Chapter 245: Igor’s Past

"Could it be that Viktor really likes me a lot?"

"You’re only saying that now!?"

Viktor’s face turned bright red. He looked incredibly cute.

If Viktor had wanted to pick Qiu Nuoya up that badly, he could have simply said so from the beginning.

No, he probably would have rejected him if he had.

After all, Viktor had discovered Qiu Nuoya’s true identity and age fairly early on, so Qiu Nuoya had never needed to act like a child around him. That was probably why Viktor had been unable to bring himself to ask.

"Hey, you two. If you’re going to flirt, go somewhere private."

"!? We’re not flirting!"

"That’s how it looks from the outside. It’s good that you two get along, but try to consider how it feels for the rest of us to get dragged into your lovers’ quarrels every time."

Qiu Nuoya had not thought they were doing anything of the sort, but Igor’s words brought him back to reality. When he looked around, Warren was the only one who abruptly turned his gaze away. Everyone else, for some reason, was looking at them with strangely indulgent expressions.

[ So, is that guy going to be my Master’s mate? ]

"What!? Even you, Long? What are you talking about!?"

[ I am merely confirming the facts. Confirmation is important. If two males fight to the death over a female, the land will be ravaged and every living creature in the surrounding area will be killed, leaving nothing but devastation... At least, that is what my grandfather told me long ago. ]

Ah, a life-or-death battle between dragons would certainly be a huge ordeal for both the dragons themselves and everyone around them. A single dragon’s roar or breath could even alter the terrain, so anyone caught in the middle would have every right to be annoyed.

Wait, that’s not what we’re talking about!

"Wowww, I’ve always dreamed of something like that. If someone showed up right now and tried to take me away from you, Long, would you fight for me?" Shangguan Wan’er asked.

[There doesn’t seem to be any dragon presence around here in the first place, so that won’t happen. ]

"Ehhh, but what if it wasn’t a dragon? Like, that stupid prince over there, for example..."

Long seemed to think about Shangguan Wan’er’s question for a moment. After giving it some consideration, he casually replied,

[ Humans would be killed instantly by a dragon. ]

Qiu Nuoya also imagined the prince being crushed with a tiny squish beneath Long’s claw, but he was pretty sure that was something they absolutely could not allow to happen.

But in this case, Shangguan Wan’er was not asking whether Long could win a fight. She wanted to know whether he would fight for her.

"That’s not what I meant..."

Shangguan Wan’er puffed out her cheeks, but then she cheerfully linked her arm around Long’s again.

"But I love even that oblivious side of you?"

Apparently, she was not bothered in the slightest.

Now this is what I would actually call flirting.

...

Their journey was completely peaceful.

As they drew closer to the royal capital, the number of people and carriages traveling along the roads gradually increased, making Qiu Nuoya realize once again that they had finally entered a major city.

From the western city of Coalora, they had traveled to the dungeon city of Oraria, then passed through the tourist city of Cider Orchard. At last, they arrived at the capital of the kingdom.

"Is it just me, or is there an absurd number of people here...?"

Anyone entering the royal capital had to pass through a checkpoint.

While they had been under suspicion from the Church, they had occasionally cheated by simply ignoring the checkpoint and using Viktor’s teleportation magic to enter the city. But now that Qiu Nuoya was finally free of that trouble, he properly went through the inspection and entered the royal capital.

Once they passed through the checkpoint and went through the capital’s gates, Qiu Nuoya was met with people.

People everywhere.

There were so many that he felt as though he might become dizzy from the sheer crowd.

As Qiu Nuoya stood there, overwhelmed by the enormous number of people, Igor called out to them.

"Hey, I’ve got a little something to discuss with you guys..."

"Now that we’ve come this far, I have something to ask. Would you guys mind if I went off on my own for a few days? Just for a little while."

"Huh? Why?"

Qiu Nuoya tilted his head, and Igor looked slightly uncomfortable as he vaguely replied, "Well, I’ve got a few things to take care of..."

Qiu Nuoya had heard that Igor used to live in the royal capital and had gotten into some trouble during his time as an adventurer. Apparently, something related to his fighting style had resulted in one of his companions being seriously injured, to the point that they could no longer continue working as an adventurer.

Igor did not like talking about the incident much, and Qiu Nuoya had never felt the need to pry, so he did not know the details. Still, it was not difficult to imagine that several people connected to Igor’s past probably still lived in this city.

Even so, Igor had come to the royal capital because he wanted to settle things from his past properly. But perhaps there were still things from that past that he did not want Qiu Nuoya and the others to know about or witness.

"I don’t mind, but... will you be all right on your own?"

"...Ha ha. Are you worried about me?"

"Of course. We’re companions."

Igor silently narrowed his eyes.

Seeing him so quiet when he was usually such a lively person made Qiu Nuoya feel a little uneasy.

"There are some things you don’t want your companions to see precisely because you’re companions. I’ll be fine, so you guys go ahead and enjoy sightseeing around the royal capital."

"If that’s what you want..."

Normally, as long as Qiu Nuoya agreed, Viktor and Warren had nothing to say to Igor either.