Chapter 226: Old Friends

In Xiao Tao’s case, the fever was essentially a stress-induced fever. His living environment had changed drastically in such a short time, and the excessive stress, combined with getting chilled after his bath the previous night while everyone was running around in a panic, had apparently pushed his body past its limit.

Qiu Nuoya felt terrible for not realizing it sooner.

Small fragments of Mochi’s body were perched on Xiao Tao’s forehead, absorbing his heat. Several other fragments had split off and crawled beneath his arms and neck, where heat was likely to build up, doing their best to cool him down.

Even so, Xiao Tao’s fever did not seem likely to come down so easily.

"I’ll go buy some fever medicine!"

"The doctor said it is simply a stress-induced fever. The fever will eventually go down on its own even if we leave it alone."

"Even so! I want Xiao Tao to feel better as soon as possible, even if I can only make a small difference. I’ll go!"

"Wait. In that case, I will go with you. Nuoya, you are still unfamiliar with this city, aren’t you?"

With that, Viktor stood up and Igor followed suit.

"Then I’ll go too."

"If I’m the only one left here, it’ll feel awkward. I might just end up being a third wheel, you know?"

"Igor! It’s not like that!"

Warren was the one who hurriedly protested.

When Xiao Tao had collapsed with a fever, Warren had been the closest person to him. Warren had immediately supported Xiao Tao in his arms and carried him to the bed. That much was something anyone would have done, so there was nothing strange about it.

The problem was that once Xiao Tao had been laid down, he continued clutching Warren’s clothes tightly despite being feverish and half-conscious.

Warren had asked him several times to let go, but perhaps because he was delirious with fever, Xiao Tao merely shook his head in a daze and refused to release his grip.

"I know, I know. He’s just feeling scared and alone. He’s like a little kid. When my own kids had fevers, they used to do the same thing with me and my wife. If it were me, I’d even sleep beside him if that’s what he wanted. But apparently, Xiao Tao wants you, so there’s nothing you can do about it. Take good care of him. Once he falls completely asleep, he’ll probably let go."

Sleep beside him...

Qiu Nuoya was a little surprised by the words that came out of Igor’s mouth.

No, Qiu Nuoya understood that Igor was speaking from his experience raising children, and there was nothing inappropriate about it. Still, when he imagined Warren and Xiao Tao sleeping side by side, he found himself feeling a little complicated.

I guess the difference between someone with experience and someone without it really is huge.

For Igor, sleeping beside someone was probably completely ordinary, regardless of who it was. In fact, Qiu Nuoya himself had been used as Igor’s body pillow countless times.

Maybe the strange one was Qiu Nuoya for interpreting it differently.

If I said anything, Igor would probably laugh and tell me, "That’s what you get for being a virgin."

So Qiu Nuoya decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Igor, you really seem like such a great dad."

"Haha, not a chance. I’m the kind of man who abandoned his wife and children to do whatever I wanted, only to have my own family leave me in the end. There’s no way you could call me a good father."

On the way to the pharmacy, Qiu Nuoya had complimented Igor, only to receive a bitter smile in response.

"But there was a reason for that..."

"Whatever the reason, I destroyed my own family with my own hands. I’m in no position to call myself a good father, no matter what."

Igor’s self-deprecating words made Qiu Nuoya pause. ℴℴ𝘮

Igor always talked about his family with such happy memories that Qiu Nuoya had nearly forgotten about that part of his past. But that was true. Those memories must have been from a very long time ago by now.

Igor’s occupation was Martial Artist, and his combat style was Berserker. Qiu Nuoya had learned that quite some time ago, but he had never actually seen Igor enter his Berserker state.

Igor was already quite strong as a Martial Artist, and everyone in their party could fight reasonably well, especially with Viktor at the forefront. Because of that, they were able to defeat powerful monsters without Igor ever needing to become a Berserker.

Perhaps Igor had entered his Berserker state back when he and Viktor used to explore dungeons together. At the very least, he had never fought that recklessly in front of Qiu Nuoya or Warren.

Igor avoided forming parties with anyone except Viktor because his Berserker fighting style could endanger his own companions. For some reason, Viktor also refused to form parties with anyone other than Igor.

"Come to think of it, I’ve never actually asked. Why did you and Viktor start working together in the first place?"

"Huh? I guess Viktor looked lonely all by himself, so I decided to team up with him. Then I found out we actually fought pretty well together."

"What!? We were both loners, weren’t we!? Besides, I can fight perfectly well on my own without needing you to team up with me!"

"Hahaha, I’m sure you can."

Even as he said that, Igor flashed a grin.

"Still, isn’t it easier to fight when you have at least one person watching your back?"

"Well, Igor is certainly strong, so requests to hunt monsters have become considerably easier."

Viktor was surprisingly tsundere at times, so even this was probably the strongest possible acknowledgment he could give Igor.

It was also telling that, despite trying to push Warren, Xiao Tao, and even Long out of the group, Viktor had never once suggested getting rid of Igor.

Viktor had said before that he disliked how insensitive Igor could be, but the fact that he had never gone as far as trying to drive him away was probably because the two of them had built a bond of trust that Qiu Nuoya knew nothing about.