viktor, you used to be called Vic?"

"My older sister used to call me Vic or Vicky. No one other than her ever called me that, though."

"Viktor, you have an older sister!?"

Qiu Nuoya had never heard Viktor talk about his family before. He had heard that Viktor had left the elven village almost like he was running away from home, so Qiu Nuoya had simply assumed that he did not have a very good relationship with his family.

Yet Viktor had apparently had an older sister who had affectionately called him by such a familiar nickname.

For some reason, that surprised Qiu Nuoya.

It was strange, but the image of Viktor in Qiu Nuoya’s mind had always been the same as the person standing before him now. He simply could not imagine Viktor living a life surrounded by his family.

"More accurately, I should say I had an older sister. She passed away some time ago."

"Eh...?"

"I am a half-elf. Being a half-elf means that one of my parents was not an elf. I took after my father, who was a High Elf, while my sister took after our human mother. As a result, she had a much shorter lifespan and passed away."

Ah... This probably wasn’t something Qiu Nuoya should have asked about.

So Viktor’s older sister was already gone...

"Don’t make that face. For long-lived races like elves, being left behind by members of other races is practically inevitable. I’ve already learned to accept that."

With those words, Viktor gave a faint smile. He looked away from Qiu Nuoya and gazed into the distance before continuing.

"Still, I can’t quite accept the fact that the people I dislike always seem to live so long, while the people I care about tend to have such short lives."

Qiu Nuoya felt that he could understand Viktor’s feelings. He, too, had experienced the loneliness of being left behind by his family countless times. There had been nights when he found himself completely alone and could not understand why he was the one still alive.

"I will do his best to live as long as possible."

"Don’t worry. I’ve been thinking about that as well."

"...Huh?"

Viktor’s response to Qiu Nuoya’s casual remark sounded strangely ominous. Viktor smiled pleasantly, but Qiu Nuoya could not help wondering what exactly he meant by thinking about it.

"Nuoya’s existence is, in a sense, also a source of hope for me. I will use everything I have learned throughout my long life to protect you."

"Um... Thank you?"

Qiu Nuoya had no idea what Viktor was trying to imply, but his instincts were telling him very clearly that this was something he probably should not ask about.

"Qiu... Nuoya! Food! Alcohol!"

Long called out to him.

This dragon is strangely fluent when it comes to food and alcohol.

"Ah, yes, yes. I understand. I’ll prepare it now, so just wait a moment." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Qiu Nuoya turned his attention to serving dinner. The stewed Horn Rabbit meat had become wonderfully tender, practically falling apart at the touch of a fork.

I thinks it turned out delicious again today.

...

For some reason, Long had started speaking.

Qiu Nuoya did not understand why Long who had spent his entire life among monsters had decided to learn their language. When he asked him about it, Long simply replied that it was "just a whim."

[ It is your fault for not understanding my language in the first place! So I have graciously decided to learn yours. You should be grateful! ]

He said it in an extremely haughty manner, but in the end, it probably just meant that he wanted to try talking with everyone else too.

He’s really not honest with himself.

Apparently, while they were still in the Elysium, Long had gradually been learning how to form human words from the elder dragon.

Incidentally, when Long spoke to Qiu Nuoya privately, he called him [ Master ], but when speaking aloud, he called him "Nuoya." Qiu Nuoya did not mind either way, but apparently Long’s pride would not allow him to call Qiu Nuoya "Master" in front of everyone.

Dragons really are proud creatures through and through.

"Nuoya, food, not yet?"

"Long, that’s all you ever talk about."

"Me, no work, eat, sleep."

Long’s job is to eat and sleep?

No, perhaps he meant that since he had no work, all he could do was eat and sleep.

Communicating through individual words alone was still rather difficult.

"You can speak dragon language when you’re talking to me."

[ Ah, that’s right. More importantly, why don’t you make better use of me as your tamed monster? I don’t know where you’re going, but instead of being bounced around in this painfully slow vehicle, you could simply ride on my back and get there in an instant. ]

"That’s certainly true, but..."

If Qiu Nuoya rode on Long’s back, he felt they could reach anywhere in this world in no time. However, doing so would inevitably draw a tremendous amount of attention to Long wherever they went.

More importantly, Qiu Nuoya himself would also attract a great deal of attention simply because he was the one who had tamed Long. If possible, that was something Qiu Nuoya wanted to avoid.

"The human world is surprisingly complicated."

[ Well, even I can figure that much out just by watching you. I don’t know about other humans, but you are always worrying about everyone around you and putting yourself second. ]

"Eh!? Am I really like that?"

[ We monsters generally have very little sense of camaraderie. Some lesser creatures live in groups with others of their kind, but they do so because they understand that they cannot survive on their own. It does not mean they are all living together happily. If one of them falls into danger, the others will abandon it and run away if they can. And if they have no further use for one of their own kind, they will kill and eat it. But it seems you are incapable of doing that. ]