Chapter 26: First Guild Mission

Viktor lowered his head even further.

"I... I don’t think I did. At least, I hope I didn’t. But... I can’t be sure."

He looked genuinely frightened.

"I’ve been careful not to drink until I pass out recently," Viktor continued. "But yesterday’s fruit wine was so easy to drink that I ended up having far too much."

Apparently, this was not the first time Viktor had awakened in a situation like this.

In the past, the people involved had reacted in all kinds of ways.

Some had become angry.

Some had cried.

Others had even tried to take advantage of the situation.

Because of those experiences, Viktor normally kept himself under strict control whenever he drank.

Recently, however, Igor had always been around to look after him, which had made him lower his guard.

With an embarrassed expression, Viktor admitted all of this to Qiu Nuoya.

Well...

After seeing how Viktor had cried and clung to him last night with that unbelievably beautiful face, Qiu Nuoya could understand why people of any age or gender might either soften toward him or end up carrying him away themselves.

It also made Qiu Nuoya realize something.

The very same Viktor who had warned him not to grow into a hopeless adult was, in his own way, already one of those hopeless adults.

The thought made Qiu Nuoya laugh softly.

"You didn’t do anything to me, Viktor. I was simply the one who slept beside you."

"R... Really?"

"Yes. So please, lift your head."

Viktor slowly raised his head.

His face was deathly pale.

"Viktor, you don’t look well."

"My head feels like it’s splitting apart from the hangover..." Viktor groaned. "That fruit wine completely fooled me with how smooth it tasted. It was the worst."

With that, he remained seated on the floor and gently rested his head against the side of the bed.

Although Qiu Nuoya had not known Viktor for very long, this was the first time he had ever seen him looking so pitiful.

"Pain, pain, go away."

As he gently patted Viktor’s head and recited the childish rhyme, Viktor, who had been groaning moments before, suddenly blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Huh?"

He then looked up at Qiu Nuoya.

"Was that just now a spell formula? A healing spell? Can you use Holy Magic too, Nuoya?"

"I do have an affinity for Holy Magic," Qiu Nuoya replied. "But that wasn’t magic. It was just a little charm. Didn’t I tell you before that I have an affinity for every type of magic?"

"When people say all attributes, they mean the four elemental attributes," Viktor explained. "Everything else is considered special magic, and only people with extraordinary abilities can use those."

He suddenly paused.

"Wait... don’t tell me you’ve been saying all attributes this whole time without knowing that?"

Viktor stared at him in disbelief.

"Surely you don’t mean..."

"Well, I also have affinities for Dark Magic and Spatial Magic," Qiu Nuoya answered. "I’ve never actually used them, though."

Viktor could only stare at him with a blank expression.

Had Qiu Nuoya never mentioned that before?

"There are quite a few people who can use all four elemental attributes," Viktor finally said. "And there are certainly individuals who can use one type of special magic."

He let out a helpless sigh.

"But someone who can use all of them..."

Viktor looked straight at Qiu Nuoya.

"Just how extraordinary are you, Nuoya?"

"Extraordinary?"

"Of course!" Viktor exclaimed. "It’s common knowledge that Holy Magic and Dark Magic are complete opposites. A person shouldn’t be able to have an affinity for both!"

Really?

God might have gone a little overboard with this.

"Come to think of it, when the nun at the church saw my status, she asked if I was some kind of Divine Child..."

"Well, of course she did!" Viktor nearly shouted. "Anyone who saw a status like yours would react that way! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? And more importantly..."

He fixed Qiu Nuoya with a serious look.

"You haven’t told anyone else about this, have you?"

"Well... no, I haven’t."

Viktor let out a sigh of relief before repeatedly warning him.

"You absolutely must not tell anyone. Do you understand? Never."

Qiu Nuoya found it a little contradictory.

Viktor had just complained that he had not been told, yet now he was insisting that Qiu Nuoya must never tell anyone else.

Still, Qiu Nuoya chose not to point that out.

Viktor was obviously worried about him.

Even if Qiu Nuoya still had no idea why revealing his abilities was supposedly so dangerous.

"More importantly," Qiu Nuoya said, changing the subject, "I’d really like to go on my first adventure today."

"I’m coming with you."

"Huh?"

"There is no way I’m letting a reckless child like you go alone!"

"Well... but the mission I can accept are only Rank G Mission. I can’t ask a Rank A Adventurer like you to accompany me..."

"No arguments." Viktor crossed his arms firmly. "If you’re going, then I’m absolutely coming with you."

"Ah... all right."

"You two are awfully noisy this early in the morning..."

A sleepy voice suddenly drifted over from nearby.

Igor let out a huge yawn as he sat up in the bed beside them.

"It sure is noisy first thing in the morning..."

It looked like today was going to be another lively day.

After the three of them finished breakfast, they headed to the Adventurer’s Guild together once again.

Qiu Nuoya had already given up trying to persuade Viktor not to come, since he had insisted from the very beginning that he would accompany him.

As expected, Igor came along as well.

Not that Qiu Nuoya minded.

Just inside the entrance of the guild was a large bulletin board covered with request notices.

As a newly registered adventurer, the highest rank of mission Qiu Nuoya could accept was Rank F Mission, though Rank G Mission were also available to him.

Still, for his first job, Rank G Mission seemed like the obvious choice.