Chapter 195: Appraiser

"What... Seriously? That’s disgusting."

Qiu Nuoya completely agreed with Igor. Rather than kidnapping a noble’s child, the client might actually be a noble who wanted to abduct a child they could use as their own toy.

And since this was coming from Viktor, who was apparently a noble himself, his words carried far too much credibility for Qiu Nuoya’s liking.

"As for our party members, Nuoya, Xiao Tao, and Long seem like the most likely targets, so we need to be careful."

"Wait, why Long instead of Warren? Shouldn’t Warren obviously be on that list?"

"What are you talking about? Long is a demi-human. To nobles, demi-humans are treated much like slaves. Long is a particularly impressive looking demi-human, so there is more than enough reason for a noble who desires an attractive demi-human to target him."

"That’s not what I mean... And besides, there’s no way Long would be kidnapped by some ordinary human that easily."

"That is why I said he is someone who would be likely to be targeted. As for why I left that man out, there is simply no reason to target someone with ordinary looks, ordinary abilities, and an ordinary family background. If they were choosing between him and me, someone superior in both appearance and ability, I would be far more likely to become the target." ℯℯ𝘭.

The way Viktor put it! And Warren isn’t helping either. He’s practically admitted defeat with that ’I can’t even argue with that...’

"Everyone is different, and that’s what makes each of us good in our own way. So let’s all be careful, okay? End of discussion!"

Actually, none of them have noticed it, but Warren is probably the one most likely to be targeted right now. He’s literally walking around with ten platinum coins at his waist!

...

After somehow calming the frightened Xiao Tao, who had been thoroughly traumatized by the attempted kidnapping, they continued toward their destination.

That said, Viktor was the only one among them who had visited this city before, so the others were simply following his lead.

"Still, I’m really glad Warren noticed what was happening back there. Thank you."

Qiu Nuoya felt deeply responsible for what had happened. He had insisted that Xiao Tao be allowed to accompany them, promising that he would take care of him, and yet something like this had happened almost immediately.

When Qiu Nuoya thanked Warren again, Warren looked slightly uncomfortable and mumbled, "No..."

For some reason, Xiao Tao had already become quite attached to Warren. He walked beside him, awkwardly clutching the edge of Warren’s clothes as though he did not know where else to go.

Warren seemed unsure how to deal with Xiao Tao’s behavior. He glanced around awkwardly before saying, "Actually, I didn’t notice him at first either."

"Really?"

"When this sword pulled me around and made me turn back, I saw him just as he was about to be kidnapped... If it hadn’t been for that, I probably wouldn’t have noticed either." As he spoke, Warren gently stroked the hilt of the sword resting quietly in its belt holder. "When I put my hand on the hilt, this thing went into battle mode on its own and charged at them. So, to be more accurate, I was actually holding the sword back. I didn’t really do anything myself."

So that was what had happened... Qiu Nuoya had assumed Warren was fighting the kidnapper to protect Xiao Tao, but in reality, he had simply been holding back the sword that was about to run wild.

But if that was the case, then even after the sword had fallen into Warren’s hands, it was still trying to protect Xiao Tao. Was that really the right way to interpret it?

"That’s a remarkably loyal sword for something called a cursed sword. Is that thing really cursed?"

"We’re going to have it appraised now, aren’t we? Come on, we’re here."

The place they had come to have the cursed sword appraised was a small detached house. A small sign stood outside, bearing the words, "Appraisals Accepted."

"Oh? It isn’t the Church?"

"The Church has appraisal crystals, but they do not appraise objects there. Things like this are supposed to be appraised by a professional appraiser."

"Ah, that’s not what I meant. Xiao Tao needs an identification card, right? So we’re getting the sword appraised first?"

Viktor let out an "Ah," as though he had finally understood what Qiu Nuoya meant.

In this world, people were required to present identification almost everywhere they went, much like a passport. Naturally, Xiao Tao did not have any identification that would allow him to enter this city.

So, just as they had done for Qiu Nuoya, Viktor and Igor had explained that they had rescued Xiao Tao after he had been attacked by bandits, and that he had been stripped of all his belongings, including anything that could prove his identity. The city had therefore allowed him to enter on the condition that he obtain a replacement identification card.

Because of that, Qiu Nuoya had naturally assumed that they would first go to the Church to have an identification card made for Xiao Tao.

Apparently, this time things were going to be a little different.

"Haha, the Church won’t do. If we take Xiao Tao to the Church, he’ll end up just like you. If Xiao Tao really is the Hero who was summoned from another world, then Saintess Sherria will come rushing over even faster."

Ah... That does seem likely.

"But then, what about his identification card?"

"That’s where the saying ’it takes a thief to catch a thief’ comes in. We can take care of that here too."

With that, Viktor rang the shop’s doorbell.

After a short while, a voice called from inside, "It’s open."

Hearing that, Viktor opened the front door and stepped inside.

The building’s exterior had not looked much like a shop, but the interior was even less shop-like. Immediately beyond the entrance was a room that seemed to serve as both a living room and a reception area. It was an ordinary house with a layout that was fairly common in this world, and Qiu Nuoya found himself somewhat confused.