Chapter 80: A Surprising Reunion

There had been no exam when Qiu Nuoya was promoted from Rank G to Rank F, so did advancing to Rank E require one?

"What do we have to do for the exam? Another practical test and written test?"

"That depends on the location of the Adventurers’ Guild, but if you take it in Oraria, it’ll probably involve the dungeon."

"The dungeon?"

"Yeah. Something like reaching a designated floor within a certain time limit, or defeating a specified type of monster."

Wow! Unlike the registration exam, this was a much more practical test. A dungeon exploration sounded incredibly exciting.

Qiu Nuoya could not take the exam just yet, but this was exactly the kind of thing that made being an adventurer so appealing.

"Hm? Hey, you’re Igor, aren’t you?" A passing adventurer called out to Igor, who turned around. Standing there was a beastman with a physique about as imposing as Igor’s.

"Well, well, Toby! Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Haha, doing great! I’m still going strong and working as an adventurer!" The beastman named Toby proudly showed off the enormous greatsword strapped to his back. "By the way, are those kids yours?"

"Hm? Well, something like that."

"Huh. I was wondering what happened to you after Lilica remarried, but if you’re doing well and living happily too, then I guess everything worked out." Toby laughed loudly.

However, Igor suddenly froze.

"Lilica... remarried?" His expression was one of complete shock.

"Huh? You didn’t know? I just assumed you already knew..."

"No... I see. I see. She remarried..." Igor immediately sank into deep dejection.

Toby looked at him anxiously, clearly unsure what to do. "Ah... Oh boy. This is awkward..."

Qiu Nuoya had never heard of this Lilica person before. But could she possibly be the wife Igor had mentioned who lived in the royal capital?

"That makes sense. I haven’t been home in a very long time, so I suppose it isn’t surprising that she would have given up on me. I see... she remarried. Was Lilica happy?"

"I only heard it from someone else, so I don’t know the details. But I heard she’s living a peaceful life."

Igor simply nodded. "I see."

After that, he fell silent.

"Hey, kid. Aren’t you Igor’s son?" Toby leaned over and whispered to Qiu Nuoya.

"I’m not. Warren and I are just members of Igor’s party. We’re not his children." That was the only answer Qiu Nuoya could give. Their relationship with Igor was neither more nor less than that.

Toby muttered, "I really messed up," before forcing a smile. "W-Well, I’m buying the drinks tonight, so let’s go have a good time, huh, Igor?" He slapped Igor firmly on the back several times.

"So, I’m borrowing your big brother for a while. You two okay with that?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Igor, are you going to be okay?"

Igor glanced at them briefly and silently nodded. He was practically dragged away by Toby into the bustling streets, while looking thoroughly dejected

"I hope Igor’s okay."

"I didn’t understand any of that. Who’s Lilica?"

Qiu Nuoya explained that he was not entirely sure either, but that Lilica was probably Igor’s wife.

Warren looked just as surprised to learn that Igor was married. "The Tempest Blade Igor has been an adventurer in our city for more than ten years, but he was married this whole time? I’ve never heard anything about it."

So, at the very least, Igor had not returned to the royal capital for about ten years. If that was the case, perhaps it was understandable that his wife had eventually given up on him.

Igor had said that he sent money to his family, but he did not seem to keep in particularly close contact with them.

Qiu Nuoya wondered how many years someone had to be missing before a marriage was legally considered to have broken down. The laws in this world were probably different from those in his previous world, but even so, after ten years, it seemed reasonable that Lilica could have remarried.

As he thought about it, Qiu Nuoya felt a faint sense of unease.

However, before he could figure out what was bothering him, Warren suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Since we’ve come all the way to such a big city, let’s do some sightseeing."

"Is it really okay for us to go out on our own?"

"Our guardian just went off on his own. That’s not our responsibility. Besides, as long as we get back to the inn by dinner, there’s no problem with looking around the city for a while."

Well, Warren had a point. They were not going off adventuring outside the city on their own. So, looking around the city itself probably would not be particularly dangerous.

Qiu Nuoya nodded and agreed to Warren’s suggestion.

The street where the Adventurers’ Guild was located appeared to be one of the city’s main thoroughfares. It was crowded with people and lined with countless shops.

Qiu Nuoya and Warren wandered from one shop to another along the busy street.

There were stores selling food, household goods, souvenirs, and all sorts of other things. There were also plenty of street stalls. The whole place was so lively that it almost felt like they had stumbled into a festival.

To make sure they did not get separated in the crowd, they continued walking hand in hand.

The thought briefly crossed Qiu Nuoya’s mind that walking around a lively street hand in hand with someone like this might almost feel like a date if Warren were a girl.

However, every shopkeeper they passed seemed completely convinced that they were simply close brothers.

Well, of course they would.

Qiu Nuoya felt relieved and decided not to overthink it. Apparently, it was perfectly normal in this world for an older person to hold the hand of a young child while walking together.

There was no reason to read anything strange into Warren’s concern for him. Doing so would only make him feel awkward and would be rude to Warren, who was simply looking out for him.