Chapter 84: Avoiding the Church

Could that really mean Viktor had romantic feelings for him?

With someone being that direct about making advances, even someone as oblivious to romance as Qiu Nuoya could hardly fail to notice.

Qiu Nuoya had lived forty years without knowing much about romance, and he had never been treated with this much care before.

As a result, he was currently struggling to figure out exactly how he should position himself in relation to Viktor.

"Come to think of it, Viktor doesn’t seem to like dungeons very much. Is there a reason?"

"Hm? Ah... I don’t have very good memories of dungeons."

"Did something happen?"

"I lost someone important to me there forever."

The answer was much heavier than Qiu Nuoya had expected.

He immediately regretted asking.

If Viktor meant that he had lost someone important to him forever, then that person had probably died inside a dungeon.

Qiu Nuoya had understood that both dungeons and the adventurer profession came with considerable risks. Still, hearing Viktor speak like that made him feel a little guilty for how casually he had insisted that he wanted to go. His desire to escape the city had made him act rather thoughtlessly.

"The dungeon in Oraria is basically a commercialized facility, so it’s not going to be that dangerous. Viktor, don’t scare Nuoya too much."

"I had no intention of frightening him. Besides, I have no intention of letting Nuoya get hurt."

Just how much of a Qiu Nuoya first attitude did Viktor have?

If he was so worried, he could at least say that he really did not want him to go!

"Besides, Nuoya should gain some experience so that he can understand what dungeons are actually like. In that sense, I agree with exploring the Oraria dungeon. As Igor said, the dungeon itself is managed by the city, so there is little chance of anything particularly dangerous happening. It is much better than having Nuoya wander into some random dungeon without understanding how dangerous they can be."

"I wouldn’t enter a dungeon that carelessly."

Viktor looked even more serious. "A dungeon is something you can wander into even without intending to."

"Even if I didn’t deliberately enter one?"

"And once an adventurer realizes that they must conquer a dungeon to reach their destination, they will step inside without hesitation. Dungeons and adventurers are inseparable. If this is a path you will inevitably have to walk someday, then I believe starting with Oraria is not a bad choice."

So that was what the dungeon in Oraria was like?

If it was managed by the city and had essentially been commercialized, perhaps it was something like a theme park attraction.

Viktor had said that there was little chance of anything particularly frightening happening there, so the Oraria dungeon did not seem all that dangerous. But listening to the way Viktor talked about it made Qiu Nuoya wonder if other dungeons were actually extremely dangerous.

Would there eventually come a time when he would have to step into one of those truly dangerous places himself?

Qiu Nuoya was the kind of person who would be perfectly happy as long as he could live a peaceful, uneventful life. He had never intended to become deeply involved in dangerous adventures. Still, the thought of experiencing such things someday was starting to intrigue him.

"Well, anyway, once we pass through that checkpoint, we’ll reach the dungeon city of Oraria before long. I’m looking forward to it."

The towering wall in front of them apparently marked the checkpoint on the road leading into the dungeon city of Oraria.

"Do we have to do anything at the checkpoint?"

"Hm? We just need to show our identification. If we were crossing an international border, we’d need a border crossing permit too, but this isn’t a national border."

Come to think of it, the identification cards they carried were enchanted with magic.

They were issued by the Church, and conveniently enough, the information on them was automatically updated whenever someone’s occupation or other circumstances changed.

Apparently, even crimes were automatically recorded on them, so it was impossible to lie using an identification card.

That was probably why simply showing the card allowed them to pass through checkpoints automatically.

Anyone with a criminal record would be caught the moment they tried to pass through.

"As for that checkpoint, I think Nuoya should avoid going through it. Let us just head directly to the dungeon."

"Huh? Why?" Qiu Nuoya was surprised by Viktor’s sudden suggestion.

"The reason is simple. The Church manages and operates the identification system. Unlike Adventurers’ Guild cards, whose information is only shared when a request is involved, the information on identification cards is sent directly to the Church. If Lady Sherria has already taken measures to find you, you will be arrested the moment you presents your identification."

What!?

"While we’re at it, it would also be wise for you to avoid going near the Church. It seems Lady Sherria came to Coalora is not because she received a divine revelation, but apparently, the real reason she learned about you in the first place was because the results of the appraisal you underwent at the church in Coalora were reported to the Church headquarters."

According to Viktor, the identification cards issued by the Church were essentially the equivalent of family registers in Qiu Nuoya’s previous world. People were registered with the Church from the moment they were born.

That was why Qiu Nuoya had been able to have his identification card reissued at the Church. However, it also meant that his personal information was apparently available to the Church headquarters.

That said, even though the Church maintained an enormous amount of personal information, it was apparently difficult to keep track of every little detail. Most of that information was not actively used for anything in particular.

However, there are one exception. Apparently, whenever an appraisal crystal was used by someone with sufficiently high appraisal skills, the results were automatically transmitted to the Church headquarters.