Chapter 267: Mystery of Ignis

"Hey, Viktor, can I ask you just one thing?"

"Yes. What is it?"

Igor wore a serious expression, and the question he asked Viktor took Qiu Nuoya by surprise.

"If Qiu Nuoya and Qiu Tailang were both in danger right in front of you, which one would you choose?"

It was a question Qiu Nuoya had wanted to ask Viktor himself at least once. Yet, for some reason, he had always felt a little awkward bringing it up and had kept it buried in his heart.

If Viktor had to choose between Qiu Nuoya and Qiu Tailang, which one would he save?

Still, Qiu Nuoya had always thought such a choice was impossible. After all, Qiu Tailang belonged to the past. He was supposed to have died several hundred years ago. The past could not be erased, and there had even been a time when Qiu Nuoya had rejected Viktor because he hated the thought of Viktor pursuing him while seeing someone else’s shadow in him.

However, Cassian, Viktor’s father, had said that Qiu Tailang was still alive.

The idea that Qiu Tailang, who was supposed to be an ordinary human, could have survived for several hundred years was difficult to believe. But considering that he might possess the same kind of extraordinary abilities as Qiu Nuoya and the others, perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.

"Why are you suddenly asking me something like that? Such a choice would never arise. Qiu Tailang was far more knowledgeable about magic than I am, and he was a much greater mage than I could ever hope to be. No, if I remember correctly, he held the title of Saint. There is no way someone like him would ever need my help."

"Can’t you even understand a hypothetical question? That’s not what I’m asking. Besides, it seems you’ve been putting this Qiu Tailang fellow on a pedestal ever since you were a child. Now that you’re both adults, can you really say he’s still better than you?"

Igor’s words were tinged with irritation.

Qiu Nuoya couldn’t understand why Igor was asking Viktor such a question now, or what had prompted him to bring it up.

"Of course Qiu Tailang was better than me. He could wield magic that we had never even seen before and control monsters as easily as breathing. How could he possibly be inferior to me?"

Viktor spoke as though the answer were so obvious that there was no need to question it.

Igor let out a long, exasperated sigh.

"All right, fine. I get it. So I can assume that, in that situation, you’d choose Nuoya, right?"

"Those are your words, and I’m going to believe you."

"Huh? What on earth are you talking about? I have absolutely no idea what your question was supposed to mean."

"You hold the key."

"What?"

"I was told to pass that message on to you. That’s all."

"By whom? And what kind of key are you talking about?"

"How should I know?"

Igor looked utterly exhausted, and nothing he said seemed to make any sense.

"That guy. He was the one who told me. I don’t know who or what he really is."

"That guy?"

"I don’t have an older brother."

"...What?"

"But he knew me so well. He knew me so thoroughly that not a single person would question it if he claimed to be my older brother. And that’s why... I don’t know what to think anymore. Maybe there’s something wrong with my own memories."

Igor’s words were so outrageous that Qiu Nuoya had no idea how to respond. Viktor seemed equally bewildered, staring at Igor with a confused expression.

"You mean Mr. Ignis, right? Even though you two look so much alike..."

"Yeah... But something still isn’t right. No matter how I look at it, things just don’t add up. There’s something fundamentally wrong with his existence."

"Have you told your family about this?"

"How could I? Lilica was standing beside him, smiling so happily. Besides, I’m in no position to say anything. I’m the one who abandoned my wife and child and left the royal capital."

No, but shouldn’t you at least tell them? What if Ignis is a bad person, or some kind of con artist trying to deceive your wife?

But just as that thought crossed Qiu Nuoya’s mind, he remembered the sight of Ignis earlier.

Ignis had looked so much like the Igor Qiu Nuoya knew, smiling affectionately as he played with his daughter. The warmth between them had seemed genuine, nothing like an act put on to deceive someone.

And so, once again, Qiu Nuoya found himself at a loss for words.

"I never told him about any of you..."

"Huh?"

"I told him I was going to meet up with my companions, but I never gave him your names. And yet, he knew all of your names."

A chill ran down Qiu Nuoya’s spine.

If Ignis knew so much about Igor, there was still a chance that it was simply a matter of Igor’s own memories. But if Ignis also knew about the rest of them, then the situation was completely different.

After all, none of them had ever had any contact with Ignis before.

Viktor, a Rank A adventurer and the son of Cassian, the Minister of General Affairs, might have been somewhat well-known in the royal capital. But Qiu Nuoya himself had spent most of his life living in seclusion, and this was his first time visiting the capital. There had hardly been any opportunity for Ignis to learn about him.

Even if Ignis somehow had connections with Cassian or some other influential figure, there were still too many things that didn’t add up.

It was true that Cassian had greeted Igor as though he knew him, but he had seemed to mistake him entirely for Ignis. The possibility that they had been personally acquainted was extremely slim.

"Who exactly is that man? More importantly, why did he approach Igor and begin living in the royal capital as though he were taking Igor’s place? Igor, are you absolutely certain you have no idea who he might be?"

Igor remained silent in response to Viktor’s questions.

His silence made it difficult to tell whether he had some idea of what was going on or was still desperately searching his memories for an explanation.