Chapter 59: A New Set of Equipment

Warren felt deeply disgusted with himself.

However, his body had already reacted and there was nothing he could do about that.

While forcing the image of Qiu Nuoya out of his mind, Warren dealt with his own physical reaction.

He knew logically that this was simply a natural bodily response.

Something that could happen to any man.

But even so... How was he supposed to face Qiu Nuoya after this?

Warren had no idea.

Even while trying to calm himself down, he was completely lost.

And so, at the same time that Qiu Nuoya was being courted by Viktor, another romance flag had quietly appeared somewhere else.

However, Qiu Nuoya himself knew nothing about it.

He was far too busy dealing with everything happening right in front of him.

It would still be a long time before he noticed.

The morning after the goblin incident, Qiu Nuoya and the others went to the shared house’s large common room.

What they found there was a banquet being held first thing in the morning.

Why?

"Obviously, if a companion gets injured and loses consciousness, we hold a banquet to help wake them up. And once they wake up, it’s a happy occasion, so of course we hold another banquet, right!?"

Qiu Nuoya could not understand their logic at all.

He could barely understand having a banquet after a companion recovered, but holding one so that someone would wake up?

That was clearly just an excuse to drink.

Still, although the adventurers joked around casually, Qiu Nuoya had learned that they had actually spent the entire night investigating the cave where he had been attacked.

They had only just returned.

He had no way to repay them for that.

Most likely, everyone was acting strange because they had stayed awake all night.

Qiu Nuoya was grateful, but he really thought they should go get some sleep as soon as possible.

However, the people who were looking for any excuse to drink did not seem to care at all.

They certainly had a lot of energy.

Leaving behind the cheerful and carefree residents of the shared house, Qiu Nuoya headed out first thing in the morning.

His destination was a general goods store.

The reason he had come to a place like this was simple.

His clothes had been destroyed yesterday.

All of them had been torn apart and discarded.

He only owned one set of clothes, after all!

In this world, ready made clothing was basically nonexistent.

Apparently, wealthy people sometimes had clothes tailored at shops, but ordinary citizens usually either bought fabric and made their own clothes or purchased used clothing.

Which meant Qiu Nuoya had come here to buy clothes.

His precious savings were about to disappear.

At the moment, he was only wearing one of Igor’s shirts.

He did not even have shoes, so he was being carried.

At least Viktor had prepared him a pair of pants yesterday.

That was the one small blessing in this situation.

By the way, the one carrying Qiu Nuoya was Igor.

Originally, Viktor had wanted to take that role, but Qiu Nuoya had somehow ended up hesitating.

To be honest, after what happened that morning, Qiu Nuoya himself no longer knew how he should act around Viktor.

That was why he asked Igor instead.

Viktor clearly looked dissatisfied, but Qiu Nuoya could only hope he understood.

There were a lot of things Qiu Nuoya needed to sort through in his own mind.

At the general goods store, Qiu Nuoya began choosing clothes.

"If you’re buying clothes, they absolutely have to be long sleeves and long pants. If you’re hot, you can just roll them up. Showing too much skin is completely unacceptable!"

Because of what happened yesterday, Qiu Nuoya’s priorities had completely changed.

Rather than appearance, he cared more about practicality and protection.

That was something he absolutely refused to compromise on.

After buying shirts, an outer layer, two pairs of pants, and short boots similar to the ones he had worn before, all of his savings disappeared.

Buying a staff was now nothing more than a distant dream.

"Is that really enough? If money is the problem, I can pay for it."

"Debt is absolutely forbidden!" Qiu Nuoya firmly refused Viktor’s offer. "You already paid for my lodging, so I can’t keep relying on you any more than this."

When Qiu Nuoya turned him down, Igor glanced at Viktor. "If he wants to pay, just let him. There’s no need to be so stubborn. This guy actually has plenty of money. That dragon investigation must have earned you a decent amount too, right?"

"Well, I did receive several gold coins."

Gold coins!?

Qiu Nuoya’s eyes widened.

Was that a lot?

Or was it not much?

He had no idea.

"Ugh... But still, no. Debt is bad."

"What is with your stubbornness about debt?" Igor looked genuinely confused.

Because debt just had a terrible sound to it.

It was a burden that had to be repaid.

It was something incredibly heavy.

There were ways to avoid paying it back, but that was still something a person was responsible for carrying.

It affected their reputation and trustworthiness.

Qiu Nuoya knew that all too well.

"Besides, he doesn’t want to lend money to you. He just wants to spoil you, right?" Igor then glanced at Viktor. "Isn’t that right?"

"That is correct. You are my disciple, after all. I believe it is my responsibility as your master to properly prepare the equipment needed by my disciple."

That’s a lie.

Qiu Nuoya was certain a Master did not have such an obligation.

"More importantly, are you planning to go out and hunt monsters again wearing equipment like this?" Viktor’s expression became serious. "If you intend to go on adventures with such poor equipment, then as your Master, I will forbid you from leaving the city."

"What? That would be a problem! I wouldn’t be able to earn money for living expenses!"

"Then you should listen to your Master’s advice."