Chapter 19: A New Face

Viktor then looked directly at Qiu Nuoya and said, "And I believe that magic was most likely non elemental magic that did not rely on elementals."

Oh, so that’s where this is going.

Now that magic arts had become the standard, perhaps non elemental magic had gradually fallen into obscurity because so few people could use it.

If that were true, then Qiu Nuoya was actually an extremely rare non elemental mage.

Well, wouldn’t that be something.

Just as he was leisurely entertaining the thought, Viktor suddenly grabbed both of Qiu Nuoya’s wrists and leaned in close.

"If my hypothesis is correct, then you possess knowledge of the very foundation of magic, knowledge that this world has never known. I want to understand it."

"The foundation... of magic?"

"Yes!" Viktor’s eyes shone with excitement. "If we can uncover it, magic arts could evolve far beyond what they are today. I want to see that future."

Qiu Nuoya blinked his eyes.

So Viktor, despite his calm and composed appearance, was actually far more passionate than he had expected.

"If I told you that your hypothesis was correct, what would you do?" Qiu Nuoya asked. "I don’t want to be locked up and turned into a research subject."

The way Viktor was acting made it seem as though he might lock Qiu Nuoya away and turn him into a test subject.

The thought slipped out before he could stop himself.

Viktor froze completely.

No.

Qiu Nuoya absolutely did not want that.

The idea of being confined in a cage like a laboratory animal and spending the rest of his life as someone’s experiment was horrifying.

"...Have you experienced something like that before?"

Not yesterday, obviously.

But hearing Viktor say something like that only made it seem frighteningly possible.

When Qiu Nuoya remained silent, Viktor apparently interpreted it in his own way.

"I would never do such a thing!"

He declared it without hesitation. Then his expression grew serious.

"However, if you truly are a user of non elemental magic, I cannot deny the possibility that there are people with less honorable intentions."

Those words were not reassuring at all.

"But please don’t worry. I am a Rank A Adventurer. I will protect you."

Oof...

If Qiu Nuoya had been a woman, hearing those words from someone as handsome as Viktor might have been the beginning of a romance.

Unfortunately, Viktor was a man and Qiu is a man too.

There was absolutely no chance of anything like that happening.

"Could you... give me some time to think about it?"

Still gripping both of his wrists, Viktor leaned in expectantly.

Qiu Nuoya instinctively leaned backward to create some distance as he answered.

Viktor nodded.

"I would appreciate your decision sooner rather than later."

It was true that, as a child in an unfamiliar world, having someone to protect him would be a tremendous relief.

Still... This was not at all how Qiu Nuoya had imagined things would turn out.

While they were talking, Igor slowly sat up with an enormous yawn.

"You two are awfully energetic this early in the morning."

He still looked half asleep, swaying slightly as though part of him was still dreaming.

"Good morning, Igor."

"Morning."

As soon as he greeted him, Igor pulled Qiu Nuoya into a hug and vigorously ruffled his hair.

Qiu Nuoya had thought the same thing the night before.

Just what kind of relationship did Igor think they had?

A younger brother?

Igor treated him with remarkable familiarity, almost as though there were no boundaries at all.

"Igor, you’re making Nuoya uncomfortable."

With that, Viktor pulled Qiu Nuoya away from Igor’s arms.

Actually, Qiu Nuoya had not been uncomfortable.

"Hm? You’re suddenly being awfully overprotective."

"Not at all. More importantly, Nuoya has his exam today. If he stays with you, he’ll end up being late. Let’s leave Igor alone and go have breakfast."

Viktor gestured for Qiu Nuoya to follow him. "Hmm?"

Igor looked at him suspiciously and tilted his head.

However, the moment Viktor and Qiu Nuoya headed toward the door, Igor shook his head, stood up, and let out another huge yawn.

"I’m coming too."

After eating breakfast in the multipurpose hall where they had dinner the night before, the three of them headed for the Adventurer’s Guild.

Qiu Nuoya had insisted that he could go by himself, but Viktor refused to agree. Igor also said, "We need to stop by the guild to check for new requests anyway," so the two of them accompanied him.

There was something that had completely surprised Qiu Nuoya that morning.

It happened after breakfast when he went to the washroom to brush his teeth.

The face reflected in the mirror was not his own.

Since he had been turned into a child, he had naturally assumed he would simply have the appearance of his younger self.

The reality was far beyond that.

The boy staring back at him was, without exaggeration, incredibly cute.

The memory of the women fussing over him and calling him adorable the previous day was still fresh in his mind.

At the time, he had simply assumed they were saying that because he was a child.

He had been completely wrong.

The face in the mirror belonged to a beautiful young boy who looked like he could have been a child model.

He had been so stunned that he could only stare speechlessly at his reflection.

"What are you so surprised about?" Igor had asked. "It’s not like this is the first time you’ve seen your own face."

But for Qiu Nuoya, it really was the first time.

He had never imagined his appearance would change this dramatically.

His skin was smooth and flawless.

His eyes were large and expressive and his features were remarkably well balanced.

His irises were a deep indigo that looked almost black, yet shimmered blue depending on the light.

His hair was much the same.

At first glance, it appeared black, but under sunlight it carried a faint bluish tint.

It looked unmistakably like something out of a fantasy world.