Chapter 30: Becoming Viktor’s Disciple

Qiu Nuoya also prepared several other simple dishes, such as stir fried vegetables seasoned only with salt and pepper, before returning to where Igor and Viktor were sitting.

For now, he needed to test whether his cooking style and seasonings would be accepted in this world.

When Qiu Nuoya placed the plates in front of the two of them, the other adventurers at nearby tables also leaned over to take a look.

The stir fried vegetables were nothing special, but the carpaccio seemed to be something completely unfamiliar to them.

"Could you try the food I made?"

"Of course. Everything looks delicious."

Viktor and Igor said that before taking bites of Qiu Nuoya’s cooking.

As Qiu Nuoya nervously watched their reactions while holding his breath, Igor suddenly laughed. "You’re making it hard to eat when you’re staring at us that intensely."

"Oh, this is seriously good. I’ve never eaten anything like this before, but it goes really well with alcohol."

After taking a bite of the carpaccio, Igor gave his honest opinion.

Qiu Nuoya finally relaxed and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"This vegetable stir fry is delicious as well. Nuoya, you’re actually quite skilled at cooking."

"Is it really good? I mean, honestly. You’re not just saying that to be polite, right?"

"It’s really good. Why?"

"Well, I heard that if I prepare food here, people will give me some extra money as thanks!" Qiu Nuoya smiled slightly. "Since I was going to cook anyway, I thought it would be better if I could make something everyone actually enjoyed."

When Viktor heard that, he gave him a wry smile and said, "Don’t tell me you’re planning to start a business here?"

"Not exactly a business," Qiu Nuoya quickly explained. "Cooking isn’t really a burden for me, so I thought it would be nice if I could save up even a little money. Is that a bad idea?"

"I think it’s fine," Igor said immediately. "This really is delicious."

He the reached into his pocket and said, "Here, Nuoya. Your reward."

With that, Igor placed several small copper coins into Qiu Nuoya’s palm.

Whoa.

He did it!

Qiu Nuoya looked down at the coins with excitement.

"Nuoya, you really don’t need to rush so much to earn money, do you?" Viktor said with concern. "If you’re having trouble with food, clothing, or shelter, Igor and I can support you..."

"But isn’t that basically a debt?" Qiu Nuoya asked. "I don’t really like relying on things like that. If I depend on the two of you too much, it will only become a burden. I want to work hard so that I can become independent as soon as possible!"

Hearing Qiu Nuoya’s words, Viktor showed a slightly complicated expression.

Meanwhile, the adventurers around them reacted differently. "Oh? The kid’s got a good head on his shoulders. If that’s how you feel, I’ll give you some extra money too. Make something for me sometime."

The others quickly agreed as well.

Qiu Nuoya’s eyes lit up.

Great!

He already had customers!

And so, Qiu Nuoya continued preparing food and serving it to the adventurers.

With zero initial cost, he managed to earn a decent amount of extra money.

By the end of it, he was smiling happily.

Completing missions allowed him to barely maintain his daily life, but Qiu Nuoya still believed that having savings was extremely important.

The ingredients in the basket provided by the kitchen were mostly things that could be considered leftovers or scraps.

However, during the time when he had become interested in budget cooking, he had learned recipes using things like radish leaves and fruit peels.

Using those leftover ingredients, Qiu Nuoya managed to create several dishes that the adventurers happily ate.

The money he received was basically just like tips.

It was only a few small copper coins.

But even so, it was still compensation for his work.

That alone made him happy.

This world did not have paper money.

Money existed only in the form of coins.

Perhaps because of that, adventurers were generous about handing over small coins as tips, even though carrying large amounts of low value coins could become heavy.

This really could become a good way for him to earn some extra spending money.

Come to think of it, now that Qiu Nuoya had finally earned his own money, he could officially graduate from being a freeloader.

On his third day living in another world, he had taken his first step toward independence!

Although, his living arrangement had not actually changed.

He was still sharing the same room with Igor and Viktor.

Still, it was progress.

Qiu Nuoya had originally planned to pay for a room and move into a six person shared room by himself.

He had been told that there would be almost no privacy, but he thought that could not be helped.

When it came to survival, he had to make sacrifices.

However, when he told Viktor about his plan, Viktor strongly opposed it for some reason. He said, "Nuoya, you have no idea what your current position is!"

Viktor stopped him firmly, causing Qiu Nuoya to tilt his head in confusion.

What exactly was his position?

Wasn’t he just a newly registered adventurer?

Now that he could earn money by himself, shouldn’t he stop relying on others and become independent?

That was what Qiu Nuoya thought.

Then Viktor suddenly declared: "I’ve decided to make you my disciple!"

"Disciple?"

"Yes. My meeting with you was fate itself. I have decided that I will raise you into a first class mage!"

"Hey, Viktor, did you eat something strange?" Igor asked with a suspicious expression. "Or are you drunk despite not drinking anything?"

Even Qiu Nuoya could not help wondering if something had gone wrong.

"None of you understand," Viktor said passionately. "Didn’t I tell you before? Magic is originally a field of study. If there is some truth waiting to be discovered, a mage naturally wants to pursue it."