Chapter 37: Life at the Shared House

After all, if people were laughing at him because he was carrying Mochi around, then being bothered by it would be disrespectful to Mochi.

"Oh, Nuoya! What’s with that slime?"

"Igor. This little one is my familiar. Its name is Mochi!"

On the way back, Qiu Nuoya happily showed Mochi to Igor when they happened to meet.

Igor gave a wry smile.

"So you have talent as a Beast Tamer too, huh?"

"Is that strange?"

"No, that’s not what I mean. I was just thinking about how many talents you have, Nuoya."

Igor looked at Mochi.

"You have the kind of magical talent that made Viktor become completely fascinated with you. You can cook, you can handle housework, and now you’re a Beast Tamer too. Just how many talents are you hiding? Share some of them with me."

"But Igor, you have the talent to be an adventurer, don’t you? Viktor told me that your abilities are already worthy of Rank A Adventurer. Besides, I heard other adventurers call you Igor the Tempest Blade. Isn’t having a nickname like that amazing?"

"Ah... Well, I guess that’s because fighting is the only talent I have. I just focused on it until I reached that point."

Come to think of it, Qiu Nuoya knew that Igor fought using close range combat and physical techniques, but he had never actually seen Igor fight with his own eyes.

In that sense, he had never seen Viktor fight seriously either.

However, while teaching Qiu Nuoya magic, Viktor had demonstrated several spells for him, so it was already obvious that Viktor was an incredible mage.

Igor was different.

Even though they often spent time together, Igor was usually just observing from the side.

Whenever he accepted a mission, he would go alone.

The only version of Igor that Qiu Nuoya really knew was the cheerful man who enjoyed drinking and having fun at the shared house.

He did not even know what kind of fighting style Igor used.

"By the way, I have a friend who said he wants to talk with you, Igor. Would it be okay if I brought him next time?"

"A friend? Me?"

"Yes. He said he really respects you!"

Warren’s feelings were probably closer to admiration or even worship than simple respect.

Thinking that someone as amazing as Igor was too intimidating to approach was quite something.

"Sure, I don’t mind. But I’m just an ordinary old guy, you know?"

"But people have asked you for autographs and handshakes before, haven’t they?"

"That’s probably because Viktor was with me."

Igor smiled faintly.

"My name only became known after I started working with Viktor. Because Viktor supports me from the back, I can fight freely on the front lines. If I formed a party with someone else, I probably wouldn’t be nearly as useful."

Qiu Nuoya listened quietly.

So that was how Igor saw himself.

To him, his strength was not something he had achieved alone.

It was something created through his partnership with Viktor.

"Really? Is that so?"

"Come to think of it, Nuoya, you don’t actually know how I fight, do you?"

Igor gave a wry smile as he gently patted Qiu Nuoya’s head.

"Now that you mention it, I’m terrible at physical combat since I rely almost entirely on magic. Could you teach me a little about fighting so I can at least protect myself?"

"Are you sure you want me?"

"I want you to teach me, Igor."

Hearing Qiu Nuoya’s words, Igor smiled brightly and suddenly lifted him up.

Igor really did like children, didn’t he?

Whether it was carrying him like this or giving him a piggyback ride, Igor was always physically close.

"Then tomorrow."

"You’ll really teach me?"

"Well, I can’t make you my disciple, but I can teach you a little."

"Igor, you don’t take disciples? My friend said he wanted to become your disciple."

Igor laughed awkwardly again.

"Hahaha... My way of fighting isn’t really something suitable for teaching a disciple."

With that, he slowly continued walking toward the shared house.

When Qiu Nuoya returned to the shared house, he found that recently the residents had started waiting for him with ingredients they had gathered or monsters they had hunted.

They would say things like, "Make something with this!"

Qiu Nuoya was incredibly popular among the adventurers!

His time to shine had finally arrived!

Though, unfortunately, his fans were mostly hungry men.

Perhaps it was because of his high [Charm] skill, but Qiu Nuoya had been able to gradually adapt to this other world without being disliked by many people.

Still, if someone said that the people attracted to him were supposed to be cute girls, then perhaps this situation was very much like him.

There were certainly many beautiful women among the adventurers.

For example, Aria, the rabbit beastmen and the female members of her party were all very attractive women.

However, even if they showed affection toward him, Qiu Nuoya could not imagine it developing into romance.

The reason was simple.

He was currently only ten years old.

Yes, he was a child.

No matter how mature his mind was, his appearance was completely that of a child.

There was no way women in their early twenties would see him as a romantic partner.

They praised him as cute and adorable, but it was the kind of affection one gave to a cute pet or a younger sibling.

It was not romantic interest.

Because Qiu Nuoya had told the Gods that he was interested in romance, his [Charm] skill seemed to have become stronger.

He was almost never disliked by others.

However, he could not help feeling that romance was still far beyond his reach.

Someone might tell him to find someone closer to his own age.

But if Qiu Nuoya were to search for someone his current age, that would mean looking for a girl around ten years old.

He did not hate the idea of a cute first love or an innocent youthful romance.

But if he were actually put in that situation, things would be completely different.