Chapter 24: Viktor’s Drunken Side

There were multiple layers of information appearing everywhere.

Whoa.

What was this?

It felt unsettling.

Everyone’s personal information was completely exposed.

The race descriptions and adventurer ranks made sense.

But what about the numbers next to them?

And what did the heart symbols mean?

What was this?

The hearts next to Igor and Viktor were faintly colored pink.

However, the hearts above some passersby were colorless.

Others did not even have a heart symbol at all.

What did it mean?

"Hey, Nuoya, are you okay? Did some insect fly into your face or something?"

"Ah... yes. I was just a little surprised."

Qiu Nuoya quickly nodded at Igor’s question. Then he shook his head slightly, trying to regain his composure.

The screens and text vanished instantly.

The scenery around him returned to normal.

Ah, thank goodness.

If he had to keep seeing all that information forever, his brain would probably overload from the sheer amount of data.

Qiu Nuoya now understood that the Appraisal skill activated simply by thinking about it.

He decided that he needed to be careful about when and where he used it.

Seeing the two of them looking at him with concern, Qiu Nuoya smiled and assured them that he was fine.

When he returned to the shared house after passing the Adventurer’s Guild registration exam, he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

For some reason, a large banner reading "Congratulations on Passing!" was already hanging across the hall, and everyone was busily preparing for a celebration.

Wait.

What was going on?

"This is a shared house where adventurers gather. When a new adventurer is born, it’s only right that we celebrate."

The man speaking while preparing the drinks was the very same person who had been completely drunk the previous night.

Qiu Nuoya recognized many of the other adventurers helping with the preparations as well.

Before he knew it, he had been ushered into the seat of honor.

A chorus of "Congratulations!" echoed throughout the room.

Then everyone immediately began drinking.

In no time at all, the atmosphere became exactly the same as it had been the previous evening.

Wait a second.

Didn’t they just want an excuse to drink by celebrating his success?

"They really do love parties, don’t they..." Qiu Nuoya muttered.

Beside him, Viktor slowly swirled the drink in his glass with an amused expression.

Igor had already blended completely into the crowd of adventurers and was enthusiastically joining the feast.

Meanwhile, Qiu Nuoya and Viktor both felt somewhat out of place amid all the excitement.

"You don’t seem to enjoy gatherings like this very much, Viktor."

"I don’t mind attending them once in a while, but only out of courtesy." Viktor smiled wryly. "I’m not very good at handling alcohol."

He picked up a small snack to accompany his drink and let out a quiet sigh.

"Cheap alcohol always made me behave badly." Then Viktor looked at Qiu Nuoya. "Nuoya, don’t grow up to become one of those hopeless adults over there, okay?"

"Haha... I’ll keep that in mind." Qiu Nuoya nodded with a laugh.

He had never been particularly good at drinking to begin with and he had never been very comfortable with this kind of loud and high energy atmosphere either.

While watching the lively crowd, Qiu Nuoya quietly focused on his meal.

Beside him, Viktor sipped a beautifully colored fruit wine.

"This fruit wine is surprisingly smooth. It’s actually quite good today."

He continued drinking a few more glasses, but gradually became quieter and quieter.

The women, including Aria, who had fussed over Qiu Nuoya all evening yesterday, strangely never came over to them today.

Maybe it was about time for the two of them to head back to their room.

"Viktor... are you alright? Should we go back to the room?"

"Mmm..."

Just when Qiu Nuoya thought Viktor had simply become quiet, Viktor suddenly began swaying from side to side.

Qiu Nuoya immediately became flustered.

"Ah... did Viktor drink quite a lot?"

Noticing his concern, Igor walked over with a wry smile.

"Is Viktor alright? Shouldn’t we let him rest in the room?"

"It’s the usual. He’ll be fine."

Igor chuckled.

"He’ll probably wake up eventually."

With that, he laughed and added, "It’s more entertaining if you just leave him like that," before walking back to the other adventurers.

More entertaining?

What was that supposed to mean?

Fearing that Viktor might topple over, Qiu Nuoya sat beside him to support him.

However, Viktor suddenly leaned over.

With a soft thump, he rested his head on Qiu Nuoya’s lap and promptly fell asleep.

What should he do now?

He could not move at all.

Come to think of it, they had returned very late last night.

Perhaps Viktor simply had not gotten enough sleep.

Thinking that, Qiu Nuoya absentmindedly stroked Viktor’s head.

A moment later, Viktor’s eyes slowly opened.

"Ah, you’re awa..."

"More."

Before Qiu Nuoya could finish speaking, Viktor interrupted him.

"What?"

"What is it?"

"Pet me more."

"...What?"

"More. More. Love me more!"

Huh?!

Viktor had completely broken!

Without warning, Viktor wrapped both arms tightly around Qiu Nuoya’s waist.

In an instant, Qiu Nuoya found himself trapped in Viktor’s embrace.

Meanwhile, the drunken adventurers watching from a distance burst into laughter.

"It’s started. Viktor’s Theater of Love."

"This never gets old!"

What was that supposed to mean?!

Instead of laughing, couldn’t someone help him?

"Tell me... won’t you love me too?" Viktor asked with watery eyes. "Why are you leaving me?"

"Huh? What? I’m not going anywhere..."

"How cruel. So you’re going to leave me too..."

As he spoke, Viktor tightened his grip even more before bursting into tears.

Large tears streamed down his face.

Wait.

Was he the type who cried when he got drunk?

No one had warned him about this!

To make matters worse, Viktor’s tearful expression was unfairly beautiful.

Looking into those shimmering eyes made Qiu Nuoya feel as though he had genuinely done something terrible.

The surrounding drunkards only laughed even harder.