Chapter 73: The Journey Begins

"What’s wrong with it? I was planning to go anyway. If Nuoya wants to leave the city, then this works out perfectly."

Come to think of it, Igor had been talking about wanting to visit a dungeon ever since they first met.

Still, a dungeon...

"Can someone like me even enter a dungeon? I’m still Rank F Adventurer."

"Of course. It’s fine. The upper floors of dungeons are meant for beginners like you. In fact, they’re perfect for improving your skills."

So that’s how dungeons worked.

Qiu Nuoya had assumed they were places where battle hardened adventurers went to test themselves. He had never imagined that they would have areas specifically designed for beginners.

"I’ll go! I want to go! Please take me with you!"

"Nuoya!? And Igor, why are you encouraging him!?"

Viktor hurriedly looked between Qiu Nuoya and Igor.

"You said earlier that you’d take me anywhere I wanted to go, didn’t you, Viktor?"

"Ugh... Well, yes..."

"Then I want to go to a dungeon! I really want to see one!"

Honestly, Qiu Nuoya did not particularly care where he went as long as he could leave the city and escape the Saintess. But a dungeon sounded great!

His skills were still far from perfect, so exploring a dungeon would surely give him plenty of opportunities to improve.

"Oh, Nuoya, that’s the spirit! All right, then. The sooner we leave, the better."

"Wait, Igor! We haven’t actually decided yet...!"

"We haven’t?" Igor had already started gathering the belongings scattered around the room. Instead of looking at Viktor, he glanced at Qiu Nuoya. So Igor already understood that Viktor would probably give in to whatever Qiu Nuoya wanted.

"It’s decided." Qiu Nuoya smiled brightly as he announced it.

Viktor’s shoulders immediately slumped.

Why was Viktor so against going to a dungeon?

Wasn’t adventuring supposed to be one of the best parts of being an adventurer?

And what could be more adventurous than exploring a dungeon?

"Oh, but if we’re leaving right away, there’s one thing I want to do first. I’d like to say goodbye to Warren. He’s helped me a lot."

"Wasn’t it actually us who were taking care of him?" Viktor sighed.

Come to think of it, he had never really had a friend he was close enough with to casually talk to each other like this.

He might have had friends like that back in elementary school, but somewhere along the way, things had changed.

Qiu Nuoya took a slow breath and said, "I look forward to traveling with you, Igor, Viktor."

"Yeah! Same here."

"Likewise, Nuoya."

And so, their journey to the dungeon was officially decided.

Their destination was Oratio, a dungeon city in the south.

Oratio had developed around the dungeon itself, so Qiu Nuoya had heard that many adventurers lived there.

An unfamiliar land and an unfamiliar world. He could hardly wait to see it.

...

The next day, when they headed to the Adventurers’ Guild, just as Igor had predicted, the way people looked at Qiu Nuoya had changed.

He had already noticed people watching him while they were walking through the streets, but it was even worse inside the guild. The gazes did not seem malicious. Still, having everyone watching his every movement out of curiosity made Qiu Nuoya feel uncomfortable.

Igor and Viktor subtly shielded him from some of the attention, but both of them were well known in the city too, so there was no way to avoid being noticed completely.

Once they arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild, Qiu Nuoya immediately reported that he had completed the Horn Rabbit extermination mission he had accepted the previous day.

If an adventurer accepted a mission and simply left it unattended without reporting its completion, they would have to pay a penalty.

That rule still applied even if they left the city.

Adventurers’ Guild branches existed throughout the region, and information was shared between them.

If Qiu Nuoya wanted to continue accepting missions in the future, he needed to make sure his records were properly settled before leaving.

Warren had arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild before them. Even though they had never made plans to meet, he always seemed to be there waiting for Qiu Nuoya. At least, that was what Qiu Nuoya had begun to think.

At first, he had assumed Warren had simply happened to run into him and picked a fight. But recently, those coincidences had happened far too many times for him to believe they were actually coincidences.

"Good morning, Warren."

"Oh, morning. Were you all right after yesterday?"

"Yeah. I was just a little tired. Sorry for leaving without you."

"It’s... fine. So where are you going today?" As usual, Warren glanced toward the bulletin board covered with missions before asking. But when Qiu Nuoya told him, "I’m not going today," Warren looked genuinely surprised.

"Huh? Are you feeling sick after all?"

"No, it’s not that. I’m leaving this city, so I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you properly. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me."

"!?"

"W Wait. You’re kidding, right? Where are you going? Don’t tell me the capital!?"

"Warren, you’re too loud!"

Qiu Nuoya hurriedly grabbed Warren by the arm and pulled him toward a quieter place where no one could overhear them.

"Sorry for telling you so suddenly. But if I stay in this city, I’m afraid the Church is going to take me away. So I’m running away."

"Ah... Is this because of what happened with the Saintess yesterday?"

"Yeah. Probably."

Warren had most likely witnessed Lady Sherria’s outburst himself, and his expression was filled with confusion.

"So, thanks for everything. Take care of yourself, Warren."

"Can I ask where you’re going?"

"Can you promise not to tell anyone?"

Warren gave him a firm nod.

Satisfied, Qiu Nuoya gently pulled him closer by the arm and leaned toward his ear to quietly tell him where he was headed.

"A dungeon city... Are you planning to stay there for a while?"

"Yeah, that’s the plan for now."