Chapter 25: A New Beginning

None of them looked remotely interested in helping.

Was this what Viktor had meant earlier when he said cheap alcohol made him behave badly?

Had everyone deliberately stayed away from them because they already knew this would happen?

"Please calm down, Viktor," Qiu Nuoya said helplessly. "I’m not going anywhere. I promise I won’t leave you, so please don’t cry."

"Uuu... Really? Will you stay by my side forever?"

"Um... well... I’ll do my best."

Since Viktor was drunk, perhaps Qiu Nuoya should have simply reassured him with confidence.

However, his common sense told him that promises he could not keep should not be made, even in a drinking situation.

So he gave a vague answer.

The result?

Viktor started crying even harder.

What was he supposed to do now?

Viktor look like a child who is crying for toy now.

Had something happened in his childhood?

Perhaps someone had abandoned him when he was young.

Qiu Nuoya gently stroked Viktor’s head as he continued clinging to him and crying.

With a helpless sigh, Qiu Nuoya accepted the situation.

Actually, he had experienced situations like this several times before.

"Viktor, please don’t cry. I won’t leave you behind. Let’s go back to the room together, okay? I’ll stay by your side. You should sleep for now, and we can talk properly again tomorrow."

"Uuu... B but... you won’t leave me while I’m sleeping?"

"I won’t. If you want, we can even hold hands while we sleep."

Viktor stared blankly at Qiu Nuoya for a while before slowly nodding.

The next moment, the atmosphere around them seemed to shift.

"That Viktor actually calmed down...?"

"Huh? Who is that kid?"

The drunk adventurers stared at Qiu Nuoya with stunned expressions.

What was with that reaction?

Had he really done something so surprising?

More importantly, they could have helped him a little.

Qiu Nuoya encouraged Viktor to stand.

Fortunately, although he was still walking unsteadily, Viktor was able to stand on his own.

That was a relief.

Carrying him back would have been far too difficult for Qiu Nuoya in his current childlike body.

So, the two of them began walking while holding hands.

Viktor obediently followed along.

Before leaving the party, Qiu Nuoya turned back and gave a small bow.

"Please excuse us."

Then he left the banquet hall with Viktor.

"What was your name again?"

"Hehe, did you forget? My name is Qiu Nuoya, Viktor."

"I see... Qiu Nuoya..."

They returned to the room, and just as he had promised, Qiu Nuoya slept in Viktor’s bed that night while holding his hand.

Viktor’s sleeping face looked just like a child’s.

As Qiu Nuoya watched him sleep, he found himself thinking.

A new life in a new world.

He had been a worn out forty year old man, but now he had become a ten year old child again.

Qiu Nuoya looked down at his own palm, which had become much smaller than before.

Could he really live this new life however he wanted?

There had been so many things he had wanted to do.

He had wanted to travel.

He had wanted to experience romance.

He had wanted to spend nights drinking without worrying about time and have fun with his friends until he was exhausted.

Now, he could do those things.

Of course, he was only ten years old at the moment, so he could not enjoy the same adult experiences as before.

But he could regain the youth he had lost.

What should he do?

What did he want to do?

His adventurer registration was already complete.

If he wanted, he could even set out on an adventure.

At the moment, he was completely penniless and had no travel funds, so he would need to start by steadily completing requests and earning money.

But work that he chose for himself, work that he did for his own sake, would not feel like a burden.

For some reason, Qiu Nuoya felt a smile spreading across his face.

The truth was, he had already started giving up on his own life.

People said that in an era where humans could live to one hundred years old, being in his forties meant he was only halfway through life.

They told him that there was still plenty of time.

That everything would begin from there.

But those words had only ever been empty comfort.

The twenties and thirties he had lost would never return.

There had been countless things he could have done only during those years.

But now, he had the chance to reclaim that lost time.

"Hehehehe... I’ll do my best starting tomorrow."

Qiu Nuoya buried his head into the pillow and imagined everything he would do from the next day onward.

He was free.

He could do anything.

His heart was filled with excitement.

He could not remember the last time he had felt this way.

Perhaps the last time had been the night before an elementary school field trip.

Ah, but then again his current age was basically that of an elementary school child.

When he had first been thrown into another world in such a small body, he had wondered how he would survive.

But now, Qiu Nuoya could no longer contain his excitement.

A new life was waiting for him.

Qiu Nuoya woke up the next morning after the strange events caused by Viktor’s drunken behavior.

As the sounds of people moving about reached his ears and the morning sunlight shone across his face, he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Viktor kneeling on the floor beside the bed in a deep bow of apology.

Huh?

What was this?

It was terrifying.

"Umm... Viktor, what are you doing?"

"I honestly don’t remember anything," Viktor replied, his face completely pale. "When I woke up, you were sleeping beside me. Everyone has always told me that I have terrible drinking habits, and my memories from last night suddenly stop halfway through. I was worried that... perhaps I did something inappropriate to you."