Chapter 49: Rescued

The Orc was wearing nothing more than the same kind of loincloth as the goblins and the sight of its exposed body made the blood drain from Qiu Nuoya’s face.

Was it excited from tormenting him?

The thought made him feel sick.

So this was a monster...

"Nuoya!!"

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed through the cave.

"!!"

The moment Qiu Nuoya had started accepting that he was about to die, a small ray of hope appeared in his heart.

"You bastard! What the hell are you doing to him!?"

With that furious roar, Igor charged straight toward the Orc.

The Orc’s massive body was nearly twice Igor’s size. Yet Igor sent the enormous creature flying with a single blow.

"Igor...!"

"Are you okay, Nuoya!?"

"I’m not okay at all! I was so scared!"

Just as Qiu Nuoya felt like he was about to cry, a robe was gently placed over his body.

"I swore that I would protect you. I apologize for arriving late."

"Viktor..."

Wait.

Why was Viktor here?

Wasn’t he supposed to be in the royal capital?

Wrapping Qiu Nuoya in his robe, Viktor lifted him into his arms and glared at the fallen Orc.

"You shall receive the punishment of death for what you have done... Crimson Circle!"

As Viktor finished chanting the spell, the Orc was instantly surrounded by a circle of flames.

The flames erupted violently.

The Orc was given no chance to fight back and was reduced to ashes in moments.

Even those ashes were scattered away by the wind, leaving no trace behind.

"Crimson Circle? Seriously? You had no mercy at all..." Igor said. "You could have defeated it with a much simpler spell."

"A monster that harmed Nuoya does not deserve to leave even a single bone behind," Viktor replied coldly. "It would be better if its very soul disappeared completely."

Oh?

That was the first time Qiu Nuoya had seen that spell, but it seemed to be an incredibly powerful magic technique.

Still, why was Viktor here?

He would have to ask him to teach him that spell someday.

As Qiu Nuoya thought about that, his consciousness suddenly faded away.

...

"First of all, I would like you to explain something to me."

"Why was Nuoya left alone in such a dangerous place?"

"Well, about that... It’s a long story. It was never supposed to turn out like this..."

"Before I left, I repeatedly asked you, again and again, to make sure you did not take your eyes off Nuoya, didn’t I?"

"Y, yeah..."

"And yet, why did he end up suffering injuries like these!?"

There was a commotion near his bedside.

Where was he?

What had happened to him...?

"!? Mochi!"

Qiu Nuoya suddenly sat up.

The moment he moved, pain shot through every part of his body, forcing him to sink back into the bed.

Wait.

This was his bed at the share house.

He had made it back.

"Nuoya!"

Viktor hurriedly leaned closer and looked into his face.

A moment later, Igor also appeared beside him and let out a relieved breath.

"I’m glad you’re awake."

"Glad? This is not something to be glad about!"

Viktor immediately turned back toward Igor.

"Look at his arm! Those terrible bruises... It hurts just looking at them!"

"I know, and I’m really sorry about that..."

Viktor continued scolding Igor angrily.

But honestly, Qiu Nuoya felt that there was no way Igor could have completely prevented what happened.

The timing had simply been terrible and it was not Igor’s fault alone.

He wished Viktor would not blame him so harshly.

"Viktor, I’m okay. I’m alive, so please don’t worry."

"You’re not okay!"

Viktor’s expression twisted as if he were about to cry.

"It’s not just your arm. You were hurt so badly... If only I had stayed by your side..."

He hugged Qiu Nuoya gently as if he were handling something fragile that might break.

Seeing how genuinely worried Viktor had been about him, Qiu Nuoya felt a warm feeling spread through his heart. "By the way, Viktor, what about the dragon?"

"It was misinformation. It was a dragon, but not a true dragon. It was an Earth Dragon that crawls along the ground. I ended up returning after basically doing the investigation for free."

An Earth Dragon was still called a dragon, so Qiu Nuoya wondered if it was not a dragon after all.

However, apparently, it was only a monster that resembled a dragon.

A true dragon had wings and could fly through the sky. Without that ability, it was not considered a real dragon.

"Speaking of which, Nuoya, you mentioned something called Mochi earlier. Who exactly is that?"

"That’s right! Mochi! Igor, what happened to Mochi!?"

"I don’t know either. When I rescued you, it wasn’t anywhere nearby."

Qiu Nuoya’s face immediately turned pale.

He had seen Mochi escape, so he did not think it was dead. But what if Mochi had been left behind in that place.

"I have to go get him!"

"No. You can’t push yourself right now. If someone needs to go, I’ll go."

"But you can’t tell Mochi apart, can you?"

"Well... that’s true..."

Only Qiu Nuoya could hear Mochi’s voice.

And Mochi’s appearance was almost identical to any other slime.

Slimes existed almost everywhere and searching for one specific slime among countless others would probably be extremely difficult.

"Hey, Nuoya, this Mochi you’re talking about..."

"He’s my familiar. A slime."

"A familiar? A slime?"

Viktor looked at him with a confused expression.

"Mochi is my important friend. I have to go save him!"

"If it’s a slime you’re looking for, then..."

"He’s right there."

Beyond the room’s window glass, Viktor pointed toward a slime that was stuck flat against the surface, peering inside.

The slime was slightly pale green, but its size was clearly smaller than Mochi’s.

"Mochi!?"

[ U... Uwaaaaaah, Nuoyaaaaa! ]

When Viktor opened the window, Mochi immediately jumped inside and landed against Qiu Nuoya’s chest.

Mochi had originally been a smaller individual compared to other slimes, but now its body had shrunk even further.