Chapter 55: The Annoying Rival

Qiu Nuoya simply smiled peacefully as though nothing remarkable had happened.

That calm expression only made Warren even more irritated.

To make matters worse, the two guardians standing beside him were famous adventurers whom even Warren recognized.

That just made him seem even more insufferable.

"Hmph. You’re really spoiled."

The words slipped out before Warren could stop himself.

Qiu Nuoya turned toward him and tilted his head in confusion.

He really had no idea what Warren was talking about.

Clicking his tongue, Warren glared at him before turning away.

I hate you.

I’ll never forget your name, Qiu Nuoya.

After finishing the exam and returning home, Warren’s mother asked him, "How did the exam go?"

However, the frustration of losing to a little kid like that was too much for him to handle, so Warren immediately shut himself inside his room.

He was not particularly exceptional. But even so, he had always been confident that he was fairly capable compared to others his age.

And yet... What was with that guy?

That kid was seriously annoying!

Unable to contain his frustration, Warren eventually burst out of his room and declared his intentions to his parents.

"Father, Mother, I’m going to start accepting missions tomorrow and raise my rank as quickly as possible!"

"Huh? You failed the exam...?"

"I never said anything like that!"

There was no way Warren could just accept losing like that.

Being an adventurer was not some childish game.

It was a profession.

He would take as many missions as possible and absolutely prove himself to that guy.

Starting the next day, Warren began visiting the Adventurers’ Guild regularly.

His mother was delighted by his determination, while his father still looked slightly concerned.

But Warren did not care.

The reason was simple.

His rival, Qiu Nuoya, had already started accepting missions as well.

There were plenty of people who obtained their adventurer qualification but rarely accepted missions, choosing instead to simply show off the title of "adventurer." But Qiu Nuoya had gone to the guild and accepted missions immediately from the very next day.

Warren could not afford to fall behind. So, he began to accepting missions as well.

His first mission was a slime extermination.

Something like that would be easy.

Meanwhile, Qiu Nuoya was working in the same area and diligently gathering herbs.

Wasn’t gathering supposed to be something adventurers did as a side job while completing monster subjugation missions?

Well, even if Qiu Nuoya was called an adventurer, he was still just a little kid.

Perhaps he only thought of it as a way to earn some pocket money.

Besides, he always had his guardians with him.

Why does he walk around with Viktor the Moonlit Sage and Igor the Tempest Blade every single day?

Those two are a Rank A Adventurer and a Rank B Adventurer, aren’t they?

Are they his bodyguards?

Are they really his bodyguards?

Is that kid some rich family’s spoiled son?

If he can afford to hire a Rank A Adventurer, his family must be incredibly wealthy.

How annoying.

Whenever Warren found some free time and tried to pick a fight with him, Qiu Nuoya never took the bait.

Instead, he would just calmly brush everything off, which only made Warren even more irritated.

The two high ranked adventurers never said anything to him directly, but after Warren made some remark, they would always look at him with an exhausted expression.

It was seriously frustrating.

Warren actually wanted to talk with the two of them. But because Qiu Nuoya was always right beside them, he could never find the chance to approach.

Every day, Warren continued accumulating frustration.

Qiu Nuoya did nothing but gather herbs every day and never seemed to pay any attention to him.

Even when Warren tried to provoke him, those two guardians never left his side.

Actually, it was the other way around.

Qiu Nuoya was the one clinging to them.

That had to be it.

There was no other explanation.

After spending days like that for a while, something strange happened.

For some reason, Qiu Nuoya was alone in the grasslands.

There were no guardians with him.

Why?

Qiu Nuoya sat alone in the field, staring at something in his hands with a frozen expression.

What was he doing?

Curious, Warren watched him for a while.

Eventually, Qiu Nuoya simply started gathering herbs as usual, and for some reason, Warren felt relieved.

Wait.

Why was he relieved?

It was not like he cared about that guy or anything!

But still... Why were his guardians not with him today?

Wasn’t Qiu Nuoya supposed to be the son of some wealthy family?

Wouldn’t someone kidnap him if he was alone out here?

Was he really going to be okay?

Qiu Nuoya himself looked completely peaceful, playing with a slime while gathering herbs. Yet for some reason, Warren could not stop feeling uneasy.

W-Well, if some suspicious person showed up here, Warren could just chase them away.

That was all.

It was not because he was worried about Qiu Nuoya or anything!

Even so, didn’t Qiu Nuoya get bored gathering herbs every single day?

Warren was already getting tired of fighting slimes and speaking of which, why were there so many slimes around here!?

No matter how many he defeated, their numbers never seemed to decrease.

It would be nice if Qiu Nuoya helped him with slime extermination too.

Wait.

What was he thinking!?

Qiu Nuoya was his rival.

His enemy!

While Warren was lost in those thoughts, Qiu Nuoya suddenly smiled brightly at him. "Good work defeating slimes again today."

Damn it.

He looked so cute.

Not that Warren thought that.

Absolutely not!

Qiu Nuoya had spoken to him, and since the two usual guardians were not around, their conversation naturally continued.

As they talked, Warren discovered something unexpected.

Qiu Nuoya was not the spoiled child of some wealthy family.

In fact, the truth was the complete opposite.

He was extremely poor and could barely afford proper equipment. Then why was he always together with two high ranked adventurers?