Chapter 74: Leaving the City

Warren fell silent, his expression turning thoughtful as he considered something. After thinking for a while, he finally said, "I’m going too."

"!?"

This time, Qiu Nuoya was the one who was shocked.

"Uh, but..." That was all he could manage to say.

"I’ll be back in an hour... No, thirty minutes. Wait here!" Without even looking back, Warren immediately took off running.

"Hm? Have you said your goodbyes? That kid looked like he was in quite a hurry."

"Well... Warren said he’s coming with us."

"What?" Viktor’s expression immediately darkened.

Qiu Nuoya wondered why Viktor disliked Warren so much. Warren could be blunt and tended to charge ahead without thinking, but Qiu Nuoya did not think he was a bad person.

"But I thought Warren said he lived in this city with his family. He said he’d be back in thirty minutes, but surely convincing his family to let him leave won’t be easy..."

"Why would he need to convince his family?" Igor continued with a completely carefree expression.

"I told you before, didn’t I? That’s just how adventurers are."

Ah, now that he mentioned it, Qiu Nuoya vaguely remembered hearing that before.

Both Igor and Viktor had become adventurers after leaving home, and they had told him that most adventurers were like that.

At the time, Qiu Nuoya had simply thought that people in this world were very independent. But did they really just leave home like this? His parents must be incredibly worried.

"Is it really okay to take him with us?"

"If you feel that way, then let’s leave him behind." Viktor was really hard on Warren. Why did he dislike him so much?

"Viktor, why do you dislike Warren so much? I doesn’t like people who hate others without a reason. If you have a reason, then please tell me what it is!"

"Ugh..." Viktor faltered at Qiu Nuoya’s counterattack.

If there really was a good reason, Qiu Nuoya would be willing to hear it and accept it. But Viktor remained silent. He said nothing and simply looked away.

It was true that Warren had treated Qiu Nuoya harshly when they first met. But by now, Warren had become an important friend to Qiu Nuoya. He did not want to see two of his friends constantly at odds with each other.

"If you can’t tell me the reason, then please stop treating him badly. I’d be happier if everyone could get along, and it makes me sad when friends are fighting with each other."

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Igor burst out laughing.

"See? You’ve been told. Your behavior really is childish. Nuoya is way more mature than you. Maybe elves take longer to grow mentally because they live so long."

"What!? How rude! I’ve been an adult since long before either of you was even born!"

Qiu Nuoya could not help laughing at the exchange between Igor and Viktor.

Viktor really did look like a child who had been called out after being caught red handed. But Qiu Nuoya had always thought that simply growing older did not make someone an adult. It was the experiences a person accumulated throughout life that shaped them into an adult.

No matter how old someone became, if they remained childish, they would stay childish. On the other hand, even someone young could become mature if they had experienced enough of life. Besides, after reaching forty, Qiu Nuoya had come to realize that the very definition of an "adult" was rather vague.

At the very least, he had never experienced having a family of his own or becoming a parent. In that sense, perhaps the person he was inside had never really been updated beyond childhood.

The people around him probably saw him as a dependable adult because he had spent so many years caring for his grandparents and supporting his family. But Qiu Nuoya did not see it that way.

Where exactly was the boundary between being a child and being an adult?

He honestly did not know.

While the three of them continued talking about things like that, thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Actually, Warren returned before even thirty minutes had passed. He was carrying an enormous amount of luggage, the kind that practically screamed, "I’m about to leave on a long journey!"

Qiu Nuoya hurriedly called him over. "You can’t bring that much! Anyone who sees you will immediately know you’re leaving for somewhere far away!"

"Huh? Ah... right. You’re not exactly traveling. You’re running away, aren’t you? But if we’re leaving the city, shouldn’t I at least prepare some things?"

"That won’t be necessary. We’re coming with Nuoya, after all." Viktor spoke with an unmistakable air of superiority.

There it was again.

That attitude.

Qiu Nuoya really wished Viktor would stop doing that.

"But having a few things with him would make him feel more comfortable, so Warren isn’t wrong either," Qiu Nuoya said. "It’s fine. I think all of this will fit in my bag anyway."

As he spoke, Qiu Nuoya gave the magic bag Viktor had given him a light pat.

The four of them then left the city with barely enough luggage to make it look as though they were simply heading out to gather herbs.

Qiu Nuoya had actually wanted to say goodbye to everyone at the share house as well. However, if he went around telling everyone that he was leaving, it would not take long for people to figure out where he had gone. So he limited his farewells to only the people who absolutely needed to know.

Being an adventurer meant making a living by going on adventures. Apparently, encounters and partings were both meant to be fleeting.

Everyone simply gave them relatively casual farewells along the lines of, "Maybe we’ll meet again somewhere."

Qiu Nuoya found that a little lonely. He had only spent a little over a month in this city, but he had already made so many memories.

He was honestly still amazed that there had been drinking parties practically every night under the excuse of "celebrating."